private Journey to the Higher Plane

[Lightning Bliss 1,674]

@, @@purple.teal, @@Pripyat Pony,

 

Bliss's ears were large and faintly picked up the cries of her friends up ahead, but the wind was so loud it muffled them to the point she had no idea what direction their voices were coming from. The snow storm seemed to get worse, her eyes were stinging from being pumbled with snow and ice as it blew across the mountain tops.

 

"Everlast...? Clover!" She coughed out, snow getting into her mouth, "anypony ttt-th-there?" She attempted to light up her horn, but it bleaked in and out of magical ability...the cold was getting to her. She took a few steps, unawaringly in the wrong direction, slipping and sliding on icy rocks as she went. "I'm here! *coughs* Anypony?" She started to panick. Butterflies whirled up in her stomach as she lifted her hoof out, trying to feel for her friends, blind by the snow and ice, and her blinking horn failing to do much other then to hope her friends would spot it.

 

Suddenly though, to some relief, she felt a soft but firm touch of fur...it was warm...a body?!

 

"Who is this? Is that you Blaze?" She asked as she touched the fur again...No answer...but she got the distinct feeling that whoever or whatever she was touching...seemed curious and a little frighten by her presence. "Blaze...Everlast? Clover? HURRICANE??? This isn't funny! Who is this? I can't see!"

 

"Mama?" Squawked a cute little voice, "mama!" The voice and body gave into a small being hugging her suddenly, clutching her legs to the point she fell to the ground, getting covered in snow.

 

"Gah...what in the name of Luna?" She finally forced her horn to light up brighter, the snow giving back as she did so...and exposed quite the unusual, though cute sight...

 

There clutching her side and wings, rubbing its little beak up and down her mane, was a young hippogryphon...

 

It had the distinct look of a regular bald gryphon, but its pony body was tiger colored, and its wings and its feathers were highlighted with pink, orange, green and purple rainbow like colors. Even its tail looked similar to her own with the same color patterns. The young one continued to snuggle into her for warmth and affection....like it would with its own mother...

 

"Oh no..." she gulped realizing the mistake of identity would lead to no good. "I got to find the others..." She quickly stood up and pushed the young hatchling away, and attempted to walk away.

 

"MAMA!" The gryph cried out and lunged onto her back, wrapping its talons around her neck.

 

"GAH!" the sudden jump forced her to the snowy rocks again, "I'm not your mama! Let go! Go...go back home! You're mama is probably there!"

 

"Mama...*snuggles into her mane*" The little one continued to hold tightly to her.

 

"Oh no, no, no, no..." she hyperventilated..."ANYPONY OUT THERE???!!! HELP!"

Edited December 10, 2014 by Lightning Bliss

[OG Blaze 269]

(OOC: Sorry I've been gone for a while.)

 

Blaze watched as Hurrciane flew up to the clouds to escape every pony else and their conversation about being so successful. He knew how it felt to not seem to have accomplished much. He hadn't done much with his title of Prince, but maybe because he hadn't really asked for this gift of being an alicorn, but he was born with it none the less and couldn't do much about it. The thing he had to think about everyday was that he has done important things in his life. He's helped towns find a reason to go on after going through devastation or catastrophe. He heard Clover yell out the every pony that Lightning Bliss had been lost and then he heard Everlast try calling out her name. Blaze flew up to the skies and developed a sort of flare spell that branched out into the sky acting as a beacon for Lightning Bliss to follow and get back to the group.

 

@@Lightning Bliss, @, @@Pripyat Pony, @@purple.teal

[Hurricane 159]

Hurricane flew down a little closer to the group. Something was wrong. They seemed all in a panic. It didn't take long for her to realize that Lightning was gone. Hurricane didn't hesitate to turn around and look for her. She had to get low to the ground to be able to see her. Her white coat blended in, but her mane and tail were sure to stand out. "Lightning!" She called out to the white abyss as she flew around. The wind tossed her in sorts of different directions. Finally, she spotted something. It was blurry, but it was moving. "Lightning! Is that you?" She called out hoping for a reply.

[Pripyat Pony 2,608]

Clover's horn glowed green as she activated a finding spell, much like the one that she'd used to find Blaze before, using a single hair from Lightning's tail. Determination blazed in Clover's eyes; she was not going to let a friend of hers get into trouble! The hair glowed brighter as Clover trotted, looking all over for her friend. She saw Hurricane focusing in on a creature who was unrecognisable at this moment, due to the blizzard, but the hair glowed with a sharp light and Clover was hopeful. She hurried over.

