>>26079169
>A little over a week has passed since your last meeting with the hooded pony.
>You’ve continued your routine of working out and practicing every day, and fall into boredom at night. >Some evenings have been spent on your motorcycle, but with not a lot of extra gas or parts, you don’t get to ride or do any real work on it.
>One station filled with decades-old rock music has become your favorite, and when you’re not listening to a news station, you just lie on your bed of straw and listen.
>You could almost describe it as therapeutic, lying on your back with a radio on your lap, cranking with one hoof as you listen.
>You’ve even taken in one of your fire scorpions.
>He stays in your cave, doing whatever scorpions do until you get home.
>It gets lonely in the desert, and it’s nice to have something to talk to, even if you’re not sure that it can understand you.
>He’s been drinking a bit of your water, but as far as you can tell, he hasn’t eaten anything.
>You have ‘fed’ him by giving him some magic, but you’re not sure if he can survive on that much.
>He doesn’t seem to be dying, at least.
--
>The sun beats down hard on the desert, and it’s just after high noon.
>You trot out into the desert from your lunch break, your legs still a bit sore from your morning workout routine.
>After simple target and control training, you move to the empty lakebed to do some practicing.
>Creating a sort of grenade, leaving it for a while, and detonating it to create a shower of flames over an area.
>Or creating a cage of flames over a lonely rock, trapping it inside.
>As you dispel your flames, you look up to see a single pony a fair distance away from you.
>His coat is a sunbleached yellow and his mane is a sandy orange.
>As he walks, grains of sand fall off of his legs as he walks across the dried up lakebed.
>He seems to be coming towards you.

>>26079177
WHO THE HELL ARE YOU?

>>26079177
nice attempt at camouflage buddy

>>26079177
Is he made of sand or something?

>>26079299
That's what I'm worried about. Some super or something and he has sand.

>>26079177
Lets go meet him. Hopefully we won't be making any glass today.

>>26079206
>>26079272
>>26079299
>>26079319
>>26079353
>You turn towards the approaching pony and shout,
“Nice attempt at camouflage there bud, who the hell are you?”
>He shouts back, not stopping his advance.
>”Name’s Quicksand, I was just in the neighborhood and couldn’t pass up the wonderful fireworks display you’ve set up here.”
>You canter towards him, head held low and eyes narrowed in suspicion.
“Thanks, but the hell’s your deal? You made of sand or something?”
>He lifts a forehoof so that he’s trotting on three legs.
>”Industrial accident, fell into a vat of nuclear sludge that turned my cells into sand.”
>He stamps his hoof on the ground, and the lakebed underneath him raises up so that he’s on a platform of sand.
>The platform slides towards you, and you continue trotting.
>”But, a pony like you needs no introduction, of course. Half the city’s looking for you, but imagine my surprise when I find you out here, setting trees and bushes on fire.”
“Good, you know who I am, so hopefully I won’t have to be making any glass today.”
>The two of you slide to a halt a few meters from each other, Quicksand elevated about a foot off the ground due to his platform.
>From here, the sand in his legs seems to make a gradient with his platform; you can’t tell where the sand stops and his legs begin.
>”Well, what do you expect I’m here to do? Say hello to the resident murderer and be on my merry way?”
>He chuckles.
>”But you of all ponies should know that you throw sand over a fire to put it out. So unless you plan on coming quietly, you have the first move, so ‘sand’ it my way.”

>>26079604
I know how this shit works. He'll have one little point that's important and the rest is just sand.
Seeing as he's happy to wait, lets meditate and find it.

>>26079604
>puns
Shit
This guy must be good if he can pun
Send an equally good pun back so he knows we're no pushover

>>26079604
Okay
But why the fuck are you out in the desert?

>>26079646
>inb4 he takes this as our move

>>26079698
>what is a guy made out of sand doing in a place with a lot of sand?

>>26079778
>implying it's that kind of desert

>>26079803
>He stamps his hoof on the ground, and the lakebed underneath him raises up so that he’s on a platform of sand.

