open Casual stroll

[EQ_Theta 462]

@@Blitz Boom

 

Omens words rang true. Despite being short, it was enough to summarize everything that was relative of the day itself, even the monotonous break in his failure to find his sister, it was a nice change. He had something to look forward to but at the same time, he had his concerns for Omen. It didn't sound fair if one of them found success while the other did not, and while there was some time to go about looking for Discord, the last thing Senlin was reminded of was Omen's uncertainty. 

"Is finding Discord what you really want to do? I don't want to sound pushy but he must mean a lot to you when you talk about him. I won't judge you on what you say; I just want you to be satisfied with what you ultimately decide. I will understand and will provide assistance when and should you need it. You've been patient with me and I thought I'd be the same to you."

[Denim&Venöm 19,294]

@@Seamore Sandwich,

A blast of searing changeling magic was shot at the incoming brood. It was unknown how many spiders got vaporized in the shot. A drone guided their queen to saftey, four more taking up defensive postures around her, taking shots at the crawlers. Two others took their hots at the trap door, trying to blast away the webbing,t eh crawlers and the door itself.

 

*Thwack* Miststalker would find that he had a talisman stuck to his forehead. Priestess was now quickly muttering incantations. He would also find one changeling attempting to restrain him, while the two others battled Carl. 

 

 

 

@Blitz Boom, @Melke,

 "We could do that. But first, we should introduce ourselves, and our friends here."  she stepped forward. "Ahem. Who are we?"

 

"The Swords Of Subterranea"  Voices carried along the wind said in chorus. A lot of voices.

 

What are we?"

 

"The necessary evil."

 

"Why, are we necessary?" 

 

"To purge the world of evils worse than Tarturus."

 

"And why, are we the chosen many ordained to take this unenviable task?"

 

"Because no pony else will." 

 

A white paw came from under the cloak and undid the buttons near the hood.

 

"And because it's bucking fun!"

 

"Amen!" 

 

 In an instant, the cloak was gone, having been cast off, as a pair of large leather wings were spread. 

 

And standing before them, was an armored, cream colored fox with white paws & muzzle, a mane of gold orange tied up in a long ponytail. What stood out the most, would be the extra tufted ears, the very long bushy tail, the pair of longer fangs protruding from her muzzle, and of course, the wings. 

 

"Now allow me to introduce myself! My name is The Reverend. I'm half fox, half bat! And you can't! Teach! That!" She pointed to the bat pony next to her.  "This right here! Is Summer Bolt! She's my mom! Every bat  around thinks she's hot as the sun! And you can't! Teach! That!" 

 

She was practically jumping and skipping in time with her own words. "Give it a rest, cause we're the realest crew in the forest! Bada bing bada boom! Taking you straight to your doom! And we're gonna prove that there's, one word! To describe your entire race! And we're gonna spell it out for ya!"

 

*Ahem* The voices joined her. "S-A-W-F-T! Saaaaawwwwwwffffft!" 

 

She stood there. Obviously proud of herself. 

Edited March 18, 2016 by Denim&Venom

[Lonk Chase 255]

@@GingerLightning

@@Seamore Sandwich

@@Blitz Boom

 

Lonk and his crew came upon a small hut in the woods. Shoddy-looking, the hut seems to have been here unkept for centuries. The windows and doors are boarded up shut, yet Lonk seems to have a strange feeling about this place.

Maybe he should go in. Remove the boards, open the door, and find something inside. Something important.

"Anypony know how to remove boards from doors?" tossed Lonk.

Edited March 18, 2016 by Lonk Chase

[Stardust Balance 7,739]

@Dark Horse. 

@Glike. 

 

Well, at least one of them expressed gratitude. 

 

Nonplussed, Stardust followed after the two, entering the shop and greeted by the sweet scent of treats and baked goods. The Earth Pony's nostrils immediately picked up on them, the warm smells prompting Stardust to follow Miss Sanguines, being introduced by the enthusiastic unicorn towards the delicious displays of goods, and Stardust expressed how impressed he was. Honestly, he just wanted a soda, as he heard Sugarcube Corner was also known for selling sweet drinks. If that's not the case, then meh, chocolate will just as do. 

 

At the red unicorn's question, Stardust shrugged, glancing over the numerous treats, "Not yet, I'll go find us a table first instead." Without awaiting their response, the yellow Earth Pony looked around for a free table for the three equines, finding a suitable place right by a window. 

[Blitz Boom 4,655]

@,

 

Florence let out a loud gulp and slowly opened the door, ready to smack it shut at the first sight of anypony, gryphon, smalller dragon race and/or whatever else were amongst the growing ranks of these cultists. With her luck it were inevitable that they'd be faced with somepony after all, so much she were sure about, but when the door were finally cracked open enough for her to take a tentative look outside... Nothing.

 

All things considered, this was better than she had even dreamed about, but it wasn't going to last forever. They'd have to get moving when they had the chance.

 

"I... I think the coast is clear."

 

With that, she wandered outand took some steps to the right, hoping both that Veil were just behind her and that they would keep being alone. Unlikely, but you could always hope... Right?