[Lightning Bliss 1,674]

@, @, @@Pripyat Pony,

 

Suddenly Bliss heard the familiar voices of Clover and Hurricane, they were super close, close enough that she turned the head in the direction they actually came from. She lit her horn up brighter then ever, and shouted out.

 

"HERE OVER HERE! HELP!" She shrieked as she spotted Hurricane first in the air and waved down to her, "Gah...help, help!" She struggled to get up by the little pony bird continued to hold tightly to her neck and chest. "It won't let go!"

 

Then she spotted Clover finally trotting up behind Hurricane along with the others.

 

"This...infant! Think's I'm its mother!" She got up and frantically tried to shake the little hippogryph off, "It won't let go!"

 

"Mama!" Squawked the happy little infant. From the sounds of his vocals, it was a male, or colt...or...whatever it was.

[Hurricane 159]

Hurricane flew down to Lightning Bliss and listened to her explantation of the hippogryph attached to her. She didn't know exactly what to do. "Can you fly?" She asked. She examined Lighting's situation with the creature clinging on. What in the name of Luna is this?" She asked

[Jack Baker 698]

((OOC: Once again, I've been gone for a while...))

Steel flew down in behind Hurricane, with Quickdraw and Raze quickly following behind, when he saw the creature clinging to Lightning. It looked very odd to him, like something from another world entirely, but he didn't have to be an expert on animals to know why the creature was clinging to the alicorn...

"Oh no..." he said, getting a closer look.

 

Quickdraw looked carefully at the creature, then began to prod it with the butt end of his gun.

 

"What in tarnation is this thing??" he asked.

[Lightning Bliss 1,674]

@, @, @@Pripyat Pony, @, @,

 

(OOC Hey no problem Polnareff, I'm doing my best to keep it going. Hope you don't mind if we continue onward and get attacked by rogue 'magic immune' other hippo gryphs at some point. But for now trying to add comedy to the situation)

 

"It keeps calling me mama and won't let go!" Bliss cried out to all of them as Hurricane asked if she could fly and Quickdraw attempted to poke the creature with his weapon.

 

"SQUAWK!!!" Cried out the hatchling as it was poked. Then it proceeded to clamber up her back like a little pony riding its mother, entangling its talons into her mane. "OUCHY mama!" It whined for her to protect it.

 

"Gah! Don't touch it like that! You're only making things worse!" Bliss snorted at Quickdraw and Steel as she attempted to levitate the young thing off her neck. "Come on let go...LET GO!"

 

"SQUAWK MAMA NO!" It cried again as she attempted to use magic to pull it off.

 

Thinking ahead of Hurricane's idea to 'fly' she leapt into the air, merely a few feet off the ground hoping the creature would be terrified to jump off. When this didn't immideatly happen, she flew up higher. "Come on you...let go! I'm not your mama! I'm not!"

 

"WEEEEEEEEEE!!!" The little chick clucked and laughed with joy as she flew up into the air. "Higher! Higher!"

 

"Oh for Celestia sake GET OFF!" She suddenly did a barrel roll in the air, forcing the hatchling to let go suddenly. He cried out as he fell too high up from the ground. "OH NO! NOT THAT HIGH!" Panicked for the poor thing would hurt itself despite the fact it had wings of its own and was desperatly trying to flap, she dove down, snatching it by the scuff of its neck feathers, back to the safety of the cold ground. "Phew...ok I wanted it off...but I didn't intend for it to get hurt..." She attempted to explain to the others as she put it down.

 

The little creature sat there, shaken for a moment, but perked up immideatly when he saw Lightning staring back at him.

 

"MAMA!" It squawked again and ran to her, hugging her chest and front legs as she sat down.

 

She looked at the creature...then back to the others.

 

"What do I do now?" She asked feeling out of ideas.

Edited December 13, 2014 by Lightning Bliss

[Jack Baker 698]

@@Lightning Bliss,

 

Quickdraw just stared with his mouth slightly agape at what was going on, the snow falling around him. He slowly took a bullet from his pouch, and let it slip from his hoof and onto the snow around him. 

 

"Oh, uh, look at that. I dropped my lucky buckshot!" he said with a nervous smile on his face. "Hold on, uh... I think it's around here somewhere..." 