Hey OP.
Wanted to say, I binge read all the CYOA last week and it was really good!

Like, I really enjoyed the superhero setting and the fact we had an undercover life going on tracking down boomerange.

... but then you guys fucked up and we're now exiled, and I honestly felt sad at this course of event. Didn't want us to go full villain.

But reading last week it seems like you still have some plans for us to go all anti villain and trumps everyone, which seems great.

So, just kudos for being good enough to have me emotionally invested in this, which is your goal I assume. Keep going OP!

>>26079646
>>26079669
>>26079698
>Shit, was that a pun?
>This guy must be strong if he can do puns.
>Better think of one fast!
“Yeah, well you’d better pull yourself together if you want to even try to put this mare out!”
>”Not bad, not bad at all.”
“Yeah, though one question. Why the fuck are you out in the desert?”
>”Every super has their own journey of self-discovery, where better to find myself than around a whole bunch of sand?”
“I… Don’t think this is that kind of desert.”
>”Sand is just small loose rock granules. While there may be a bunch of large rocks out here, there’s still plenty of sand. In fact, there is no real limit to what can be considered sand. While my body is primarily made of dune sand like you might find in northern Zebrica, many different types of sand exist on the planet, including the eroded remains of volcanic ash, quartz, basalt, the more commonly known sandstone-“
“Okay already, I fucking get it,” you stamp your hoof, rolling your eyes.
>”Geez, touchy one, aren’t you?” He scratches his head, frowning. “So, we ready to go?”
“Yeah, hold on.”
>You close your eyes and reach out towards him with your magic, looking for a source holding all the sand together.
>To your magic, his body almost looks like a mess of magic, all stuck together by some force, now you just need to find the center.
>A bright yellow light shines in the back of his head, and all the sand seems to be moving away from that one point.
>You assume that’s it, but just before you open your eyes, he stomps his hooves down.
>A wave of yellow granules comes barreling at you, originating from his sandy platform.

>>26080102
duck

>>26080102
An explosion should part the wave easy enough.
Throw a grenade-ball at the base.

Oh fuck what are we gonna do

We shouldn't kill him
We can't keep him
We can't let him go

>>26080152
We'll deal with that once we've softened him up. For now we just have to not lose.

>>26080102
From the looks of it, the fight is a tug of war between who can overwhelm the other first.

Of course, we can't overdo it like last time.

Try the shield to see if it works with small stuff like sand. May as well test it with the weaker attacks first.

>>26080136
>>26080142
>>26080208
>Thinking quickly, you snap your eyes open and throw up a fire shield.
>You’re not certain it’ll work, but you throw it up and brace for the impact.
>Thankfully, the shield does withstand the impact of the wave, and it stops in its tracks against your shield.
>Little granules do make it through, but it seems like the wave as a whole is held up by your flames.
>The two of you push at each other for a moment, getting a feel for the others’ strength.
>You’re not pushing incredibly hard, but you get the feeling that he isn’t either.
“I thought you said I had the first move,” you taunt through gritted teeth.
>”Well if you were going to stand there…”
>Not wanting to expend a whole lot of energy, you throw a fire grenade at the base of the wave.
>You dispel your flames and let the fiery projectile detonate on the wave.
>The force of the grenade throws flames over the sand, breaking up the wave’s cohesion.
>You duck as small granules thrown by the explosion pepper you, but it’s more a mild discomfort than anything.
>Once the rain of sand stops, you look up to him as he laughs.
>”I don’t know about you, but I’m certainly having a blast.”

>>26080397
Well good because "desert" is on me.

Lob a fireball at his hooves.

>>26080397
Let me just tear you a new one for ya!

>>26080609
>>26080640
”That’s because ‘desert’ is on me! Let me just tear a new one for ya!”
>You take a fireball and throw it at his hooves.
>Though your shot was on target, he stamps a hoof down, easily bringing up a wall to block your shot.
>He raises an eyebrow and gives you a face that says ‘really?’ before throwing the wall of sand at you.
>You don’t manage to dodge his attack, and a jet of sand connects with you.
>The jet of sand feels rough and grating against your coat, and you close your eyes instinctively.
>You’re thrown backwards and land on your side in a small pile of sand.
>A little disoriented from being thrown, you blink for a moment to get your bearings.
>”Vanish for months and all you have to show for it is a little fireball? I have to say I’m a little disappointed, Road Rage.”
>Two lines of sand snake towards you at an alarming speed.
>Though you've gotten your bearings and still have time to react.

