private Journey to the Higher Plane

[Pripyat Pony 2,608]

@@Lightning Bliss, Clover could hardly believe what she was seeing. The Keeper would have her friends destroy each other, in order to get to the children. She could not let this happen.

 

"Lightning!" Clover exclaimed. "Remember what worked before? Love and friendship drove the Keeper away, and touching our horns helped to save Blaze, combined with Hurricane's friendship for Blaze. Maybe if we combine the two things, we can rescue Royal without hurting Hurricane, and free her from her possession. It's got to be worth a try."

[Lightning Bliss 1,674]

@,

 

Bliss covered Quickdraw as Hurricane said what she was forced to say to him before continuing her puppet pursuit against Royal Flush. "Can you stand Draw?" She asked him before she heard her name called out. 

 

@@Pripyat Pony, 

 

"Combining our horns together again??" Bliss said hesitently, "But... I can't summon my magic at whim! I don't know how! It just does what it wants! How can we make this work?? I don't know how!"

[Pripyat Pony 2,608]

@@Lightning Bliss, "I don't know, but we have to try," Clover said. "I'm not an expert on your magic, but what I do know from observing you is that your magic desires peace. What we have here is the very opposite of peace, and the magic will want to remedy that. I can use my magic to help direct it towards Hurricane, and hopefully free her from possession, but I don't know what will happen, just like before. All I know is that we have to try, before somepony gets hurt."

[Jack Baker 698]

Quickdraw stood up, bleeding out a bit, but showed no signs of pain.

 

"I'm fine!" he said to Bliss, moving past her and firing a few stray shots at Hurricane to warn her.

 

Royal overheard Clover and Bliss talking about joining horns to dispel magic, and suddenly had an idea.

 

"Wait! I got a better idea..." he said to both of them. He drew three cards and imbued them with the same spell: the chain trap. He focused on Hurricane, and quickly threw one chain card at her. Chains quickly sprouted from the ground which held her down. He then threw the second, and the third, until she was secured in a cocoon of chains, with her head the only part of her body visible.

 

With that done, Royal took out a small piece of chalk from his coat pocket, quickly drawing up a pattern on the ground surrounding Hurricane, while also placing cards on open circles within the pattern. When he was finished, he stood up.

 

"This gives me an opportunity to use that purification spell I showed y'all," he said to everyone. "If this works, she should be free from the Keeper's possession, which also means we can use this to destroy the actual Keeper as well. We'll use your other spell as a backup. What do ya say?"

[Pripyat Pony 2,608]

@, Clover nodded her head slowly. What Royal said made sense, and it would also give her and Lightning more time to rest just in case they did need to join horns. She was still tired from the earlier battle, and knew that her tiredness would affect the strength of her magic.

 

"I think it's a good idea," she said to Royal. "You can do your spell. I'd like to know the spell myself too; I think it would be a useful spell to learn later."

[Hurricane 159]

The possessed Hurricane realized that she had suddenly become trapped and held to the ground by cold metal chains. She thrashed around trying to escape with her eyes blazing wildly. "I will get you Royal Flush! Don't think your safe!" she warned him as she continued to struggle. "You and your pathetic friends will pay for this!"

The true Hurricane continued to try to mentally fight off the Keeper. Though she was weak, she saw that the Keeper was distracted by her body in the chains and used this opportunity to try to regain her body again. Her physical eyes turned pink again and she looked up directly at Royal with pleading eyes. "Help." was the only thing she muttered before she was repossessed by the Keeper and her eyes returned to red.

[Lightning Bliss 1,674]

Bliss shook...she clearly heard Hurricane's voice crying for help... She picked up Artemis and sat next to Clover, not sure where Royal's spell would lead them. Would it be successful? Or will it fail...and would Clover and herself be Hurricane's last remaining chance...?

 

"Oh Artemis..." she held the hippogryph tightly while he cooed in her chest. "I'm such a useless alicorn..."

[Jack Baker 698]

Royal, with the approval of the others, pulled out his black spell book, and quickly flipped it to a particular page.

 

"Alright... let's begin. This won't be long..."

 

He cleared his throat, then began to mutter an incantation in an incomprehensible dialect, and the pattern around Hurricane began to glow faintly.

