Smiles Get!

Smiles Get!
Date of Scene:	23 June 2014
Location:	Divided Equestria
Synopsis:	Pinkamena makes her debut in her greatest capering attempt to bring down House Moon and Star. But can she pull it off?
Cast of Characters:	Maya, Staren, 75, 219, 230, 264, 411, 470

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Pinkie (470) has posed:
Poor Gum Shoe has his work cut out for him. For those who don't know, Gum Shoe is an Earth Pony; though right now he's in his human form, and that means the man is an absolutely massive wall of muscle in a brown trenchcoat and hat, with a Cutie Mark of a pretty dressy shoe with gum stuck to the sole, crossed with an magnifying glass.
Ness'll know him, and tonight, the detective looks like he's sweating bullets. Once again the local Manehattan cops have found another horrid murder and are picking at the scene of the crim before House Moon and Star get here, and he looks like he could use all the help. It might explain why some calls were made, and the Union, and Ness were tugged in by Gum Shoe's investigation again.
It is NOT a pleasant sight.
The victim, Heroic Sacrifice is an elderly pegasus and a well known supporter of Moon and Star. He's in human form, a portly old man with wings in an ornate military uniform and is settled slumped back in a cushy leather seat at an ornate desk of expensive wood. For the sake of expedience, Ness, Staren, and Union badges are let onto the crime scene. It's a really, really, really, nice mansion, just a block away from the Moon and Star palatial home; a sight easily viewed from the murder room window.
The most horrifying aspect of the killing is that his face has been utterly made into a clown mask, mouth slashed to make an ear to ear smile. But this time the eyes are gouged out in a 'plus' shape decoration, and someone has written in bloodied hand all over the wall and windows behind him:

NO PEEKING...

Eliot Ness (264) has posed:
Ness *would* have been here immediately, Nimble Grasp having told him about this area being sealed off some time ago. However, he had run out of cigarettes on the way here and stopped at the store to buy another pack in exchange for a silver dollar. It had taken him some time to decide on which brand, owing to the foreign nature of this world. He had settled on the only brand he recognized. Spoilers: It was a pack of Camels.

One of which he is smoking as he struts up on scene with his hands in his pockets. He stops in front of Gum Shoe and stares the man dead on, "What've we got?" He asks in a flat tone, holding out the pack of cigarettes towards the detective.

Staren has posed:
Yesterday, Staren spent the afternoon and evening at a beach in Summer. Pinkie said to have some fun, so why not? It was also a chance to hang with some Unionites he doesn't see much of! But, vacation must come to an end. Staren's WMAT match is coming up, and he needs to be in top form.

So it is that last night, an hour or so before he would normally get up, machinery slides out of the walls and scans his brain, and the medichines protecting his body place it in medical stasis.

So, one moment he's dreaming, the next he's awake on a table in the lab. There's no gradual, normal wake up, which is pretty jarring -- but, it's the first time he tried doing things this way, so some bumps are to be expected. Still, as he swings his legs over the edge and hops off the table, everything feels natural, so it seems the transfer completed without serious incident!

NOW, DIVIDED EQUESTRIA

Staren shows up at the mansion looking just like he usually does, although unusual senses may allow people to detect that under that clothing and synthskin are the steel and circuits of a machine. "Heroic Sacrifice? Who /names/ their kid that? Were they /trying/ to get him killed?!" Staren rants as they're led to the victim...

And then he sees.

Staren is suddenly glad he can't feel sick right now.

Ariel (219) has posed:
Ariel is in humanoid form again today, but she didn't bring Iyoshi, and she made sure to wear a hood and cloak. It might be Diea, but Diea itself is sleeping at the moment. Either way she's a LITTLE less conspicuous.

Ariel is also not really ready for the sort of murder she sees. It would be too punnish to say she turned a little green, so let's just say her hand is over her mouth in horror and she's looking away from the body, probably letting others handle the situation while she tries to recover her wits.

Celestia (230) has posed:
Given the trouble she caused last time, Celestia isn't going to be coming looking like herself! Not this time! Oh no... fool me once, etc. Unfortunately she had a little trouble tracking down anyone for an illusion spell except Sarah, who was currently fighting a psychopathic nine year old girl. Back to the drawing board.

Fortunately, Celestia is resourseful and intelligent.

There is no Celestia here. Instead, tromping along, is a very half-assed and stitched together HORSE COSTUME, the sort of which requires two people. It is kind of stumbling about to head toward the crime scene.

Blend in, Celestia. Blend in.

"Ah... this doesn't look good..."

Twilight Sparkle (411) has posed:
Twilight Sparkle has...not seen a scene like this before. As one from the happy funtimes Equestria, such a scene is almost unimaginable to her. So...after a glance inside the room and a quick duck back outside to stifle her gag reflex, Twilight has decided that she might be most helpful if she just investigates the room outside the scene of the crime for now. Footprints, broken glass, disturbed belongings. Things of that nature. It seems she is the only pony who looks like a pony right now, too. Except for...is that a horse -costume-?! Twilight finds herself staring more at the stiched together costume than the murder scene.

