Scythe

Listening to Rain Maker the mare realized something important - very important - she didn't mention when she just talked to everypony. Even though they all turned away from her already and were talking to each other she was sure this one thing was important enough to interrupt them.

[colour=#0000ff]"Excuse me"[/colour], she said, waiting for everyponies attention, [colour=#0000ff]"even though we are all eager to get the medal, fly as fast as we can, be better than the ones before us or trying to have a wonderful adventure that we can talk about with our children - never forget one thing: Have fun doing so."[/colour]

Nocturna was happy to see that the ponies around her got along with each other so well, even though they all seemed to be eager to show off.

[colour=#0000ff]"Of course Rain Maker!"[/colour], she replied happily, looking forward to spending some time in their air finally. Flying was so casual most of the time, but there were moments, moments like this, when it seemed to be special again and Nocturna loved that.

A sigh was to be heard from her. [colour=#0000ff]"I totally forgot what direction I was supposed to go, tell me again please"[/colour], all the attention made her think about things different from the trick she wanted to perform so she forgot what half of what Rain Maker said. Others might be scared to ask, not so Nocturna - screwing up infront of her new friend would be worse than asking a simple question; nevertheless there was the urge to justify her bad memory in her: [colour=#0000ff]"All this sudden attention caught me offguard and I got a bit ... overwhlemed."[/colour]

Okay an update from my side:

As some may or may not know I am slowly leaving Canterlot. That means I will still maintain those RPs, be part of it and answer regulary - in other words: Nothing has changed! I just won't start new ones! So please keep calm and enjoy them while they last.

For the delay I am sorry, my creativity is not at it's best currently.

Seeing the mare she got to know recently Nocturna quickly felt confident again - at least one face that wasn't foreign to her.

[colour=#0000cd]"Oh hey Rain Maker, I already wondered where you've been, thought you couldn't wait for this to start?"[/colour], her voice was still marked by her unsureness and it sounded like a bad excuse not to deal with what she just told everypony. A loud sigh later she finally got it into her head that if this is journey is going to start somewhere soon she has to take the role assigned to her.

[colour=#0000ff]"Okay everyone, I think we are all here because we want our Descent Medal, right? So in order to be able to attend this challenge we need a leader. I am not sure why they picked me for that, but I do not mind doing this so we can all have this chance to gain what we want."[/colour]

Her false self-confidence turned into real self-confidence, at least partially. The mare flapped her wings and lifted herself up into the air with her side-bags, which contained food, water and a blanket. [colour=#0000ff]"In ten minutes we are allowed to start, so get ready. You might want to take this chance to talk to everypony, we might need to rely on each other."[/colour]

The mare giggled at the remark of Rain Maker - what she said could indeed be true, Nocturna did not only train hard, but she also had a great teacher, sometimes she wished other would have that advantage too, so many teachers at the flight school don't have the right motivation to bring out the best in their students.

"[colour=#0000cd]Maybe[/colour]", she commented towards Rain Maker before looking back at the red mare who seemed to look specifically for her.

Training Guru? Rare days? What was she talking about? There aren't really that much events in the Colosseum and mostly it serves as a gym for most pegasi. The former bugged her more though. "[colour=#0000ff]I am not quite sure who said that but I sure as hell ain't a training guru, I do fly for a living, so I know what I am doing, but I'm not a teacher if that's what you mean. Nevertheless, if you are here to fly with me, I see no reason why we shouldn't fly as a group of three.[/colour]"

She added a swift smile to emphasize her friendly intentions.

The other application is going to be filed away by my request and Rosewind gave me the okay to set this one to ready - so I gonna do that, just clarifying if someone asks why I have 2 Ready Apps for a few minutes.

Well, it is ready, but my Symphony App is still not approved and thus I cannot set this one to ready.

I'm glad the Arena RP took off so well. Hope the Adventure works fine too... I'm a bit disappointed in the Shadowbolt thread though... well normal with only 4 members I guess.