 

____________________________________________________________________________________________

 

 

 

@@Seamore Sandwich,

@@cwhip9,

 

Last stopped up briefly when they saw the others under attack. She remembered some of those, even though they likely didn't even know she existed anymore. Still, she wanted to help them, but as the attack going through from Quill had proven, it wasn't a fight they could be part of. Much as it pained her to do so... She shook Quill and tugged him towards the path they had been on before.

 

 

"There's nothing we can do for them now. We have to get going to what we can fight, and have faith that they can defeat these on their own."

 

Considering how it looked, she had no idea if they were being ganged up upon by allies of the spiders or getting help, but she had to hope the latter and then move on. They had their own battle to fight.

 

___________________________________________________________________

 

 

 

@@Seamore Sandwich,

@@SugarfootWillie,

@@Quinch,

 

Penny didn't get a response at first from Zhu, as he used a bit of focus to begin with to direct a gust of wind to toss Ink aside. Why he wasn't sure, but looking the pony over he had seen the roads unravel in front of him if he kept standing where he did. The touch of the beast he understood, but not why he had taken pity on this soul over the others he had trapped. Perhaps when this were over, he could try and see why. Might be something he had briefly glanced and then forgotten, as he did not think it compassion for just anypony. He hadn't felt that way in a long, long time.

 

With that business done, he turned his head and let his gaze wander over Penny, the pony who had been close to interupting his work when she attacked the demonic mare. She had already been weakened too much for his liking, and this were not helping. Yet...

 

The roads unfolded in front of him as the seconds ticked by before his tongue unleashed from his mouth and tasted the air in front of him.

 

"Tell me, protector of home: How much do you care for your town? Enough to listen to my words, and fight what truly plagues all these lives?"

 

Meanwhile, after the attack that did some damage between Vivid and what she supposed were some kind of spider-creature she hadn't seen before - it were hard to see as it had gotten taken before she really had a chance to focus and she had to try and avoid being grabbed right now - Vivid were trying to think of what to do with what she had just seen.

 

There were somepony beneath the evil thing. A possessed one potentially, used as a host until this one were strong enough to go on its own. That made things harder, as she could not just tear this one apart when she would just end up killing an innocent as well. Or well, Supposed innocent, she had barely seen anything and only heard a cry for help, so might be an evil one. Though she were sure it was a lesser evil at least.

 

It were problematic, but her enemy being a possessed one also gave her an interesting option. Not something she were sure would work, as this parasite might be strong enough to fight her off, but with the battle being as it were, she would have to try.

 

As the limb came for her again, Vivid split into a thick line of deep purple smoke, and rushed towards the Forgotten One. Aiming for his head and after some issues, managed to get through and rush into the host.

 

Already from the first contact she could feel that she were right: The thing had a strong hold on this one and it fought control just she did. A battle she wasn't sure she could win yet, but perhaps if she could ruse the controlled one to fight with her it would help a bit, depending on things.

 

"Hello? Whoever you are, can you hear me?"

 

It were likely not pleasant for the host to have them both there. Two fighting over you, both in body and mind, were going to be straining, but hopefully his mind could survive this intrusion long enough.

 

_____________________________________________________________

 

 

 

@@Wax n' Wane,

 

"I'm afraid not sir. Though I can tell you that her majesty is in town now. I saw her before nightfall, and I have an audience tomorrow so her place in town should be assured. I assume she's sleeping now though, even if this place does have something of a night life it seems at times."

 

Stargazer looked over town, where a few scattered lights were shown at the late night eating place, the bar he had been arresting a suspect in last night, and the ones wandering around here and there. It wasn't many, but it were enough to constitute a night life.

 

It seemed quiet tonight so far though. He had been scouting for some hours now and found nothing, so perhaps last night had been a fluke rather than the norm. In a sense he hoped so, but he weren't sent here if nothing ever needed attention, so he would not hold hopes too high. Not yet.

 

"I can try and help what way I can until then. Do you have any beings you have yet to ask? Doctors? The Solar Guards? Potential fringe individuals outside the city limits?"

 

_______________________________________________________________

 

 

@@Moonlit,

@@Seamore Sandwich,

 

 

"Holding me nonsense. I've Loads of time and nothing to do."

 

Ziggy giggled and looked down on Serenade, then turned around and waved Derpy off before she got too far away. She hadn't the chance to really learn anything about the mailmare beyond how she used some of her time teaching flying and y'know, the fact that she were a mailmare, but hopefully when she showed up the next time she'd have the chance to really have a talk with her. Would likely be well fun to learn about her, just like it had been and would be with Serenade.

 

Speaking of which...

 

 

"So, how can I help Serenade? Huh?"

 

_____________________________________________________________

 

 

@@Flinp,

 

"What, do I look like I have wings dearie? Or a monocle 'n suit? Those places ain't for an adventurer like me. They're for fancy folks that likes safety or cloud makers."

 

Crash grinned at the mare. Many things she had been called during her times, but mistaken for a pegasus or thought fitting in Canterlot wasn't the usual stuff. Especially the first one were a fun thing to be called, considering she were an earth mare herself and the only feathers she had ever worn came from prey she'd been hunting, or a few feathers she had framed back home as memories from gryphons that she had been on adventures with and would always recal as friends.