Of course, with those six stars on her flank, Twilight may get some unusual looks of her own. "That is an unusual name for a pony." she says to Staren from just outside the doorway.

Ezio Auditore (75) has posed:
INSTEAD of showing up armed to the teeth and wearing his fanciest robes and all that jazz, Ezio's gone for a formal suit of Armani and a sword and dagger sheathed at his belt, going with bracers up his sleeves. He probably looks /very/ conspicuous among the locals, and even amid the Elites he seems a bit out of place.

Nodding to those present he recognizes, and bowing his head in greeting towards Eliot, Ezio wanders over towards the body when he arrives with a flat look, frowning mildly as he shakes his head. "I can't imagine it was quick." He says with regret in his voice.

R He may also be keeping an extra glance at Twilight and Ariel in particular in concern for the young ladies. They probably aren't too accustomed to this sort of thing. It's a shame they have to see this up close for themselves.

Maya has posed:
Maya is here once again to thi strange world she's here to help as best she can, however. She gromaes at how things have gone down. Maya's seen a lot of horrible things but much of it was horror due to a lack of caring. This was personal, this was sadistic of the highest order and she's trying to not look at it. She's however listerning and seems to be going over her wrist computer for the moment.

Pinkie (470) has posed:
Once again, Gum Shoe can tell he's working with professionals, and he accepts the cigarette gratefully. He's got his own lighter, and can provide that much for Ness before lighting up his own. "Supporter of House Moon and Star. Retired vet, but had more bits than anyone would know what to do with." The detective grunts before taking a long drag. "Hey kid, I don't come up with these names, they just end up on my desk." He replies to Staren. "Should that little filly even BE here?" He motions to Ariel, who is looking young and... Green, but she has Union credentials and he's not going to question them beyond that and...
He just -looks- at Celestia.
"What the buck, come on. I know you offworlders are kind of... Weird but... The buck, man."
And then.
And then he sees Twilight Sparkle.
Gum Shoe hears her first, and immediately the detective bristles. He was sweating bullets before. He is absolutely drenched in sweat now. Like. His trenchcoat is dripping almost comically. "A-Archmagister! I-I didn't know you'd be joining us- if I did I would have uh. Organized a quicker response! I-I know King Shining Armor and Queen Cadance are in town tonight, we're trying to apprehend the killer as fast as we can!" But then he's rubbing his face; dabbing at forehead with a handkerchief. "We've got the same MO and calling card as the warehouse, but this time... I think our victim saw something he wasn't supposed to."

Staren has posed:
"I should hope so..." Staren replies to Twilight's comment about the name, leaving the room for a moment to give her a hug. "She's seen more than you think..." Staren replies about Ariel. as he returns to the room.

He has no words for Celestia. I mean... what do you say to that?

Staren watches Gum Shoe with quiet amusement when he mistakes Twilight for the archmagister. Although he does make a sort of sush-ing motion when he says 'Queen Cadance'. "Spoilers!"

Staren considers, his gaze drifting to the victim and quickly away. "How long did it take the mages to get here this time?"

Maya has posed:
Maya listens as Gum Shoe gives her the rundown on just who the victem was. She takes a moment to look again.

"So retired military vet, and loaded then. Hummm."

She seems to be thinking and wonders for a moment about it.

"The royalty's in town tonight, the question is what did he see?"

Twilight Sparkle (411) has posed:
Twilight Sparkle blinkblinks in confusion when Gum Shoe starts stammering and sweating. "Um...I...might be good with magic, but I am no arch-mage." she says, seeming a bit shy about it. Then, her eyes widen as she hears a certain pairing of names with titles. She gets an obvious look like she wants to ask about that, but with a lot of effort she keeps herself quiet. It is no good to delve into one's future. "I am sure you got here as quickly as you could." she says with a reassuring smile, no doubt dispelling any cases of mistaken identity.

"...via boo...?" Twilight says softly to herself, giving Celestia an even more questioning look. Apparently her beloved mentor was even more quirky in her younger years. Twilight shakes her head, then starts looking around for clues again. And with a poof of magic, she produces a magnifying glass to help with that.

Ariel (219) has posed:
"I'm fine," Ariel reassures quickly. "I live with a shoggoth, I can handle a little blood." What she doesn't mention is that it's the DEATH that really gets to her, not the carnage itself. So she really isn't looking at the body at all, shuffling a little before moving over to look at the scrawled 'no peeking' bit instead. Blood, at least, she can handle.

Ezio Auditore (75) has posed:
Ezio observes the body, narrowing his own eyes before he grabs some medical gloves off a crime investigator before he begins to approach the cadaver with robotic calm. "How long as the body been here?" He asks, kneeling down and pulling he gloves on over his leather ones as he begins to inspect the body, tilting the head side to side and checking for teeth if they're remaining.

"Whoever did this wanted to make it as drawn out as possible, but I get the impression we all knew that already." He muses, running a finger across the body's forced rictus, going ear to ear. "One can only shudder pondering who could be capable of such sustained cruelty..."

Whatever Gum Shoe is rambling about regarding Twilight, he'll worry about later.

