open Casual stroll

[Denim&Venöm 19,050]

@Melke,

@Seamore Sandwich,

@cwhip9,

 

@P-Jay,

 

"Well it seems the bat horse has lost interest in me." Priestess thought to herself as she wandered around the camp, keeping tabs on the conversing. "Not sure if I should be relieved or insulted." 

 

She felt the faint buzz, the 6th sense of hers triggered by otherworldly magics. She took a whiff of the air. " I'm sensing the faint aura of Yokai. Something I haven't dealt with in a very, very long time. Yet smells kinda familiar." 

 

 

 

Not far from Syo, a few purple clouds appeared out of thin air and gathered into the pony that had left before she had arrived.

 

"Hey, Smokey the pone is back!" 

 

 

 

"No wonder as I never said it. My name is Vivid Loss, or sometimes called Voss in the olden times.And I will come along, yes. Something tells me this could be more interesting than wandering the abyss all night."  

 

 

"Huh. With that smoke power and talk of the abyss, makes me wonder if she is under the possession of one of the Asharu from the 2nd house. If so, then both have my pity. But then again, Sombra & Nightmare both turned to smoke, so she could just be foolin with dark magics. But then again again, I never got to see if otherworldly forces were involved in either of those cases. Hmm. Might need to check into that."

 

"All in all, we are getting quite the motley crue here tonight. Things aren't looking so good for that spider." 

[Seamore Sandwich 471]

@@Denim&Venom

@@Blitz Boom

@@cwhip9

@@P-Jay

 

Seamore unhooked himself from the cart. He realized he hadn't lit the torches or put out the fire yet. He went over to the box at the side of his cart and reached in. "There they are," he said as he pulled out a couple of torches. Then he lit each of the torches in the fire and attached each to one of the front corners of his cart. Then he put out the fire using the water bucket Crescent had used to clean himself off. "This way nopony will be wasting magic on an illumination spell. Well, I'll lead the way." With that he put the last of his things into the cart, hooked himself to the cart again, and started walking on a path that would lead them deeper into the forest.

Edited September 4, 2015 by Seamore Sandwich

[Randimaxis 8,652]

"Yeah you're right those games don't sound very fun, but at least you have brothers so you should be better at the being a brother thing than I would be. I don't think I'd make a very good brother." 

 

"Heck, you're not hitting me or yelling at me, so you're already a better brother than my brothers are!"

 

"The sparkly vamponies are something I heard some of the older girls talk about in school, they said I wasn't old enough to know about it yet, sounded scary though, vamponies and wereponies, I had nightmares for a week at least. Mom says I'm not allowed to hang out with them anymore though." 

 

Dax chuckled.  "I know the feeling; Harcourt used to terrify me with stories about pony-eating dragons.  I still get nervous when somepony even MENTIONS dragons..."

 

Angel bounced herself on top of Dax again and refused to get off this time. "So big brother" she said playfully poking the back of his head "what are we gonna do until we get back home?" 

 

"Well... I can name the stars, if that seems like fun - but I don't think you'll find it as much fun as I would.  Maybe a game?  Do you know any games, little sister?"

 

Dax liked the idea of being a big brother to somepony who wasn't a brat - Angel was adorable.

[cwhip9 1,078]

@@Denim&Venom

@@Blitz Boom

@@cwhip9

@@P-Jay

 

Seamore unhooked himself from the cart. He realized he hadn't lit the torches or put out the fire yet. He went over to the box at the side of his cart and reached in. "There they are," he said as he pulled out a couple of torches. Then he lit each of the torches in the fire and attached each to one of the front corners of his cart. Then he put out the fire using the water bucket Crescent had used to clean himself off. "This way nopony will be wasting magic on an illumination spell. Well, I'll lead the way." With that he put the last of his things into the cart, hooked himself to the cart again, and started walking on a path that would lead them deeper into the forest.