Updated OP.

Every day I see new confusion in the introduction forum and from time to time I even get a PM from a new member how to deal with this site. (Here I want to note that I always send them directly to the help staff). I speak out of my own experience when I say that Canterlot is very confusing for a new member, especially those who are careful and want to know what to look out for - like in my case.

Before you register you might be looking for the rules. I for example always look for the rules before I register to a forum. But they seem very hidden in the "Extras" tab here. Usually Forums have a sub-forum entirely dedicated to one or two threads that contain the rules. I do not think that would be optimal. Given the strictness of the rules themselves and the handling of those I really advice pointing them out more though.

The easier the rules are to access and the more they stand out the more likely it is that people actually read them.

(To avoid confusion - I'm talking about the site-wide rules).

Next thing I personally came across was the huge amount of guides, guidelines and other "helpful" things here which confused me a lot. Remaking or reworking the guides is not necessary, they are all well-written and good.

What people need is an overview.

When you register, at the latest, you will be confronted with the three different roleplay areas here. FFA, CO and WoE. (Here I want to point out that these abbreviations have to be avoided at all costs when talking to new members, also the term "Mane RP". Other roleplay specific terms like "canon" or "OC" can be confusing too.)

An overview would make it much easier for new members to understand what those areas are for and give them the possibility to decide based upon their personal desire where to roleplay. Then all the guidelines and rules for the WoE area could be linked, listed or otherwise mentioned without adding to the confusion.

Especially WoE could need a new guide. The current one (when you click on Extras -> Info, Rules and Guides -> WoE) was written by Artax because noone else wanted to write it (at least that is what I remember from our conversation about it). I think it needs to be more simple and cover other areas than currently. It should give an better and more structured overview of the way a new roleplayers goes. From registering and introducing himself (optional) to creating an application, how it is approved by an RP helper and later an SRP helper and then how you are moved into the roleplay group (which is covered too much for example in the current guide). I hope you don't mind the critique.

Then, even if all those issues are solved or don't come up in the first place there will always be questions. I do believe we all understand the hesitation of a new member to ask a probably stupid question in the Q&A area, especially if he thinks it has been asked a hundred times.

So what to do? Right, we ask a helpstaff member. I have to say though, that the helpstaff is somewhat "hidden" aswell.

If you are on this site for a while you will all know Helix, Rosewind and other famous help staff members, but a new person?

The helpstaff list is, for someone not familiar with forums, very hard to access and the members themselves are only identified by the small award in the signature. I also don't see much posting of the list. QuickLime did a perfect example of explaining and linking the helpstaff list in her blog entry (point 3).

We have this "RP Helper" Rank with the awesome "RP Help Staff image" which is currently not in use. I think it's a pity, it would make it much easier to identify a member of the helpstaff.

←

(Personally I would leave it up to every RP helper if they want to wear this rank or not, simply because someone might don't like it and I don't want to be responsible for forcing it upon them. If I'm not terrible mistaken... for the sake of easier identification a lot would be okay with that, wouldn't you?)

The award would obviously stay, since there is a need to distinguish between the normal RP Helper and a Senior RP Helper.

One might argue the difference is negligible - it is not. A new member usually tends to categorize quickly. Awards are seens as rather irrelevant. Avatars, ranks and other fancy things on the left are mostly considered interesting if not important.

Now to the ease of use of this suggestion a TL;DR/summary:

• Rules should stand out more and be easier accessable, less hidden
  
• The RP areas (FFA, CO, WoE) need an overview, explaining them shortly
  
• An overview would also reduce confusion caused by the WoE guidelines
  
• WoE needs a new guide, which is simpler and covers certain points more thoroughly
  
• Helpstaff should be easier to find and identify
  

P.S.: Alot of this could be easily covered with a good guide as a sticky in the introduction area. (IMO)

It was still dark, the sun barely lightening the horizon. Nocturna was already present at the entrance into the [colour=#800080]Wind Shear Passage[/colour]. A huge cloud with a small building was flying infront of the gaping maw of the mountain which was the canyon. During the winter days it looked even more scary. In that building the manager of this event was waiting for her, so he could assign a [colour=#800080]supervisor [/colour]to their team, who also acts as leader to bring everypony home safely.