 

She had a few from pegasi too, sure, but to get a gryphon to pluck a feather from their head and present it as a memento was something special, even if the others meant as much to her as them.

 

"Sides, just saying that were I'm from, the wild life bites if it gets close to ya, it doesn't run off like it were nothin'."

 

________________________________________________________

 

 

@@EQ_Theta,

 

"I need to find him, sooner or later. Changed or not, conflicted or sure, in the end he made me who I am. Eventually I will have to meet him."

 

Omen turned her head and looked directly at Senlin, staying silent for a bit before going on whilst she thought about things. There wasn't much to think about really, but still, there were a little that had wanted to pass her mind that she had to process first.

 

"But I have time. Master is immortal, and he made me to be there to serve for eternity. I can use some of the time whilst I think to help somepony that needs it. The only one who have called me a friend since him."

 

____________________________________________________________

 

 

@@Melke,

@@Seamore Sandwich,

@@Denim&Venom,

@@Mentis Soliloquy,

 

Briar were close to attacking the newcomers when they showed all of a sudden, but their words rang not of somepony against them, but rather enemies of these arachnids that had attempted a hit on their lives.

 

"I don't know who you are, but if you are against these, I welcome you as allies."

 

With that, the thorns on his vines rose up and he slammed the revealed one down into the trail of spiders, crushing several and impaling others. He Would have used his other vine to do more damage, but... Well, the netting had done its job and essentially had glued his left side stuck.

 

The remaining spiders stopped up, a quivering going through them before quickly going backwards and gathering into the armor of Ashta, whilst, still taking advantage of the distractions, Ko decided to strike.

 

Though these new arrivals were problematic, he had a primary target to handle first and threw four poisoned daggers towards Briar. He might be able to deflect themon his own, but if the metal even made brief contact with his *flesh* the poison would do its work and he's be dead soon thereafter. Something he did not want the others to interupt, which is why he threw a few after them as well before moving around closer to Ashta with drawn swords, prepared for a swift retreat.

 

Yes, they still had other targets to deal with, but this were getting out of their favour as they had not been able to prepare an area in advance, and now had both an unknown *pony* that were doing his own in attacking and these two newcomers who didn't seem like beginners, and even potential hunters of their kin.

 

The others could be found later, but the two new ones in particular were problems. Problems who were likely to follow them into a trap if they made a tactical retreat for a little. It wasn't meant for them, but if they hunted them then they were their targets as well, and it was certainly made for that.

Edited March 18, 2016 by Blitz Boom

[Veil 260]

@@Blitz Boom

 

"Are you sure?"

 

Veil thought about saying it quietly, but they haven't actually been all that quiet up to this point.

 

"I'm right behind you. You seem to know more about this place then I do so I'll let you lead the way. Just try to be careful, I want to try to avoid anything bad happening."

 

Veil meant it too. He was also more concerned about Florence's safety at this point. So he carefully followed behind her.

[Mentis Soliloquy 3,026]

@@Denim&Venom,

 

Summer looked to her daughter, she still wasn't sure she should of come.  "Dear Luna help me with my kid... she get so worked up about these things, Reve you just need to calm down love we are not here to make merry and rap are we? How are they gonna remember what you said when we kill them hey? Come on love." 

[Denim&Venöm 19,294]

@@Mentis Soliloquy,

 

@Melke, @Seamore Sandwich,

 

"I thought I'd be polite, before we sent their corpses, or lack there of, to their masters the, what were they again? The beast courts? And speaking of," she took a step forward. "We know you've been sent to make an attempt on our High Priestess. In doing so, you've just enacted conspiracy to commit murder, perhaps even attempted murder, of Subterranean royalty. Which could be construed as an act of war. So, you've  not only earned the ire of we The Swords, but you've also crossed all of Subterranea. And we don't need permission from the night princess to exact swift and brutal retaliation. We were called Equestria's fangs and the Nightmare's spawn for a reason." 

[Moonlit 593]

@@Blitz Boom, Serenade waves a hoof in Derpy's direction, then eventually rolls over and stands up, "Ow." She rolls her shoulders and folds her wings up. before turning to Ziggy. "Well, like I said to Derpy, I'm behind in my work, and tonight will be spent charting the star patterns." Serenade will start walking back to her house, "But first, before I do any of that. Dinner and a swim" She grins, before turning back to Ziggy, "That'll be a good two hours, and I don't want to monopolize your time Ziggy."

[Blitz Boom 4,655]

@,

 

"All I know is that going right went bad last time... Let's try the other way."

 

Sneaking down the hall on the left, she wasn't too comfortable with this whole thing, but what else were there to do? They couldn't stay, and now that they were two, they had a better chance of getting away. And they wouldn't stay two for much longer if how the others were taken were any indication.

 

They wouldn't get far though before the sound of claws would be heard faintly ahead of them. She would get into a small panic and look around, finding nothing. Except for a door leading to places unknown, who were barely open with only vague light behind it. Likely it were a dangerous path, but... It was this or fight, and they had to try and avoid that as much as possible, or they'd get swarmed.

 

"H-Hurry! In here!"

 

She whispered the words to Veil before opening the thankfully not creaking door and going in, leaving space for him to walk in as well before she'd close the door again. She didn't look at what were there, so he would have the first look and see if there was anything bad in here, something good, or something strange. Hopefully not the first one, but she just had tp pray right now for that.