As Seamore trotted off Cresent flew slowly above the wagon and the party looking around the forest. He was head level with the other pony's as he looked around he asked the group in general "so how far have any of you been in the Forrest here, its pretty easy to get lost for most pony's, not sure on cats but then again iv been wrong before" He was still trying to feel out the group he partied up with. Might as well see who's all on which page of forests   

[Fire Lily 86]

@@Randimaxis,

 

"Well you're my new brother why would I be hitting you or yelling at you?" Angel asked curiously. As far as she knew family didn't act that way, at least not from what she'd seen and her mom never did that to her anyway. "Who's Harcourt? I've never heard of him, then again most ponies don't want to hang out with me, mostly they just think I'm too noisy and annoying. At least that's what I've heard them say when they didn't know I was there anyway." Angel jumped down again off of Dax's back. "Well we could play tag, or hide and seek, I'm really good at that one, or all sorts of other stuff, I'm not sure about any of those until we're back in ponyville, we could play i spy though!" Angel started jumping around on both sides of Dax then quickly jumped back on his back. "I spy with my little eye something...green." 

[Randimaxis 8,652]

"Well you're my new brother why would I be hitting you or yelling at you?"

 

"My family's... well, different, I guess."  How could he explain the Blackwater's dysfunctional lifestyle?

 

"Who's Harcourt? I've never heard of him, then again most ponies don't want to hang out with me, mostly they just think I'm too noisy and annoying. At least that's what I've heard them say when they didn't know I was there anyway."

 

"He's the oldest child in our family.  He didn't like me much at first, but we eventually got along.  When Oglevy came along, however... he left.  I haven't seen him in a long time."  Dax looked a bit misty-eyed for a moment, then simply sighed and smiled.  "But that's just one of those things, I guess."

 

"Well we could play tag, or hide and seek, I'm really good at that one, or all sorts of other stuff, I'm not sure about any of those until we're back in Ponyville, we could play i spy though!"

 

Dax actually knew this game; he'd played it with some of the servants when he was still living at home.  "Sure!"

 

"I spy with my little eye something...green." 

 

"Uhm... grass?  Leaves?"  He looked around a bit.  "A green turkey?"  He grinned at that one; he figured Angel would appreciate him being silly.  "Green clouds?"

[Fire Lily 86]

@@Randimaxis,

 

"Well different can be ok sometimes, right?" Angel said while fluffing out her wings showing off the red tips, no other pony she had ever seen had wings like hers, she was teased for it sometimes but it made her stand out and she liked that.

 

"Og..levy..?" Angel struggled with the name for a second. "Is that one of your other brothers too?" She looked at him for a moment "Besides you said to just look at the stars and we won't be alone, so he'll come back someday."

 

She let out a small giggle "nope not grass and definitely not a turkey" She got off of him and hovered around for a few seconds pointing off in the distance quite a ways "You see that small pond over there. Well it's a frog! You're turn." 

[Randimaxis 8,652]

"Well different can be ok sometimes, right?" 

 

Dax opened his mouth to answer... then he caught sight of her wings.

 

"Wow... I've never seen wings like those before... except on you, of course... that's really nifty!  Sometimes I wish I had wings, but... well, if bits were wishes, beggars would be kings, right?"

 

"Og..levy..? Is that one of your other brothers too?"

 

Dax shuddered a bit.  "Yeah, he's... he's a brat and a half.  Nothing like you."

 

"Besides you said to just look at the stars and we won't be alone, so he'll come back someday."

 

He grinned wistfully.  "Yeah.  He told me he'd be back someday... though I think when he does come back, it'll be to argue with Father - they did that a lot."

 

"nope not grass and definitely not a turkey. You see that small pond over there. Well it's a frog! You're turn." 

 

"You've got good eyes, but I guess when you can fly, you gotta have good eyesight, huh?"  He glanced around a bit, then gave a sly smile.  "I spy with my little eye something... ALSO green."

 

She'll never guess it's my cutie mark, he thought.

[Fire Lily 86]

@@Randimaxis, 

Angel looked back at her wings and kept them fluffed up. "Well it's just the color, they can't do anything cool like make rainbows or anything, mom say's that dad's were the same way and everything, except I think he was black and not yellow like me." 

 

"I'm sure your brother will be back soon, when he is you can have all sorts of fun together, I wish I had brothers or sisters, I mean I do now, but still, I don't think you'd like to play dress up or tea parties or anything like that either." 

 

Angel opened her mouth for a second to answer and stopped and thought about it for a long minute. Suddenly she flew off into the forrest and came back with a long snake. "Is it one of these?" She asked while she put it down and stared at Dax. 