[Hurricane 159]

"Do really know what this spell will do?" the possessed Hurricane questioned Royal. "Have you used it before? You seem pretty certain it will defeat me, but what about your friend?" she planned to manipulate them into holding back the spell. "At least with me controlling her, she is alive. How would you feel if you killed her? Is it really worth it? She would be dead because of you. I doubt you would want to be responsible for that." She flashed a devilish smile. "It would seem a pity too. Hurricane was a strong fighter and as defiant and stubborn as she was, she was loyal."

[Jack Baker 698]

((OOC: I should have posted sooner, so sorry...))

Royal was a bit nervous at what the possesed Hurricane was saying; nevertheless, he still kept on reciting the spell, trying to speed up the reading. He couldn't be interuppted, as that would break the spell.

 

The pattern on the ground soon glowed much more brightly as the spell went on, illuminating the cave.

Edited April 9, 2015 by TheKidInTheCorner

[Pripyat Pony 2,608]

Don't listen to the Keeper, Royal! Clover thought, desperately. We all heard Hurricane earlier; this is what she wants. She would never wish to live possessed by evil.

 

Clover watched Royal performing the spell and longed to speak out loud, but did not dare to interrupt for fear of breaking Royal's concentration.

[Hurricane 159]

"You don't want to do this Royal!" the possessed Hurricane snapped. "Think about your friend. Look at the state she's in. You have her strapped to the ground like an animal to be killed. She could be. You don't know what this spell will do. You don't know what its capable of!" She tried harder and harder to make Royal stop using the spell. "You cannot know what she is thinking while I possess her, but I can. This spell is causing her pain. Terrible pain. Her mind will be put through more abuse than I alone can put her through. Do you really want to keep torturing her?"

The real Hurricane, still held captive by the Keeper tried to fight off the evil forces in her mind, but kept being pushed back. Finally, she reclaimed her body once again, but had no time to show it. All she could do was let out a yelp as the Keeper overpowered her once more.

[Lightning Bliss 1,674]

@, @@Pripyat Pony,

 

Bliss could see Royal struggling with his magic, his concentration thrown by the false voice of their friend.

 

"Here take him," Bliss handed Clover to Artemis and calmly stood up and walked over to Royal, carefully not to distract him. Instead of speaking, she glared firmly back at the false friend...the Keeper...she could see his eyes through Hurricane's...and she was angry. Taking a breath, she pressed her side up against Royal's. The gesture was to let him know she was there, that she was supporting him...no matter what.

 

"Long as you do this spell...I won't leave you Royal..." she pressed firmly as he concentrated. "I'll stay here if it kills me!"

[Jack Baker 698]

@@Lightning Bliss,

 

Royal nodded, still keeping his focus, exhausted. The spell was almost complete. Suddenly, the cards began to levitate slightly off the ground, and the pattern glowing much more intensely than before.

 

His horn began to glow a bright white, and he felt his strength falter. With the last of his energy, he completed the spell, sending a beam of magic at the pattern. The cards shot up, forming the spiral pattern around Hurricane, and shot out beams of magic at her, the purification now in progress.

 

He looked at his work, and smiled to himself, before collapsing from exhaustion.

[Hurricane 159]

Possessed Hurricane let out a terrible yell of anger as the Keeper was cast out of her body. Once the spell was complete, Hurricane lied there like a ragdoll ensnared in cold, iron chains. She was unconscious and in a dream like state. In the dream, she was herself in the dark void as before when the Keeper first possessed her. Except the dim, strange, red light source from before had turned white. The light expanded until she was surrounded by white. This was Hurricane regaining consciousness. She opened her own eyes and realized she was in possession of herself and let out a sigh of relief.

Edited April 13, 2015 by Hurricane

[Lightning Bliss 1,674]

@@Hurricane,

 

"HURRICANE!!!" Bliss levitated the chains off using her magic to force unlock them then ran to her side, sitting next to her. "Are you alright? You in any pain?" She could tell Hurricane had returned to her normal self seeing her own eye color again.

 

"PEEP!" Artemis bolted from Clover and ran to Hurricane, wrapping his little talons around her neck and nuzzling her cheek.

 

"Looks like he was worried about you too!"

[Pripyat Pony 2,608]

@@Hurricane, Clover bolted to Hurricane's side. "Hurricane!" she cried out, as she knelt besides her friend. "Talk to us, are you alright? I can do that healing spell for you now, if you like. I was so worried about you, but I dared not say anything while Royal was performing the spell to free you. I just could not bear it, to be silent while a friend of mine was in danger."