 

(Your choice what is and isn't in there. Free hooves. )

 

_________________________________________________________________________________

 

 

@@Moonlit,

 

"Heh, okay. I can meet you in a couple of hours then and go goof about for a bit if you want. But only if that's what you want, okay? I don't wanna be in your way, but I don't want you to just ask me to go because you think I have stuff to do whilst you feel lonely either. Nopony should feel alone after all."

 

She could use hours on random things if needed, like looking over this town she had come to recently again, but there were time for everything. She were in no rush to move on currently, and she'd much rather keep her friend company if she were needed there. And she could get hours to go goofing off in the house too. Just had to shut off the brain for a bit and wander around dancing randomly, listen to things, check the place or a load of other things. She could almost always find something entertaining, no matter how small it might seem.

[Moonlit 593]

@@Blitz Boom,  Serenade stops, "Ziggy, your not in my way, but my work can be incredibly tedious sometimes. I don't want you to become bored." She leans over and quickly nuzzles Ziggy, "Besides" she whispers, "do you really want to see me hunt and kill my dinner". Slowly walking back to her house, "And as for your last point, I don't feel lonely....not anymore." 

Edited March 20, 2016 by Moonlit

[GingerLightning 258]

@@Lonk Chase, @@Blitz Boom,

"I almost kicked my backdoor once if that counts....And This place seems like no pony has been here in several hundred years,are you sure somepony even lived here? "Ginger Lightning asked Lonk  looking at the old hut in front of them it was kind of strange to see a hut in the middle of the woods.

[Seamore Sandwich 471]

@@Denim&Venom

 

Miststalker broke apart as the changeling grabbed him, tiny spiders spreading all over said changeling, leaving Priestess to plummet toward a pit of acid. A few managed to find a way under the changeling's exoskeleton, biting down and injecting their venom deep into his flesh. The venom wouldn't kill him, but he could be paralyzed for hours. Other spiders shot webs from him to the nearest strand of web going across the room, tethering him to it so he wouldn't fall to his death. Perhaps he could be used as a bargaining chip if it came to it, but there was no need for unnecessary bloodshed. Carl, or at least two thirds of him, managed to get through the trapdoor, the rest lost to blasts of magic. The swarm of spiders jumped down toward one of the other changelings in the arena, converging mid-air to form a slightly smaller version of Carl, lunging at the changeling with dripping fangs. Some of Carl's memories were lost, but it was always difficult to tell which ones.

 

 

@@Blitz Boom

@@cwhip9

 

"Uh... Okay..." Quill decided to trust Last about not being able to help. She had in fact been in this state longer than him right? So if anypony would know, it would be her. He continued to follow her as she led the way toward Ponyville. Just then, a rift spread open in front of them, and Sylar stepped through, prepared to track down the beast that had done this to him. "Which way to Ponyville?"

 

 

@@Lonk Chase

@@GingerLightning

@@Blitz Boom

 

Sissilia snuck her way from the trees onto the roof at the rear of the hut while the others weren't looking. She wasn't going to waste energy trying to remove boards from the doors, not when there were an easier way for her to get inside. She had stayed out of sight most of the way here, so the others weren't likely to notice she was gone.

 

 

@@Blitz Boom

@@SugarfootWillie

@@Quinch

 

"Well, this isn't exactly my hometown, I'm here on business," Penny responded. "As for this threat, it attacked me, therefore making itself become my problem, or rather making me become its problem," she said with a confident smile. Then she looked over to where Vivid was before to see that she was now gone. "Wait, where did it go?"

 

Ink was pushed aside by Zhu's wind attack just in time to avoid being crushed by its claws. He decided his best bet was to just hide inside until this was all over. His brother would find him, he always did.

 

 

Inside The Forgotten One

 

"Hello Vivid, thanks for coming to help me," Charlie said to Vivid. "Hold on, I'm calling the others, we need them." Charlie had direct contact with The Forgotten One's mind, so he knew what it would take to stop him.

 

 

@@Denim&Venom

 

"It's me, Charlie. If you can hear me, come quickly. All of Equestria is in danger, an ancient evil is on the loose. Bring that piece of me if you can, too," Charlie brodcast through the hivemind to all of the changelings in Queen Allure's hive including Miles. He hadn't any experience with telepathy before, so he wasn't quite sure how it worked, so he put as much effort into it as he could. Instead of sending the name of the location, which he didn't know, he sent an image of the place he was seeing, which would be clearly recognizable as Sugarcube Corner.

 

 

@@Melke

@@Blitz Boom

@@Mentis Soliloquy

@@Denim&Venom

 

Still maintaining his force field, Miles was preparing a battle strategy in his mind when he suddenly received Charlie's message. For a moment he was blind to the world around him, seeing Sugarcube Corner instead. Then everything returned to normal. He responded with a direct line to Charlie, "I'll see what I can do, but we're under attack by giant spiders right now." Charlie then responded directly to Miles, having an example to work from helping him figure out how. After hearing Charlie's plan, he got to work. He began by charging a blast and firing a shot ricocheting it off of an Everwood tree at Ko. If what Charlie said were correct, the blast should cause Ko to have an out of body experience. The next step would be tricky...