[Randimaxis 8,652]

"Well it's just the color, they can't do anything cool like make rainbows or anything, mom say's that dad's were the same way and everything, except I think he was black and not yellow like me." 

 

"You say that, but I'll bet you'll be able to do all sorts of stuff when you get older... and I like 'em yellow like that - suits you better."

 

"I'm sure your brother will be back soon, when he is you can have all sorts of fun together, I wish I had brothers or sisters, I mean I do now, but still, I don't think you'd like to play dress up or tea parties or anything like that either." 

 

Dax chuckled.  "I dunno... tea actually sounds pretty good to me."

 

"Is it one of these?"

 

Dax gave her a playful look that said she was being a silly filly.  "Nooooooooooo... now how could I have seen that?  You're really good at spotting things - look around where I can see."  He grinned.  "But snakes are neat."  He watched it slither back into the grass.  "Try again!"

[Fire Lily 86]

@@Randimaxis, 

"I don't know, I'm just a filly with weird color wings and no idea of what my cutie mark might ever be. We could have a tea party back at home if mom says yes, I'm sure she will though, I mean you are the best big brother ever after all! How could she say no? I think we're getting closer to Ponyville so we shouldn't even have to wait very long!" 

 

Angel watched the snake slither off. "aww, I was sure that was it." She looked around a little bit more and flew up into a nearby tree and came back with a green bird that she was sure Dax could've seen.

 

"Is this it?" She asked while slowly putting it on the ground in front of him so it doesn't fly away.

[Melke 160]

 

 

@Denim&Venom @Blitz Boom @cwhip9 @P-Jay

 

Syo merely floated along the cart while just listening to the ponies talking and somewhat hyping themselves up. She did not see any need to join in as far as she was concerned, she was not going to have much impact with words.

 

 

 

"so how far have any of you been in the Forrest here, its pretty easy to get lost for most pony's, not sure on cats but then again iv been wrong before"

 

"I only just came here but then again, I was born in a forest so it is no stranger to me. Plus, my key staff is more than just looks you know." Syo answered upon hearing the question. 

[Blitz Boom 4,629]

@@Melke,

@@Seamore Sandwich,

@@Denim&Venom,

@@cwhip9,

@@P-Jay,

 

"I have made my resident in these woods for the past 2 days or so, but it seems like a vast area, so I doubt I have been far within."

 

Briar wandered alongside the cart, following the sound and feeling of the wheel right next to him to guide him easier through this place and along with the others. He would hate to slow them down s they seemed to look forward to what would happen. Or well, a few of them at least. There seemed to be mixed reactions amongst the ponies here about what to think of everything going on so to pinpoint an exact mood wasn't that easy, but overall it seemed positive at least, so there was that.

 

Last, wandering near the front so she'd be ready if something got the nerve to raise a limb against them, didn't say anything to Crescent's question at first as she was looking around and found it a little trivial, but as the others started to answer she let out her two bits on it.

 

"Trained here last night near town, so could get lost, but we're leaving a lot of hoofprints right now. Should be easy to follow back if it was."

 

On the other hoof, Vivid didn't say anything, standing as the back of the group she could actually see and feeling the air around her. She would have asked Syo what she meant exactly about the key staff, as other magic was interesting to her, but right now she was trying to get a feel for some other magic she could swear lingered in the air near them.

 

Was it from the cat? She had no idea, all she knew was that it felt like there was a magical source nearby that she just couldn't see, and right now she was still trying to pin point it. Few things irked her more than not knowing what she was dealing with, and the unknown magic - even though it might just be remnants of the cat's - was slightly getting on her nerves to the point were she contemplated having tendrils sweep the area and see if it scooped something up. She wouldn't do that, as she needed to conserve some magic for what was ahead, but the thought was tempting.

[Seamore Sandwich 471]

@@Denim&Venom

@@Blitz Boom

@@cwhip9

@@P-Jay

 

"Well I've been logging in this forest for a couple years now. I know my way around this forest better than most, except maybe Zekora. I know there are a couple other ponies living out here, I've seen their homes, but I haven't met them yet. But there's no need to worry, I'll be able to lead you all out of here. I wouldn't bring a group out into the forest if I couldn't find my way back out." When he had seen the other ponies' houses, he decided not to bother them, he was there to work after all. The forest itself is quite large, so it made sense that he wouldn't bump into them either.