Celestia (230) has posed:
Sure, her costume draws some eyes, but nobody would ever expect it was really Celestia under there! That's the point! It may be weird, but it does seem to be working. Though it might be surprising to some that the 'horse costume' shuffles over without any hesitation at the blood, examining the murder scene with a light glow from the horn acting as a UV flashlight of sorts. Just looking for anything that a regular light wouldn't.

"Whomever did this," she comments, "I'm not sure... ah, it's too early to be making assumptions. Hmm..." Turning about, she's going to see what the man may have been looking at when he died.

Pinkie (470) has posed:
The source of the blood should be obvious; it must have come from Heroic Sacrifice himself, after the killer went to town on his face. There's certainly enough to have done so. But Gum Shoe makes a motion of his hand at Ezio. "Eleven last night about." Though he's given Staren an odd look. Spoilers?
It's not rambling, though, Twilight's presence has him on a serious edge as he adjusts the collar of his shirt. Well he's not suspecting Celestia in the least, which makes things far less awkward than they could be.
But.
There's always a but.
And right now, it's while everyone is investigating the crime scene that something HAPPENS. Specifically the view of the Moon and Star palatial home right across the street?
it goes dark.
It goes pitch black, in fact, as all the lights in every window go out in an instant. And just like that, they're lit up again, with bright flashes of streaking blue lights. Unicorn magic turned weaponized, in a lightshow of a clear firefight that has just begun at the drop of the hat.
"!" Gum Shoe's jaw drops.
The crime scene was a distraction!

Twilight Sparkle (411) has posed:
Twilight would suspect he was looking at the business end of a blade, but that's her untrained investigative knowledge at work. When the flashes start up across the street, Twilight's instincts as a Knight kick in, and she takes off. "Someone's under attack!" she shouts out as she gallops toward the Moon and Star mansion.

Not sure who is fighting, or who/what they are fighting, Twilight wants to get there as quickly as possible. Her horn glows, then in a sparkle of purple-white she disappears, reappearing inside the mansion on the floor where the fighting is taking place.

Staren has posed:
Staren's question isn't answered, but then, something's going on! He whirls, looks at the window, and... "Twilight! Let's--" oh, she's already teleporting. He pulls his magitech staff from his bag and starts glowing. "I can take three! Touch me and hold on!" A few seconds later, he teleports away in a flash of light whether anyone's coming with him or not.

Maya has posed:
Maya looks to STaren for a moment, she stares for a moment as things get dark, she wonders what's going on other than the same thought Gum Shoe's having. This murder was simply a distraction and mnothing more.

"LEt's go this can wait."

She pulls her fate deck nods to Staren and reaches out to touch him. It's time to go, the dead and wait when the living are more pressing. Also they might catch the killer if they are lucky.

Ezio Auditore (75) has posed:
"Seems about right." Ezio comments, already trying to figure out through tracing with what was done exactly with the body. An incision here, a stab there, yadda yadda yadda. It's creepy how calm he can look while he's trying to determine the way this was carried out in his head.

Takes one to know one, Ezio supposes to himself as he mulls over his own thoughts on such a pondering.

His train of thought is derailed as he hears the closest thing Equestrians have to gunfire. "Merda." He grumbles, still cool as a cucumber despite his audible annoyance at his investigations being interrupted.

A sigh, he produces a flashlight before suddenly he ducks for cover, moving to immediately defend Ariel if necessary once again as he draws what looks like the most elegantly bizarre marriage of firearm and sword, an Irving Series Gunsword; 'Cold Embrace' it is called. "Get down!" He remains over her, protecting her with body armor and himself if necessary before taking a peek out.

He looks out at where he saw lights, before he begins to move towards the Moon and Star as soon as he's certain Ariel is alright.

Eliot Ness (264) has posed:
Ness takes a long moment to watch the crimescene, which explains why he was silent until now. Of course, as the spell goes off in the building behind him, he whirls around to face it a bit more clearly. And judging by the reactions of everyone here, he guesses that is not supposed to be something that occurs in this strange world.

Reaching under his coat, he draws out a V-shaped piece of metal and wood. Along with this, he takes out a pair of shotgun shells. He loads these into the prototype Browning Superposed before flipping it up and snapping it shut with a click. Now he had a shotgun in his hands.

He stalks his way over towards a side window, trying to see if he can find a clear and non-obvious entrance to get a shot off or enter the building.

Ariel (219) has posed:
"EEEP!" Ariel gasps as the light show begins, but Ezio is already leaping in front of her to protect her. It takes her a moment to realize that she's in no immediate danger, then she shakes her head, "No, I'll be fine! You get moving to the manor, okay? I'll... I have a way to help!"

Without Al around, Ariel is considerably weaker in Sorcery than she'd like, but she's far from useless nowadays. Taking a deep breath in, the little unicorn starts to work her own magic, weaving threads through the World and wrapping them around the manor in a large shell. A pulse of power tingles through them, setting up a low-powered Ward that will, hopefully, tell her when anyone enters or leaves. It won't be able to tell her much about them, but a head count should help, right? Only then does she draw up her Spirit Hood and head for the mansion as well.