Edited March 20, 2016 by Seamore Sandwich

[Denim&Venöm 19,294]

@@Seamore Sandwich,

A few spiders suck to the adhesive of Priestess talisman. She kept up the chanting for a few more milseconds, before whipping it at high speed, peeling it of spiders and taping it to her own forehead.  Near the bottom, she grabbed onto a thread and swung herself up, jumping and standing on the threads with perfect balance, not sticking to any of them. As if she were a spider herself. "You just signed your death warrant. You, and the entirety of the beast courts!" She leaped from web to web to get back at Mist & Carl. SHe noticed the tow changelings pausing in flight. "Why are you standing still!? Fight back!"  

 

Back in the hall, the other lings were backing away, trying to pry open the trap door, if not rip the floor aroudn it apart. "what is taking so long?" Allure barked out, peeling the last of the webbing form her face. "It's just a tra-" 

 

"It's me, Charlie. If you can hear me, come quickly. All of Equestria is in danger, an ancient evil is on the loose. Bring that piece of me if you can, too,"

 

"Charlie? Why does that name sound famil-" she stopped as she clutched her head in pain. Memories, lots of them, flooding back in. 

 

@Melke @Blitz Boom @Mentis Soliloquy

 

Reverie spotted the daggers coming in, towards her, Summer and Briar. They wouldn't reach.

 

*Clang!* 

 

All 8 daggers fell to the ground, and next to them, crossbow bolts, each pointed from different angles. "As you can guess. You're surrounded. Best for you to surrender. Now. Though if you're more inclined to fight to the death, that's welcome too. We'll tape a note to your remains telling your next of kin such took place." Reverie began making her way forward, cutting though the webs with a gauntlet blade. 

[Wax n' Wane 103]

@Blitz Boom

 

Wane nodded.  While he had settled in Ponyville, he had not been in Ponyville for long- he had only finished the payments for his little cottage.  In addition, he hasn't had time to branch out as much as, say, asking convenient passerby, travelers and locals alike.  Ponyville, he feared, was a cold lead.  However, that was what he thought until his chance run-in with elder Guard.

 

"Well, if I might be rather... forward, I was hoping you could pull me along for your audience with Princess Twilight.  It would save me from the bureaucratic Tartarus that is Town Hall here.  If not, I was wondering if you might know how many other bat ponies there are around here.  I don't exactly have time to mingle just yet."

 

He grimaced slightly at the mental list of chores for his cottage, namely getting his cottage renovation plans for a nook in the eaves run by Town Hall to check if the design is up to code, as well installing his information web in the cellar.  As much as he was invested in his quest, he still hated the idea of sticking each and every pin and string back in its place.  He gazed at the moon briefly, smiling and closing his eyes as he basking its light and the cooling air.

 

"Which is a shame, considering this is Ponyville, 'where friendship reigns'."

[Mentis Soliloquy 3,026]

@@Denim&Venom, @@Blitz Boom, @@Melke, 

 

"Reve! Show some respect and shut your trap." Summer joined her in trying to make head way into the mess they were now in she got into things like this now and then because of Priestess but that was one of the reasons she married her in the first place, was never boring around her...

[Denim&Venöm 19,294]

 

 

@Blitz Boom, @Melke, 

"Show some respect? To the very beings that are making the huge mistake of trying to kill other mom?  Your wife need I remind you. Now why in Tsukuyomi's name would I want to do that?" Reverie continued stalking her way forward to the arachnids currently being blitzed at by lighting from magic tree's and blasts from a changeling. 

[Mentis Soliloquy 3,026]

@Denim&Venom, @Blitz Boom, @Melke, 

 

​"We show respect because we must seem better than those we fight, there are several reasons for this but this not the time nor the place for me to tell you about those reasons. Now can you smell mom? I can't see her yet." Have to admit my daughters nose is very handy.

[Denim&Venöm 19,294]

 

 

@Blitz Boom, @Melke, 

 

*Sniff sniff* "As a matter of fact I kinda sorta do.. *sniff sniff* and it happens to be coming from..." she continued sniffing, her head turning in the direction of- "There! That changeling! I smell her all over him! Boy does she get frisky with everyone she's with or what? First she has my half brothers & sisters with a changeling Queen. Now this?" 

[MDLineArt 93]

@@Blitz Boom

 

Bashful tried to keep his composure as he lead Giddon to the front gate where two cultists had stood guard, armed with swords at their hilt.  Earth ponies, from the look of them, but you could not be sure what hid underneath those robes.  Still, they stepped forward, observing Giddon but paying no mind to the one leading him on.

 

"Another to join our cause.  Bring him inside with the others, the ceremony will begin shortly." 

 

The voice was monotone, stating everything as a 'matter of fact'.  It was cold, lifeless, and brought about memories of some of Bashful's brothers and sisters among the hive, little more than drones and extensions of Queen Chrysalis' will, just given a voice.  What was this ritual they talked about, and what cause brought them to it?  So many things he didn't understand.  He tried to mimic the tone all the same but it's more difficult than people may think to stay monotone without sounding ridiculous.

