private A Temporal Odyssey

[Umbral Noir 1,556]

@@Sterling Crimson

@@lincolnshirepony

@@Steel Accord

@@Pripyat Pony

@

@@Zhooves

@@Wayzer

 

Callaloo was stunned when Blue Note revealed the gem. "How... How you be finding that?" he cried, before beaming. "Dis be wonderful for you! If only you be having da rest of them..." He looked at everypony else, contemplating. "None of you be having any, do you?"

 

DJ nodded. "Of course you can tag along!" he replied to Nightstrike. "You've proven we can trust you, so I'll happily let you come with us!"

 

When he heard Callaloo's question, he reached into his saddlebag and took out his own gem. "Most of us have one actually...." he said. "Did everypony bring theirs?"

[Steel Accord 6,660]

@@Sterling Crimson

@@lincolnshirepony

@@Steel Accord

@@Pripyat Pony

@

@@Zhooves

@@Wayzer

 

Callaloo was stunned when Blue Note revealed the gem. "How... How you be finding that?" he cried, before beaming. "Dis be wonderful for you! If only you be having da rest of them..." He looked at everypony else, contemplating. "None of you be having any, do you?"

 

DJ nodded. "Of course you can tag along!" he replied to Nightstrike. "You've proven we can trust you, so I'll happily let you come with us!"

 

When he heard Callaloo's question, he reached into his saddlebag and took out his own gem. "Most of us have one actually...." he said. "Did everypony bring theirs?"

 

While not thrilled that Nightstrike would be tagging along for his methods, at least Steel knew he could trust the assassin.

 

"Of course." Steel removed his hat and pulled out his gem. "Since our first little life or death sojourn, I never let this thing out of my sight." Steel smiled.

 

((WHOAH! You know, until I joined this fandom, I never thought it possible to experience continuity whiplash for my own life!    ))

[Pripyat Pony 2,608]

@, Clover listened intently to what the zebra said about the items. Something seemed to strike a chord deep within, but she couldn't quite put her hoof on it. When DJ spoke about the gems they had found, Clover remembered.

 

"My crown!" she exclaimed. "I had the gem I found put in the crown I was given for my coronation; I asked Princess Celestia specially, cuz the gem meant a lot to me."

 

Clover had put her crown for safekeeping in her saddlebags when they had gone into the jungle; now, she levitated it out.

[Zhooves 843]

"Ah... Aye, that was what it was... The gems DJ found in that chamber after we fought a... Dragon I believe..." he said, looking up as if thinking while he spoke.

 

"I do not think I brought it along though..." he continued, looking down in disappointment.

 

"Ye mean this thing?" Midnatt suddenly said, pulling the gem out from her mane.

 

"Ye had it all along? Why?"

"It just glowed there, and I had this weird feeling that I had to bring it along..." Midnatt replied, hoofing it over to North.

However, as North's hoof touched it, it begun glowing strongly, before it somewhat diminished...

When it had stopped, one could now see that the half North touched was of an icy blue glow, while the other where Midnatt's hoof touched it glowed a fiery orange.

 

"Kult..." they both said in unison, looking at it in awe.

Edited July 28, 2014 by Zhooves

[Commander Bubbles 1,343]

@@Sterling Crimson

@@Steel Accord

@@Pripyat Pony

@@lincolnshirepony

@@Wayzer

@@Zhooves

 

"My gem?" Red responded, "Shit. Don't think I brought it with, actually."

Right about then, he felt a warmth, accompanied by a low humming sound, originating from within his bag. He set it down, unzipped it, and felt his hoof around the insides. He eventually bumped into a warm, crystalline ball, and slowly lifted it from the bag.

"This is it, eh?" he remarked as he pulled it out, "I actually remember not packing this. Weird."

[Umbral Noir 1,556]

@@Sterling Crimson

@@lincolnshirepony

@@Steel Accord

@@Pripyat Pony

@@Zhooves

@

@@Wayzer

 

As Callaloo watched to his amazement, the majority of the group took out gems from their pouches. "I... I be very amazed at this..." he said slowly. He noticed the gem that North and Midnatt were holding , and approaching them, he looked closely at it. "Be you siblings? Relatives? Close friends?" he asked. "It seems you both be wielders of the same part of de weapon!"

 

As he looks around the room, his smile faded. "But... I be seeing a problem. There be only 8 different wielders , and one does not have a gem either!" indicating to Nightstike). "Is there another among you who wields a gem also?"