>>26080894
We need to go bigger

I think I'm going to call it here for the night.

Feel free to leave any questions, comments, snide remarks, etc.

I'll probably have a late start tomorrow as well because of birthday activities, but I'll still do my best to run tomorrow as promised.

>>26080894
Well that was stupid. Not sure what was expected there. Do the same again with one of those delayed explosions ones. Let him think he's stopped it before detonating.
Try some fire whips to counter the sand ones.

>>26080989
Sleep tight
happy birthday?

>>26081151
Thanks Anon

>>26080989
Happy thirteenth

>>26080989
happy birthday!

beb

>>26083236
birthday bump

>>26083236

>>26080894
I say we kill him
Now he knows we're hiding in the desert what's to stop him from telling other supers

>>26084685
maybe we could seal him in a nice glass ball around his core
Killing him sound incredibly hard to be honest, at least we can go all out without much worry

>>26084685
No, we're better than that.

>>26080894
dont kill him. we're not a murderer we should at the very least try and prove that.

>>26084685
Only if we have to
Let's at least kick his ass into submission before we decided if we want to off him or not

>>26084685
>>26084710
>>26084927
>>26084946
>>26085156
I vote go full darkside.
Burn everything, and everyone, to ashes.

>>26085561
no

>>26085561
Nah.

>>26085561
Not the dildo!
But more seriously, if we go full grim derp, I'd rather have an army of competent henchman to control the city

>>26085561
If we did want to go that route, we'd probably want to get that statue back.

>>26085561
We spent a lot of time crying and angsting about not wanting to be full dark side. I'd we should at least wait for something significant to happen before we backtrack on that.
Also what>>26085612
and>>26085630
said
God I wish we still had that fucking statue

>>26085612
Why would you need an army to control a pile of ash and rubble?

File: joe.png (480 KB, 800x450) Image search: [Google]

480 KB, 800x450

>>26085906
Because armies are cool!
They give you back massages, clean the ash from the rubble and can perform metal lullabies

beb

>>26085561
Stop that.

We already did enough.

>>26086532

bub

woo hoo

>>26080941
>>26081104
>Your chest and face sting a bit from the blast of sand, but you’re not down yet.
>Shaking away the last bits of your daze, you hop to your hooves.
>A fireball was never going to work, you need to start thinking bigger.
>After all, your fireball is the most basic thing in your arsenal, you’re damn right you can do better.
>The two snakes of sand whip towards you along the ground, one to your left and one to your right.
>You summon two explosive lines of fire and send them out.
>Each whip flies towards its respective line of sand, making contact and detonating.
>You’re rewarded with a bang, and sand flies into the air in a geyser.
>Next, you create a grenade and throw it towards the sandy super.
>Just like with the fireball, he brings up a shield to stop it, and the fireball embeds itself in the sand with a thump.
>The sand threatens to stifle the flames, but you feed it extra energy to keep it alive.
>”Really, if this is all you can do, we might as well pack it in and-“
>Your grenade detonates, cutting him off.
> A fountain of red and yellow sand explodes outwards from the wall, leaving a gaping hole in his defense.
>The sides of his shield still stand, but through the hole you’ve made in the center, you can see his eyes widen in surprise.

>>26089343
CLOSE THE GAP

>>26089343
fuck up that bitchass

>>26089382
>>26089399
>You bring your head down, charging towards the hole in the defenses you've made.
>But even as you close the gap between the two of you, no clear plan of attack comes to mind.
>How best will you fuck up that bitchass?

>>26089476
Hooves of fire
Blunt AND burn

>>26089476
A purifying baptism of fire is in order.