[colour=#0000ff]Nocturna [/colour]had to check in at the start of the passage earlier than the rest of the team. Unfortunetaly it didn't go according to plan.

Later when the sun was finally peeking over the edge of the horizon the snow was glowing beautifully. The blue mare waited for all of her team to arrive. "Team" - she wouldn't really call it like that. They were a random bunch of ponies and a griffon who all wanted to gain the [colour=#800080]Descent Medal[/colour] for passing the [colour=#800080]Wind Shear Passage[/colour] in three days or less. Some she knew, most she didn't.

At least she could be certain all of them are decent flyers - one who wasn't wouldn't attempt this challenge.

[colour=#0000ff]"Well guys. It seems like our supervisor is sick and there is no replacement. Nopony else wants to be responsible for a group attempting a challenge like this"[/colour], she bowed her head down in defeat. Was that already the end of the journey?

Then suddenly the manager appeared and put a badge on Nocturnas side bag. "I heard you are a Shadowbolt, so I assign you hereby the leader of this group, we will supervise the time differently. Have a nice journey."

[colour=#0000ff]"Wait, you cannot just... I cannot take this responsi- ...".[/colour] Before she could properly respond he flew away.[colour=#0000ff] "Oh dear Celestia..."[/colour], she put a hoof on her face and sighed, turning around to the group and looking at them with a puzzled look. They might not be able to see it but Nocturna suddenly felt not that great about the challenge anymore. [colour=#0000ff]"Eh heh... "[/colour], her self-confidence crumbled for the moment.

God, Pinkie Pie made me laugh so hard that episode I had to stop the video because I couldn't listen to it anymore. She absolutely has Youtube-Poop qualities... so random, so unrelated.

Super fast crazy plan... - Aaaaaaaand I will wear this mustach.

One Question.

What?

*mustach is on, no word from Pinkie*

No!

Fine.

So hilarious.

That made my day.

[colour=#0000ff]"Well Rain, the Shadowbolts aren't so widely known ... yet. I'm trying to make them something great. We are something great already, but you know, famous..."[/colour], Nocturna sighed, this felt terrible for her. If she imagines someone coming to her and telling her about the oh-so-great team they have and they want to make them famous and stuff she would probably laugh at them or think they are doomed to fail and yet she is doing exactly this herself. She cannot let this be uncommented.

[colour=#0000ff]"I mean, it's not so much about fame for us. We are all ponies who love to fly, who want it risky, very risky and all of us love to show off. Flying as Shadowbolt gives us with happiness and fulfillment."[/colour]

Just as she wanted to follow Rain Maker to perform what she instructed Nocturna heard her name. Turning around she faced a red mare in a flying suit. Maybe a rival from another flying team? Whoever she was, she seemed to know her, so Nocturna moved towards her. [colour=#0000ff]"I am Nocturna."[/colour]

[colour=#0000ff]"She seems to be impressed - I just hope it's not just due to her thinking I might be a Wonderbolt, because I have to destroy that dream of hers then"[/colour], Nocturna thought smiling.

The mare imagined doing what Rain Maker explained - it didn't sound too difficult. Being used to stunts like this Nocturna was first rather confident that she can do it without a problem, but when she made her muscles ready to try it a bit of doubt grew in her, not enough to destroy her self-confidence, still it was unpleasant.