Edited July 29, 2014 by DJ-BRONI3

[Inactive01 5,299]

Sterling looked around the group, wondering exactly why Callaloo was asking about the other gem that was missing... He then realized... the last gem... it belonged to his love... Evening... He rushed back into his baggage again... he remembered taking Evening's gem as well as a way to remember his love way back in Manehattan Hospital... He didn't know how she was doing at the moment or anything of the sort about her now, but what he did know was that he didn't want to forget his loving wife...

 

After finding the pink coloured stone that was hidden inside his saddlebag, Sterling outstretched his hoof with the gem on his hoof and shouted to all,

 

"Here's the eighth stone! I got this from my wife... who's in hospital back in Manehattan... I brought it along with me, knowing that I needed something to remember my wife by..."

[Umbral Noir 1,556]

@@Sterling Crimson

@@lincolnshirepony

@@Steel Accord

@[member-'Pripyat Pony']

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@@Zhooves

@@Wayzer

 

Callaloo rubbed his muzzle with his hoof. "I see..." he muttered to himself. "Then all de bearers are present, but one gem be missing..."

 

"Do you have any idea where the last gem is?" DJ asked him. Seeing Callaloo already knew so much, maybe there was a chance something would jog his memory about the other.

 

The zebra nodded sadly. "Well... there be a place where it once was, but it no longer be there. My grandfather went to Canterlot many years ago to look for dis gem, as it was supposed to be being kept in the place where Starswirl be sealing away de Nightmare Spirits. But... he was not finding it... Maybe you would have more luck if you be investigating there like he did? I also be thinking it must be the only place where you can be defeating this shadow pony and stopping him from releasing de Nightmare Spirits..." His eyes widened suddenly. "Canterlot!" he cried. "That be reminding me, if that be where they were sealed away, that is where de shadow pony be going! He would be trying there to release them!"

[Inactive01 5,299]

 

When Callaloo mentioned that there was still one more gem to go, Sterling wondered with confusion... didn't they already have all 8 gems that were needed to prevent the Shadow Pony from releasing the Nightmare Spirits? When Callaloo mentioned a ninth gem, Sterling began to wonder where they could find it... that was until Callaloo suddenly remembered that the  last gem was located in Canterlot...

 

But wait a minute... Sterling realized that Canterlot was where the Shadow Pony had turned all the living Elements of Harmony into stone!

 

"We've got to get back to Canterlot at once! Maybe the evil forces have known about these stones and are trying to at least take one of them to their custody! We've got to get to Canterlot at once!" Sterling shouted with panic in reply. The urgency of the situation was growing every minute, and Sterling couldn't afford to waste time... Evening being alive would mean nothing if Equestria fell..

[lincolnshirepony 527]

Joy, it was a return to her least favorite city at its most dangerous. Blue Note still didn't understand how she had gotten tangled up in this mess. But this gem had bound her to the task, and apparently the Darkstar's magic had chosen her. Perhaps this should have comforted her, but instead she wondered if magic could have poor judgment. 

[Umbral Noir 1,556]

@@Sterling Crimson

@@lincolnshirepony

@@Steel Accord

@@Pripyat Pony

@

@@Zhooves

@@Wayzer

 

"I think it would be best if you do leave!" Callaloo replied to Sterling. "I do not know when they've planning to strike, but it will be soon I be guessing!" He nodded to them. "I wish you all de best, and good luck!"

 

DJ was first out of the door, determined to reach Canterlot as soon as possible. Whatever was going to happen, he wanted to stop it before it did! It was still night, and he would rather be on the ship sailing for Cantelot than be out in the night after hearing that earlier strange voice in his head...

[Steel Accord 6,660]

Steel followed suit, though doubt lingered on his mind. How were they going to get back in time? Even at their fastest it would take a day to reach Manehatten alone then it would be a train ride before they reached Canterlot.

 

This news bore great significance for Steel especially as Canterlot wasn't just a city . . . Canterlot was his home.

[Zhooves 843]

"Be you siblings? Relatives? Close friends?" he asked. "It seems you both be wielders of the same part of de weapon!"

 

"Aye... We are twins." North said, seemingly baffled by everything that was happening at once.

After they had heard the rest of Callaloo's story, he led Midnatt straight to the ship right behind the others.