 

"Yes.  The ceremony."  Bashful gave Giddon a hard push with his hoof to start walking forward, trying to convince the others that he was in complete control of the situation.  In reality, he could only be thankful that the hood covered his nerves.  He was gonna get it from Giddon after this for pushing him.

[Veil 260]

@@Blitz Boom

 

Veil sneaked into the room with Florence. As he looked around the room it looked similar to the one he was locked up in. However it wasn't being used as a jail cell. There was a table in the corner with some papers scattered around both on the table and the floor. There were also some old looking torn up banners around the room and an old pair of shackles that looked somewhat rusted. It was difficult to tell weather the room had been in use recently or was abandoned.

 

Veil looked at Florence with a slightly alarmed look on his face.

 

"What is it. Is everything ok?"

[Lonk Chase 255]

everything

 

"If there was a hut built in the middle of the woods, it had to be used for something," Lonk replied. "Even if nopony slept in it, it could have been used for something else. What would somepony put in here?"

Lonk walked up to the front door and kicked it. A board fell off. He pushed the other board off of the door. It seemed like the nails have been rusting for a long time.

Lonk slowly opened the door.

 

Total darkness.

Great.

Edited March 20, 2016 by Lonk Chase

[Melke 160]

@@Mentis Soliloquy,

@@Blitz Boom,  

@@Seamore Sandwich,

@@Denim&Venom,  

 

"Aren't we going to do anything?" Melke asked as he looked on. Syo just waved her paw at him in annoyance as she watched on in silence.

 

"Hey Melke, you're still connected to him right?" Syo asked suddenly. She turned around to see Melke nodding silently. "Okay, you go help Briar... the tree looking one there. And I will go see if the others need any help."

 

Before Melke can ask anymore, Syo teleported on her own and leaving Melke in the bush. Melke tapped onto his connection to the magical network of the Everfree forest and then he made the nearby trees shock the spider attacking Briar and Brittle.

[EQ_Theta 462]

@@Blitz Boom

 

The elders would often tell stories of the precursors who may or may not be eternal. Senlin wondered if there was some truth to the stories that say they are but if he couldn't find answers from them, perhaps the mere existence of Discord could. In reality, there was little to say if it were so or not but there was another time for those ruminations.

Senlin happened upon a bench off the side of the road and stopped there, still eating his donut. 

"All this is still so new to me that I'm overwhelmed by it. Despite being so far away from home, I can't shake that feeling of wonder. I'm sure if we find Lin, we should sit down for a proper meal and maybe I can properly introduce you to her." 

[Blitz Boom 4,655]

@@GingerLightning,

@@Lonk Chase,

@@Seamore Sandwich,

 

Before the door had been open enough for a pony to wander in, there were one amongst them who didn't have that holding them back and went in the first sight of an opening with great curiosity.

 

Even though Meeko had followed them well up until that point, the runt was more controlled by his curiosity at this strange house than anything else, so the chance to get in and get the first sniff around had been too great a temptation to hold against. As such, when Ginger did open the door, he wouldn't just be met by the darkness, but also by the timerpup a little further in. Or well okay, not the timberpup itself, but the sound of his shocked yipp before panicked small barks and whimpering sounds were there at least.

 

It wasn't clear what had happened in there. Had Meeko gotten stuck? Something fallen on him? Had he found something strange? It were hard to tell from just the sound, but fact were that something had gotten him out of it at least. Timberwolves were smart animals, and tricky when it were needed, but the panicked sounds were rather genuine and unlikely to be faked just for his own amusement.

 

____________________________________________________________________________

 

 

@,

 

Her heart felt like it were trying to push it's way through her ribcage and shoot out through the wall from the adrenaline rush that had surged after the near miss, but eventually she were able to turn around and speak to Veil again, albeit she still looked a little frazzled.

 

"Y-Yeah, I think we're okay. It doesn't seem like they saw us."

 

Gulping down what felt like a golfball with spikes, Florence got a better look around the room and slowly began making her way towards the only thing in here that might contain something that could help them: The table with the papers on.

 

She flickered through a few, reading mad ramblings from those loosing their mind in the time before they were converted to the cult, or who had fought for a small amount of time and tried to get something out that had ended as just incoherent cries for help mixed together in a hard to read pattern.

 

After a minute or so, she figured there wasn't anything worth going for in this and was about to stop when something caught her eye and she slowly raised a small, torn piece that she read over a few times before the resemblance of hope started to grow in her eyes.

 

"A map..."

 

It was not all legible, and as mentioned were torn a few places, but you could roughly see where the room they were in were, and what way they had to walk to get out of here. Even showed a few rooms as being guard quarters and the like that they'd have to be extra careful around.

 

It were unfortunate for the poor soul that had made these, as he were likely another mind controlled cultist just writing down the schematics for their continued expansions on this place, but it were good for them cause this little piece of what had likely been supposed to be a rough sketch for the beginning quarters could mean their salvation.

 

"O-okay, I think... Yes, this will help us! we can get out now!"

 

Florence hadn't felt this hopeful in... Well, however long it were since she were last outside, She had no idea at this point if that were days or something, but it didn't matter either. They had a way out now, and you could hear it in her excited, yet still shushed voice.

 

After checking for noise at the door again, she looked at the map once more and turned to Veil.