[colour=#0000ff]"Oh I think I have to disappoint you Rain Maker, I'm not a Wonderbolt. I'm a Shadowbolt!"[/colour], that sounded way more proud than it should, [colour=#0000ff]"not that I never tried to get into the Wonderbolts, but you know, they cannot take every good flyer. And I wouldn't mind trying your little stunt there, it sounds like something we do."[/colour]

I wouldn't call it sad ^^ he was a successful stallion, found the love of his life, became famous and somewhat rich - the sad thing is that he is old now. At least you can say he is happy with his life.

Hey Mojo,

big thanks for reviewing my app before it is ready. I didn't expect someone would actually give me feedback but I am very glad you did. The formating style was given to me by flutterscotch, she always has great ideas for cosmetic improvments and I'm grateful she told me how to make it look organized.

Actually I didn't want to write so much on this character, but when I wrote down the story I had for him in my mind all along, it turned out to need a few more words to make him more than a stereotype. Since he is based on a stereotype (the old wise teacher with the long history like those martial arts teachers from movies like karate kid).

Welp, I just hope there aren't too many grammar/spelling mistakes, when I try to write more interesting sentences I often have trouble with grammar since english isn't my first language.

Thinking about how to respond, much more about the exact words than wether she declines or accepts the offer. Flying with another mare, fast and just for the sake of flying? How could Nocturna say no? [colour=#0000ff]"An author huh?"[/colour], Nox gave her a stern look, [colour=#0000ff]"doesn't sound like it has [/colour][colour=#0000ff]anything [/colour][colour=#0000ff]to do with flying, I guess it's your hobby then, right? My name is Nocturna, call me Nox if you want."[/colour]

She had a smile on her face - could she resist bragging about her occupation? Could she really? No of course not.[colour=#0000ff] "I'm in an acrobatic flying group"[/colour], she said, not adding the name of her group - after all this turned out to sound less like bragging than she feared it would, [colour=#0000ff]"I wouldn't mind hitting the clouds at all - you can bet I do that all day... or better said - all night."[/colour]

For a while she watched the griffon. [colour=#0000cd]"I wonder if griffons ha-"[/colour], her thoughts were interrupted as she saw a mare not too different from her in colour do some amazing moves.

[colour=#0000ff]"Oh, who is that mare?"[/colour], Nocturna thought, watching the spectacle.

Rain Maker had certainly caught her attention - most ponies are rather mediocre flyers and just go here to keep themselves fit. But Nocturna can spot a pony that is really enjoying flying and it seems like she really is.

Walking over to her the mare felt nervous. Socializing was never her strength, especially when it comes to strangers and much less ones she didn't know anything about. Her being already slightly attractive to her didn't make her nervousness better at all. [colour=#0000ff]"Just play cool... you are a Shadowbolt, not a wimp"[/colour], she kept telling herself.

[colour=#0000ff]"Nice show there"[/colour], she called towards Rain Maker while approaching her.

Also, there is no posting order! This is because it's an open RP and people will join and drop out regulary (they are meant to do so). I would just want you to respect the other members and not dominate the RP.

Noone minds you having a few posts with a partner there, but please don't occupy half a page or more by a conversation between you and another pony without giving anyone else a chance to respond. Just wait a few hours or a day between responses.

I will add this to the OP too.

That doesn't sound great, well I hope it isn't too serious and you [colour=#800080]get well soon[/colour].

I will post our great adventure today, I just need the right... let's call it "[colour=#800080]kick in the butt[/colour]" to finally get to it. Usually I get that from the [colour=#800080]chatroom[/colour], but that isn't possible anymore. ^^

I also [colour=#800080]updated the OP[/colour] with a lot of things, for example colours to more easily see who minds shipping and who doesn't.

Don't feel bad Rosie, I didn't get it either.

[colour=#0000cd]"Maybe we should have waited for the next summer to get active again?"[/colour], Nocturna asked herself as she flew into direction of the Everfree Forest. Surprisingly it didn't bother her in the slightest that the training field of her team was inside this feared and dangerous place compared to the fact that it was winter and cold. Flying is something she enjoys so much, even when the icey wind makes it rather uncomfortable.

