open Casual stroll

[Rising Dusk 27,510]

@Blitz Boom

"Till next we meet, Prince Hayworth.  It was truly a privilege to receive such honors here in the heart of Harrowmark this day.  Thank you," Rising told to old prince.  The rest of his family echoed his thanks with their own before they collectively all bowed to the royal stallion.  Their journey here was winding down to its conclusion.  Departing the scene from the balcony of statues, they followed Necrotic once again through the stone halls of the royal castle.  Grace had returned to walking as the long hours in their visit to the dark land had grow wearily upon her aging body, both emotionally and physically.  Dawn had the easier of the time, no stranger to long nights of partying when needed.  Her twin could muster such vigor on a normal day, but his recovering from the battle with Twisted was still a process away from one hundred percent for the detective.

As they descended the gnarled hall Rising could feel the magics of the portal tease at the edges of his sense.  They were stopped short by Necrotic however.  Rising took the offered scroll.  A letter directly to the Princesses of Equestria.  Sounds like another field trip to Canterlot Castle in his near future.  After a nice helping of catch up sleep, of course.  "Soon you'll experience Equestria," Rising mused with a small smile.  "And what better way, than getting the future ruler of Harrowmark's hoof in the door with our own lands.  We will see this letter is delivered without fail to our royal court," Dawn added, much more pleased with the idea.  "We?" he inquired.  "Oh, it has been a Moon, brother dearest, since I've last seen my mentor.  I'm due for a visit," she let free a fake pout.  "Ho ho ho.  An audience with the Princesses two times in such short order.  Our dear boy is moving up in the world," their father chuckled.  Rising took a moment to slip the scroll into is own jacket pocket, wanting to keep it separate from the enchanted pouch that held the rest of the gifts collected during this visit.

With that, they entered the portal room where Will-O and Caramel waited with their luggage.  Caramel appeared to be conducting business with a knight.  Rising gazed at the saddlebags and crates that would be journeying with them to Equestria, stretching out his sense for potentially harmful artifacts that might enter their land.  "Hello, Caramel, Will-O.  I see you two are packed and ready," Dawn greeted.  "Ho ho ho.  Of course!  We had an extraordinary time, truly splendid," Star excitedly replied.  Before he was quickly distracted by the book he'd been promised waiting as instructed on a table near the portal.  Grace smiled at Caramel, "It was, an experience."  "A much more pleasant trip," Rising replied with a smile.

Rising turned to Necrotic to speak directly at him.  "We thank you for everything, Necrotic.  And as it appears, we still likely be meeting again, shortly," he told the Prince.  And once again, the family bowed to the royal member and echoed their heartful thanks for the experiences he gave the family this celebration.

[Blitz Boom 4,620]

@Sekel @Props Valroa

"Krkrkktx. I have seen ponies eat meat. But they were not much like ponies anymore."

"The ones that got taken by the forest? Not much pony or manetid left in those. Just monsters and living colonies."

The cursed forest were a horrid place, with a lot of mystery behind it. They knew what it did to those that got taken there, or were dumb enough to run in there for cover, but what happened beyond that? Like why it were like that? They hadn't the faintest clue. It wasn't like the things wanted to talk after all. And survivors were extremely rare. That they had all gotten out, had more to do with the princess's magic, and that of Cherish's outbreak.

Both sides had tried to set it on fire multiple times, but it never worked.

"Not heard of meat eating ponies that are just normal ponies though. But what do I know. Not been around the world."

"I've been around, and it i-isn't regular, but some ponies do enjoy sushi. That's n-not much meat at a time though. A whole filet is... D-Different."

Judging by the sounds in the kitchen, the food prep were well underway, with sizzling and boiling going on. Shouldn't be too long before they'd have something to eat.

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@Sekel

On 2023-12-11 at 1:55 AM, Sekel said:

"I don't know how to even feel about all this. It'll probably come to me when I'm away from here," Dazzle told her new friend, th electricity she had zapped away seemingly took away her emotions for the time being too and cautiously stepped through the unknown dusty room and into the hallway beyond. It was bare like the first room, devoid of furniture and pictures, and completely caked in dust. "Down here ... I think it was bedrooms," she said quietly and glanced at Long Stare. "That sound right? Bedrooms being here?"

"I don't know. Some sleep downstairs, because it makes them feel more safe. I did that for a time. Others like it further upstairs, where they can get the morning sunlight better.

But it does look like a place where one would have a bedroom. The room fits the size for it at least."

Honestly, she hadn't a clue, but it seemed like a place where one could comfortably have a bed, a small table, etc.

What concerned her more were the dust. It were rather clear that nopony had lived here for a while. Judging by the dust, she'd say at the very least a half year, but it were more than likely several years. How long had Dazzle been away? Why did her parents leave? And why had they thus far, not found a clue about anything, but the fact that everything had been moved out of here. If they were worried that their daughter would be back someday, why not leave a note somewhere?

She had to hope that there were something like that here somewhere, or Dazzle would end up feeling very hurt, and understandably so.

"I don't see any note or hint here. Maybe we should look in another room? Or perhaps something's beneath the dust on the walls?"

She'd use her horn, and blow some dust away, around the walls, to see if maybe, there were something, but it had been caked in dust. Even if it were something as little as a *We moved* note, on a scrap of leftover paper, it would be something. It'd indicate that there were somepony here who had cared.

On 2023-12-11 at 1:55 AM, Sekel said:

"I will probably want to explore this between world state further but for now, we're here for that dragon hybrid," Dawn told Scarcity, reluctantly looking away from the portal and heading for the home. It wasn't for lack of curiosity but she knew if given the choice, she would stare at the ever shifting landscape in between worlds possibly forever. "At least we could try and help her find something here, right?"

"I do agree. Let us keep our focus on what matters for now then. Hammond? If you would, please."

Hammond would nod, and the gate would swirl close, and vanish.

"Ah. Now then it sounds as if they have gone in further. I believe that perhaps, it would suit us to start here. Might I ask you to stay out of the doorway dear?"

She'd go in, and wait for Dawn to pass through and into the house too, and then would cast her magic. She had much the same idea as Stare did, though her method were more refined. She'd use her magic to scrape the dust off of any surface she could see, and essentially funnel it to the outside, by collapsing it into a tube of magic, that lead outside. It'd take time, but bit by bit, they'd get the room cleaned up, and filtered through, enough to see if there were something left behind. And if anything out of the ordinary would follow in the dust, Scarcity would pick it out from the tube, and pause. Even something as small as a tooth, or a scale, had value when it came to finding answers.

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@Sekel

"Sure, but that don't mean we can't plan ahead, eh?"

Happy would grin, and lead them on, into the lower city proper. It were a massive, spectacular sight of buildings. From casinos to residential areas, office buildings, construction sites, etc. It were hard not to see something new, just by turning your head a little. A great place in his experience.

They had to go for a bit, but eventually, after ten minutes or so, they'd make it to their destination. An old theater building, that were glamourous... In its heydays. As it stood now though, it looked old and out of place, though there were clear signs of repair. Changeling style, judging by the shining parts. Good old fashioned changeling bile. Helped to reinforce quite a few things, though it could do with a few layers of paint.

Speaking of, a couple of changelings were painting around the building, trying to give it the old shine back. A slow process, but they had the paint and time to sort it out, long as nothing bad happened. Starting with them wanting a nice, warm red for the base, as had once been the case, before they scraped the old paint off, in preparation.

They had halted briefly, as a couple of others were flying around a sign over the spacious door. Judging by the admiring sounds and feelings, it had likely been set up recently. Likely just before they showed up.

It were made of carved wood, in a style befitting the old building, and would read "Hive Cheshire Theater".

As for the changelings themselves? looked about average, though one had ribbons tied into his leg holes. Another wore a chef's hat, another still, had an old peasant dress, and then the last, were striped like a peppermint candy cane. Not an actual color changelings could naturally be, so a disguise, or fun with paint.

"There we go. You first, Aurora. Go introduce yourself. Trust me, it's better than me starting. And don't go worry a bit. This hive is fully pacifist."

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@Sekel

On 2023-12-11 at 1:55 AM, Sekel said:

"You're not making me feel bloated, persay, but uh, you are definitely making me feel nauseous with the amount of love you're giving off," Atzy told Blitz as she followed the foal's movements. "As for what I like, explosives, stargazing, reading, and eating gems," she giggled, managing to keep up with the rapid fire questions but it wasn't easy, trying to think through her personal nausea wave.

"I used to find lots of gems! When I lived in the Everfree Forest, I found them sometimes when I was testing kaboomies. I gave them to Rarity. She liked them, and gave me some treats or bits when I came around. She has a pretty mane."

Blitz also liked her little sister, although she were one of many foals that had been told to not hang out with her. Though at least Sweetie Belle had been told she could, under supervision. Long as she did not go into the forest. She sometimes still did, along with Scootaloo and Apple Bloom, to get some fireworks, or just to say hi, but mostly they saw her when she came to town. Wasn't like Blitz were hated. She were just very... Potentially dangerous, due to her specialty and passion, and as such, parents worried. Most of the foals liked the sort of things she made and used though. And the CMC thought it were nice to give her visitors sometimes, as until her brother found her, she had been alone, with no family.

Rarity had a strained feeling about Blitz at first, but seeing how helpful she were, and how she came around with gems, because she didn't want to waste them, and knew the mare liked them, she warmed up more over time. Blitz's infectious positivity made it hard not to, the more she hung out around you.

"She's not as good as Pinkie Pie though. She's my idol! She defies all kinds of logic, and is all smiles and she has a cannon! I made another and gave it too her. She looked very happy about it."

On 2023-12-11 at 1:55 AM, Sekel said:

"Fish?" Karmic said in surprise. She wasn't sure what to think of it but if fishing was in his mind, it might help. "That's a maybe. He was alone for years in a cave by himself ... fishing is done out in the ocean so it could be a sense of freedom he truly desires? Like the little things in life? Anything like that make something happen in that brain of yours?"

"There she goes again. I swear, she's the biggest fan filly."

Molotov said it with a big grin on his face. Whenever he felt down over her not remembering him, or their family, and worried that maybe, this might not be her, he remembered things like this. When she got into her zone, and acted just like her silly old self. Geeking out over some things, playing with fireworks, obsessing over certain beings more than others, because they caught her interest for a time- All the fun and joy he knew her for. There wasn't a doubt in his heart that she were his sister, but a worry did poke at him every now and again, when he were feeling down. Not as down as Enzo though. Jeez.

"Heh. Anyway, ocean or river, can't hurt asking.

Hey, big guy?"

He'd get closer and pat the side of Enzo's leg.

"My name is Enzo."

"Aah, don't be such a grouch. I'm just being friendly.

This here's fun and all, but how're you feeling 'bout fish? We ain't too far from the open ocean, and I figured you might wanna try the local flavor. Wadda ya say?"

He'd grin up, as Enzo turned his head, and looked down at the pony. For a brief moment, you could see the hunger in his eyes, as the notion of fish came up, but he would get hold of himself fast again. Wouldn't want to seem needy and desperate here. It were unbecoming for a sphinx.

"I suppose your suggestion have some merit."

"Hah, grand then. We'll take the longer route through the forest though, so we stay clear of the dock. She's a sweetheart, but I grasp you ain't too keen on our local elder dragon. It'll keep us from running into her, unless she's having a nap in there somewhere again. Ain't anything here dumb enough to try attacking her, so she takes the chance sometimes."

"Yes, I would prefer not to."

"Mind me asking why?"

"Bad personal experiences."

"Aight, fair. How's 'bout I'll wait 'til we're all friend-like, and then I'll ask again, eh? Sounds like there's a story you ain't keen on telling a stranger."

"We'll see."

Molotov felt sure the two of them were gonna get along just fine.

The two were also ready to go, soon as the others were. They said the word, and they could be on their way to the ocean proper.

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@Rising Dusk

On 2023-12-13 at 4:44 AM, Rising Dusk said:

"Soon you'll experience Equestria," Rising mused with a small smile.  "And what better way, than getting the future ruler of Harrowmark's hoof in the door with our own lands.  We will see this letter is delivered without fail to our royal court," Dawn added, much more pleased with the idea.  "We?" he inquired.  "Oh, it has been a Moon, brother dearest, since I've last seen my mentor.  I'm due for a visit," she let free a fake pout.  "Ho ho ho.  An audience with the Princesses two times in such short order.  Our dear boy is moving up in the world," their father chuckled.  Rising took a moment to slip the scroll into is own jacket pocket, wanting to keep it separate from the enchanted pouch that held the rest of the gifts collected during this visit.

"I can assure you that there is no rush. Let things happen in whatever time is most convenient for your princesses. The gate shall remain open after this is done, and as such, a message can be sent for us from Equestria at any point. Though I assume that you may want to move the gate from your end? Shall I ask the portal mages when you have passed through, to close it for a time? Perhaps give you something with you, that they can use as a new focus point, rather than make use of our connection to you, and give it until the sun rises to establish a new connection?"

Necrotic wished to be helpful in some way, that there wouldn't be more trouble for Rising to deal with. A gate on the top of a hill, were likely not the best point for communication between their countries, so he'd be more than happy to help alleviate that issue. A day should be sufficient to find a room where a stable connection were preferable, in Equestria, he would assume. Though it did also mean the princesses would need the letter faster... Perhaps a bit longer than mere sundown? The detective would surely know best, and inform him of his personal belief in this, based on his knowledge. Something which would be respected, and listened to.

Considering their current foci were Rising himself, he likely had extra reason to want a new point established too. That were the whole point of Blighteye and Sickle going here after all. Rising's magical imprint in the swamp, had been transferred to Sickle by him, and then after that, to the orb the portal mages used. It were the only way they could get a connection to Equestria going. Of course, they had another citizen there now, in Grave Omen, but they didn't know that. Nor of the Wickermancer apparently, as he were still stuck somewhere, locked up in Equestria, after his spectacularly failed attack in the Boom workshop. By all accounts, he were either forgotten, or had spent a lot of time being questioned. Or just put on the backburner, as he'd lay sullen inside a cell somewhere, not even attempting to escape. As if all hope and will had left him. Kind of like with Lily, before she were told that Twisted had been dealt with.