Celestia (230) has posed:
Well that's not good. Celestia, as magically powerful as she is, doesn't know a lot of the tricks Twilight has picked up, so she can't just teleport in there. She /can/ do one thing though, and that's trot out toward the house and provide a little lighting for entering it. "Be careful, everyone! We don't know anything about what's in there, and the defenders may mistake us for trouble as well. Ah... Twilight...?"

Oh well. She lowers her head, and the horn that pokes through the costume shines with a brilliant, golden light to send a stream of power into the house's front door. With a 'pop' a bright blazing globe of sunlight bursts into being in the foyer, providing some light. Not for the entire house though, there are those 'wall' things in there.

Pinkie (470) has posed:
There are more than enough clear windows and entrances to go across for ness, and as folks teleport right on in or may their ways into the mansion across the street, Gum Shoe is waving them off. "Go! Go! We'll get things covered here."
So it's a quick foray across the street; the chaos inside the mansion means the guards are too busy fending off whatever is going on inside to halt MORE people from rushing on to the scene of the action.
Or what was the scene of the action.
Fast as the group may be, by tge time they arrive, the main foyer of the mansion is a blood bath. The armored royal guard of house Moon and Star are strewn about. Though from the less severe wounds, it looks like it was more of an all out fight than the perpetrator had time to 'have fun' like she did with the past two victims.
And it is a she.
Arrivals get on the scene just in time to see the last guard floundering in the darkness, flailing at the air, slashing with his sword in a panic and wild firing magic from his horn, before the clown appears.
An utterly living shadow, makes the final kill. It starts with a white-gloved hand covering the soldier's mouth to silence him, an eerie, faceless mask of porcelain appearing over his shoulder. And then the voice... Whispering a soft lullabye.

"Hush now, quiet now, it's time to lay your sleepy head..."

In goes the knife. His eyes go wide as a black blade slides into his back through a chink in his armor.

"Hush now... Quiet now... It's time for you to go to bed..."

And then the room is bathed in light. Like a living shadow brought to light, revealing the killer clown. Such drab pink regalia, too. It's like all her color was washed out, lank and stringy pink hair hanging off one shoulder, she lets the guard drop.

"Oh... Oh! I have an audience." The murderous Harlequin muses, twirling the knife in her hand, that mirthless mask tilting as she spies Twilight. "Archmagister, what a -lovely- surprise... I guess you'll be a-giggle to know... A certain-someone's brother is going to diiiieeeee tonight...!"
One thing of note... On the clown's left hip is exposed a single mark. It is her Cutie Mark, and it appears to be a large, and very sad, teardrop.

Twilight Sparkle (411) has posed:
Twilight's eyes are wide as she comes upon the scene. She can only watch, horrified, as the last guard is put down right in front of her. Twilight is silent for several moments, then her expression turns serious. Severe. "I don't know what you have against this Archmagister, but whatever it is, there is no way it could justify this!!" Twilight shouts. Her horn glows brightly, and in a purple and blue shimmer that passes down from her horn and over her body, her Harmony Armor appears.

The Knight of Magic is apparently so enraged by this that she does't hesitate. The magical book that forms as part of her armor opens, then starts to rotate rapidly and glow brightly before...

FWOOOOM!!

A beam of purple-white energy as thick as a pony fires from the book, aimed right at the killer. "NO ONE ELSE WILL DIE!!"

Ezio Auditore (75) has posed:
Ezio quietly thanks Celestia for the additional light, giving him plemty of things to see even as the lights are out in the manor. He sprints into the manor, sword in hand, and bracing himself for the worst once he reaches the scene awaiting him.

It's a horrific sight, but he keeps his lunch down as he brandishes Cold Embrace with confidence. "I'd offer you give yourself up now, but i get the impression you're not that easy to negotiate with." He growls, leveling the gunsword like a pistol towards Pinkamena.

He pulls the hammer back, before he fires off a pair of shots, then begins to make his way in swording range when Twilight's beam is fired already, slashing at the assassin while he covertly draws his stiletto for Florentine style.

Staren has posed:
Staren comes upon a grisly sight. So this is the murderer. Briefly, he wonders if she was at some point trying to do good... then he remembers the needlessly grisly killings, and besides Twi is /not/ going to like this -- confirmed as she knights up and blasts. Welp, the fight's on then! He aims his staff at her one-handed, firing a couple of lightning bolts as he charges -- when he gets close, he switches the staff to his other hand, drawing his beam saber and trying to stab her! "Whatever Moon and Star has done... you don't need to /torture/ people! Were these guards /truly/ bad ponies?"

Explaining to Twilight about her alternate self will have to come later. Now is /not/ the time to distract her!

Ariel (219) has posed:
Ariel is mostly keeping the ward up, cinching the spell tight and then listening to its feedback. It is after all merely an alarm. She's quick to stumble in and gasp again though... and she doesn't confront Pinkie at all. Nope. Instead, she's darting right toward the ponies that have been bloodied, moving to the nearest one she might have a chance of saving and starting up the glow of her horn.