Reaching the field it appeared to her that she probably was the first one here, at least she couldn't see any other pony anywhere. The mare looked into the sky, searching it for her teammates but only saw the stars and wondered if she should be glad about the wonderful view that a clear night gave or rather see it as unfortunate, as a clear night also means it's colder than in a cloudy one.

[colour=#0000ff]"Well I guess I can examine the field until they show up."[/colour], she thought and looked back down, analyzing the surroundings while slowly spinning.

The field was quite long but not very broad. A long track for the pegasi to land was the biggest portion of it. On the sides were various devices to train skills that are important for the Shadowbolts. For example a smaller self-made version of the "Dizzitron" like the Wonderbolts have at their academy or padded poles which can be lowered and risen to practice crashes and evading them.

While looking at their equipment Nocturna felt good. It wasn't expensive equipment and it was easily visible that the entire flying field was more low-budget than anything else, but at least they had an own training field. Other flight groups had to rent them or train at other locations.

[colour=#0000ff]"Once the bits start coming in more frequently I am sure we can buy a field that rivals those of the Wonderbolts easily"[/colour], she thought and had a smile on her face.

[colour=#000000] Why Shadowbolts?[/colour]

[colour=#000000]We are a mysterious and elusive phenomenon, impossible to catch, easy to get stunned by, only known from the stories that came with Nightmare Moons attempt to coup Equestria.[/colour]

[colour=#000000]Coordinated, tame, teamworking, that is what those wimps [/colour][colour=#0000cd]Wonderbolts [/colour][colour=#000000]are - cooler, faster, extremer, that defines us. [/colour][colour=#000000]The Wonderbolts might be the most famous flying team, but we, the [/colour][colour=#4b0082]Shadowbolts[/colour][colour=#000000], are the most notorious. [/colour]

[colour=#000000]You want to be one of us? You think you have what it needs to become a Shadowbolt? Come to us! Fly with us! And become part of this phenomenon - that is, if you survive the ride.[/colour]

---

[colour=#000000] Glimpse of a flightshow[/colour]

[colour=#000000]Darkness and fog everywhere. The only light you see is the huge floodlight searching the sky for them, waiting for the moment they appear through a thunderstorm, tied up and blindfolded in their attempt to free themselves before they hit the ground.[/colour]

---

[colour=#000000] [/colour][colour=#000000]Shadowbolt Lore[/colour]

[colour=#000000]Read it - be left in amazement and awe.[/colour]

---

[colour=#000000]How to join the Shadowbolts[/colour]

[colour=#000000]To join us all you need is a character whose occupation is set to Shadowbolt. Dependant on the [/colour][colour=#000000]status of the application [/colour][colour=#000000]of the character who you want to become a Shadowbolt there are different ways[/colour][colour=#000000].[/colour]

1. [colour=#006400]Not yet approved characters: [/colour]
   [colour=#000000]You just need to set the occupation to Shadowbolt when you create your OC, no further steps necessary. You don't need to contact me or Tales and you don't need to ask anyone if you can make a Shadowbolt, you just do it. That doesn't mean we won't be happy about a message though.[/colour]
   
2. [colour=#b22222]Already approved characters: [/colour]
   [colour=#000000]If your character is [/colour][colour=#000000]already [/colour][colour=#000000]approved and you want him/her to become a Shadowbolt you need to edit the application and let the helpstaff reapprove it. This can be especially aggravating if your character had an occupation very different from an acrobatic flying group like the Shadowbolts. [/colour][colour=#000000]Then y[/colour][colour=#000000]ou probably need to rewrite the history too.[/colour]
   
3. [colour=#daa520]Special Case for already approved characters: [/colour]
   [colour=#000000]If your character is already in another acrobatic flying group like the Wonderbolts or Aeroblades and you want to switch your team, then you can edit the App without letting the helpstaff reapprove it, since it's considered [/colour][colour=#000000]only [/colour][colour=#000000]a minor change.[/colour]
   

[colour=#000000](Thanks to Flutterscotch for the information)[/colour]

---

[colour=#000000]Our team[/colour]

[colour=#000000]Our team consists out of six starters and six reserves. If you hear Shadowbolts you probably think of the starters, but that doesn't mean the reservists are just training behind the scenes. There are always smaller shows in which they can perform or if a starter is injured or unaviable for performance they can jump in.[/colour]

(For RPing purposes this makes no difference, it's just a formality for the application process!)