IN fairness though, neither of them had a signature pegged down, so they weren't that useful either way. Rising were, and he'd likely prefer not being a living gateway point. Of course he could cancel it out, but it'd be tedious in the long run.

On 2023-12-13 at 4:44 AM, Rising Dusk said:

With that, they entered the portal room where Will-O and Caramel waited with their luggage.  Caramel appeared to be conducting business with a knight.  Rising gazed at the saddlebags and crates that would be journeying with them to Equestria, stretching out his sense for potentially harmful artifacts that might enter their land.  "Hello, Caramel, Will-O.  I see you two are packed and ready," Dawn greeted.  "Ho ho ho.  Of course!  We had an extraordinary time, truly splendid," Star excitedly replied.  Before he was quickly distracted by the book he'd been promised waiting as instructed on a table near the portal.  Grace smiled at Caramel, "It was, an experience."  "A much more pleasant trip," Rising replied with a smile.

Rising turned to Necrotic to speak directly at him.  "We thank you for everything, Necrotic.  And as it appears, we still likely be meeting again, shortly," he told the Prince.  And once again, the family bowed to the royal member and echoed their heartful thanks for the experiences he gave the family this celebration.

As she assumed he were checking her crates with his senses, Caramel would move aside, and open the tops of them, to let his eyes feast on what were in them too. Were some magical things- A few trinkets and such, but it were about the same as those they had found at the market, just more home made. There were also a torso-sized chest that would be opened, to reveal jewelry and gold. Not something she had use for in a while, but it would be more than helpful to establish a home for herself and Will-O. Always good to have a contingency plan, though she would admit, to having originally saved up over the years of things she found, or bargained her way to, in case she needed to pose as a noblemare. A Harrowish one that were, and for a lower rung one, this would be reasonable, if things had gone moderately well.

As for the gold and such, it were as clean as Harrowish riches could be. Tinges of dark magic, yet nothing tangible, though there were indicators that were not always the case. Some cursed things had been discarded, but left faint traces.

There were also a few bars of the local Gest Iron, as she believed it a peculiar vein she might be able to sell well, but that were it for the riches. Most of the rest were seeds, boxes of vials, small rodent skulls, and the second large box, were entirely filled with Harrowish dirt. There were also some thinner, taller boxes, that would indicate being flower holders, and would give off the same aura as the flower Bash had gotten. With some minor variant for a couple out of the five, but it were likely other flowers too.

"I hope this is up to standard? I ensured to discard what more... Questionable items I owned, then burned most of my personal belongings. They wouldn't pass scrutiny, I'd wager. I also left notes with a capable handler in Oaksbrook, so they'll still have access to my flowers, long as they are handed proper. And with this little trade I have now done, I should have a simpler time growing more, within the confines of my own establishment."

By that she meant the small animal skulls. A surprisingly high amount of things you could use those for, even when they were not enchanted yet. And she were more than able and willing to do so, soon as she had the peace and calm to do so.

"Look away if you please. Though do be aware that if you break one of my flowers, I will smack you."

"P-Please don't.

*sigh* I guess... I guess t-this is it then? Goodbye to Harowmark..."

"It will be fine. You had a chance to say goodbye proper to Lily, Sickle, and Blighteye, and I am certain that it is not illegal for them to visit you, in due time."

The three had been here in the time that the others had been about doing their things with the royals. The group having left Will-O with a gift, in the form of an old blanket, and a faded-blue shawl. It having belonged to Will-o's mother, and the blanket being the one she had been wrapped in, as the mare had made for Oaksbrook, in times gone by. Lily had preserved it on her farm, which Sickle had then taken over, and she had made sure to bring it, as they went towards Copperhagen. There were also a medallion, that seemed like it had been both bashed around and set on fire at least once, but it were harmless. No magic beyond residuals on it.

They had also each given Caramel something. That being threats of what would happen, if they learned anything had happened to Will-O. It had honestly amused her greatly.

In regards to the book, it were nicely presented on a portable, oaken book stand that were designed to unfold and read the book from.

(Found on google, fit the theme)

There were also a couple of books more, each wrapped in as soft a material as were on hoof. Not quite silk, but close enough. One were a book on their more well known tales, and how they were implemented into theater - including the one they had seen - and another being a ledger of various vendors, their professions, and materials they worked with. It should maker a plan of action simpler for Dawn.-

"Ah, splendid. I see Marshall got my request in time. I believed it kind to leave all parties with a gift, so I precured something that I believed held some interest. Though I assure you Grace, that soon as we have a theater production of Rising, I will have an updated copy sent to you.

As for Dawn... Well, we need to keep a register of our vendors. I see no harm in the one we replaced last week, serve a better purpose than the furnace."

He'd give Dawn a small wink, and a chuckle. He hoped she understood it as a friendly gesture, and not as him being inappropriate. He simply wished to acknowledge that he knew to some extend, what she could use that for, and approved. Frankly, even if it were slightly outdated, it were not by much, and it would give her a tremendous amount of info regarding what she had to work with in Harrowmark in general. And it were mostly a few that had died, that had caused them to need to update it. Those had been stricken with a line through. Their businesses were mostly still maintained, just by others.

It would be a financial benefit to her, but at the same time, it would benefit Harrowmark too, as she'd know what exactly they had to offer, and what in turn, they may well want for, more specifically. It would save time in the process, to have the knowledge at hoof he'd wager, and thus, it would benefit his people in turn. A win win, as it were, far as he were concerned.

"I wish you all the best my friends, until the day we meet once more. May your rest be plentiful."

He'd bow deeply, and cordially before them all. Recent friends from far away they were, yet he treasured them, as if he had known them his whole life. Hopefully it would not be too long 'til they met again, though he would have plenty to see to, before that.

"I guess... G-Goodbye then, your majesty. And.... T-Thank you for the hospitality."

"It were my pleasure. I wish you a long and fulfilling life, Will-O Wisp."

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@EQ_Theta

On 2023-12-12 at 3:12 PM, EQ_Theta said:

“Let’s stop for a moment. I don’t think we’ll be making progress if we just keep pushing these handles and rotating this crystal. If we keep at it, we’ll just be going around in circles, literally speaking.”

“You’re right about these,” Sen turned to Elder Zhao, then examined the nearby crystals individually. “The light should bounce off these side crystals, but from what we’ve seen so far, it isn’t as simple as it looks. If we move one crystal, we move all of them. Maybe we need a way to stop the others from moving?”

“We’re missing something. Maybe we should test something. Elder? We may need to deviate from your plan for a moment. I just need to make sure of something.”

"Deviate away. I wanted to see how things acted when they were in motion. If you have ideas from there, then by all means, attempt to solve this puzzle."

There were certainly some pieces missing it would seem. The main crystal had to be moved, to work with the light. That much were certain. But as all moved in the same fashion, it were obvious that simply moving the middle, would not be enough. They needed to change directions of the other crystals, or potentially stifle their movements.

Looking at Lin test her theory, the light appeared to be weaker than anticipated, adding to the difficulty level of the puzzle. In well lit puzzles such as this, beams could cross, if the light flow were sufficient. Here it were not. Likely as an extra security measure. In some ways, she could appreciate that. No need to make it overly simple for those stumbling upon your secrets. But it did slow them down, so that were likely irritating for the others. Her personally? She enjoyed a good puzzle, and could easily spend hours, or even days enjoying herself with one. Be it pieces on a table, or a tricky security measure. She liked to approach them calmly, and take her time to savor things. A shame that were not an option here, but everything considered, she could understand the want not to. Quite frankly, it might be faster to simply mess with things here, as it were but the dreamscape, and thus were malleable to an extend. But in return, the entity might well change things around too, and thus, they wouldn't get to try their paws at this. Seemed a shame. So long as it were solvable, she wouldn't cheat.

On 2023-12-12 at 3:12 PM, EQ_Theta said:

“Hmm… It looks like we can’t let the light beams cross each other, and that silvery surface on the far wall might be where we need to bring the beam. Seems like we may need to stop some of these crystals from rotating after all. Omen? Can you help us look around? Anything that could stop the rotations or hint at how we could do that will be of great use.”

A closer examination of the rotating platforms on the corners reveals each having a hole; something could be inserted or jammed into them, though what effect this will have was yet to be seen. Likewise, the handles on the rotating crystal’s brass barrier were also worth a look. They may appear to be affixed to their current positions, but if one were to examine them, the top parts could be loosened or even removed. And it just so happens that their diameters appear to be a match for the holes in the ground near the rotating platforms…

It was also not apparent to the siblings, but the central crystal had one edge that appeared more slanted than the rest of it. A coincidental aspect of its formation, but even that hinted at something if one were to look up and find another silvery, reflective surface above them. 

Omen would stop licking the crystal as she were addressed, and turned to look up at her friends.

"I will look."

"I best help too. I'm getting rather curious."

Omen would head towards the central crystal, thinking that perhaps something there would make it shown how these things worked. She weren't even sure how the rotation functioned right now, but she had been asked, and so she would look around. Bouncing around the large crystal, looking for a rod, or a cog perhaps. Something that could show her in simple ways, how to handle this.

It took a few rounds, but eventually, she did notice something off, about one part of the crystal. Something that didn't fit with how the rest looked. Perhaps it was important? She weren't sure, but she would bring attention to it.

"Sister? I do not see something that works with the small crystals, but this crystal is different. It leans up there."

As she were close tot he ground, and about knee height to the rest, she only really saw things, from a frog's perspective as it were, so to her, most if not all things, were upwards. Which were also when she noticed something else. A small glimmer, as her constant bouncing made her eventually see a reflection above. Perhaps a mirror? A shard of glass? Ice? She was not sure. It were too far away, and she did not have her powers here. She could not go and look.

"Something is up there. Maybe the light is meant to go up?"

The crystal were slanted, and there were a reflective surface up there. Made sense to her that perhaps, it were meant as if the light needed to go up, to finish the circle or something. It did not look like there were light going that way otherwise at least. Hopefully one of the others would be able to tell.

Zhao meanwhile, would be examining the platforms themselves, to see if perhaps there were a switch of some kind. It did not appear so, but she did notice something else. Small holes, which would indicate that whilst you couldn't turn these off, you could jam them, as it were. Or it were a flaw in the construction, but considering how things looked, she were more inclined to believe it were intentional. Now what to insert there however...

It took a bit more examining, and going around checking various crystals, but it would appear that the handles were the right size. A coincidence? Perhaps, as they seemed affixed, but there were only really one way to find out now, weren't there?

So she would grab hold in one of the handles, and start to wriggle it around a bit, making sure to use only the strength that a regular sized kitsune would physically have. Just so that she did not unintentionally break something. And it would appear that in the end, she would have hit a point. A point on the handle she now stood with as a matter of fact, that were likely to be fitting within the confines of the pedestals, of the seemingly constantly moving crystals.

"I see. There appears to be some degree of moving around that we need to do here. The handle can go off, and there are small holes, wherein the handle appears to be able to fit. I would think that at the right angles, these should be used to jam them in place, as it were. Though we will have to test it first, to make sure. Have you found anything of note?"

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@Catpone Cerberus @Evil Pink One

Shark would follow along with Light, back to the inn, but keep her face towards Sheez, teeth still barred. She did not trust this one, and were not gonna show her back to her. If she wanted something, she could come and get bitten.

As they got into the inn, she'd finally turn around, and look on as Light tried to communicate with the kitsune. Though she were confused by that, as she didn't see them. She couldn't smell them either, and yet, he seemed to talk as if they were there. Were he being strange, like special one? Or did he see something she did not? Only one way to find out, yes?

So she would sneak under the table, and sniff the air. Wasn't anything there, but then she'd move forward, and suddenly feel lots of hair in her nose. It made her giggle, as the hair were retracted, and the kits would fizzle into view. It appeared that what she had in her nose, were Hachi's tail, judging by the way he held that, and the glance he sent Shark. Though they'd soon both look at Light.

"Heeey, how did you see us?"

"Yeah. She couldn't even tell, so I know we hid our scent."

They were honestly a little miffed about that. They had passed their camouflage class, and now this one just picked them out, like they had hid by putting their paws over their eyes, and pretended no one was there. And they hadn't done that since they were three.

"And we're not gonna get the school ponies in trouble. Are you crazy? And Head Mistress Starlight is a unicorn. She is just as magic reliant as we are."

"He's right. They won't be able to deal with this. We should do like she said, and just stay out of this."

"But we could go and warn them to stay back, and not go out where there's danger?"

"Yes, we can do that. Good idea. That'd be the best for everyone there."

They'd nod at one another, and unless there'd be any issues, they'd run off to do that, jumping out of the back window. They were not going out the front door. It were dangerous there.

"So we stay... Wait for fluffy ones?"

Shark were trying to grasp their roles in this. Sounded like Light and het stayed here, with these two going to the big reef they slept at. She wasn't sure if they got back then, or they would go to them later, when the bad one had left. She wasn't sure what were going on out there at all, but she wanted the bad one to go away, so all the friends would be out and happy again.

[Evil Pink One 13,506]

On 2023-12-15 at 5:05 AM, Blitz Boom said:

@Sekel @Props Valroa

"Krkrkktx. I have seen ponies eat meat. But they were not much like ponies anymore."

"The ones that got taken by the forest? Not much pony or manetid left in those. Just monsters and living colonies."

The cursed forest were a horrid place, with a lot of mystery behind it. They knew what it did to those that got taken there, or were dumb enough to run in there for cover, but what happened beyond that? Like why it were like that? They hadn't the faintest clue. It wasn't like the things wanted to talk after all. And survivors were extremely rare. That they had all gotten out, had more to do with the princess's magic, and that of Cherish's outbreak.

Both sides had tried to set it on fire multiple times, but it never worked.

"Not heard of meat eating ponies that are just normal ponies though. But what do I know. Not been around the world."

"I've been around, and it i-isn't regular, but some ponies do enjoy sushi. That's n-not much meat at a time though. A whole filet is... D-Different."

Judging by the sounds in the kitchen, the food prep were well underway, with sizzling and boiling going on. Shouldn't be too long before they'd have something to eat.

============================================================================

 

@Sekel

"I don't know. Some sleep downstairs, because it makes them feel more safe. I did that for a time. Others like it further upstairs, where they can get the morning sunlight better.

But it does look like a place where one would have a bedroom. The room fits the size for it at least."