"H-hold on..." Yeah, she got sick before, but in the midst of being NEEDED she can actually try something. If her powers work. Sometimes they don't.

Celestia (230) has posed:
Celestia is still in costume, which means she sorta shuffles in and shakes the top half off, for now. In this mess, she doubts anyone will raise a fuss for now. She isn't being accusing or anything like the others, she's... what is she doing?

Celestia is watching. Yes, watching.

Eliot Ness (264) has posed:
Despite rarely venturing off his world, the many inhabitants of the Multiverse have somewhat dampened Ness's reaction to the magical and extraordinary. And being a 1920s-era cop has numbed him to violent deaths of people around him. Which isn't to say it doesn't affect him, just that he can push through to do his job.

And right now his job is to stop a criminal.

"There's a time for killing, and this ain't it. All you're doin is spillin' more blood than's necessary, little dame. A knife isn't meant to be slicin' up everyone. Just dulls the blade," He chides, before raising up the shotgun at his target.

Someone once said you can't solve all the world's problems with a shotgun. Ness is fairly certain he can solve THIS problem with one. And so he fires the top barrel of the over-under.

Maya has posed:
Maya is brought in with Staren and she has quite the site to behold as she sees the murderous Harlequin before her. She pulls a card out of a pouch on her hip and she looks the killer over for a momeent. It brings back a few memories of her dealings with the eldar from how the woman carries herself, but with a good deal more madness.

"This is at a close."

The card flares up with a strange blue fire that does not consume it.

"Surrender or the hard way the choice is yours."

Pinkie (470) has posed:
For all the blood there is everywhere, Ariel's attempts to stabilize and heal the soldiers are met with... Success?
It would seem so. For all the horrible condition their in, and they are critical, the stabs are not the kind to be instantly fatal. In fact with standard medical treatment they would have been saveable; but the little unicorn's magic speeds up the process, beginning to stabilize injured.
Now the issue is the deadly jester.
"Oh."
Beset by more -elite- foes than she can feasibly face, the fight is considerably different as she's caught between shotgun, electricity, and a massive wave of magic.
The result is a launched clown, tumbling backwards head over heels, clutching bloodied wounds. That portcelain mask is cracked, revealing just the faintest glimpse of a young face before pink hair shrouds it.
"Ponio! Hoofequin! Trottino! Revelers!" She hisses.
And like a chorus they come.
"Protect the prophet!" "Give her time to do what sh must!" "To take the vengeance for all of us!"
Several figures leap from the shadows, each wearing garb matching the first; though with individual masks for the each of them. Blades in hand, they dance and twirl and and leap and vault. A distraction no doubt as they try to stab and slash down the interlopers while their Teardrop Cutie Mark'd leader makes a break for it.

Twilight Sparkle (411) has posed:
Twilight Sparkle blinks as she is confronted with a hoofful of Pinkamena patsies, then huffs angrily. "Stand aside!" she demands, stamping a hoof. Her horn and her magical book glow in unison, and several weapons from the fallen guards start to glow before floating into the air. The enchanted blades fly at the clowns, slashing at them and trying to drive them apart. Because Twilight is NOT letting a cold-blooded murderer get away!

Twilight gallops forward as fast as she can, barreling right through the clowns if she has to by throwing up a magical barrier around herself and just bulldozing her way past. Those now enchanted blades fight on their own, but they don't seem to be trying to kill the clowns. Just either disarm or distract them. As Twilight gallops along, she fires warning beams at Pinkamena. "Stop! I don't want to have to hurt you, but I can't let you cause any more harm!" the purple pony calls out.

Ezio Auditore (75) has posed:
Masked clowns indeed. This is all giving Ezio flashbacks to those run-ins he had with those Harlequins a good while back since his arrival in Rome. The masks dont' get any less creepifying for him. Even so, he's prepared as he parries and evades some of the strikes, his coat suffering a few nasty strikes that cut flesh underneath.

He swings his stiletto upwards to parry aside the knife of one of his assailants, before he drives the blade of his Gunsword into the assassin's stomach. Twist, saw, then rip it out. Simple and effective. Then he slashes at the next assassin to come in range, not wanting to take chances with these harlequins.

Eliot Ness (264) has posed:
"I'm truly sorry it has to be this way," Ness says as he hops backwards, dress shoes slickly skidding through blood on the floor of the mansion as he tries to avoid the knife assault of one of the incoming cultists. He flicks a switch on the top of the shotgun, changing its active barrel.

Then he shifts his stance and pushes inward again. He weaves around the thrust of a blade with his shotgun in his hands. The weapon scores a shallow cut that splits duster, dress-shirt, and vest to open a crimson gash in the shoulder.

"You pull a knife, I pull a gun. You send one to the hospital..." He tries to shoulder check a cultist into a wall. If he succeeds, he thrusts the barrel of the shotgun straight forward, pressing it to the mask, "I send one to the morgue."

At literally point blank, he pulls the trigger.

Staren has posed:
The assassin is making a break for it! Staren would consider letting her go, but she's not abandoning her quest! So... Staren raises his staff and casts a speed-up spell on allies, then charges after Pinkie! Energy wings manifest just behind his back, orange like stylized insect wings, he /runs/, and little thrusters built into his shoes, and it all adds up.