 

Raze, not knowing what to do, began to whistle nervously, averting his gaze from the scene. Steel just shrugged.

 

"I'm sorry, but, you're probably just going to have to take care of him, from the looks of it," he said to her.

[purple.teal 50]

"First thing first, We've got to find the REAL mother. I would guess that one this young wouldn't be too far from the nest, but I don't know too much about Hippogryph life cycles, so maybe it is natural to send them away this young." He looked intently at the hatchling, and held a hoof out to it. "No, too young, if it couldn't fly, I don't thing it would be expected to be out on its own. "Surely its mother is looking for it. I only hope that if it finds us with it, it would be understanding."

 

He looked about in the snow. "I don't see a whole lot around, and certainly no signs of habitation of any kind. So we bring him along until we find his home." Everlast shrugged. "I wouldn't like to leave it out here alone and I doubt it would let go long enough to give us the choice."

[Pripyat Pony 2,608]

@@Lightning Bliss, @@purple.teal, Clover looked from Everlast to Lightning, and finally to the young hippogriff. She sighed. "I agree with Everlast," Clover replied. "The poor thing is just a foal; he couldn't survive on his own if we left him here. We'll have to take him along with us and try and find his mother. I expect that his mother has a rainbow mane and tail and that's why he's latched on to you, Lightning."

[Lightning Bliss 1,674]

@, @@purple.teal, @@Pripyat Pony,

 

"But...but!" She tried to protest, "I...I don't know anything about babies! I dont' know anything about foals, let alone foal hippogryphs...And-" Before she could finish the little hippogryph, clambered up onto her back and snuggled into her mane....It was shivering, very cold from the snow and ice.

 

She sighed, "I guess...I could look after it till we find its mother...I found it...or rather...it found me," she sighed again rubbing her ears as she felt the little fellow snuggle in more. Not realizing out of instinct, she levitated her cloak that had fallen off in the scuffle, back onto her back, making extra sure it was covering the little foal for extra warmth, "there...that will help." She turned to the others and continued, "It found me just over there," she pointed to some rocky, ice that was going further up the hill. "I can't really see well, but it looks like there are caves further up that way. Maybe if we're lucky we can find some shelther along with finding his mother."

[Hurricane 159]

Hurricane looked at the creature attaching itself to Lightning Bliss as she listened to the other's ideas. "Guys, I don't think mama bird is gonna be too happy when she sees us with her baby. She'll be pretty protective and probably won't listen to any explanation we have." She said. "Besides how do we know this thing doesn't eat ponies. If we go out looking for its real mom, we could become it's lunch."

[Lightning Bliss 1,674]

@,

 

Bliss blinked and looked back on the rainbow like creature clinging to her and smiled.

 

"This little guy? He doesn't have any teeth in his beak!" She smirked, "I'm sure mama bird will be reasonable, long as we hurry, she's probably worried sick by now...I just..." she looked back to Hurricane again, "I don't understand how she could have left him get out of the next...this early...I'm actually more worried for his mother now that I think of it..."

 

She turned towards the icy caps, where she could see one cave up ahead, amongst several others. She shivered again, feeling the cold nip at her hooves. "Come on, let's get this child out of the weather." She walked up, scaling the ice.

[Pripyat Pony 2,608]

"Agreed," Clover replied. "I definitely agree with Lightning. Perhaps this little fella's mother had an accident or something and that's why he's out here all alone. I think that the other hippogryths would understand that we couldn't leave him out here all alone. They're part pony, they wouldn't eat us, surely?"

[purple.teal 50]

"I Wouldn't think they'd eat us... I hope not at least." Everlast followed closely behind and looked down at the little baby. "Probably too much to ask, Are you hungry little one?" He pulled an apple from his pack and held it out for the hippogryph. "Would you rather eat this or us?"  He turned to the others. "It does have claws, So i suppose it could be omnivore even. The grown ups might eat us as soon as eat our food."

 

He continued talking, more to himself now, while still waiting for the baby to react to his offer.

"I should remember what I see, if we do get to see the hippogryphon nest. That way, If we don't already have documentation in the library, I could add it myself. Looking at what kind of food stores they have would tell what they eat. If they are civilized enough to keep stores rather than daily hunting." He shivered. "Though I would guess they would have to have some method to make gathering food easier in this snow."