Honestly, she hadn't a clue, but it seemed like a place where one could comfortably have a bed, a small table, etc.

What concerned her more were the dust. It were rather clear that nopony had lived here for a while. Judging by the dust, she'd say at the very least a half year, but it were more than likely several years. How long had Dazzle been away? Why did her parents leave? And why had they thus far, not found a clue about anything, but the fact that everything had been moved out of here. If they were worried that their daughter would be back someday, why not leave a note somewhere?

She had to hope that there were something like that here somewhere, or Dazzle would end up feeling very hurt, and understandably so.

"I don't see any note or hint here. Maybe we should look in another room? Or perhaps something's beneath the dust on the walls?"

She'd use her horn, and blow some dust away, around the walls, to see if maybe, there were something, but it had been caked in dust. Even if it were something as little as a *We moved* note, on a scrap of leftover paper, it would be something. It'd indicate that there were somepony here who had cared.

"I do agree. Let us keep our focus on what matters for now then. Hammond? If you would, please."

Hammond would nod, and the gate would swirl close, and vanish.

"Ah. Now then it sounds as if they have gone in further. I believe that perhaps, it would suit us to start here. Might I ask you to stay out of the doorway dear?"

She'd go in, and wait for Dawn to pass through and into the house too, and then would cast her magic. She had much the same idea as Stare did, though her method were more refined. She'd use her magic to scrape the dust off of any surface she could see, and essentially funnel it to the outside, by collapsing it into a tube of magic, that lead outside. It'd take time, but bit by bit, they'd get the room cleaned up, and filtered through, enough to see if there were something left behind. And if anything out of the ordinary would follow in the dust, Scarcity would pick it out from the tube, and pause. Even something as small as a tooth, or a scale, had value when it came to finding answers.

==============================================================================

 

@Sekel

"Sure, but that don't mean we can't plan ahead, eh?"

Happy would grin, and lead them on, into the lower city proper. It were a massive, spectacular sight of buildings. From casinos to residential areas, office buildings, construction sites, etc. It were hard not to see something new, just by turning your head a little. A great place in his experience.

They had to go for a bit, but eventually, after ten minutes or so, they'd make it to their destination. An old theater building, that were glamourous... In its heydays. As it stood now though, it looked old and out of place, though there were clear signs of repair. Changeling style, judging by the shining parts. Good old fashioned changeling bile. Helped to reinforce quite a few things, though it could do with a few layers of paint.

Speaking of, a couple of changelings were painting around the building, trying to give it the old shine back. A slow process, but they had the paint and time to sort it out, long as nothing bad happened. Starting with them wanting a nice, warm red for the base, as had once been the case, before they scraped the old paint off, in preparation.

They had halted briefly, as a couple of others were flying around a sign over the spacious door. Judging by the admiring sounds and feelings, it had likely been set up recently. Likely just before they showed up.

It were made of carved wood, in a style befitting the old building, and would read "Hive Cheshire Theater".

As for the changelings themselves? looked about average, though one had ribbons tied into his leg holes. Another wore a chef's hat, another still, had an old peasant dress, and then the last, were striped like a peppermint candy cane. Not an actual color changelings could naturally be, so a disguise, or fun with paint.

"There we go. You first, Aurora. Go introduce yourself. Trust me, it's better than me starting. And don't go worry a bit. This hive is fully pacifist."

====================================================================================

 

@Sekel

"I used to find lots of gems! When I lived in the Everfree Forest, I found them sometimes when I was testing kaboomies. I gave them to Rarity. She liked them, and gave me some treats or bits when I came around. She has a pretty mane."

Blitz also liked her little sister, although she were one of many foals that had been told to not hang out with her. Though at least Sweetie Belle had been told she could, under supervision. Long as she did not go into the forest. She sometimes still did, along with Scootaloo and Apple Bloom, to get some fireworks, or just to say hi, but mostly they saw her when she came to town. Wasn't like Blitz were hated. She were just very... Potentially dangerous, due to her specialty and passion, and as such, parents worried. Most of the foals liked the sort of things she made and used though. And the CMC thought it were nice to give her visitors sometimes, as until her brother found her, she had been alone, with no family.

Rarity had a strained feeling about Blitz at first, but seeing how helpful she were, and how she came around with gems, because she didn't want to waste them, and knew the mare liked them, she warmed up more over time. Blitz's infectious positivity made it hard not to, the more she hung out around you.

"She's not as good as Pinkie Pie though. She's my idol! She defies all kinds of logic, and is all smiles and she has a cannon! I made another and gave it too her. She looked very happy about it."

"There she goes again. I swear, she's the biggest fan filly."

Molotov said it with a big grin on his face. Whenever he felt down over her not remembering him, or their family, and worried that maybe, this might not be her, he remembered things like this. When she got into her zone, and acted just like her silly old self. Geeking out over some things, playing with fireworks, obsessing over certain beings more than others, because they caught her interest for a time- All the fun and joy he knew her for. There wasn't a doubt in his heart that she were his sister, but a worry did poke at him every now and again, when he were feeling down. Not as down as Enzo though. Jeez.

"Heh. Anyway, ocean or river, can't hurt asking.

Hey, big guy?"

He'd get closer and pat the side of Enzo's leg.

"My name is Enzo."

"Aah, don't be such a grouch. I'm just being friendly.

This here's fun and all, but how're you feeling 'bout fish? We ain't too far from the open ocean, and I figured you might wanna try the local flavor. Wadda ya say?"

He'd grin up, as Enzo turned his head, and looked down at the pony. For a brief moment, you could see the hunger in his eyes, as the notion of fish came up, but he would get hold of himself fast again. Wouldn't want to seem needy and desperate here. It were unbecoming for a sphinx.

"I suppose your suggestion have some merit."

"Hah, grand then. We'll take the longer route through the forest though, so we stay clear of the dock. She's a sweetheart, but I grasp you ain't too keen on our local elder dragon. It'll keep us from running into her, unless she's having a nap in there somewhere again. Ain't anything here dumb enough to try attacking her, so she takes the chance sometimes."

"Yes, I would prefer not to."

"Mind me asking why?"

"Bad personal experiences."

"Aight, fair. How's 'bout I'll wait 'til we're all friend-like, and then I'll ask again, eh? Sounds like there's a story you ain't keen on telling a stranger."

"We'll see."

Molotov felt sure the two of them were gonna get along just fine.

The two were also ready to go, soon as the others were. They said the word, and they could be on their way to the ocean proper.

============================================================

 

@Rising Dusk

"I can assure you that there is no rush. Let things happen in whatever time is most convenient for your princesses. The gate shall remain open after this is done, and as such, a message can be sent for us from Equestria at any point. Though I assume that you may want to move the gate from your end? Shall I ask the portal mages when you have passed through, to close it for a time? Perhaps give you something with you, that they can use as a new focus point, rather than make use of our connection to you, and give it until the sun rises to establish a new connection?"

Necrotic wished to be helpful in some way, that there wouldn't be more trouble for Rising to deal with. A gate on the top of a hill, were likely not the best point for communication between their countries, so he'd be more than happy to help alleviate that issue. A day should be sufficient to find a room where a stable connection were preferable, in Equestria, he would assume. Though it did also mean the princesses would need the letter faster... Perhaps a bit longer than mere sundown? The detective would surely know best, and inform him of his personal belief in this, based on his knowledge. Something which would be respected, and listened to.

Considering their current foci were Rising himself, he likely had extra reason to want a new point established too. That were the whole point of Blighteye and Sickle going here after all. Rising's magical imprint in the swamp, had been transferred to Sickle by him, and then after that, to the orb the portal mages used. It were the only way they could get a connection to Equestria going. Of course, they had another citizen there now, in Grave Omen, but they didn't know that. Nor of the Wickermancer apparently, as he were still stuck somewhere, locked up in Equestria, after his spectacularly failed attack in the Boom workshop. By all accounts, he were either forgotten, or had spent a lot of time being questioned. Or just put on the backburner, as he'd lay sullen inside a cell somewhere, not even attempting to escape. As if all hope and will had left him. Kind of like with Lily, before she were told that Twisted had been dealt with.

IN fairness though, neither of them had a signature pegged down, so they weren't that useful either way. Rising were, and he'd likely prefer not being a living gateway point. Of course he could cancel it out, but it'd be tedious in the long run.

As she assumed he were checking her crates with his senses, Caramel would move aside, and open the tops of them, to let his eyes feast on what were in them too. Were some magical things- A few trinkets and such, but it were about the same as those they had found at the market, just more home made. There were also a torso-sized chest that would be opened, to reveal jewelry and gold. Not something she had use for in a while, but it would be more than helpful to establish a home for herself and Will-O. Always good to have a contingency plan, though she would admit, to having originally saved up over the years of things she found, or bargained her way to, in case she needed to pose as a noblemare. A Harrowish one that were, and for a lower rung one, this would be reasonable, if things had gone moderately well.

As for the gold and such, it were as clean as Harrowish riches could be. Tinges of dark magic, yet nothing tangible, though there were indicators that were not always the case. Some cursed things had been discarded, but left faint traces.

There were also a few bars of the local Gest Iron, as she believed it a peculiar vein she might be able to sell well, but that were it for the riches. Most of the rest were seeds, boxes of vials, small rodent skulls, and the second large box, were entirely filled with Harrowish dirt. There were also some thinner, taller boxes, that would indicate being flower holders, and would give off the same aura as the flower Bash had gotten. With some minor variant for a couple out of the five, but it were likely other flowers too.

"I hope this is up to standard? I ensured to discard what more... Questionable items I owned, then burned most of my personal belongings. They wouldn't pass scrutiny, I'd wager. I also left notes with a capable handler in Oaksbrook, so they'll still have access to my flowers, long as they are handed proper. And with this little trade I have now done, I should have a simpler time growing more, within the confines of my own establishment."

By that she meant the small animal skulls. A surprisingly high amount of things you could use those for, even when they were not enchanted yet. And she were more than able and willing to do so, soon as she had the peace and calm to do so.

"Look away if you please. Though do be aware that if you break one of my flowers, I will smack you."

"P-Please don't.

*sigh* I guess... I guess t-this is it then? Goodbye to Harowmark..."

"It will be fine. You had a chance to say goodbye proper to Lily, Sickle, and Blighteye, and I am certain that it is not illegal for them to visit you, in due time."

The three had been here in the time that the others had been about doing their things with the royals. The group having left Will-O with a gift, in the form of an old blanket, and a faded-blue shawl. It having belonged to Will-o's mother, and the blanket being the one she had been wrapped in, as the mare had made for Oaksbrook, in times gone by. Lily had preserved it on her farm, which Sickle had then taken over, and she had made sure to bring it, as they went towards Copperhagen. There were also a medallion, that seemed like it had been both bashed around and set on fire at least once, but it were harmless. No magic beyond residuals on it.

They had also each given Caramel something. That being threats of what would happen, if they learned anything had happened to Will-O. It had honestly amused her greatly.

In regards to the book, it were nicely presented on a portable, oaken book stand that were designed to unfold and read the book from.

(Found on google, fit the theme)

There were also a couple of books more, each wrapped in as soft a material as were on hoof. Not quite silk, but close enough. One were a book on their more well known tales, and how they were implemented into theater - including the one they had seen - and another being a ledger of various vendors, their professions, and materials they worked with. It should maker a plan of action simpler for Dawn.-

"Ah, splendid. I see Marshall got my request in time. I believed it kind to leave all parties with a gift, so I precured something that I believed held some interest. Though I assure you Grace, that soon as we have a theater production of Rising, I will have an updated copy sent to you.

As for Dawn... Well, we need to keep a register of our vendors. I see no harm in the one we replaced last week, serve a better purpose than the furnace."

He'd give Dawn a small wink, and a chuckle. He hoped she understood it as a friendly gesture, and not as him being inappropriate. He simply wished to acknowledge that he knew to some extend, what she could use that for, and approved. Frankly, even if it were slightly outdated, it were not by much, and it would give her a tremendous amount of info regarding what she had to work with in Harrowmark in general. And it were mostly a few that had died, that had caused them to need to update it. Those had been stricken with a line through. Their businesses were mostly still maintained, just by others.

It would be a financial benefit to her, but at the same time, it would benefit Harrowmark too, as she'd know what exactly they had to offer, and what in turn, they may well want for, more specifically. It would save time in the process, to have the knowledge at hoof he'd wager, and thus, it would benefit his people in turn. A win win, as it were, far as he were concerned.

"I wish you all the best my friends, until the day we meet once more. May your rest be plentiful."

He'd bow deeply, and cordially before them all. Recent friends from far away they were, yet he treasured them, as if he had known them his whole life. Hopefully it would not be too long 'til they met again, though he would have plenty to see to, before that.

"I guess... G-Goodbye then, your majesty. And.... T-Thank you for the hospitality."

"It were my pleasure. I wish you a long and fulfilling life, Will-O Wisp."

======================================================================

 

@EQ_Theta

"Deviate away. I wanted to see how things acted when they were in motion. If you have ideas from there, then by all means, attempt to solve this puzzle."

There were certainly some pieces missing it would seem. The main crystal had to be moved, to work with the light. That much were certain. But as all moved in the same fashion, it were obvious that simply moving the middle, would not be enough. They needed to change directions of the other crystals, or potentially stifle their movements.

Looking at Lin test her theory, the light appeared to be weaker than anticipated, adding to the difficulty level of the puzzle. In well lit puzzles such as this, beams could cross, if the light flow were sufficient. Here it were not. Likely as an extra security measure. In some ways, she could appreciate that. No need to make it overly simple for those stumbling upon your secrets. But it did slow them down, so that were likely irritating for the others. Her personally? She enjoyed a good puzzle, and could easily spend hours, or even days enjoying herself with one. Be it pieces on a table, or a tricky security measure. She liked to approach them calmly, and take her time to savor things. A shame that were not an option here, but everything considered, she could understand the want not to. Quite frankly, it might be faster to simply mess with things here, as it were but the dreamscape, and thus were malleable to an extend. But in return, the entity might well change things around too, and thus, they wouldn't get to try their paws at this. Seemed a shame. So long as it were solvable, she wouldn't cheat.

Omen would stop licking the crystal as she were addressed, and turned to look up at her friends.

"I will look."

"I best help too. I'm getting rather curious."