He's putting /everything/ into the chase after that buff spell. He'll tank any hits this gets him -- even if their blades aren't turned aside by his coat, the revelers will find that under his skin is hard metal. There might be some question about their keeping up with him, anyway.

Maya has posed:
Maya looks as backup arrives she tilts her head a bit.

"I see your choice has been made."

Maya's now not holding back those who could sense magic would notice she has quite a bit and now she's actively calling upon it. She flares up and move to cast some sort of spell, it seems to be a time related one Maya's allies would be operating at a much faster speed should it effect them, and they'd gain a faint red aura from it to boot.

Ariel (219) has posed:
Ariel will huddle in and start to heal the injured, letting the others fight it out. She knows her priority, and it's saving lives, so she only pays enough attention to keep out of the way of the assassins as she trots over to the next bleeding victim.

She doesn't even SAY anything. Ariel is a bit too busy.

Celestia (230) has posed:
Celestia has stayed out of things for the first part, but when the assassins come she LEAPS into action. "No, I think no more injuries today." Well, except for the assassins themselves. She'd LIKE to bust through them and get to the harlequin, but for now she's wanting to make sure that the others are safe, so she engages in knife fight.

Except she's using a glowing, flaming horn to parry knives with, and slice across the chest of the nearest jester.

Pinkie (470) has posed:
In all the chaos and gunfire and blades flashing, the blood-soaked jester tumbles amid the battle.
The revelers have more than met their matches, serving only as a brief distraction. Whilst the tiniest unicorn is busied with medical attention, Ariel will find that the majority of the guards have been stabbed in a way to simply put them down. Get them out of the way, rather than kill them this time. But Ponio is busted aside by Ness' shoulder, slamming a wall and stunned before the 12 gauge empties into his back, making the burly jester slump to the floor with one last grunt of a chuckle. All of their laughter does not last when Hoofequin sags as Ezio's gunblade punches through her stomach, while Trottino struggles with Celestia. The mere sight of her is enough to pause him, when the upper half of her disguise comes off, and his fight is half-hearted before a hiss from the 'prophet' urges him to just go. It's too late though when that glowing horn gashes him across the chest and he crumples.
Though she is a blur of pink, the pink-haired killer's voice is clear as day as she slides past the mare of the sun.

"You ruined -everything- by abandoning us..."

But the prophet does not stop, smashing through a door she takes a mighty leap, blades in hand.
Intending to land on the blue-haired man and pink-haired woman beyond.

Eliot Ness (264) has posed:
In the aftermath of the attack, Ness calmly slings his shotgun up over one shoulder. His free, gloved, hand reaches into the breast pocket of his suit to pull out a white hankerchief and wipe off his face before he calmly places it in the outside pocket of his jacket.

He rolls the shoulder that got cut a couple times, testing it out and making sure the blades weren't carrying a poison on the edge. Satisfied, he then turns and promptly takes a couple easy steps and then takes a fairly agile leap. When he lands, he's stradling the back of one Princess Celestia, careful not to muss anything up.

"Let's go," He says simply, folding open the shotgun so the spent shells fall out to the floor before he loads it again with two more from his jacket and clicks it shut again.

Twilight Sparkle (411) has posed:
Pinkie is fast in Twilight's Equestria, and here it seems to be the same. Even with Staren's speed boost, Twilight can barely keep up. "Celestia would never abandon us!" Twilight calls out as she chases Pinkamena. When that door is smashed open and Pinkamena leaps, Twilight's eyes widen. "Nooooooo!!" she practically screams before her book rotates rapidly again and another burst of her purple-white beam magic fires like a yamato canon from Twilight's book.

The blast flies right over the top of the bed, catching Pinkamena and surrounding her in burning magical energy as it smashes through the wall behind the bed, propelling the jester assassin along with it. Then, Twilight stands there, panting with fatigue from using so much magic energy in such a short time. She watches the hole in the wall intently, waiting to see if Pinkamena was somehow able to avoid the shot or cling to the edge of the hole or something.

Staren has posed:
Staren chases, chases, chases. Man, the assassin is /fast/! But as soon as she stops and he catches up, she'll be in for a world of hurt...

But she never stops. She keeps going, and going... Staren's glad to be a tireless robot right now. Finally, she breaks into a room with /people/. Now, Staren has no idea what Shining Armor and Cadance look like. But Pinkie's clearly leaping for an attack. She doesn't /need/ to stop!

Staren drops everything. His staff clatters and skids along the floor, the beam saber deactivates and its hilt does likewise. Time seems to slow down as he draws his laser pistol, swings the smartlink reticle in his vision over the flying harlequin, and fires. Two invisible beams of light direct a tremendous amount of energy into two tiny pinpricks-sized bits of fabric or flesh -- against a non-elite target, those pinpricks would instantly superheat into plasma and explode, an all-but-guarunteed death sentence for an unarmored target. Against an elite... it's less powerful, a LOT less powerful, but Staren hopes it will distract Pinkie long enough for him to close to melee--

Or, Twilight might blow her through the wall. That works too!