 

"As you can see, I'm a lumberjack, so if you don't mind me asking, what do you all do for a living?" Seamore knew it would take a little while get to the area they were traveling to. Some conversation would help to pass the time.

Edited September 9, 2015 by Seamore Sandwich

[cwhip9 1,078]

@@Denim&Venom

@@Blitz Boom

@@cwhip9

@@P-Jay

 

"Well I've been logging in this forest for a couple years now. I know my way around this forest better than most, except maybe Zekora. I know there are a couple other ponies living out here, I've seen their homes, but I haven't met them yet. But there's no need to worry, I'll be able to lead you all out of here. I wouldn't bring a group out into the forest if I couldn't find my way back out." When he had seen the other ponies' houses, he decided not to bother them, he was there to work after all. The forest itself is quite large, so it made sense that he wouldn't bump into them either.

 

"As you can see, I'm a lumberjack, so if you don't mind me asking, what do you all do for a living?" Seamore knew it would take a little while get to the area they were traveling to. Some conversation would help to pass the time.

"well being a resident here my mane job is helping the pegsi with the night whether, odd when you think as much as they seem powerful in the dark almost everypony gets blind" replied cresent, "iv also been working on a map of the forest, still up in my tree house but ill get back to it latter" said the bat thinking he probably should walk near seamore. He didn't know whether he was the only nocternal in the group but he should probably save his flying for the spider

[Denim&Venöm 19,050]

@Blitz Boom @cwhip9 @P-Jay @Seamore Sandwich

 

While the chit chat was being traded back n fourth, Priestess sat silent, chillaxing in the back of the cart, listening to it all go down.  She didn't need to look ahead to where they were going. She'd be able to smell trouble before she saw it. Besides, the less she did holding both pony guise and her 'blur' ability, the better. 

 

"Lemme see if I'm getting this right: We've got Syo, the extradimensional floating cat. Seamore the Lumberjack. Crescent the Batpony. Should probably keep more of an eye on him than he did on me. Um, Last, I think it was? The stereotypical ultra serious, gung ho swordsmare. There's the philosophcial plant horse... Briar... I think that maybe it? And we've got the Vivid smoke horse. Who is wondering around the party looking a bit on edge for some reason... and who keeps coming back to the cart. Certainly can't be me. Bat-pone might be able to sniff me out, but she doesn't have any way of discerning me. Right? 

 

​Now am I forgetting anyone? If so, then they really must not stand out too much." 

[Randimaxis 8,652]

"I don't know, I'm just a filly with weird color wings and no idea of what my cutie mark might ever be. We could have a tea party back at home if mom says yes, I'm sure she will though, I mean you are the best big brother ever after all! How could she say no? I think we're getting closer to Ponyville so we shouldn't even have to wait very long!" 

 

Dax considered the idea that Angel's mother might recognize him.  What if I got Angel into trouble?  He had worries about this trip... but then again, he wasn't about to just let her walk home by herself; he remembered the kinds of things that had happened to him, and there was no way he wanted her to get hurt.

 

Besides, she's such a sweetheart - her mother's gotta be some kind of nice to have raised a daughter like this... right?

 

"Aww, I was sure that was it."

 

He grinned, but shook his head.  She took off again, and Dax just kept trotting along, keeping mind of where she was.  Angel eventually returned with a small green bird, and the way she held it and set it down so carefully, Dax just softly chuckled.

 

"Is this it?"

 

"I..."  He thought for a moment, then broke into a big smile.  "... I'd tell you it was, but that wouldn't be honest, would it?"

 

Dax touseled her mane, then lifted his eyebrow in a quirky expression.

 

"One more guess.  I'll give you a hint - it's closer than you think!"

[Blitz Boom 4,629]

@@Melke,

@@Seamore Sandwich,

@@Denim&Venom,

@@cwhip9,

 

"I'm afraid I haven't done much. Being a traveller haven't helped me finding anything stable to do, though I do linger some places for a bit of time and assist with what I can of physical labour. Considering I seem to be residing in this are for a good while longer than I'm used to, I will likely put myself back into the role of a menial aworker, but a distinction of sorts could be hard to make until I know where I would be most needed."

 

Well, it was Sort of correct. he had heard that there were apple farms in the area, and he had his interactions with members of the Apple family before so he knew that they at times had more land than they could handle themselves, so it was an option to help there if he was needed. Still, nothing was assured, and nothing should be taken for granted at this moment in time.