Omen would head towards the central crystal, thinking that perhaps something there would make it shown how these things worked. She weren't even sure how the rotation functioned right now, but she had been asked, and so she would look around. Bouncing around the large crystal, looking for a rod, or a cog perhaps. Something that could show her in simple ways, how to handle this.

It took a few rounds, but eventually, she did notice something off, about one part of the crystal. Something that didn't fit with how the rest looked. Perhaps it was important? She weren't sure, but she would bring attention to it.

"Sister? I do not see something that works with the small crystals, but this crystal is different. It leans up there."

As she were close tot he ground, and about knee height to the rest, she only really saw things, from a frog's perspective as it were, so to her, most if not all things, were upwards. Which were also when she noticed something else. A small glimmer, as her constant bouncing made her eventually see a reflection above. Perhaps a mirror? A shard of glass? Ice? She was not sure. It were too far away, and she did not have her powers here. She could not go and look.

"Something is up there. Maybe the light is meant to go up?"

The crystal were slanted, and there were a reflective surface up there. Made sense to her that perhaps, it were meant as if the light needed to go up, to finish the circle or something. It did not look like there were light going that way otherwise at least. Hopefully one of the others would be able to tell.

Zhao meanwhile, would be examining the platforms themselves, to see if perhaps there were a switch of some kind. It did not appear so, but she did notice something else. Small holes, which would indicate that whilst you couldn't turn these off, you could jam them, as it were. Or it were a flaw in the construction, but considering how things looked, she were more inclined to believe it were intentional. Now what to insert there however...

It took a bit more examining, and going around checking various crystals, but it would appear that the handles were the right size. A coincidence? Perhaps, as they seemed affixed, but there were only really one way to find out now, weren't there?

So she would grab hold in one of the handles, and start to wriggle it around a bit, making sure to use only the strength that a regular sized kitsune would physically have. Just so that she did not unintentionally break something. And it would appear that in the end, she would have hit a point. A point on the handle she now stood with as a matter of fact, that were likely to be fitting within the confines of the pedestals, of the seemingly constantly moving crystals.

"I see. There appears to be some degree of moving around that we need to do here. The handle can go off, and there are small holes, wherein the handle appears to be able to fit. I would think that at the right angles, these should be used to jam them in place, as it were. Though we will have to test it first, to make sure. Have you found anything of note?"

==========================================================================

 

@Catpone Cerberus @Evil Pink One

Shark would follow along with Light, back to the inn, but keep her face towards Sheez, teeth still barred. She did not trust this one, and were not gonna show her back to her. If she wanted something, she could come and get bitten.

As they got into the inn, she'd finally turn around, and look on as Light tried to communicate with the kitsune. Though she were confused by that, as she didn't see them. She couldn't smell them either, and yet, he seemed to talk as if they were there. Were he being strange, like special one? Or did he see something she did not? Only one way to find out, yes?

So she would sneak under the table, and sniff the air. Wasn't anything there, but then she'd move forward, and suddenly feel lots of hair in her nose. It made her giggle, as the hair were retracted, and the kits would fizzle into view. It appeared that what she had in her nose, were Hachi's tail, judging by the way he held that, and the glance he sent Shark. Though they'd soon both look at Light.

"Heeey, how did you see us?"

"Yeah. She couldn't even tell, so I know we hid our scent."

They were honestly a little miffed about that. They had passed their camouflage class, and now this one just picked them out, like they had hid by putting their paws over their eyes, and pretended no one was there. And they hadn't done that since they were three.

"And we're not gonna get the school ponies in trouble. Are you crazy? And Head Mistress Starlight is a unicorn. She is just as magic reliant as we are."

"He's right. They won't be able to deal with this. We should do like she said, and just stay out of this."

"But we could go and warn them to stay back, and not go out where there's danger?"

"Yes, we can do that. Good idea. That'd be the best for everyone there."

They'd nod at one another, and unless there'd be any issues, they'd run off to do that, jumping out of the back window. They were not going out the front door. It were dangerous there.

"So we stay... Wait for fluffy ones?"

Shark were trying to grasp their roles in this. Sounded like Light and het stayed here, with these two going to the big reef they slept at. She wasn't sure if they got back then, or they would go to them later, when the bad one had left. She wasn't sure what were going on out there at all, but she wanted the bad one to go away, so all the friends would be out and happy again.

@Catpone Cerberus @Blitz Boom

" Oh my bad." He patted the twins head.

" you guys actually did great, but against me who can read between the lines and wall break, can easily break the rules and see you... Although i didnt mean to and was sure i lost that ability..." Light pondered deeply.

 

" as per Starlight Glimmer she knows how to deal with anti magic, om sure of it." He told the kitsune.

" just make sure to tell her, shell definitely have a plan against anti magic users."

Hed then give a wave to the kits as they left to get help.

" Now as for the dangerous kobolt.... I guess we have to adapt to whats to come." He told Shark.

[Blitz Boom 4,620]

@Sekel @Props Valroa

"Tough times, can make you make some odd choices, to eat.

Back when the Shrine Maidens were first set up in our temple, our ancestors brought special seeds with them, by the order of her majesty. Something to help us survive, since we'd be cut off from supplies. Caused some quick growing vegetation to keep sprouting for generations. Bland tasting, but it had nutrition, and culling duty was a nice break from things, when you were too injured to fight. That's most of what we've eaten, since that time. Caused a few deaths here and there, if the cullers didn't manage to remove all the thorns from the vines, and it went down the wrong way, but it was rare. Hard not to see those things. White as teeth, against the black tendrils. It stands out.

Grew fast though, so we burned the last to the core before we left, so it wouldn't take over the valley."

While they weren't the same, Princess Twilight might recognize the description as fitting somewhat with the Plunderseeds, that had caused trouble in Ponyville, some time ago. It wasn't exactly the same though, as these were vines, and not roots that appeared to have some sort of evil intent, by the sound of things, but it were likely a sub-species, or altered version. Something made tamer, that'd help serve as a food source, long as it were kept under control. It didn't need sunlight or much water, so it were ideal, considering their location not making it easy to get excess amount of either, without it being usable against them.

"Krkktxxtr. We wondered sometimes, how you did not starve under siege. A shame poisoning the water were never an option."

"You needed the river much as we did. We went down, and you'd go down with it. Your Eternal Queen were many things, but suicidal isn't the first word that comes to mind."

"Tktthrrx. She were determined, and glorious. The princess is softer. Much weaker than her mother. We will see if it helps her, or becomes her downfall."

============================================================================

 

@Catpone Cerberus @Evil Pink One

On 2023-12-16 at 4:19 AM, Evil Pink One said:

" Oh my bad." He patted the twins head.

" you guys actually did great, but against me who can read between the lines and wall break, can easily break the rules and see you... Although i didnt mean to and was sure i lost that ability..." Light pondered deeply.

The two grumbled as they were pet, and took a step back. Zhing the fastest, though Hachi would follow troop, after she elbowed him. He had looked like he were enjoying it a little, and she wasn't gonna have that. They were proud kitsune, not pets, and they shouldn't accept this sort of thing, from others than their own kind. It were demeaning, even though - and she hated to admit it - it felt kinda nice.

Might be their kind had evolved from their primitive roots a long time ago, but they still had some feral sides to themselves, and instincts that were more ingrained, than the dye in Hachi's kimono. Some accepted it more than others. Zhing were one who believed they should show more restraint than that. And yes, it were hypocritical, considering the playful way the two had chased one another in the air earlier, but that were besides the point. At least according to her.

"H-Hey. We're not pets you know."

"I... *clears throat* A-Anyway, I don't know what you said meant, but at least it doesn't sound like we did it wrong."

"No, he just cheated."

"Elder Gao would find him amusing."

"Definitely. I worry he'd try to convince him to team up against Elder Zhao though."

"Oooh. Yeah, he'd do that."

On 2023-12-16 at 4:19 AM, Evil Pink One said:

" as per Starlight Glimmer she knows how to deal with anti magic, om sure of it." He told the kitsune.

" just make sure to tell her, shell definitely have a plan against anti magic users."

Hed then give a wave to the kits as they left to get help.

" Now as for the dangerous kobolt.... I guess we have to adapt to whats to come." He told Shark.

The two shrugged, being told that Starlight Glimmer might know a way around such a thing, but they'd pass it along anyway. Personally, they'd advise to just lay low, and wait for the storm to blow past them, but this wasn't their home, and even if it were, they weren't old enough to be in charge. This were the sort of decision that would be made by the parties involved. In this case, the head mistress of the school.

Shark meanwhile - after being done waving towards the kitsune - would turn towards Light, looking somewhat neutral. She wasn't growling at him, nor looking angry, but the situation wasn't so that she felt happy either. Things were bad outside.

"Shark... Coooon-feeeehw-sssssed. Confused. Shark is confused, but Shark protect mate. Stay with you, keep safe and happy."

She'd nuzzle the side of his face, eyes closed. She were actually, genuinely a bit worried now, that he might get hurt, as she had seen him get hit before. She did not want that. It made her remember about when she thought he had died, back in the forest. Bad thoughts, that made her chest feel wrong.

[EQ_Theta 457]

@Blitz Boom

On 2023-12-15 at 5:05 AM, Blitz Boom said:

"Sister? I do not see something that works with the small crystals, but this crystal is different. It leans up there."

As she were close tot he ground, and about knee height to the rest, she only really saw things, from a frog's perspective as it were, so to her, most if not all things, were upwards. Which were also when she noticed something else. A small glimmer, as her constant bouncing made her eventually see a reflection above. Perhaps a mirror? A shard of glass? Ice? She was not sure. It were too far away, and she did not have her powers here. She could not go and look.

"Something is up there. Maybe the light is meant to go up?"

The crystal were slanted, and there were a reflective surface up there. Made sense to her that perhaps, it were meant as if the light needed to go up, to finish the circle or something. It did not look like there were light going that way otherwise at least. Hopefully one of the others would be able to tell.

Zhao meanwhile, would be examining the platforms themselves, to see if perhaps there were a switch of some kind. It did not appear so, but she did notice something else. Small holes, which would indicate that whilst you couldn't turn these off, you could jam them, as it were. Or it were a flaw in the construction, but considering how things looked, she were more inclined to believe it were intentional. Now what to insert there however...

It took a bit more examining, and going around checking various crystals, but it would appear that the handles were the right size. A coincidence? Perhaps, as they seemed affixed, but there were only really one way to find out now, weren't there?

So she would grab hold in one of the handles, and start to wriggle it around a bit, making sure to use only the strength that a regular sized kitsune would physically have. Just so that she did not unintentionally break something. And it would appear that in the end, she would have hit a point. A point on the handle she now stood with as a matter of fact, that were likely to be fitting within the confines of the pedestals, of the seemingly constantly moving crystals.

"I see. There appears to be some degree of moving around that we need to do here. The handle can go off, and there are small holes, wherein the handle appears to be able to fit. I would think that at the right angles, these should be used to jam them in place, as it were. Though we will have to test it first, to make sure. Have you found anything of note?"

“Huh? Clever putting something up there when we didn’t expect to look upward. That’s a great find, Omen! I believe I have an idea of what the solution might be, but let’s keep an eye out for other important things in this room.” 

On Omen’s observations, “Lin” looked up to find another silver surface, faint and rather scant in size, but still worth noting. The light could not bounce off the surfaces of the crystals at ground level, as her testing had shown. Now if it were to bounce off that surface on the ceiling? Omen was on to something, but how would they get the light to go up there? Perhaps they’d find their answers upon further experimentation, as Sen would fiddle with the handles on the central platform near Elder Zhao. 

Seeing the elder remove a handle, and then suggest using them to lock the other crystals in place, got Sen wondering if that would do to further their path forward. The silver surface on the ceiling combined with their new knowledge matters at ground level were enough to get started on further testing. Sen pulled out one of the handles and brought it over to a crystal along one of the corners, where he’d place it on a hole. Shortly after, the stones around the crystal’s base rose and locked it in place. 

As Lin tried to rotate the central crystal, only that locked crystal stayed as it was; the rest continued to rotate. Some further testing will be necessary, but this one might be their way out. 

“There doesn’t appear to be any other notable things here. Sen locking down that crystal means we just need to rotate the crystals without blocking any beams. I think we have what we need to continue; Sen, I’ll need you to grab a handle”

“Here’s hoping we aren’t going to run into more complications.” 

Lin turned the crystal once more with Sen joining her. With the rotations, the siblings were able to bounce the light to the crystals most distant from them, and then back to the central crystal. From what they noticed with this attempt, the centerpiece could act as another reflective surface, allowing them to bounce the light around at angles they normally wouldn’t have considered initially. Each bounce led to another crystal, which then redirected the light beam off another surface in a zigzag pattern upon using up all four handles, locking every side crystal in place. Omen mentioned the slanted edge of the central crystal was the last piece of the puzzle, and they were banking on it being the solution. After all, one edge of the central crystal was acting as another reflective surface…

Fortunately, it worked, and the light bounced upward to the ceiling, which then reached the far wall’s surface. Once their solution was enacted, the room shook, and the glyphs on the walls glowed blue like the light beams. On the other side, floating on a suspended island with what might be the entity’s body holding the other landmasses together, was another of the crystals they’d come to expect. Dimmed and lacking power, inert but seemingly unprotected. The only way to it was a suspension bridge hanging over an endless chasm below, obscured by dark clouds and red skies, stars no longer visible. Sen looked on in horror as the realization dawned on him upon the sight behind the crystal: his family’s home.

“Oh no… Not this,” the longma slowly walked forward, his voice growing heavy. Each step slowed, growing more hesitant than the last. It was as if he knew what this meant, especially when he remembered what the entity said through Lin’s message about reconsidering their actions and a painful truth. “Please…. Anything but this.” 

Edited December 18, 2023 by EQ_Theta

[Evil Pink One 13,506]

2 hours ago, Blitz Boom said:

H-Hey. We're not pets you know."

"I... *clears throat* A-Anyway, I don't know what you said meant, but at least it doesn't sound like we did it wrong."

"No, he just cheated."

"Elder Gao would find him amusing."

"Definitely. I worry he'd try to convince him to team up against Elder Zhao though."

"Oooh. Yeah, he'd do that

" hey! I also do this to Shark. Do you think i consider her as a pet!?" Light was angry but was noticably on a caring side, where a parent scolds their child.