Ezio Auditore (75) has posed:
Ezio cleans his blades of blood just as he shakes a few misbehaving strands of hair off his face. He glances around the room before he picks up that one sentance of /venom/ from the assassin, before he follows along in the chase towards the door, leveling his gunsword-

Before doubletaking at Ness calmly leaping upon Celestia. Just like that. Dude has /style/ the likes of which Ezio hasn't seen in ages. That has to count for something, right?

Anyway. Just as he is about to intervene however he can with the attempted murder of King and Queen, it seems Twilight and Staren have it covered, the little sister letting off one hell of a blast of magic at the jester just as Ezio himself skids to a stop.

He backs away enough to have a safe distance, knowing the rage of a protective sibling (And her boyfriend) when it's down to the wire.

Celestia (230) has posed:
Pinkie dashes by Celestia with hissed words of anger and grief that make Celestia wince, and then Ness is leaping atop her back, causing her to 'oof' slightly even as she kicks off the back half of her costume. Sigh.

"I never asked for this."

She's galloping after Pinkie, but the blast at the assassin's body is going to make her difficult to catch. Which means she just ends up in the awkward position of ducking through a door, possibly bursting through it due to her larger than pony size, with Ness on her back. Hopefully he ducks. But this is going to look pretty odd to the two royals. But trying to 'lasso' Pinkie with TK is mostly on her mind, even if the assassin is moving too fast for it to be reliable.

Ariel (219) has posed:
Actually... Ariel is going to rush over to the ponies that the others SHOT AND STABBED AND SLASHED to see if she can stave off THEIR bleeding out! This is getting a bit awkward! "Ah! Oh, so much blood... be careful! I... um... never mind."

Maya has posed:
Maya is making to do her best to support her allies, she's chose to make with the magic to support them. She's got a lot of firepower, sure but she tends to wide spread damage with her mroe powerful abilities, henc eher making use of her other talents with magic. She again readies a spell and moves to rapidly run after the rest as they are heading out she readies another spell this time attemping to cast a barrier spell upon those who are going after the murderous pink one. Still her words are strange, what is she refering to?

Pinkie (470) has posed:
The chase is on in a bloody race against time. Who will make it to the King and Queen of Equestria first? The killer clown, or their erstwhile saviors?
It would be the clown.
Would be.
That is the operant term as black knives flash, only for the mirthless jester to sail too far. Staren and Twilight chase her down, and in the resultant eruption of laser fire and magical energy, the bedroom wall smashes outwards, the mangled marauder flying with the debris as the piank-haired killer is launched beyond her quarry and out of reach.
The flailing fall to follow would be fatal for most, but she seems to utterly disappear into the shadows out of sight beyond the reach of Celestia's might, leaving little more but a cracked porcelain mask and a black bladed knife clattering to the floor at Ness and Celestia's feet and hooves when the inspector and his epic level sun steed come charging after... And then like that... It's over.
For all as scared as they looked a moment ago, King Shining Armor was clearly placing himself ina prime position to protect Cadance as best he could, and from the looks of it they're both fine. But before anyone can say so much as a word to them a black pony in a black suit comes trotting in. Rising stand up, he takes on human form and adjusts his shades.
"Secret Service. House Moon and Star, and--..." He pauses. "Archmagister, I see you have this taken care of." Stated to Twilight before looking to the others. Celestia and Ness. "Wh-..." It's like he doesn't know who to react to first, the meddling Federal Agent or the literal equivalent of -god- for his world.
He regains composure by adjusting his tie.
"I suppose I should be thanking you all for protecting our rulers."

For the record, Ariel might run out of guards to heal any second about now.

Eliot Ness (264) has posed:
Ness is smart enough to duck under the doorway. Believe it or not, the 1929 police force rides horses a lot, so when you're a rookie cop you tend to take a low-hanging object or two to the head before you gain situational awareness. This helps him avoid an embarassing mishap when Celestia bursts through the door.

He actually doesn't have too much to do, so he simply sits there, straddling the back of a local deity while he calmly holds a shotgun in both hands. Being new to the Multiverse and having no prior exposure to the citizens of any Ponyville, he has no idea the cosmic significance of his current position.

Thusly, he simply raises up two fingers and tips the brim of his hat down to Secret Service, "Just doin' my job. No thanks necessary."

Ezio Auditore (75) has posed:
"we do this for a living."

Ezio bows his head, kneeling with his sword planted to the floor once he realizes he's in the presence of royalty. He remembers his manners, at the least. After a moment, he then stands back to his feet, sheathing the gunblade and cricking his neck. "Now then, do any of you have an idea who that was?" He asks pointedly, looking right at Celestia and Twilight both in particular.

Ariel (219) has posed:
Phew! Ariel looks rather exhausted as she trots in, her horn glowing a bit more dimly than before. "I think I got everyone. They should live. The guards, I mean." She isn't so sure about the assassins the others were unloading on, but she tried!

She stays silent on the matter of 'who that was,' for her own reasons.