 

"According to this, we have to go back a little and we'll find the way out. A bit messy walking, but we should be able to avoid the worst places according to this."

 

Now it were just hoping that whatever guards had passed them before wasn't going to turn around anytime soon.

 

___________________________________________________________________________________________

 

 

@@MDLineArt,

 

A little ahead of those, wandered the chained Giddon and his current caretaker Bashful.

 

Having gotten through the front gate easy enough they had followed the way a guard had pointed them towards a few meters after entering the stone temple and had walked like that for a bit before they saw any movement. At first it seemed like some kind of patrol might come at them, but no, it were just a door closing. Whoever were in there had likely just gotten there and they had been timed well enough to not get in their way. Which were good, as he had little want to run into others right now.

 

"Seems like it's going well so far."

 

Giddon spoke out with a low voice through his beak, not wanting to drag potential interest from the ones who inhabited this place, but still thinking he needed to say something to calm down the changeling. Or heck, he thought he were nervous at least, though he couldn't be sure it were true as he hadn't had much time so far to gaze on the tailor in disguise, even if the small, magical fires adoring the walls made a well enough light.

 

"Are you holding up so far?"

 

For the first time in minutes, Giddon turned his head and glanced at his current companion, trying to gauge what state of mind he were in. Though it wasn't guaranteed he could see it as he might be somewhat able to read others, but not perfect, and if there weren't external signs he had little to work with.

 

Himself though... It would be possible to see - even if he did his to hide it - the sign that his brain were working on overtime. He hadn't expected that there were others ready for the procedure, and right now it were putting a block on his former plan, yet not enough to have stopped it before it were too late. He had to find some way to wing this when they reached the room, which likely would end up requiring him to handle some gathered guards holding others hostage instead of doing this the subtle way.

 

*sigh* It could never be easy, could it?

 

________________________________________________________________________

 

 

@@Mentis Soliloquy,

@@Denim&Venom,

@@Melke,

@@Seamore Sandwich,

 

"Halt!"

 

The blast from Miles wouldn't have a chance to hit Ko, as he had already moved away from that point, getting down to Ashta after the spiderling had reformed himself - missing a few memories, but beyond that not worse from the wear - and signalled him to come down, then raising his front legs in the proper greeting for political meetings with these... Foolish necessities.

 

He wouldn't have minded if the knifes had hit, as he hated these and their ilk having enough of an important presence to be heard in the beast court, and he would rather slaughter the lot of them along with their targets than speak with them, but much as he hated it he had to think of the political implications here as well. As the team leader of the strike team that had been sent to neutralize these threats, he were bound to that more than anything, but that were because he were bound by his loyalty to the queen, and she would not want a full out war if it could be avoided.

 

The peace were... Strenuous at times, and small provocations could tip the barrel and lead them into another war like the one lead by the rose knights. Something that were devastating both to their overall power and numbers, and had taken them very long to repair the damages from, with some things lost to the ages for them that it were unlikely they'd ever get back.

 

So though it wasn't his want, he had to spend his time repair damages now rather than getting his bloody, gory job done on the meddling plant pony that had struck him and his friends.

 

"We were not aware tha-"

 

A shock from the nearby trees struck the ground a half inch from where he stood, only missing him because he had been moving in the annoying greeting and were returning to a more comfortable position.

 

"Hold your ground prey, or I will have you skinned alive."

 

The tracking were clear. Something had gotten near them, and then the trees had started to act strange. Much as he wanted to blame this on the two *diplomats* it seemed unlikely to be from them as much as that prey, even if he couldn't see him or her yet.

 

"As I were saying, we weren't aware that one of the targets who set off the trap belonged to you, but you will get nowhere if you think killing us will help her. I sent others to deal with that one, and if you want her off our list you will hold your blade as much as you want us to."

 

His many eyes narrowed on the eldest of the two in front of him, which he assumed were the one in charge, whilst putting his blades slowly to the ground. Both because of her position and because she seemed like one that were possible to talk to, unless the meddling prey were going to do something again.

 

"Ko, go to the others and tell them to hold their blades if their priestess are still alive. If she's dead, or if they won't listen, kill them both and bring me their corpses along with hers. If, she is dead"

 

Ashta had not gotten this far in the food chain by being soft, and Ko would know that when he told him to kill his fellow soldiers, Ashta meant it. A small price to pay regarding a potential act war that would likely include his own life as compensation, but that were his responsibility to the court. To his queen. And he would personally tear apart his own friends and family without a second thought if it meant it would help him fulfilling that.

 

Before Ko left though, he added another, minor thing to his orders.

 

"And if you haven't heard from me within the hour, remove the evidence and inform the queen that Subterranea have killed me during parley. I'm sure she would be Very interested in hearing that."

 

With that, Ko would leave towards the castle. The others wouldn't stop him if they had any intention of following their orders of keeping this a political game rather than a full scale declaration of war. Even if they did kill Ashta and his entire team after all, there were more where they came from, and if one team failed a bigger one would complete the task eventually. That, or find out who had done this to him and the others and then see that the first stone int he road towards war had been started.

 

"Ko is the fastest in my platoon. If you want a chance for your high priestess, I suggest you don't try and stop him prematurely. And in case she have killed the ones I sent for her..."