He'd noticed this and would soon apologize.

" ahmm... Well if you felt that i did it to insult you, then sorry. Then i wont do it anymore." He kinda looked away, abit defeated and embarrassed, as he didnt mean to displease and make a misunderstanding between them.

2 hours ago, Blitz Boom said:

Shark... Coooon-feeeehw-sssssed. Confused. Shark is confused, but Shark protect mate. Stay with you, keep safe and happy."

She'd nuzzle the side of his face, eyes closed. She were actually, genuinely a bit worried now, that he might get hurt, as she had seen him get hit before. She did not want that. It made her remember about when she thought he had died, back in the forest. Bad thoughts, that made her chest feel wrong.

Light would also feel what Shark felt on her chest as her looks to him and her action, the mood she sets would radiate towards him.

" sorry Shark. I did not mean to worry you to. I feel silly now. I just dont wanna lose face to you... I feel a bit useless and began acting boastful... That i ended up becoming careless..."

" but what do we do now? I mean we cant leave our new friends alone right? Can they handle her? Should we wait? I am also confused Shark." He would give a bit of smirk towards her, as he worries of what's to come.

@Blitz Boom @Catpone Cerberus

 

[Catpone Cerberus 23,588]

  

@Blitz Boom @Evil Pink One
"Isn't that kind of her, usually she goes directly to slaughter." Solar remarked, unbothered by the threat "But I assure you, if something goes wrong, there's nobody left to court-martial." not exactly the most comforting thing to say, but it was true, he personally couldn't do anything to Sheez either, she to him was like he was to the regular guard, that's why he had brought others. It was also his way of saying 'over my dead body', because in all his flaws, his determination for his cause was unwavering.

Meanwhile the two dragons walked towards Sheez, and Sheez, after a moment of silence and a one more look at the siblings, in quick movement, took off the collars and said something to the two, before turning her back to them and facing the dragons. The twins didn't attack this time, instead, Sheska ran to Trox who was still standing in place, shaking, and started gently guiding him towards the tavern, all the anger had seemingly left her, as everything from her face to her body language showed only care and worry for Trox, who seemed to be having some kind of emotional breakdown going on.

When they got close enough to the tavern to not be close to Sheez anymore, Chega, who alongside with Sear, for various reasons, had done and said nothing during all this other than observing the situation, suddenly pushed past Sear and ran outside, joining Sheska worrying about Trox, and the two practically carried Trox inside, and sat him down on the stairs, both talking to him, the words again wouldn't be understood by others, but the manner was comforting and caring, all the while Trox was relatively unresponsive, seemingly focusing on keeping his emotions in control, as he looked like he was going to either explode or break down.

Meanwhile outside, a conversation took place once again "If it isn't the inferno-general herself, it has been a while hasn't it." the dragon hiding her identity responded "134 cycles, and you haven't changed a bit, still wearing that ugly hood." "Don't be so harsh, I've gotten lot faster since then, come to finish me off?" "And who's the red one, doesn't seem like one of yours." the red, gray horned dragon gave a small bow "Brother Myrkr at your service, your infamy precedes you Sheez, even the United was scared of you." "But you aren't?" "No.".

"We are not here to fight, and you shouldn't either." "Did I hear you right? You want a peaceful solution?" "The infamous Scorch is offering me friendship?" "No, I'm not offering friendship, in fact, I promised someone that if I ever saw you, I'd make you beg for me to kill you, but I'm offering reason, look at yourself." "Is this what you want for your kind?" "These ponies don't know what your kind is, is this how you want them to see you?"

"There's two ways this can go Sheez, either you come with us, or, I'll keep my promise, and do what every kobold wishes they could do to you." Sheez didn't move "And don't even think you can win, we can see your every move." 

What came to the interactions between Shark, the kitsune and Light, the only ones to really see it happening were Chega and Sear, and they didn't want to get involved.

------

Ruby didn't know why she felt so unpleasant about letting the two go without her, she of course didn't make it known to them, and just watched them go in before looking elsewhere, they'd be fine, Charir was durable, and Leviathan could just blast lightning through the wall, but it still bothered her...why did she even think about it? since when had she cared what happens to others?

Charir sniffed the water, but didn't touch or taste it, it was curious sight, but it was less the physics breaking that got his attention, and more the glow, as to him that implied that there was something in the water, thus the sniffing. When Leviathan put the ice in, Charir followed it with his eyes, before making a sound that was probably his equivalent to 'huh.'. He assumed it was magic, but it was still a curious sight.

 The masks he just glanced at and slightly tilted his head at, because he didn't know anything of...well, any culture really, so to him they were just weird masks. Luckily it also meant that he didn't have the knowledge to even consider why this place was like this, and thus the idea of curses didn't come to his mind and make him reconsider all of this. He followed Leviathan's gesture, and poked his head into the room, and after seeing the skeleton, he just tilted his head in curiosity, he had never seen moving skeletons, yet it also didn't seem like a real threat to him, it seemingly being made of regular bones, so it just confused him more than anything, since he wasn't entirely sure how it worked.

Until Leviathan stopped him, Charir would sneak after the skeleton to see where it went. 

Ruby almost charged the skeletons when she first saw them, but then realizing they didn't seem to care about her, she thought about her options. She could attack, few skeletons wasn't a threat even in this form, and she could always transform if things got complicated, she could just let them be, and make a warning sound so that the two would know someone was coming from this direction....but then there was that damn feeling, that bother, why was her mind making up worst case scenarios for Leviathan and Charir? Why did she feel like she made a mistake by not being with them? What was this nonsense? was it some kind of curse?

They were still aright, she could tell, because Charir had never taken off the piece of jewelry she had given him in the kitsune situation, and thus she could tell the position of his horn, and how it moved. 

Curse or not, she couldn't ignore her mind, so she decided to go in, but approach things carefully, she first whistled to see if the skeletons cared, if they didn't, she'd make more obvious sounds, until finally directly addressing them. If they did react, she'd try to talk to them, acting as non-dangerous as she physically could, basically trying to act like a random pony who just happened to end up here by accident and was lost. She would then act accordingly, if the skeletons ignored her, she'd follow them in, be it after waiting few seconds, if they were hostile, she'd fight, going for the head since it was the easiest thing to aim for when kicking, being the biggest, and so on.

 

 

 

 

[Blitz Boom 4,620]

@Catpone Cerberus @Evil Pink One

On 2023-12-17 at 1:31 PM, Evil Pink One said:

" hey! I also do this to Shark. Do you think i consider her as a pet!?" Light was angry but was noticably on a caring side, where a parent scolds their child.

He'd noticed this and would soon apologize.

" ahmm... Well if you felt that i did it to insult you, then sorry. Then i wont do it anymore." He kinda looked away, abit defeated and embarrassed, as he didnt mean to displease and make a misunderstanding between them.

They'd have taken a step back. Wasn't like he were scary or anything... That much, but he were an unknown, so they honestly didn't know what to expect from him. An outburst, could be the pretext for him setting them on fire or something. Or turn himself inside out, which would be wildly gross.

"I... May have overreacted. We're just taught to be proud, and not accept that outsiders treat us as pets."

"It's one of two options if a poacher gets you. You're sold as a pet, or as parts."

They'd both shiver at the thought. They'd both known some who had been taken, and while they were thankfully returned, that were sadly not the case for everyone. And this bias against becoming trapped and treated like pets, were ingrained even in their lessons. Another factor in why they didn't like being pet, by outsiders.

As for Shark... They weren't there to judge how their relationship worked. For all they knew, Shark liked being pet, and he liked being carried around. Or it was a strange equine tradition. They didn't know, so they tried to stay open-minded. Especially as they were both pretty weird beings.

On 2023-12-18 at 11:44 AM, Catpone Cerberus said:

"Isn't that kind of her, usually she goes directly to slaughter." Solar remarked, unbothered by the threat "But I assure you, if something goes wrong, there's nobody left to court-martial." not exactly the most comforting thing to say, but it was true, he personally couldn't do anything to Sheez either, she to him was like he was to the regular guard, that's why he had brought others. It was also his way of saying 'over my dead body', because in all his flaws, his determination for his cause was unwavering.

"Then try to do it right."

Stargazer would have to split ways there, so that he could handle an elder pony that he saw had some issues moving away fast enough, but Solar were moving regardless, so it'd likely not matter. So the bat pony could just go and handle this problem. Which meant scooping up the pony, and taking off to bring him to the nearest shelter. There weren't time to wait for him to try and get there himself, with the reduced speed that he had, and the street were more or less barren by now. So the scene were set for these, as others were sheltered. Hopefully it would blow over, without the town being flattened. A fair bit in the underground bunkers, but not everypony were. There'd be a lot of death, if the town got destroyed properly. Even more so, if it went down underground... He hoped it wouldn't get that far though.

On 2023-12-17 at 1:31 PM, Evil Pink One said:

Light would also feel what Shark felt on her chest as her looks to him and her action, the mood she sets would radiate towards him.

" sorry Shark. I did not mean to worry you to. I feel silly now. I just dont wanna lose face to you... I feel a bit useless and began acting boastful... That i ended up becoming careless..."

" but what do we do now? I mean we cant leave our new friends alone right? Can they handle her? Should we wait? I am also confused Shark." He would give a bit of smirk towards her, as he worries of what's to come.

"Mate not lose face. Bad one do, if she try hurt again."

She were being literal as always. If Sheez came here to try and hurt her mate's face, she would bite hers off instead. A bit grizzly, but she were a simple creature, and while she had gotten to the point where she understood that she couldn't, and shouldn't, go around hurting ponies, or creatures that were in the city in general, she were still protective of Light, and wouldn't let him get hurt. And if her threatening didn't work, then she'd have to go to action. Though she'd probably start by just grabbing and shaking around some. More of a warning bite, in her mind, as she wasn't gonna take any limb off.

"Wait. Let new friends try to stop strange one. We take, if strange one hurt."

It wasn't much of a plan, but it were what she could think about. Though it wouldn't matter. Soon after this, the kobold siblings would return to the inn. Well, one of them had to be assisted, but still, they'd return, unscathed, though strange looking. As if something had happened, while they were interacting with heir ancestor outside.

On 2023-12-18 at 11:44 AM, Catpone Cerberus said:

What came to the interactions between Shark, the kitsune and Light, the only ones to really see it happening were Chega and Sear, and they didn't want to get involved.

Shark however, wanted to get involved with things. She had seen the kobolds get back here, and Trox were acting weird. Had the strange one hurt him in some way? She could not tell. She were still trying to understand the emotions of others, when they were not doing easy stuff like smiling, or screaming. This one seemed... Not afraid, but something like it? Is this was that word *Harrowed* meant, that she had in her head? It kinda fit that, but she wasn't sure. Maybe she'd find out.

"Is okay? Did strange one hurt him?"

This were what her focus were on. Outside... She didn't care anymore, and hadn't much before either, since she couldn't understand anything that were said anyway. Nor did anyone else really, as so far everyone had sought, or were seeking for cover, and the main road were all but abandoned by the locals. Whatever happened, would come down to whatever Light, Sheez, and the two others would end up doing. Probably it wouldn't be something good, considering their current hostilities towards one another. Even if it were only words thus far.

=======================================================================

 

@Catpone Cerberus

On 2023-12-18 at 11:44 AM, Catpone Cerberus said:

The masks he just glanced at and slightly tilted his head at, because he didn't know anything of...well, any culture really, so to him they were just weird masks. Luckily it also meant that he didn't have the knowledge to even consider why this place was like this, and thus the idea of curses didn't come to his mind and make him reconsider all of this. He followed Leviathan's gesture, and poked his head into the room, and after seeing the skeleton, he just tilted his head in curiosity, he had never seen moving skeletons, yet it also didn't seem like a real threat to him, it seemingly being made of regular bones, so it just confused him more than anything, since he wasn't entirely sure how it worked.

Until Leviathan stopped him, Charir would sneak after the skeleton to see where it went. 

The water hadn't had much to be exciting for as it were. The smell were simply water, and that was it. Though it were not the smell of stale water, so it seemed that fresh water did travel into the temple still. Likely some old magics and a nearby spring or river. So something interesting for perhaps an explorer, but to them? Likely not so much. Not compared to the wandering skeleton at least. That one were far more interesting.

Leviathan weren't gonna stop Charir from following either. Heck, she were right with him, wanting to see what'd happen, if they followed this one. Which for a time, wasn't much. Just a hallway, with more scribbles and pictures on the walls. Dark shapes, deer, mumbo jumbo symbols, and all sorta nonsense. She hadn't a clue what it were all about, but she were sure there were a story, if ever someone cared to read it. She might, if she had nothing better to do, but right now, she did, as they were stalking a skeleton.

For a time, it seemed to go fine, but then suddenly, there were a hole in the floor. An old trap that had once sprung it seemed, or the floor had simply just collapsed for about a meter. Either way, the skeleton would jump straight into it, and by the sounds of things, it would crash quite some way down. Likely being taken apart by the impact. Yet at the same time, a rustling below indicated that might not be the end of it regardless. This were shown further, when out of curiosity, Leviathan would send a small, frail ball lightning down there. It didn't last long, but enough for them to see bones shambling together, and the light bounce off of the sockets of several other deer skeleton, all turning to look up towards them.

"Uuuh. Now this is starting to get interesting."

Ominous to some, but for her? Seemed like a great time. Also would be the ideal place for stuff to have been overlooked, right? Who were gonna go into the midst of a bunch of moving skeletons? Some crazies would, but most would hightail it out, leaving some fun stuff behind.

As for their path... Seemed dumb to crash down there, so she'd just jump over the hole, so that they could continue down the hallway. Unless Charir jumped down, in which case she'd jump straight after him. She wouldn't leave him alone in here. He'd probably end up all scared... Well okay, he'd probably destroy the place, to get back out, but that'd still be a bummer. Way harder to dig for treasure like that.

In case he did not, and would instead follow her, she'd keep walking, and find that the trail started to slope slightly down, and to the left. Maybe they'd hit a staircase later? They'd see soon enough.

For now though, they'd end up in a larger room. This one having a glowing crystal in the ceiling, bathing the room in pale blue light, so the torch wasn't as needed in here. Sort of. There were two skeletons in this room, wandering seemingly aimless, as if they were looking for something, but didn't know where it were, or why they were looking for it.