[Lightning Bliss 1,674]

@@purple.teal,

 

The little one, still clinging to Bliss's back, sniffed the apple with curiosity, then at lightning speed, stabbed its beak it the bright red fruit and happily began sipping the juice, before tearing away at the pulp, swallowing it all bit by bit. After a minute  of attacking the apple, it gave a happy beltch and smiled to Everlast, before darting back under Bliss's cloak she used to cover it.

 

She smiled and giggled, "Well I think fruit is defiently something he likes! That's a relief!" She then turned her head upward, spotting a cave entrance, just a short climb of some icy sharp rocks. The little hippogryph chirped, seeming to recongize where he was as she spread her wings to fly above the ice to reach the open mouth of the cave.

 

@@Pripyat Pony, @, @,

 

 

"Well, its dark," she noticed first, calling to the others as she was about to touch down in front of the cave, "doesn't seem like anypony is ho--oooooome UMF!" She suddly slipped, landing on an odd object, that was uneven and soft at the same time. The little hippogryph whined from the sudden jolt, but recovered and continued to nuzzle into his serogant mother's mane. "What in the name of...Oh in the name of Harmony and Equestria..."

 

Her eyes bulged with terror at the sight of what she had slipped on, and now lay next to...

 

It was a radient...beautiful...but dead body...of a similar rainbow colored hippogryphon...She could immideatly tell it to be a female based off the curve of her beak being so slim, and her large thick eyelashes...that were covered with ice, along with the rest of her body. The creature was huge for any pony standards, larger then the average gryphon even as she compared herself to the body...She looked over then, and realized there were puddles of frozen red...and large open wounds on the back, wings and sides of the mother creature...Something had attacked it...and left her to die in the frozen snow...

 

Bliss quickly fluttered away towards the others, making sure that the little baby didn't see its truth mother...and her fate.

 

"Oh Luna and Celestia no...." she began to cry as she wrapped the baby up, holding it close, keeping its eyes away from the terrible scene. "His mother is...she's..." she sobbed and held the little foal.

Edited December 16, 2014 by Lightning Bliss

[Jack Baker 698]

@@Lightning Bliss,

Quickdraw stared at the body, then quickly raised his gun.

 

"Whatever attacked probably ain't too far behind," he said, looking around. He slowly ventured deeper into the cave, looking for anything suspicious.

 

"Where are you..." he said quietly, readying his weapon.

[Pripyat Pony 2,608]

Clover was very distressed by the sight of the poor dead hippogryph mother. She stood in front of Lightning, trying to shield the sight from both her friend and the hippogryph foal. "What could have done such a terrible thing?" she gasped. "It's surprising that they spared this little one."

[Lightning Bliss 1,674]

@, @@Pripyat Pony, @@purple.teal, @,

 

"M-maybe they didn't see him..." she reasoned the situation, trying to distract herself from the horrible scene, "it looked like the mother was just about to go into the cave...but something...or someone ambushed her...M-maybe he then...waited for her for so long...he must have gotten so hungry..." She looked into the cape, ignoring the fact she was exposed to the cold as she stared into the face of the orphan foal, "he must have gone out looking for her...and got confused thinking I was the mother...but..." she sniffed heartly, "Now what do we do Clover...? Hurricane? Blaze? Quickdraw? Steel? Raze? Everlast?"

 

(OOC Sorry if I go to fast, I do plan, if Polnareff agrees, to have three rogue male hippogryphons attack us, and mare nap us females at some point, but figured everyone wanted to catch up first, make their say, probably make camp in the cave or something, that or continue onward, before being attacked. I'm actually getting chocked up...sucha sad scene.)

[purple.teal 50]

Everlast used his magic to cast a hovering ball of light over him, saw the scene, and knelt down beside the body to inspect it. He used magic to encase it and feel for even the slightest hint of life. "Well, confirmed dead, cause of death was the attack, looks like claws. A painful way, though still better than than the freezing that came after I'd think." Everlast shuddered, got up, and returned to Lightning Bliss and the baby.

 

@@Lightning Bliss

"You gonna be able to take care of it a little while longer? I really don't see it going anywhere else." He stared down at the Hippogryph with pity.

 

@@Pripyat Pony

"The way it looks to me, Is that it is a territorial dispute or some such, another hippogryph. It came, attacked, and killed the mother. It isn't so much that it spared the baby, but that it didn't waste the energy to kill it. Simply leaving the little one alone in this place is enough to kill it. Why expend your own energy to save an opponent misery? The problem I see with this theory, is that if it was territory the attacker wanted, why would it abandon it after winning it? Unless it never did abandon it..."