 

He shrugged his shoulders as best he could.

 

"Self defence from an unfortunate misunderstanding. Seems acceptable to me, just as I will find it if you do not put a leash on whoever the changeling is that have been near your high priestess."

 

They should be thankful that it had not been Ko that he had sent after them. Even if the blades hadn't hit their targets before, it were just one of a few weapons in his arsenal of deadly poisons, and if he had been after their priestess with murder in mind the chances were small that he had not completed his task. The other two... Good in their own rights, but there were a reason he had sent those two to handle one whilst him and Ko were taking care of three. He would give them though, that they had some good tandem work, but that could be used against them too at times.

 

"Now then, miss Bolt, is there anything you mean I have forgotten?"

 

Diplomacy... How he detested it.

 

__________________________________________________________________________________________

 

 

@@Wax n' Wane,

 

"I'm afraid I'm not aware of other bat ponies in the area. I have only been here two days and I have barely had time to unpack my office, speak with the mayor or anything during this time, much less inspect the local populace. All I know is that there are no other stationed Night Guards, and that is about it."

 

The mentioned couple of days had been with little rest at all frankly. Most of the time he had to relax could be measures in few minutes, and were usually him standing around and taking a breather. It were frankly starting to take a toll on him as two days where he had to be in near constant action were not the norm for him, but he were not going to wear down just yet. He had a good deal of work to do, and he could hopefully get some actual rest before the meeting tomorrow with the princess and still have some time to speak with this traveller.

 

"As for your request, I can present it for her highness tomorrow when the meeting begins and talk your case, but I cannot guarantee anything. I have heard positive things about her from Princess Luna and others however, so I don't think it will be much of an issue.

 

I would like to know who I'm dealing with first however."

 

Again, Stargazer put his hoof forward, though this time it were in a formal matter to shake the hoof of the stranger.

 

"My name's Stargazer, assigned by her majesty to Ponyville's night patrol."

 

__________________________________________________________________________

 

 

@@Seamore Sandwich,

@@Quinch,

@@SugarfootWillie,

 

"Oh, you have Got to be kidding me."

 

The Forgotten one hadn't taken control from her yet, but the two were having a good fight over this host. The host that, as it turned out, were none other than Charlie, the spirit she had prepared a body for and had been looking for before running into Quinch and taking a small detour.

 

"Grrr... Look, I don't know how long I can hold on to you here. I need information. Anything that can help me here."

 

Another seeking information then were Zhu, who looked at where he had seen Vivid before, but now only sensed her energy like the ancient one who hid nearby. An attack more than likely, but not one he could see in any sort of way. His sight did not work on the dead, so even when he had seen Vivid she were not having paths in front of her he could see, and he did not know what she had planned or were doing now. All he could do were seeing second-hand from the scattered ones around. Such as Penny, who had one where an option would lead her to be confronted by her once more.

 

"They will both return. The mare of demons are likely making a strike against the evil who is eating this town. When she returns, we can use her to guide towards where the strike should be."

 

_____________________________________________________________________________

 

 

@@Seamore Sandwich,

@@cwhip9,

 

"...If you can fight unspeakable horror, it's this way."

 

Last pointed towards Ponyville before she took a step towards the stranger, sword drawn and looking at him with suspicion and warning shining in her eyes. It were clear that she were not trusting him, which wasn't surprising considering how she had fought off insectoid creatures for most of her life at the temple. Sure, spiders wasn't technically bugs, but she wasn't a science head. If it had more than 6 legs and no scales or fur, it was a dang bug in her mind.

 

"Try to keep up."

 

With that, she took off again, but she wasn't just focused on what were ahead of her anymore, but also what were not behind. A pony who longed for his brother, and a spider-creature hat frankly looked like she should chase it out of town if she met it normally. This wasn't a normal situation, so she would try and make use of the creature and then take it from there, but it didn't mean that she wasn't going to be aware of things with it around. She couldn't afford to not be careful when this close to the target she had been sworn to defeat.

 

_______________________________________________________________________

 

 

@@Moonlit,

 

"Weeeell... Does morbid fascination count?"

 

Ziggy pulled her tongue slightly towards Serenade after uttering the little joke, looking like she had a bit of fun as always.

 

"Hehe, anyway I guess I can goof around for a bit. But I promise to be there in two hours, okay? I wanna see what you have done of work, okay?"

 

With that, she zoomed over and hugged Serenade tightly, lifting her off the ground with her warm embrace before - after about 10 seconds - she put her down again.

 

"Want me to follow you home first?"

 

__________________________________________________________________

 

 

@@EQ_Theta,

 

"I hope to meet her. I'm curious."

 

Omen ate the last of her stick and after a little, tried to sit down on the bench at Senlin. Something that didn't go as easy as one had expected, as she tried to do it the way she had seen this other mare in town do, with her back to the bench and back hooves hanging down. It wasn't as easy as it looked though, and after a bit, she just returned to standing on the ground as normal and looking upwards towards the moon.

 

She did not like it as much as the sun, but it were still light in the sky and something she enjoyed being there. Even if she were born in the dark, it were still good to have a source of light like that.

Edited March 20, 2016 by Blitz Boom