As the two dragons would get closer though, their heads would rotate, and focus on them. The jaws lowered, and from them, would roil a thick, dark tendril out, whilst dark smog began roiling in their eyes. Seemed like they were finally faced with something a bit cursed. Took a while.

If they did nothing though, they'd eventually just... Stop doing that. The heads tilting, as they were looked over from a distance, before the tendrils and smog would vanish again, and they'd head towards each of their own paths to the side. Both seemingly being a staircase, going up. If they'd rather go down, they'd likely need to press for the larger door at the end of the room. Were gonna need some muscle to push that open though.

Of course, they could also just attack the skeletons, in which case the tendrils would spring from the ribs too, and aim to restrain them, and drag them closer.

On 2023-12-18 at 11:44 AM, Catpone Cerberus said:

Ruby almost charged the skeletons when she first saw them, but then realizing they didn't seem to care about her, she thought about her options. She could attack, few skeletons wasn't a threat even in this form, and she could always transform if things got complicated, she could just let them be, and make a warning sound so that the two would know someone was coming from this direction....but then there was that damn feeling, that bother, why was her mind making up worst case scenarios for Leviathan and Charir? Why did she feel like she made a mistake by not being with them? What was this nonsense? was it some kind of curse?

They were still aright, she could tell, because Charir had never taken off the piece of jewelry she had given him in the kitsune situation, and thus she could tell the position of his horn, and how it moved. 

Curse or not, she couldn't ignore her mind, so she decided to go in, but approach things carefully, she first whistled to see if the skeletons cared, if they didn't, she'd make more obvious sounds, until finally directly addressing them. If they did react, she'd try to talk to them, acting as non-dangerous as she physically could, basically trying to act like a random pony who just happened to end up here by accident and was lost. She would then act accordingly, if the skeletons ignored her, she'd follow them in, be it after waiting few seconds, if they were hostile, she'd fight, going for the head since it was the easiest thing to aim for when kicking, being the biggest, and so on.

As she made sound, the skeletons would turn, tendrils sprouting from their slacking jaws, and eyes filling with smog. But like with the others, if she just ignored that, they'd eventually tilt their heads, then retract things, close their mouths, and begin wandering in with the same, steady pace once again. Either this were meant as a scare tactic, or something else were halting them from being hostile, about the ones approaching,

Talking to them from there on, did nothing. They would ignore her every word, and just keep moving, though in another direction as they got in. To the right, where a pale light glowed in the distance´, down the dark hall.

If she followed, she'd find herself in a moderately sized room. Not enough for her full form to stand well, but enough for her equine one to move around well. And in that, skeleton parts lined the walls, making an intricate pattern, leading in the end to a large deer mask on the ceiling, maw opened up. As the skeletons would approach, one by one, they'd fall apart after a small shake, and their bones sucked up into the mask, shambling off to somewhere else, by the sounds of it. Perhaps down an old ventilation system? She could examine it, or she could try and get through the door on the far end. Had a fair few bones across the door though, as part of the pattern. She might want to thread carefully to not touch and disturb them, if she tried to get through.

========================================================================

 

@EQ_Theta

On 2023-12-17 at 1:03 PM, EQ_Theta said:

“There doesn’t appear to be any other notable things here. Sen locking down that crystal means we just need to rotate the crystals without blocking any beams. I think we have what we need to continue; Sen, I’ll need you to grab a handle”

“Here’s hoping we aren’t going to run into more complications.” 

Elder Zhao had a small smile show up on her face, as she saw them work cooperatively, to handle this puzzle. She would assist as asked of course, but since they seemed to know what to do now, she would let them take the lead on that. It were rarely good to have conflicting ideas, when you wanted to solve a peculiar situation. Centralized leadership in the moment, would serve them the best. Besides, she agreed with their approach as they went on with it, so she would have little to nothing to add to the proceedings as it were.

Neither did Omen, but she would bounce around and observe, in case something like this would ever become necessary knowledge again. Like if they found themselves in a puzzle like it in the waking world. She did not have the physical power to do much else, nor the mental fortitude, to be worth much in this place. And without smarts of brawn, she were little more than an observer, and potentially as someone who could notice things, such as the slanted plate on the crystal. In a pinch, you could technically also throw her into someone's face. That were not the nicest thing one could do, but the good thing were that she couldn't care about that. Might even find it an interesting experience.

But no need to put that to the test now, were there? No one here to toss her at regardless, even if they wanted to, beyond one another. And while Elder Zhao wouldn't mind a pause to play ball as it were, it wasn't the best use of their time.

On 2023-12-17 at 1:03 PM, EQ_Theta said:

Lin turned the crystal once more with Sen joining her. With the rotations, the siblings were able to bounce the light to the crystals most distant from them, and then back to the central crystal. From what they noticed with this attempt, the centerpiece could act as another reflective surface, allowing them to bounce the light around at angles they normally wouldn’t have considered initially. Each bounce led to another crystal, which then redirected the light beam off another surface in a zigzag pattern upon using up all four handles, locking every side crystal in place. Omen mentioned the slanted edge of the central crystal was the last piece of the puzzle, and they were banking on it being the solution. After all, one edge of the central crystal was acting as another reflective surface…

Fortunately, it worked, and the light bounced upward to the ceiling, which then reached the far wall’s surface. Once their solution was enacted, the room shook, and the glyphs on the walls glowed blue like the light beams. On the other side, floating on a suspended island with what might be the entity’s body holding the other landmasses together, was another of the crystals they’d come to expect. Dimmed and lacking power, inert but seemingly unprotected. The only way to it was a suspension bridge hanging over an endless chasm below, obscured by dark clouds and red skies, stars no longer visible. Sen looked on in horror as the realization dawned on him upon the sight behind the crystal: his family’s home.

“Oh no… Not this,” the longma slowly walked forward, his voice growing heavy. Each step slowed, growing more hesitant than the last. It was as if he knew what this meant, especially when he remembered what the entity said through Lin’s message about reconsidering their actions and a painful truth. “Please…. Anything but this.” 

Things transpired splendidly... For a time.

The process of getting the crystal set up and ready, took less time than she had anticipated earlier, and the way the siblings handled the coordination to solve the puzzle, went more or less flawlessly. They had an idea, and they executed it well, to the point where the puzzle would be solved.

After that however, is when things would get dicey.

Instead of just lighting up the crystal, the room would instead change, leaving them with a path. A suspension bridge that lead closer to the center of it all. At least she would assume so, judging by what might be the parasite dangling nearby, acting as a connection point between some of the floating islands. It could also be her actual core, trying to keep things together though. She needed to be closer to evaluate that.

What she did not need to be closer to see though, were Sen's reaction. It were frightful. Pained. Whatever were over there, near the crystal they were aiming for? It resonated with him. It seemed... A home, perhaps? Might be theirs, where they grew up? Had something happened there, that shook them to their core? A memory that they wanted to forget? Could well be. Not something many wanted to do, to face their innermost trauma. Yet it were an obstacle that he had to pass. And not just him, the same went for Lin, who had to see this all the same.

She put Omen back on her back, before the strange one would end up going and bouncing too close to the edge of the bridge, and would move forward, towards Sen.

"Brother?"

"He is facing an obstacle that seems insurmountable. A few words of encouragement, is perhaps in order?"

Omen thought for a few seconds, as the kitsune went closer to Sen.

"...We are here for you, brother."

Zhao almost wished to roll her eyes, but in honesty, the bland delivery were likely the best she could have hoped for. Omen were an odd creature, and she'd need far more time to study her, to understand how to approach her the best. Perhaps if she had some time in the future, it would be possible. As a link to Discord, getting on her good side, would likely be a boon to her kind, as they hadn't seen the lord of chaos since their early civilization at this point.

"Sen. Whatever hardships you will have to face, Omen is right. You stand not alone. If you falter, we will be there to catch you. And if the memory is too painful, we will hold paws with you, and give you the strength you need.

That place down there. Tell me about it, as we walk. Was it your home once?"

She found that talking about things, could sometimes make it easier. It might also make him cry to remember, but such things were not good to bottle up forever regardless. You needed to let it out, every now and again. Personally, she preferred doing that in solitude, but there were a few that she trusted well enough, to feel comfortable weeping nearby.

Elder Gao were not one of them.

[Rising Dusk 27,510]

@Blitz Boom

"Right now, I have attached the connection your portal has to a tree just outside our city.  Please allow me two days to confer with our Princesses on a more appropriate location, and then I will move it for you if required.  I'll send word when Equestria is ready to start receiving guests," Rising informed Necrotic with a weary smile.

Rising's sense mulled over the contents of the crates Caramel would be bringing along.  While his eyes looked in the general direction of the crates, they were not focused upon them.  Looking to the side or past them in a manner of speaking.  Caramel was to be afforded due trust and the privacy of her personal affects, and the last thing Rising needed was for anything too personal to be a permanent addition to his memory.  Luckily his magic sense was separate from that of sight.  The faintest threads of magic licked at his sense, nothing that would form a coherent spell on their own.  He could likely tie enough of these left over magics into something useable, but all that did for the detective was conclude she wasn't bringing anything harmful into Equestria.  Which is what all he was concerned with.  Although the need to bring up some sort of customs on a regular basis for visitors will need to be addressed.

Rising inclined his head toward Caramel, "Your belongings are safe."

"Was that really necessary, brother dearest?" the mare scolded her brother as she walked passed to join her father at the collection near the gift he'd been offered by the head librarian of Harrowmark.  "Ho ho ho.  My horned angel.  You've been along with us these wonderful hours of celebrating.  There is going to be a rough adjustment period as our lands get a feel for each other.  Already we're taking in two new residents without any time for education.  Your brother is easing the impact," Star explained but didn't turn his attention from the ornate wooden book stand.  Equestria hadn't used these in ages, especially for a unicorn.  It'll be great in his classroom for lectures.

Dawn knew all too well her brother's snooping.  She ignited her horn and floated the vendor registry closer to her with a smile.  "What a wonderful, thoughtful gift Necrotic," Dawn replied.  Taking his wink and returning with a flutter of her eyelashes.  She cared little for how inappropriate it might have been received as, but she smiled on.  Collecting the rest of the last gifts into her telekinesis to store them away inside of Rising's enchanted pouch.  Her choice of dress didn't come with pockets, even with Lily's warning.

The family returned the Prince's bow for their final departure of the evening.  "Come now ladies.  Rather than my brother's boring, yet helpful, halfway house, you'll be guests in my manor while we get your hoofs set in our land," Dawn spoke rather matter-of-factly about the point.  Rising didn't raise any objections, not that'd be one he could win.  For all her faults, Dawn had much better connections for the two to meet and find where they can fit best in Manehattan.  Star and Grace were the first to enter the portal home.  Dawn would follow her new guests with her brother to be the last to depart their venture to Harrowmark.

[Evil Pink One 13,506]

22 hours ago, Blitz Boom said:

@Catpone Cerberus @Evil Pink One

They'd have taken a step back. Wasn't like he were scary or anything... That much, but he were an unknown, so they honestly didn't know what to expect from him. An outburst, could be the pretext for him setting them on fire or something. Or turn himself inside out, which would be wildly gross.

"I... May have overreacted. We're just taught to be proud, and not accept that outsiders treat us as pets."

"It's one of two options if a poacher gets you. You're sold as a pet, or as parts."

They'd both shiver at the thought. They'd both known some who had been taken, and while they were thankfully returned, that were sadly not the case for everyone. And this bias against becoming trapped and treated like pets, were ingrained even in their lessons. Another factor in why they didn't like being pet, by outsiders.

As for Shark... They weren't there to judge how their relationship worked. For all they knew, Shark liked being pet, and he liked being carried around. Or it was a strange equine tradition. They didn't know, so they tried to stay open-minded. Especially as they were both pretty weird beings.

"Then try to do it right."

Stargazer would have to split ways there, so that he could handle an elder pony that he saw had some issues moving away fast enough, but Solar were moving regardless, so it'd likely not matter. So the bat pony could just go and handle this problem. Which meant scooping up the pony, and taking off to bring him to the nearest shelter. There weren't time to wait for him to try and get there himself, with the reduced speed that he had, and the street were more or less barren by now. So the scene were set for these, as others were sheltered. Hopefully it would blow over, without the town being flattened. A fair bit in the underground bunkers, but not everypony were. There'd be a lot of death, if the town got destroyed properly. Even more so, if it went down underground... He hoped it wouldn't get that far though.

"Mate not lose face. Bad one do, if she try hurt again."

She were being literal as always. If Sheez came here to try and hurt her mate's face, she would bite hers off instead. A bit grizzly, but she were a simple creature, and while she had gotten to the point where she understood that she couldn't, and shouldn't, go around hurting ponies, or creatures that were in the city in general, she were still protective of Light, and wouldn't let him get hurt. And if her threatening didn't work, then she'd have to go to action. Though she'd probably start by just grabbing and shaking around some. More of a warning bite, in her mind, as she wasn't gonna take any limb off.

"Wait. Let new friends try to stop strange one. We take, if strange one hurt."

It wasn't much of a plan, but it were what she could think about. Though it wouldn't matter. Soon after this, the kobold siblings would return to the inn. Well, one of them had to be assisted, but still, they'd return, unscathed, though strange looking. As if something had happened, while they were interacting with heir ancestor outside.

Shark however, wanted to get involved with things. She had seen the kobolds get back here, and Trox were acting weird. Had the strange one hurt him in some way? She could not tell. She were still trying to understand the emotions of others, when they were not doing easy stuff like smiling, or screaming. This one seemed... Not afraid, but something like it? Is this was that word *Harrowed* meant, that she had in her head? It kinda fit that, but she wasn't sure. Maybe she'd find out.

"Is okay? Did strange one hurt him?"

This were what her focus were on. Outside... She didn't care anymore, and hadn't much before either, since she couldn't understand anything that were said anyway. Nor did anyone else really, as so far everyone had sought, or were seeking for cover, and the main road were all but abandoned by the locals. Whatever happened, would come down to whatever Light, Sheez, and the two others would end up doing. Probably it wouldn't be something good, considering their current hostilities towards one another. Even if it were only words thus far.