Celestia (230) has posed:
"Please, I'm not who you think I am. Or, rather, I am, but not exactly," Celestia says quietly. She tucks her wings back to allow Ness to slide off. "What I mean is, I am not the Celestia you knew, and I do not know why she is gone, nor why things are the way they are. And please do not call me Princess, I hold no such title."

She lifts her head and looks to Ezio. "No. But I think perhaps we may have a clue." With a little glimmer of TK, she lifts the mask up and tucks it nearby for safekeeping. "Agent Ness, Mister Auditore... the Union is investigating this, but I believe we may be able to offer you a sharing of information?"

She then looks to Secret Service as if expecting answers. She just claimed to not be their Celestia, but she certainly has that demanding look, and no recognition of Shining Armor and Cadance.

Maya has posed:
Maya puts her cards away and looks to the king and the queen as she comes in. She looks to Celestia then looks to the others and to Twilight Maya doe snot know the details and she shrugs a little bit.

"This just happens to us far too often I must admit. I'm glad to have been a help here, it seems like we're dealing with one crazed cult and then some with this. I'm Maya of the world of Septerra."

Eliot Ness (264) has posed:
Ness slides off of Celestia's back a moment later when the wing moves aside. He gives her a nod of his head, "Thank ya kindly. You're sure a Hotsy-Totsy Jane." He says respectfully in his strange 1920s slang that he uses.

Before he can answer her request about information, he is already fussing at the split shoulder of his suit, "Ah horsefeathers..." He pauses, looking over at Celestia, "Expression, Sorry. No offense, gotta watch them here in the Multiverse, I guess." He inserts before continuing: "Ah applesauce. My wife spent a whole twenty dollars buyin' this just two weeks ago. Mendin' the coat's and jacket's gonna be two dollars at least, plus two for a new shirt. Ah... Oh."

He lifts his head, "Yes. The Union has my information on file. Miss Saito works at my office for a quarter a day. Fifty cents on weekends. She can give you my address to mail information to."

Twilight Sparkle (411) has posed:
Twilight finally catches her breath, then looks at the humanized versions of two ponies she knows quite well back home. "Are you two alright?" she says to Cadence and Shining Armor. She starts to ask things like 'what are you two doing ruling Equestria' and 'how did you get together' but she bites her lip to stifle her questions, then looks toward the secret service agent. "I am not the Arch-mage, and if you ask me, she is doing a rather poor job of taking care of her Equestria!" she says angrily, then turns to the others. "I...need to go. I don't think I can handle any more of this world tonight." She turns to start clopping her way out of the mansion, and as she walks her harmony armor disappears in a shimmer. She looks up at Staren as she walks past him. "Are you alright?" she asks, stopping near him.

Ezio Auditore (75) has posed:
Ezio blinks a moment at Ness's....slang, before shrugging as he nods to Celestia. "I'll appreciate a full briefing once we're finished here, si." He says, then frowning as he notices the damage his own suit has suffered. "I can refer you to a good tailor in Urbania I know if you wish." He offers the Treasury Agent with a shrug, producing a card from out of his pockets after some rifling, then brushes blood off his sleeve with no small amount of distaste. "I'm going to need a spare at this rate."

Staren has posed:
Staren watches Team Harlequin go Blasting Off Again, and then leans against a wall to catch his breath. That was tense.

He pants once before remembering he's not tired. Or out of breath. he stops breathing for a moment as he thinks about it... and then he straightens up and looks over the royals as the Secret Service arrive. He nods simply to the secret service guy. After a moment, he settles on the question of: "Why would anyone want to kill them?" He /does/ suspect more is going on here than the locals are letting on.

Also, huh, people are /still/ mistaking Twilight for her local counterpart. Staren's not sure what to do about that. He thought her cover was blown for sure before, but now... if she's up for it, her 'position' might be quite useful in learning about this world.

And then Twilight handles things directly and honestly. He nods slightly to himself.

When Twilight walks by and stops, he turns towards her. "Yeah. Well... do you mean physically, or...?" he shrugs. "This world is weird. I've seen some unpleasant things, but... I've seen some terrible things out in the multiverse too. Physically... the chase was no problem. I've already transferred into my robot body so I'd have time to get comfortable for tomorrow's WMAT fight. I'm not even tired. I can't be." As he explains, he holsters his pistol, collects the things he dropped and puts them away. Then he puts an arm around Twilight, offering to walk with her. "What about you?"

Pinkie (470) has posed:
This is a situation that is INTENSELY AWKWARD for Secret Service. Though several other special ops ponies filter in and begin ushering the king and queen elsewhere, the two aren't without thanks for their saviors. Though the experience has left them somewhat mute, they manage to nod their appreciation before more secret service agents in human and pony form escort them away.
Thus, this leaves the group with Secret Service, who is trying to regain his composure with Celestia right there and saying 'she isn't who he thinks she is', and yet is giving him a stare that anyone on Equestria would remember being hit with, even if it was over ten years back.
Ahem.
"We don't have a positive ID. No Cutie Marks in our registry match the ringleader's, but we're already looking into her accomplices in the other room. I don't need to tell you who we suspect though. This is clearly the work of the Cult of Laughter."