 

Everlast whirled around and threw another orb toward Quickdraw to light his exploration. 

 

@

"How far back does it go? What is back there?"

[Pripyat Pony 2,608]

"The attacker could still be here, waiting in the back of the cave," Clover said. She looked a bit nervous. "I'm in two minds, here. If we go to the back, we could meet the mystery attacker; however, that's better than waiting here for them to come to us."

 

Clover didn't feel it was right to leave the body of the hippogryth mother just lying there, so she used her magic to wrap the body in a shroud and bury it outside, with a piece of stone to serve as a headstone. She would do the same for any pony, after all. While Clover was outside, the blizzard increased in intensity. Each snowflake doubled in size and was hurled at Clover with a violence that almost scared her and made her glad of her warm clothing. Doggedly, she stayed outside til she'd finished the job and then thankfully went back inside the cave.

 

"It's really bad out there now," Clover said to everypony, shaking the snow out of her mane. "There's no way that we'll be able to travel in it til the blizzard dies down. We'll have to stay here for a while."

[Lightning Bliss 1,674]

Bliss shivered, now being exposed to the cold indefiently since she used the cloak to wrap the baby up. She looked at its big golden eyes and smiled at it, but felt unsure on what would be held in its future. Surely I can't take care of you...she thought to herself as she weakly followed everypony else into the cave, you're so small and deserve better...I'm just a big earred Princess...probably would never have the time to raise you properly! What would Hoopla think if I brought you home? No... She sighed and shook the snow from her legs as she placed the soft little bundle of fur and feather near Everlast, and Clover as everypony made way for the cave despite the risk that the 'murder' could still be lurking inside.

 

"If the attacker was still here..." she shivered, "I think it would have made itself known by now...Whomever attacked the mother, was clearly a barbaric evil creature! And would see us as easy prey, being little ponies...I bet you!" She sniffed and snorted at once, clearly still shooken up from the horrible scene that Clover fixed by giving the mother a proper burial.

 

Suddenly the little hippogryph, chriped, realizing it had been put down and immideatly galloped over to Bliss and hugged her front legs.

 

"Mama!" It cried with joy and began pulling on her hoof, "mama, mama!" It called as it continued to pull her towards Quickdraw. He appeared to be, unnoticably, standing next to a small nesting area made of hay and twigs. Once she was close to the bundle, the little one hopped into it and galloped around in a circle on the hay, before flipping over and rolling on its back, clearly happy to be back in its bed once again.

 

Bliss noticed some bits and pieces of egg shell that were scattered about, but what she observed immideatly was that the shells still had evidence of embryo liquid covered on them.

 

"He must of just hatched hours ago..." she said as she laid down outside the nest, "maybe...while his mother was out fordging, he hatched...maybe he even hatched after the attack took place...That's why he must see me as his mother, I was the first thing he saw!" She gulped a bit and then looked to see the little gryph had in fact laid down close by to her. She titled her head a bit, and he did the same in return. "Huh?" She blinked and flicked her ears.

 

To her surpise the young one did the same as she did. Testing her therory, she lifted her lioness tail up and shook it fast. To her delight the little baby copied in turn, while also laying in the same position as she was.

 

"Well now...he's imprinting me..." she blinked, now feeling more unsure then ever before. "This isn't good...I can't just suddenly adopt a baby...can I?" She laid her head down and gave a hearty yawn. Only to some slight annoyance the baby did the same in return, laying its head down and yawning loudly. "Surely we can find another family for it...once the blizzard dies down or something...?"

Edited December 17, 2014 by Lightning Bliss

[OG Blaze 269]

@@Lightning Bliss, @@purple.teal, @@Pripyat Pony

 

"What family would want to take in someone like him or her, I'm not quite sure as of yet. I don't think it would be smart to get attached to it either, but I guess it's your choice." He circled the creature keeping his eyes on the sky as well as the path that was ahead of them. Everlast had a good point about the attacks chance of being close by to their kill. "We should relocate from here, find some place to settle down for the night."

[Hurricane 159]

Hurricane was shaken and disturbed at the sight of the dead mother, but tried to get her mind off it. "It's been a long day. We should probably start a fire and settle down for the night." She said with almost no emotion still recovering from the previous sight. "We don't want to freeze out here." She paused. "Also, we should probably have night watch shifts. Just incase those attackers come back."