=======================================================================

 

@Catpone Cerberus

The water hadn't had much to be exciting for as it were. The smell were simply water, and that was it. Though it were not the smell of stale water, so it seemed that fresh water did travel into the temple still. Likely some old magics and a nearby spring or river. So something interesting for perhaps an explorer, but to them? Likely not so much. Not compared to the wandering skeleton at least. That one were far more interesting.

Leviathan weren't gonna stop Charir from following either. Heck, she were right with him, wanting to see what'd happen, if they followed this one. Which for a time, wasn't much. Just a hallway, with more scribbles and pictures on the walls. Dark shapes, deer, mumbo jumbo symbols, and all sorta nonsense. She hadn't a clue what it were all about, but she were sure there were a story, if ever someone cared to read it. She might, if she had nothing better to do, but right now, she did, as they were stalking a skeleton.

For a time, it seemed to go fine, but then suddenly, there were a hole in the floor. An old trap that had once sprung it seemed, or the floor had simply just collapsed for about a meter. Either way, the skeleton would jump straight into it, and by the sounds of things, it would crash quite some way down. Likely being taken apart by the impact. Yet at the same time, a rustling below indicated that might not be the end of it regardless. This were shown further, when out of curiosity, Leviathan would send a small, frail ball lightning down there. It didn't last long, but enough for them to see bones shambling together, and the light bounce off of the sockets of several other deer skeleton, all turning to look up towards them.

"Uuuh. Now this is starting to get interesting."

Ominous to some, but for her? Seemed like a great time. Also would be the ideal place for stuff to have been overlooked, right? Who were gonna go into the midst of a bunch of moving skeletons? Some crazies would, but most would hightail it out, leaving some fun stuff behind.

As for their path... Seemed dumb to crash down there, so she'd just jump over the hole, so that they could continue down the hallway. Unless Charir jumped down, in which case she'd jump straight after him. She wouldn't leave him alone in here. He'd probably end up all scared... Well okay, he'd probably destroy the place, to get back out, but that'd still be a bummer. Way harder to dig for treasure like that.

In case he did not, and would instead follow her, she'd keep walking, and find that the trail started to slope slightly down, and to the left. Maybe they'd hit a staircase later? They'd see soon enough.

For now though, they'd end up in a larger room. This one having a glowing crystal in the ceiling, bathing the room in pale blue light, so the torch wasn't as needed in here. Sort of. There were two skeletons in this room, wandering seemingly aimless, as if they were looking for something, but didn't know where it were, or why they were looking for it.

As the two dragons would get closer though, their heads would rotate, and focus on them. The jaws lowered, and from them, would roil a thick, dark tendril out, whilst dark smog began roiling in their eyes. Seemed like they were finally faced with something a bit cursed. Took a while.

If they did nothing though, they'd eventually just... Stop doing that. The heads tilting, as they were looked over from a distance, before the tendrils and smog would vanish again, and they'd head towards each of their own paths to the side. Both seemingly being a staircase, going up. If they'd rather go down, they'd likely need to press for the larger door at the end of the room. Were gonna need some muscle to push that open though.

Of course, they could also just attack the skeletons, in which case the tendrils would spring from the ribs too, and aim to restrain them, and drag them closer.

As she made sound, the skeletons would turn, tendrils sprouting from their slacking jaws, and eyes filling with smog. But like with the others, if she just ignored that, they'd eventually tilt their heads, then retract things, close their mouths, and begin wandering in with the same, steady pace once again. Either this were meant as a scare tactic, or something else were halting them from being hostile, about the ones approaching,

Talking to them from there on, did nothing. They would ignore her every word, and just keep moving, though in another direction as they got in. To the right, where a pale light glowed in the distance´, down the dark hall.

If she followed, she'd find herself in a moderately sized room. Not enough for her full form to stand well, but enough for her equine one to move around well. And in that, skeleton parts lined the walls, making an intricate pattern, leading in the end to a large deer mask on the ceiling, maw opened up. As the skeletons would approach, one by one, they'd fall apart after a small shake, and their bones sucked up into the mask, shambling off to somewhere else, by the sounds of it. Perhaps down an old ventilation system? She could examine it, or she could try and get through the door on the far end. Had a fair few bones across the door though, as part of the pattern. She might want to thread carefully to not touch and disturb them, if she tried to get through.

========================================================================

 

@EQ_Theta

Elder Zhao had a small smile show up on her face, as she saw them work cooperatively, to handle this puzzle. She would assist as asked of course, but since they seemed to know what to do now, she would let them take the lead on that. It were rarely good to have conflicting ideas, when you wanted to solve a peculiar situation. Centralized leadership in the moment, would serve them the best. Besides, she agreed with their approach as they went on with it, so she would have little to nothing to add to the proceedings as it were.

Neither did Omen, but she would bounce around and observe, in case something like this would ever become necessary knowledge again. Like if they found themselves in a puzzle like it in the waking world. She did not have the physical power to do much else, nor the mental fortitude, to be worth much in this place. And without smarts of brawn, she were little more than an observer, and potentially as someone who could notice things, such as the slanted plate on the crystal. In a pinch, you could technically also throw her into someone's face. That were not the nicest thing one could do, but the good thing were that she couldn't care about that. Might even find it an interesting experience.

But no need to put that to the test now, were there? No one here to toss her at regardless, even if they wanted to, beyond one another. And while Elder Zhao wouldn't mind a pause to play ball as it were, it wasn't the best use of their time.

Things transpired splendidly... For a time.

The process of getting the crystal set up and ready, took less time than she had anticipated earlier, and the way the siblings handled the coordination to solve the puzzle, went more or less flawlessly. They had an idea, and they executed it well, to the point where the puzzle would be solved.

After that however, is when things would get dicey.

Instead of just lighting up the crystal, the room would instead change, leaving them with a path. A suspension bridge that lead closer to the center of it all. At least she would assume so, judging by what might be the parasite dangling nearby, acting as a connection point between some of the floating islands. It could also be her actual core, trying to keep things together though. She needed to be closer to evaluate that.

What she did not need to be closer to see though, were Sen's reaction. It were frightful. Pained. Whatever were over there, near the crystal they were aiming for? It resonated with him. It seemed... A home, perhaps? Might be theirs, where they grew up? Had something happened there, that shook them to their core? A memory that they wanted to forget? Could well be. Not something many wanted to do, to face their innermost trauma. Yet it were an obstacle that he had to pass. And not just him, the same went for Lin, who had to see this all the same.

She put Omen back on her back, before the strange one would end up going and bouncing too close to the edge of the bridge, and would move forward, towards Sen.

"Brother?"

"He is facing an obstacle that seems insurmountable. A few words of encouragement, is perhaps in order?"

Omen thought for a few seconds, as the kitsune went closer to Sen.

"...We are here for you, brother."

Zhao almost wished to roll her eyes, but in honesty, the bland delivery were likely the best she could have hoped for. Omen were an odd creature, and she'd need far more time to study her, to understand how to approach her the best. Perhaps if she had some time in the future, it would be possible. As a link to Discord, getting on her good side, would likely be a boon to her kind, as they hadn't seen the lord of chaos since their early civilization at this point.

"Sen. Whatever hardships you will have to face, Omen is right. You stand not alone. If you falter, we will be there to catch you. And if the memory is too painful, we will hold paws with you, and give you the strength you need.

That place down there. Tell me about it, as we walk. Was it your home once?"

She found that talking about things, could sometimes make it easier. It might also make him cry to remember, but such things were not good to bottle up forever regardless. You needed to let it out, every now and again. Personally, she preferred doing that in solitude, but there were a few that she trusted well enough, to feel comfortable weeping nearby.

Elder Gao were not one of them.

@Blitz Boom @Catpone Cerberus

Light would lower his head towards the group and apologize.

" ... I'm sorry. I was no use at all." His voice defeated.

[EQ_Theta 457]

@Blitz Boom

On 2023-12-21 at 7:16 AM, Blitz Boom said:

"Brother?"

"He is facing an obstacle that seems insurmountable. A few words of encouragement, is perhaps in order?"

Omen thought for a few seconds, as the kitsune went closer to Sen.

"...We are here for you, brother."

Zhao almost wished to roll her eyes, but in honesty, the bland delivery were likely the best she could have hoped for. Omen were an odd creature, and she'd need far more time to study her, to understand how to approach her the best. Perhaps if she had some time in the future, it would be possible. As a link to Discord, getting on her good side, would likely be a boon to her kind, as they hadn't seen the lord of chaos since their early civilization at this point.

"Sen. Whatever hardships you will have to face, Omen is right. You stand not alone. If you falter, we will be there to catch you. And if the memory is too painful, we will hold paws with you, and give you the strength you need.

That place down there. Tell me about it, as we walk. Was it your home once?"

She found that talking about things, could sometimes make it easier. It might also make him cry to remember, but such things were not good to bottle up forever regardless. You needed to let it out, every now and again. Personally, she preferred doing that in solitude, but there were a few that she trusted well enough, to feel comfortable weeping nearby.

Sen remained silent for some time, still unsure what the entity wanted to achieve from this whole setup. If it gleaned some aspect of his trauma from Lin or it intended to stop him from fully restoring his sister’s memories, he knew not. However, one look at the view from the bridge was enough for the longma to figure out the contents of the memory that needed to be restored. It wasn’t a good one despite the warmth and fondness that the sight of his home carried. There was no guarantee that this may be the end of the path for them, but he had to go on, and Elder Zhao’s and Omen’s support was a start. 

The longma sighed, unhappy that he would need to go down this memory but knew there was no other choice. “It was… is… my home. Not how it is now, but what it was before. I’ve had many fond memories growing up there, full of love and support. Those should be the things I must feel about this place, but whenever I see it now, I’m reminded of only pain.”

“Omen? You may remember me mentioning this before, but this is how my exile from the forest began. Ahead of us…. that’s where my father was taken away, where my mother’s heart was broken, and where everything fell apart. Our elder, the previous one anyway, was the one who ordered it; no matter how much I wanted to fight it, I couldn’t save my parents.”

“Sen…” “Lin” began, believing there was no more to the story after hearing how it went previously. “You’ve told me about this before. You trained to be a guardian for the village and fought back as best you could, right? No one could fault you for doing the right thing.”

“That… that wasn’t how it happened…” Tears welled up in Sen’s eyes, knowing that if he were to tell the truth, it may as well do more harm to his sister and their bond. Unfortunately, it wasn’t going to keep “Lin” from prodding for answers, as even she was now curious as to what gaps were present in her memory. For all she knew, the blame was squarely on Solasan, and they already took care of him a while back. What could still eat at Sen’s mind to make him feel guilt after supposedly settling the matter? Yet, there was this look on Sen, evident enough that everyone could see, that there was more to the story. 

“It wasn’t? But, you told me that’s how things went. What aren’t you telling us?”

As the group continued walking down the only path through the footbridge and by the entryway to the siblings’ home, they’d soon come face-to-face with what might be the last crystal that needed to be used. One more memory to be restored, but this one seemed to be warping even its very surroundings. What might be a sinister, yet serene abode now began to change; heat emanated as if the place was on fire, the crimson sky now darkening into a more oppressive night, contrasting the sight of flames surrounding the floating isle. The closer the group came to the longma siblings’ hut, a host of shadowy figures came into view. There would be no use interacting with them, as they didn’t even appear to be real. Everything was morphing and setting the stage to recreate that fateful night.

The more Sen and “Lin” moved closer to the center, they experienced what felt like pins prodding their minds, extracting more and more details from memory and reconstructing it for all to see. It wasn’t a good memory, but whatever was doing this was content to let this old wound fester in the open.

When everyone had gathered in front of the crystal, Sen hesitated for a moment, evident that he was tempted to simply leave this place without doing anything. But he knew he had to act, and with every bit of his resolve, he needed to act. The longma turned to Elder Zhao and Omen and looked at them with stern conviction, yet there was regret in what might happen next.

“Elder? Omen? Before we proceed, I… I’m sorry. I need to apologize for what might happen because when I touch that crystal, I need you two to hold me down and stop me from doing something I’ll regret. I’m afraid I will hurt you while the memory is being restored. This is a very personal and deeply difficult thing to relive, and I will try to change it to something it should not be. Whatever happens, please do what you can to stop me from incorrectly restoring this memory.”

“Lin” readied herself to see this memory for what it was, positioning herself by the crystal and ready to touch it when everyone else was. There would still be time for everyone to go over any final preparations, and Sen would answer any lingering questions before proceeding. Frankly, it seemed like the longma was looking for any excuse to delay or find another solution, but everyone’s come too far to back out or reconsider. 

Edited December 22, 2023 by EQ_Theta

[Catpone Cerberus 23,588]

@Blitz Boom@Evil Pink One
The outside event continued uninterrupted, as Solar joined the conversation "Think your next move carefully Sheez, we understand your anger, but it's over, these ponies had nothing to do with it." "Think with your own brain, you're but a pawn to those you claim to go against." "We all were." "It's time to retire, the war is over, you've done your part." the female dragon stepped forwards "If you want blood, I am the only one here who was there back then, I was there when we invaded your kind's homes, I watched as your kind was enslaved, I was part of all of it, no other creature in this world was involved." "And I take full responsibility for my crimes, do you?" "We all have blood in our hands, and hooves, none of us can ever wash it away, but we can make sure it never happens again." 

Sheez finally spoke again "What happened to you?" she asked, looking at the covered dragon "Since when have you been this...humble?" "I was given perspective, shown the truth by one of your kind, and now I'm offering that truth to you. It's all pointless, always was." the covered dragon then said something in different language, it didn't mean anything to anyone around, but it was very much familiar to Solar, as it was the message he had asked the twins to translate for him, the one about tyrants drowning in blood. "Those were her last words, and I saw the meaning behind them myself, it's over, the empires will fall, if they haven't fallen already, will you let them die?" 

Silence fell over the group for a while, until Sheez addressed Solar, loudly "Pony, let your princesses know, that if they ever as much as consider touching my kind, I'll slaughter every creature with hooves on this planet!" "Other than that, I'm done, now leave me alone." she then just...left, and the two dragons walked after her. Solar let out a relieved sigh "Thank the sun, I was really worried there for a second." if he would have had a heart, it would be beating far beyond it's normal function. 