[Hurricane 159]

Hurricane smiled and let out a small, silent giggle when Artemis embraced her. After being freed from the chains, Hurricane sat up and held her head. "I'm fine." she said quietly to reassure the two. Her voice was hoarse and her throat hurt from all the yelling and screaming the Keeper made her do. She looked up and smiled at the two and without warning, she hugged them both and gripped them tight. "You guys are the best." she said in almost a whisper. She realized how much Lightning Bliss and Clover meant to her. They were real friends and they accepted her who she was. Her and all her mistakes.

[Jack Baker 698]

Raze, who had his hooves held to his face from the brightness of Royal's spell, lifted them down after the light had disappeared. The first thing he saw was Lightning and Clover, hugging the pegasus after it was all over. He stayed where he was, smiling at the heartwarming scene.

 

Royal, after a few minutes of unconsciousness, slowly woke up, feeling a bit dizzy.

 

"Wha... where am I? What happened?" he said, confused.

[Lightning Bliss 1,674]

@, @@Pripyat Pony, @@Hurricane,

 

Bliss couldn't help it...she teared up faster then a water fountain and held tightly to Hurricane. Never did she think she'd hear those words come from the tortured pegasus, but she did...and they were true and heartwarming. She turned to Clover who hugged her equally, then wrapped her wings about both of them, with Artemis gripping at them all by his little talons.

 

Her large ears then picked up the voice of Royal and she pulled herself away from the warm hug and tackled him to the ground.

 

"You're the greatest Royal!!!" She whinnied at him, giving him a peck on the cheek. "You did it!!! You did it you crazy gambling stallion!!!"

 

"Royal! Royal! ROYAL!!!" Artemis repeated the one name he heard from Bliss and galloped over, tackling Royal's face in a hippogryph face hug.

[Pripyat Pony 2,608]

@@Hurricane, Clover hugged Hurricane and smiled. "I'm proud to call myself your friend," she said. For a moment, she let herself forget about the lurking menace of the Keeper. They still had to deal with him. But at this moment, Clover was just going to enjoy having their friend back to herself and worry about the Keeper later.

[Jack Baker 698]

@Lightning Bliss

Royal looked around.

"I did?" he said, then heard commotion. Peeking his head over, he saw Hurricane, completely corruption free, happily conversing with Clover.

 

"Huh... I guess I did," he said before getting face hugged by Artemis. He smiled slighty.

 

"Hey there, kid. I see you're glad to see me..." he said, petting the small hippogryph.

[Lightning Bliss 1,674]

@, @@Pripyat Pony,

 

Bliss beamed at the sight of her little pupil face hugging the stallion while she turned back to Clover and Hurricane.

 

"Guess that means we need to start keeping in touch after all this mess." She smiled and sat down between the two of them, wrapping ahoof around each one of the mares. "We've been through so much together..." turning back to Raze, "Let's finish this!"

[Hurricane 159]

Hurricane smiled at Lightning Bliss as she encouraged the group. Then, determination came over her face as she loudly replied, "Bring it on!" as if she was challenging fate itself. In that moment, she felt truly unstoppable. Especially with her group of friends. Together, they had overcome so much and were so close to their target. If they fought back the Keeper, what couldn't they do?

Hurricane then turned her attention back to Lightning Bliss and Clover, "If we all survive this, you better bring me on all the rest of your adventures." she smiled

[Jack Baker 698]

"Alright then," Raze said to Lightning, gathering his things. "Let's get out of here first. We've been around here too long as it is..."

 

-----------------

Time passes

-----------------

It had been two hours since Raze and the group left the mountain. The blizzard had ceased, and the sun was shining high, the sky blue and clear. They were walking on an open field of snow, when suddenly, something brushed passed the group and flew into the air. It was a Windigo, which was followed by three more that flew up with it. They didn't seem to mean any harm, as they were just circling around each other, and Raze thought that this particular region could be their home. He wasn't surprised by their presence; he had seen so many things already that nothing seemed to bother him anymore. The journey changed him, and he was fully aware of that.

 

"We must be close..." he said, admiring the view.

((Ambiance music:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Slq4PctrR0Q

Edited April 22, 2015 by TheKidInTheCorner