>>26089502
>>26089534
>A hoof to the face has never steered you wrong before.
>A smug grin spreads across your face as you leap through the hole in his wall.
>He attempts to bring up another wall to stop your advance, but brings it up too late.
>Your hind hooves barely clip the back of the wall, causing a little bit of sand to slide off.
>But your forward momentum is completely unimpeded.
>You bring one hoof back as you continue your advance, then let it fly forward, swinging it into his face.
>As your hoof makes contact, you let fire come forth from your hoof, burning and searing the sand.
>You’re not sure if the fire did anything, but a chunk of sand falls off of his body, following your hoof.
>He reels from the hit, his upper jaw dripping sand.
>You follow up with another strike, this one right into his chest.
>A moment after the strike, you let a jet of flame loose into his body.
>The fire burns through him with an intense whoosh, and this time it’s him flying backwards.
>He lands on his back, but quickly snaps back to his hooves, sand refilling the empty spot on his face.
>However, something in his chest glints in the light, and he taps on it, making a clinking sound.
>As you squint, the part of his chest that you punched has now turned to glass.
>”I’ve heard of getting hard for a mare, but this is ridiculous.”
>He throws his front hooves forward, sending a wide, circular jet of sand flying towards you.

>>26089476
We always have the chain to use. Why not show him what we've been practicing?

>>26090008
Well I think your arrogance is crystal clear!

Build firewall and try to move out of the way

>>26090008
>turn sand to glass
That means we're burning at least 1700C. Jesus.

>>26090009
>You think briefly about using the chain.
>Though you want to show off what you’ve been learning, you didn’t bring it with you out here to train with.
>But your fire should be plenty, right? You’ve learned plenty of new tricks with that, after all.

>>26090088
>>26090246
“Well, I think your arrogance is crystal clear!”
>You shout, throwing up a wall of your own.
>The jet of sand impacts on your shield, and sand pours over the top.
>This attack is much stronger than the last, and it takes a lot of effort to keep your simple shield up.
>You dive out of the way and drop your shield, letting the jet of sand wash over the ground where you were standing.
>A fair amount of the yellow particles have now accumulated on the lakebed by now, enough so that many of the cracks around you are filled.
>Some small piles sit here and there, and they actually look like they’re creeping towards you.
>Your breathing has picked up a little, but you’re not incredibly tired.
>While you’ve gotten a good couple hits in, Quicksand still stands confidently.
>Perhaps you should let loose a little bit more, see what you can really do?

>>26090465
See if we can set up another ring of fireballs to lob at him or his attacks.

>>26090484
We really gonna try more fireballs? They've not worked twice already.

>>26090657
Yeah dude but
More fireballs

>>26090465
Why the fuck not, go for it.
Not like he'll die easily anyway, being made of sand and all.

>>26090775
Any preferred method of attack?

>>26090484
>>26090675
>You spawn about a dozen fireballs and have them all float around your head.
>Willing them all forward, you throw them at the superhero.
>Just like with the others, he blocks them by throwing up a wall.
>Each of them thumps against the sand uselessly, extinguished by the wall of sand.
>Although, he seems to have a little more difficulty with the repeated onslaught, and he quickly adds extra sand to the back of the wall, clearly ready for another explosion.
>But none comes, and he lowers his defenses.
>”Talk about a one-trick pony.”
>You scowl and your eyebrow twitches.
>The little blobs of sand edge closer and closer to you, crawling along the ground.
>You summon a few more balls of fire and let them orbit around your head, watching him for a potential attack to block.
>But none comes.
>He seems content to stand there, smiling as he watches you.

>>26090465
Explosive attacks to his body. Anything focused on his attacks and not him is equal exchange, and we need to win. Moving is preferable to power struggles with his attacks. Might as well put that endurance training to use the right way. He hasn't discarded the glassed part yet, which makes me think altering his actual body is tougher, but I'd prefer to disrupt and disorientate first if possible. We're going to try stagger him and get a good hit in on his weak point, and thentry to drain his magic if possible. Ideally we can depower him and work from there on a longer term solution.