 

"Ain't got a ground for things either since I just got here a few days ago, but I've worked as a guard before so eh, if I stick around this area for long enough, I might lend a hoof to the local authorities, whoever that is."

 

Last hadn't taken notice of Stargazer before as she had been over at the fire - Well, beyond the noise, but that was hard to miss - but it was her best bet currently as she had at least a few weeks in town to wait for the tournament and she got bored easy. It was this or mercenary work, and temp time guard duty was frankly not far off all things considered so eh, same deal.

 

"And what about you?"

 

Last looked directly at Voss that had gotten close to the cart once more, trying to focus a bit on things near where Priestess was, but not enough to make it so that she looked like she actually had a target. Which frankly, she didn't either. There were weird magical traces mingling right now, and it made for some unsteady paths to follow. Though, at the questions towards her, she fell somewhat back again and looked towards everypony whilst on the walk.

 

"I used to be a soul collector. I would wander the earth, harvest the stray spirits that the Reapers had left behind or ignored and send them on their way. Though, that have tended to be more of a hobby after the first 80 years or so."

 

She wasn't lying with this, just avoiding adding a few extra layers to it. Back before what she was now, she had been able to see the dead wandering and could drain them of their excess energy, which helped them to move along and her to gain more strength. That duty had not stopped simply because of what she changed into, and even these days she still kept going at that if she stumbled upon them, but it was not as severe as it had been once.

 

Once, after her masters have gotten to her, she would also harvest a little more... Preemptively, so to speak, and she would rather not discuss that part when the tone seemed overall pleasant. It was a matter of ethics these days not to do such a thing, and it was one of the reasons she had not mentioned this to Cubus when they had met. There wasn't a reason to give him false hope after all, and she could likely still not have sent him along. Curses that kept you from the Reapers touch were powerful things that would take more to remove than she had access to more than likely, so it would have been pointless then, and it would be selfdestructive now.

 

"I still practise it, but otherwise I am more of an employee for somepony to bring messages, watch things they cannot and at times, handle things that require my hoofs to get a little dirty rather than theirs. It is a markable improvement over my old masters usage of me, but then again, they weren't the aspect of love and her husband either, so it is little wonder these new duties are generally less... savage. At least so far."

[Denim&Venöm 19,050]

@Blitz Boom @cwhip9 @P-Jay @Seamore Sandwich

 

"So, we have a Shinigami in our midst. That explains a couple of things. Been a long time since crossed paths with one, and for good reasons. Shinigami are the kind of folk you have the good fortune in life of avoiding. Traversing the paths they do, wondering in their domain, taking a stroll in the shadowlands that parallel this world, tend give you a broader clarity and appreciation involving life." 

 

Priestess then rolled to the side of the wagon opposite Vivid. 

 

"I am probably the only one here who is not going to find what she said odd in the least bit."

[Seamore Sandwich 471]

@@Denim&Venom

@@Blitz Boom

@@cwhip9

@@P-Jay

@@Melke

 

"That's... interesting." Seamore didn't know what else to say after hearing what Voss had said. He wasn't one to judge, he was caught a little off guard by it. It wouldn't be much further to the section of the woods the Everwood grows in, soon they'd start seeing webs. Looking over to Syo he asks, "And what about you... um... I'm sorry, I forgot your name? I do that a lot." Caliber was somehow separated from the group but Seamore kept leading the everypony deeper into the forest, not even realizing he was missing.

Edited September 11, 2015 by Seamore Sandwich

[Melke 160]

@@Seamore Sandwich, 

@@Blitz Boom, 

@@Denim&Venom, 

@@cwhip9,

 

Syo had flew out a bit more from the cart, her eyes were that of a cat and she can see better at night. She spotted the webs from up high and then came back down.

 

 

 

"And what about you... um... I'm sorry, I forgot your name? I do that a lot."

 

"Nya? Oh, me? My name is Syo." Syo said and then she hopped on Seamore's back from her key. "I just do odd jobs from various places and back home, people pay me a lot of money for "emergency" transportation. I love to explore so that's why I am here."