[colour=#000000] Starters[/colour][colour=#ffffff]_____________[/colour] [colour=#000000] [/colour][colour=#000000] [/colour][colour=#000000]Reservists[/colour][colour=#ffffff]_____________[/colour] [colour=#000000][/colour][colour=#000000]Inactive/[/colour][colour=#000000]Others[/colour][colour=#ffffff]__________[/colour] [colour=#000000]Captain[/colour]

[colour=#000000][/colour][colour=#000000] Raven[/colour][colour=#000000] (MyLittlePonyTales)[/colour][colour=#000000] [/colour]

[colour=#000000][/colour][colour=#000000] [/colour][colour=#000000]Nocturna[/colour][colour=#000000] (Scythe)[/colour]

[colour=#000000] [/colour][colour=#000000]Opal Shards (Davroth)[/colour]

[colour=#000000] [/colour][colour=#000000]LightWind (LordBrony9)[/colour]

[colour=#000000] [/colour]-

[colour=#000000] [/colour]-

[colour=#000000] [/colour]-

[colour=#000000] [/colour]-

[colour=#000000] [/colour]-

[colour=#000000] [/colour]-

[colour=#000000] [/colour]-

[colour=#000000] [/colour]-

[colour=#000000][/colour][colour=#000000]Nightshade[/colour][colour=#000000] (Vinyl Scratch) (former captain)[/colour]

[colour=#000000][/colour][colour=#000000]Yahom (Willow Whisper)[/colour]

[colour=#000000][/colour][colour=#000000]Firefly (Neoniie)[/colour]

[colour=#000000][/colour][colour=#000000]Thudora Strike (knight)[/colour]

[colour=#000000][/colour][colour=#000000]Blueberry Blossom (BlindJester)[/colour]

[colour=#000000]Note: Members that were inactive for a while will be moved to "Others/Inactive". If you happen to be active and willing to play again, drop me a PM, I will move you.[/colour]

[colour=#000000] [/colour][colour=#000000]Completed Events:

Empty[/colour]

---

[colour=#000000] [/colour][colour=#000000] [/colour][colour=#000000]Current Events:[/colour]

[colour=#000000]Warm up, Shadowbolts #1 - Training/Meeting[/colour]

---

[colour=#000000] Planned Events:[/colour]

[colour=#000000]Era of Darkness [WiP] - Flightshow[/colour]

[colour=#000000]Important Links:[/colour]

Shadowbolt icons, banners and more

This Thread serves as organizing tool for us. We will list our members and events here and answer question that might arise. The revival of the Shadowbolts has been talked through with the helpstaff and our private conversation about it is always surveillanced by Davroth who happens to be a member of the Shadowbolts.

All images by me.

In terms of Lightning Dust I really like the other ending better. I think for a show like MLP... characters that show that they learned their lesson are very important. On other points in the show I really liked that the "villain" didn't learn, because it would have been too happy rainbow-everything-is-fine-world. Favourite example: Gilda - she didn't learn her lesson, she raged and left, exactly what someone in real life would more likely do.

I think the makers of the show wanted to make it more realistic and make Lightning Dust more believable.

Aw I wish I wasn't so busy with the thousands of RPs I have currently and managing the Shadowbolts, I would surely make your Rainbow Dash with more time^^

Perfect, feel free to join, its a public place aka always open.