"So... To Travendel, was it?" "Kanterlot, søster, Kanterlot."

Edited July 31, 2014 by Zhooves

[Pripyat Pony 2,608]

Clover galloped to the ship with the others. "I could raise up a mage wind," she cried out. "That would mean that we could sail as fast as possible back to the shore. After that tho, I don't know what we can do. Not all of us can fly, so we'd have to take the train to Canterlot."

[Inactive01 5,299]

Sterling patted himself on the back when Callaloo and the others agreed to set for Canterlot immediately after he suggested it. That feeling of self-esteem quickly faded when he realized that the group were probably going to get their first encounter with the evil pony that wanted to put Equestria on its knees... 

 

Sterling trotted out of the hut with the necklace gift in hand, placing it quickly into his saddlebag in hopes of giving this little trinket to a healthy Evening Glory once their adventure was completed... There was so much that had to right for it all to fall in place... Sterling could sense his lack of faith and fear that at least one of those things would go wrong... What would happen to Sterling and Evening for that matter... He didn't know as he trotted solemnly back to the ship...

[Steel Accord 6,660]

Clover galloped to the ship with the others. "I could raise up a mage wind," she cried out. "That would mean that we could sail as fast as possible back to the shore. After that tho, I don't know what we can do. Not all of us can fly, so we'd have to take the train to Canterlot."

 

"That's actually a great idea! Cast the spell once we get there. Red and I will add our own wind to the equation!" Steel nodded to his racer friend, confident his more classical pegasus skills would compensate for Steel's own lacking in them. He prayed to Celestia his pursuit of proper characterization would not cost anypony in Canterlot their life.

[Commander Bubbles 1,343]

"Right, Steel," he replied to his friend, "we're gonna have to get the ship going by our own devices."

Red took position behind the ship, backing himself up to a proper distance.

"Alright, Steel," Red said again, "Take position with me. I've got an output of +975 wingpower, but we're gonna need all the help we can get. Ready, man? On my count, maximum output!"

[Umbral Noir 1,556]

@@Sterling Crimson

@@lincolnshirepony

@@Steel Accord

@@Pripyat Pony

@

@@Zhooves

@@Wayzer

 

As they dashed up to the ship and prepared to sail off, Vinyl trotted out, looking puzzled. "What's going on, everypony?" she asked. "Did we fall out with the locals or something?"

 

DJ shook his head as he did his best to help the others. "No, but I think something will happen in Canterlot if we don't get there soon!" He smiled reassuringly. "Don't panic though! We've got it sorted!" He then remembered the necklace he'd gotten for her. "Oh! And here, I got you this! It's a special necklace that's linked to mine, so if anything happens to either of us, we'll know! It's a bit of an assurance I guess!"

 

"Th...thanks DJ..." Vinyl said , happy with the gift but also a little worried at the phrase 'if anything happens'. "I love it!" Slipping it on, she admire the small pink flower happily.

 

"Oh, and where's Chronos?" DJ asked. "Is he below deck?"

 

"Yeah, he wanted a rest. I think he's asleep!" Vinyl replied with a giggle.

 

"I don't know how long he'll sleep when we start!" DJ grinned. Going to the helm, he prepared to set sail. All that remained was their startoff...

[Pripyat Pony 2,608]

Clover's horn glowed green as she cast the spell to raise up a magewind and direct it into the sail. She soon had a fierce wind blowing into the sail, and she knew that Red and Steel would make sure that the wind stayed on course. Clover also cast a spell on the sail so that the powerful wind would not split the cloth.

 

The ship simply leapt forward, racing across the sea like a bird.

[Zhooves 843]

North noticed his sister almost bounced as they were preparing to 'take off'.

 

"Even if ye can fly, I will not let ye help... It is a bit too dark for ye, and if the ship suddenly were to move faster than usual, you would fall off..." he said, before bracing himself and his sister as the ship suddenly caught speed...

[Inactive01 5,299]

Sterling entered the boat with the rest of the crew. All he could think about was the evil Shadow Pony who was probably heading to Canterlot to grab the last stone and his wife who was still laying in bed... His worries continued to grow more and more as Sterling trotted to the upper deck of the ship... 

 

Sterling looked onward to what seemed like a never ending sea. He stared at the sea for what seemed like an eternity as the ship finally set sail... He sighed as he placed his front hoof so that he could place his head down on the ship's rails... Hopefully everything would go right...