>>26090948
Nope fuck this.
Stomp and send some fire to his stupid little tentacles.
I'm not letting those catch us.

File: tarp.jpg (38 KB, 1280x720) Image search: [Google]

38 KB, 1280x720

>>26090948
We should glass that stuff on the ground that's been slowly inching towards us.

>>26090948
Uh, do thing: >>26090964
Also, if it's not a massive drain, glass the piles. If we can direct our shots at range, throw some fire balls alone with a grenade shot. Have the grenade shot go high and then pull it down on him.

>>26090964
>>26090984
>>26090992
>>26091010
>Nope, you’re not letting caught by those stupid little traps.
>You stomp, letting little lines of flame slide towards each of the piles shifting towards you.
>Lines of green flame run across the cracks in the lakebed, running over the sand.
>Your fire engulfs the sand, glazing it over as it burns.
>When they’re done, you’re surrounded by little piles of glass.
>At least it’s one thing off your mind.
>As you look back to Quicksand, he looks a little disappointed that you noticed, but he still has a little grin on his face.
>One that you intend to wipe clean.
>You add a grenade to the mess of fireballs floating around your head and begin to enact your plan.
>Once again, you throw your mass of fireballs at the super.
>But you throw up your grenade far above his head.
>He brings his hoof to his mouth in a fake yawn and brings up yet another shield.
>However, you guide your grenade down to the target, where it falls behind the wall and your sight.
>You hear an explosion and a small mushroom cloud of green flame appears over the sand.
>Immediately, the wall quivers and drops.
>You have to stifle a chuckle at the sight before you.
>Quicksand’s lying on his belly, with entire bottom half missing, cut off at the barrel.
>He lies in a small pile of sand, but more of his body is reforming every second.
>He doesn’t look horrified, but more inconvenienced, as he tries to push the sand back into his body more quickly.

>>26091367
Rush him and fire punch him right through the face.

>>26091367
Close the gap. No more walls. We burn hot enough to glass his attacks and throw ourselves at him. Get on his back and tapdance on his head.

File: image.jpg (40 KB, 440x498) Image search: [Google]

40 KB, 440x498

>>26091367

And I'm going to pause here for the night.

Feel free to leave any questions, comments, concerns, critiques, shitposts, or snide remarks, and I'll stick around a little to answer them.

I should be back a bit earlier tomorrow.

>>26091709
>ice

>>26091755
shh

>>26091401
>>26091428
>>26091434
>Here’s your chance.
>You increase the heat of your flames, pushing as hard as you can.
>They’re not quite as intense as when you’re upset, but they’ll do.
>You rush at him.
>Flames at full tilt, you clear the distance between you in seconds.
>In response, he throws a hasty blast of sand at you.
>However, the pure heat radiating off your body is enough to melt the sand before it reaches you, turning it to glass
>Somehow, it seems once you stop his attack, he loses all control of it, and the hardened projectile crashes on the ground in front of you, cracking into small pieces.
>Leaping over the shards, you do what feels natural.
>You hug him.
>You wrap your hooves around his nearly reformed barrel and let your body heat do the work.
>For a moment, his coat feels rough, but it quickly smooths over, the rough, sun-bleached surface of his coat turning to glass underneath your embrace.
>He cranes his neck, looking at you with eyes filled with panic.
>You lift your hoof from his neck and punch him in the face.
>While some sand falls off, it rapidly reforms, and doesn’t turn to glass as easily as the rest of his body.
>Odd.
>Under your fiery embrace, the rest of his body soon turns to a clear, smooth glass that makes a charming tink when you tap your hoof on it.
>Quicksand briefly looks over his immobile body before turning to you, a defiant look on his face.

>>26091709
It's no glass eye but I'm sure you can manage.

>>26091755
>tinker

>>26091781
Create a pool of melted glass.
Ask him how he feels about going for a swim.

>>26091799
Two-bit

>>26091781
His face is right near his power point, so it's tougher.

>>26091781
Let's make a snowball out of him

In town, we're donating him to the museum

And one goes here too