[Fire Lily 86]

 Angel stared at dax for a moment before sitting down looking completely lost. Though her eyes did brighten up a little bit when she messed with her mane. It made him seem more like a real brother to her.  "Closer than I think huh? Hmm..."She said while tapping her chin with her hoof deep in thought. "You're good at this." She flopped over on her side for just a moment. Suddenly she rushed over and put a hoof on Dax's cutie mark. "Is it this? it's pretty much the only green thing that I haven't tried yet. What does yours mean anyway?" She as curiously. 

[Randimaxis 8,652]

"Closer than I think huh? Hmm..."

 

You can do it... think about what I can see...

 

"You're good at this."

 

He saw her eyes lock on his cutie mark, and he knew she had it.

 

"Is it this? it's pretty much the only green thing that I haven't tried yet." 

 

Dax's face lit up.  "Yup, you've got it!  I knew you would."  Only further proof of how smart she was, in his opinion.

 

"What does yours mean anyway?"

 

It was a touchy subject, but Dax knew he had to answer the question.  His grin faltered for just a moment, but then a full smile rebuilt itself from the ground up across his whole face.

 

"It's an emerald, poking out of a rock.  I got my cutie mark because of my sixth sense about emeralds.  I don't mean, like, magic or anything... at least, I don't think it's magic... but I can just tell where they are, especially when they're close-by.  Not all gems, mind you - just emeralds.  My family line has been running the mines for at least a century, so mining's in my blood... and emeralds are the Blackwater specialty and trademark.  So, I guess it just means I'm gonna be a miner someday; then again, maybe it means something else entirely."

 

Dax gazed off into the dusky sky, looking at the stars and having a moment of personal reflection - then just smiled sheepishly at Angel.

 

"But even though I have a cutie mark, it doesn't mean I know everything there is about how it's gonna go yet; it just means I'm pretty sure of where it'll end up, so to speak."

[Seamore Sandwich 471]

@@Denim&Venom

@@Blitz Boom

@@cwhip9

@@P-Jay

@@Melke

 

"We're here," Seamore said as they were entering a part of the forest full of trees with bark in various shades of blue and green. Some of the trees seemed to glow, only a little though, and they had pastel rainbow colored leaves. It would have been beautiful if not for the webs covering the area. Nearby, the remains of a cragadile could be seen covered in webs. "Now, the Diamond Spider could arrive any moment, so I'll get to work on selecting the trees." Seamore disconnected himself from the cart, went up to one of the trees with a dim glow and blue-green bark, then put his ear up against it, knocked on it, then shook his head and moved on to the next tree, put his ear to it, knocked, then licked it and smiled. For anypony who could detect magic, the trees had so much power it could be overwhelming, and the same kind of magic was coming from the axels of Seamore's cart, intensifying as it got closer to the trees.

Edited September 13, 2015 by Seamore Sandwich

[Denim&Venöm 19,050]

@Blitz Boom @cwhip9 @P-Jay @Melke @Seamore Sandwich

 

Priestess hopped out of the cart. The enchanted trees truly were a sight to behold. She could sense the aura coming off them through a variety of senses. 

 

But now wasn't' the time to get enamored. An arcane arachnid was in this vicinity, and she needed to be ready for it. 

 

"If that thing can take down and bleed dry a cragadile, than these folk are gonna be in for the fight of their lives. Let's see if I can arrange for it to end before it starts. Victory is decided by those who control the battlefield."

 

Priestess wondered over to the cragadile corpse, scrutinizing the mummified remains for something specific. "Come on, it's a cragadile. You had to have left something behi- Ah! There you are."

 

Using her mouth, Priestess took a pair of tweezers and a small plastic bag out of her tail, and with her mouth, operated the tweezers to take out a follicle of coarse hair from the surface of the cocoon, and placed the hair in her bag. "That's step one. Time to set up step two."

 

Priestess sprinted past the group down the path ahead, everypony unaware of the diviner's actions. 25 feet ahead of where the wagon was, she activated a third gift of hers: a traveling talisman, storing an item in a thin strip of paper. Thankfully it was a quick use of magic, rather than a prolonged one like her two other gifts currently in use. Out of the strip came a big, brown lump of fabric and string. "With how dark it is right now, they most likely won't see it."   She got to work on the set up. 

 

"As long as that cart stays around, this will work. All I have to do is work quickly, and be patient." 

Edited September 13, 2015 by Denim&Venom