 

----

Nurse Redheart listened intently as Evening weakly told the story of her relationship with Sterling and their inevitable marriage. She talked about their first encounter at a strange tropical island after their cruise ship came crashing down after hitting an unidentified object. She remembered collected herbs with her dear Sterling and how handsome she thought Sterling was when the two ponies first met. She talked about Sterling admitting his feelings to her and his fears of rejection, and her happy reply to starting a relationship... She remembered that night... everypony else was out of the ship looking for a friendly village while she and Sterling remained on the ship and enjoyed a dinner together underneath the moonlight...

 

She reminisced about all the other stories she and Sterling had together before Sterling finally proposed to Evening as soon as the Seagallop docked at Baltimare... By then, she was beginning to lose strength as he coughing continued to worsen... But she trudged on with her story, even when Nurse Redheart told her it was alright to stop... Evening then mentioned the moment where she thought all was lost... the moment when Sterling was shot in the abdomen by the dark lord Raven... the bullet would have hit her head on if Sterling hadn't lunged and saved her... She thought Sterling was gone... she recalled her tears... and began to feel them when she arrived at that point of the story...

 

At that point, Evening couldn't continue... she was struggling to breathe once again, prompting Nurse Redheart to come over to Evening's side and rub on her back in hopes of soothing her pain... Nurse Redheart... at that moment... she too felt a tear well up on her eye... She had heard about the adventurers defeating Raven and had also heard about the lunge Sterling made to save Evening... But when Evening told the story in her weakened state... Nurse Redheart flowed her tears with Evening... she wasn't a patient anymore... she was a loving mare... whose life was in danger... 

 

Evening continued to cough louder and louder, prompting Nurse Redheart to trot out of the room immediately after telling Evening that she would be on life support... It was becoming evident that her condition was only getting worse...

Edited August 2, 2014 by Sterling Crimson

[Commander Bubbles 1,343]

"We're off, everypony!" Red shouted as the gust of wind propelled the ship forward. "That's it, Steel, we've got it now, buddy! That's the kind of effort I'd expect to see from a pony of your caliber!"

The boat trudged along the ocean, with small, gentle waves chopping lightly against the hull.

"We did it, my friend, we did it!" Red shouted to Steel as he admired their work.

[Steel Accord 6,660]

"We're off, everypony!" Red shouted as the gust of wind propelled the ship forward. "That's it, Steel, we've got it now, buddy! That's the kind of effort I'd expect to see from a pony of your caliber!"

The boat trudged along the ocean, with small, gentle waves chopping lightly against the hull.

"We did it, my friend, we did it!" Red shouted to Steel as he admired their work.

 

Steel was flapping with all his might and smiling, but the effort it was taking was great.

 

"Doing my . . . best. . . . You could . . . probably do . . . this . . . in your sleep! My wing . . . power . . . is only . . . about . . . . you know . . . I can't even . . . . remember what it is"

 

In this regard, Steel was a shameful pegasus.

[Umbral Noir 1,556]

@@Sterling Crimson

@@lincolnshirepony

@@Steel Accord

@@Pripyat Pony

@

@@Zhooves

@@Wayzer

 

Standing at the helm with Vinyl, DJ looked out over the dark moonlit ocean, steering the ship in the direction of Manehattan. The combined efforts of Red, Steel and Clover, the ship was flying through the water at a tremendous pace. At this rate, they would be there before morning!

 

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" Vinyl said to her coltfriend as she looked up at the moon above. She leant her head against his shoulder, smiling.

 

DJ grinned. "Compared to you, it's nothing..." The two of them stood there at the helm, watching the moon as the great ship sailed across the sea...

 

-------

 

Chronos woke up as the galleon lurched into motion, knocking him out of his bed and onto the ground. "I guess we're moving again..." he said, rubbing his head. He got up from the ground and headed upstairs. Reaching the upper deck, he looked around to see if anyone was free to talk. He wanted to know where they were going next...

[Pripyat Pony 2,608]

Clover was concentrating on making sure that the spells kept up, the magewind into the sail, and the strengthening spell on the sail. It took a lot of effort, but was far easier as an alicorn as it would have been back when she was a unicorn. She did wish that she could help the pegasi in a practical way as well, but then, she hadn't even tried to fly yet so she figured she'd just be a burden, rather than a help.