 

Sheska and Trox didn't react to the others trying to get involved, for obvious reasons, but Chega, after exchanging some words with Sheska, addressed Shark and Light, starting with Shark "Physically he's fine, mentally...." she thought about how Shark would understand "He has been through lot of pain, and he was reminded of all of it at the same time." it was bit more complicated than that, but Shark probably wouldn't understand it fully, and frankly speaking, it wasn't really any of her business, if Trox wanted to open up about it himself, he would do so. "It's not something you can help with, or I." Behind her, Sheska stopped talking, and  wrapped Trox into a hug, positioning herself as a physical barrier between him and the world, and Trox just, broke down, not that it was easy to tell, as Sheska was blocking the view of his face, and he didn't make any sound, but his body language along other small signs showed it to anyone who could read those. 

"And Light, nobody expected you to be any use, not because of anything about you, but because she just is that dangerous, Sheska and Trox said as much." "Only thing you can be critiqued about is not thinking, you heard what kind of world they came from, to think that someone who has survived in that world for lifetimes, would be brought down by a single pony, is sheer arrogance." being a bard. Chega knew all about that, that's why she didn't sing about individual heroes, she didn't want to feed the ego of 'heroes', she wanted to inspire others. 

---------

Charir looked down into the hole, tilting his head as he tended to do, so these things were stupid, good, even less of a threat then, one could excuse the first ones to fall in if they accidentally triggered the trap, but just walking into an open hole? even prey animals weren't that stupid. He didn't even consider the possible treasure down there though, as funnily enough, treasure wasn't on his mind, he was lot more focused on the adventure, this was all so new to him, that his greed took a backseat. He didn't jump down, and instead skillfully went over the hole, due to the terrain in the homelands, he was used to avoiding sudden drops, even in small, dark spaces. 

His attention turned to the glowing crystals in the ceiling, they were pretty, so he liked looking at them, the lighting situation didn't even cross his mind, as he could see well in the dark as long as it wasn't literally pitch black, and even then, he could just breath a small flame to see. He of course also kept his eye on the skeletons, even if seemingly he was fully focused on the pretty crystals, so when they did their...tendril thing, he tensed up and prepared, but didn't attack, as he kept an eye on what Leviathan did, doing what she did, and he also was more defensive fighter in general, due to being so small, he really couldn't afford starting fights. 

The following of example went for their next direction too, as Charir left the choice of direction to Leviathan, however, his glance went between the two directions the skeletons went, as they still interested him even after the assumed scare attempt, and due to his curiosity being more than his greed, he didn't really even think in what direction treasure would be.

 

Ruby stepped back when the skeletons did their thing, but didn't attack, not because she necessarily wasn't planning to, but because she was so focused on dodging a possible incoming attack, which never came, at which point it was her time to tilt her head, curious, and quite worrying, this thing smelled more rotten than walking dead, maybe she had been right after all, this was a trap, and they had walked into it, even if it wasn't necessarily meant for them. However, it was too late for that, they had already sprung the trap, and she couldn't lie, she was curious to see how it worked.

She followed the skeletons in, and while she could tell they led her to a different direction than what the others had went, due to their scent disappearing, she kept following, ignoring the cursed thoughts and feelings trying to convince her that she cared about the two other dragons, they would handle themselves, in fact, due to the small spaces of this place, she was the one who should be concerned, sure they didn't stop her from transforming and fighting, but there was a genuine risk of death if the walls didn't give away, though it was still preferable to dying in this form. 

She looked around the room she arrived in, if nothing else, these deer had taste, she watched the skeletons be sucked up, and muttered under her breath "Well that's certainly a way to transport skeletons" but she didn't get too close, as she didn't want to know what would happen if someone with flesh went near it. So that left the door, or turning back, so obviously she chose the door, but she did say out loud that she was going to regret it, before taking off the box from her back, and carrying it in her mouth to make herself slightly smaller, after which she went through the door.

She tried to be careful, going through whatever was the biggest cap, but if she managed depended on how exactly the bones were positioned, she was agile, but she wasn't as agile in this body as she was in her real form, so if it was a small hole that required lot of balancing, she probably wouldn't make it through without touching something, but if it was a pony sized hole that you could just leap through, it would go fine. Ultimately she would go through though, so if necessary, she would just break bones out of her way. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Evil Pink One 13,506]

On 2023-12-25 at 5:28 PM, Catpone Cerberus said:

And Light, nobody expected you to be any use, not because of anything about you, but because she just is that dangerous, Sheska and Trox said as much." "Only thing you can be critiqued about is not thinking, you heard what kind of world they came from, to think that someone who has survived in that world for lifetimes, would be brought down by a single pony, is sheer arrogance." be

Light would be ticked off but what the bard said was true. He was in between of getting angry or ashamed at what he did. He was confused and frustrated at this point.

If he had his powers that bind him from the past he could've easily killed or destroyed this dimension. But lose his freedom and Shark.

To be strong and chained? Or be free and weak?

" damn the fates" Light blurted out.

[Blitz Boom 4,620]

@Rising Dusk

On 2023-12-21 at 7:06 AM, Rising Dusk said:

"Right now, I have attached the connection your portal has to a tree just outside our city.  Please allow me two days to confer with our Princesses on a more appropriate location, and then I will move it for you if required.  I'll send word when Equestria is ready to start receiving guests," Rising informed Necrotic with a weary smile.

"A reasonable request. I shall ensure that the portal mages not attempt to make contact before the time, and afterwards, that we send no being or thing through, before we have heard from you."

A simple request, and one that were reasonable to boot too. It would hardly do that they came barging in uninvited, when the kingdom of Equestria were not prepared. They had already fostered them with two daughters of their country as it were. Their hospitality and patience, should not be tested further. Though he imagined the time were also so that the detective could finally rest soundly for a time, and gather the energy that he must have lost over the last few days, on all that he had done, and subsequently partaken in. It were fair, and they too had things to do on this end, before they felt ready for visitors too. Especially now, when they had a Rot Farmer to work with, united with the High Priestess, and the royal house. Necrotic couldn't even guess how long it had been since that were the case, as the Rot Farmers were a part of the balance in their own right, but weren't generally worked alongside with like this, outside of a day of unity, and it would be some time before that would be a reestablished holiday.

Who knew what might come of this? And of Lothar for that matter? If he would become the representative of the Rot Farmers, he might well end up being the next Herald of Decay. Judging by what Caramel had said earlier, and what he had experienced himself, in their brief meetings, Lothar may well be a good candidate, even beyond just being the only one who came to town. He acted keenly aware of his position in this town, and the ways others would look at him, and he made sure that he adapted accordingly. There were wisdom in such. And his heritage would certainly lend him some leeway with others...

Ah, but he supposed they'd just have to wait and see, yes? It were for the Rot Farmers to decide on in the end, when they felt ready to go forward with things. He could imagine it would be a long, tedious process, that had now just only started. But they would see what would come to pass, yes? Whatever it were, it would be part of a new, brighter tomorrow.

On 2023-12-21 at 7:06 AM, Rising Dusk said:

Rising inclined his head toward Caramel, "Your belongings are safe."

"Was that really necessary, brother dearest?" the mare scolded her brother as she walked passed to join her father at the collection near the gift he'd been offered by the head librarian of Harrowmark.  "Ho ho ho.  My horned angel.  You've been along with us these wonderful hours of celebrating.  There is going to be a rough adjustment period as our lands get a feel for each other.  Already we're taking in two new residents without any time for education.  Your brother is easing the impact," Star explained but didn't turn his attention from the ornate wooden book stand.  Equestria hadn't used these in ages, especially for a unicorn.  It'll be great in his classroom for lectures.

"Now now, in fairness, I did ask him to look through things. I have nothing to hide, and this way, he knows it is so. Well, beyond this I suppose."

She'd point towards the amulet that were stuck to the front of her chest, without any sort of chain or the like keeping it there. It might as well be glued by the looks of things, and were as Rising had noted a while ago, the source of her cloaking spell. As well as covering up a few more things underneath. Nothing harmless, just the lingering presence of her initiate magic. Some dark, some light, a fair bit of fae, necromantic, and time. A peculiar, odd mixture, but the whimsical fae magic seemed a notable portion of it. Disbanding it wouldn't kill her or anything though. But it would be uncomfortable, until it recharged, so she'd prefer it not happening.

"But what's a bit of cloaking magic between friends, hm?"

She'd chuckle her raspy chuckle, and go to make sure her crates were locked up properly again, then used her magic to start floating them. They had passed inspection, and so now, she could bring them along, and begin her next grand plan: Growing more magical flowers, make potions, and sell them for profit. Oh and meet Bash. She were curious if his insight from another culture and country, would result in him having some ideas of other crossbreeds with her plants, and just in general, have a look as to whom the one who could appreciate her work were. From what she heard, it would be somewhat one sided, but she didn't mind hearing herself talk either.

On 2023-12-21 at 7:06 AM, Rising Dusk said:

Dawn knew all too well her brother's snooping.  She ignited her horn and floated the vendor registry closer to her with a smile.  "What a wonderful, thoughtful gift Necrotic," Dawn replied.  Taking his wink and returning with a flutter of her eyelashes.  She cared little for how inappropriate it might have been received as, but she smiled on.  Collecting the rest of the last gifts into her telekinesis to store them away inside of Rising's enchanted pouch.  Her choice of dress didn't come with pockets, even with Lily's warning.

"I'm glad to hear that you liked it."

So it were appreciated then. That were good. It likely meant that she were already having plans about how to go at things, using the information that she'd now have. A most marvelous mind this mare had. Marvelous, and in her own way, somewhat frightening, as he felt certain that there were more layers to her, than he could possibly imagine, and her skills thus far, made him weep for those who found themselves on the wrong side of her favor.

The die had been cast now, so they'd see what happened, and perhaps he'd learn more then. A few more layers peeled as it were, and he were honestly looking forward to it. She could end up being a great benefit to the country, and perhaps even a fascinating friend. He'd like to think that at least a few of them would come to think of him as a friend at least.

On 2023-12-21 at 7:06 AM, Rising Dusk said:

The family returned the Prince's bow for their final departure of the evening.  "Come now ladies.  Rather than my brother's boring, yet helpful, halfway house, you'll be guests in my manor while we get your hoofs set in our land," Dawn spoke rather matter-of-factly about the point.  Rising didn't raise any objections, not that'd be one he could win.  For all her faults, Dawn had much better connections for the two to meet and find where they can fit best in Manehattan.  Star and Grace were the first to enter the portal home.  Dawn would follow her new guests with her brother to be the last to depart their venture to Harrowmark.

"Oh, what a delightful offer. I think it a good starting ground, until I procure us a home of our own. Do you not think so, Will-O?"

"I... Yeah, it makes sense. Thank you kindly for offering this, Miss Dawn."

Will-O would bow to Dawn, though inside, she still dreaded having to leave at all. Harrowmark were not perfect, far from it. it were a dark, dangerous place if you didn't have your wits about you, and things roamed in the shadows that you couldn't fathom, nor wanted to meet in your worst nightmares.

Yet, it were home. It always had been, and now, she could never return again. All because of him... Even dead, his shadow continued to loom over her.

Her ears would hang as she went over, ad joined their hostess in departing for new shores. Hopefully their calm shores, would manage to brighten her day eventually. If not, Caramel would do hers to try, as she followed right behind, with her boxes in front. Best to push them through first, just in case she dropped something on this side.

On the other side, both Caramel and Will-O would close their eyes, and have a feel of things around them with their senses alone, before they'd open. Will-O were worried it would be worse than what she had been told, whilst Caramel were excited to gaze upon a brand new land to roam. Yet both still first wanted to have a feel of what it were like, in a country not flowing with dark magic.

"...What a strange feeling it is. So clean, comparatively speaking."

"It feels sterile."

"It's like there's still something in the ground though, but it's faint. Like there's thin sprinkles of pure magic, randomly straining through it, and then something deeper. I can't put a hoof on it though. Calming in a sense? I suppose it could just be the absence of darkness, and me trying to feel it out too hard.

Enough of that though. Let us see where we are instead."

She sounded positively giddy, as she opened her eyes, with Will-O following suit shortly after. What would they get to see, as the first thing in Equestria?

As for what they felt... They weren't able to feel out magic per se, but when you had been in Harrowmark your entire life, you became aware of a certain absence, when it were as stark as this. Dark magic flowed through the ground there, working as sort of a background feeling, whereas here? There were some, but it were light and starkly different, with leylines deep below in certain areas, if you knew where to look, or were attuned to feeling it out, like the kitsune were. Them? It were more that they couldn't feel the familiar darkness of their home. Caramel more keenly, but she were also vastly older. They'd readjust and it would be indistinguishable soon enough however. Especially after the visuals would start to be incorporated.

Besides to some extend, they might simply also just be trying to feel a difference too hard. Rising would be the only one of them, that'd truly be able to tell the actual difference.

=============================================================

 

@EQ_Theta

On 2023-12-22 at 12:59 AM, EQ_Theta said:

The longma sighed, unhappy that he would need to go down this memory but knew there was no other choice. “It was… is… my home. Not how it is now, but what it was before. I’ve had many fond memories growing up there, full of love and support. Those should be the things I must feel about this place, but whenever I see it now, I’m reminded of only pain.”

“Omen? You may remember me mentioning this before, but this is how my exile from the forest began. Ahead of us…. that’s where my father was taken away, where my mother’s heart was broken, and where everything fell apart. Our elder, the previous one anyway, was the one who ordered it; no matter how much I wanted to fight it, I couldn’t save my parents.”

“Sen…” “Lin” began, believing there was no more to the story after hearing how it went previously. “You’ve told me about this before. You trained to be a guardian for the village and fought back as best you could, right? No one could fault you for doing the right thing.”

“That… that wasn’t how it happened…” Tears welled up in Sen’s eyes, knowing that if he were to tell the truth, it may as well do more harm to his sister and their bond. Unfortunately, it wasn’t going to keep “Lin” from prodding for answers, as even she was now curious as to what gaps were present in her memory. For all she knew, the blame was squarely on Solasan, and they already took care of him a while back. What could still eat at Sen’s mind to make him feel guilt after supposedly settling the matter? Yet, there was this look on Sen, evident enough that everyone could see, that there was more to the story. 

“It wasn’t? But, you told me that’s how things went. What aren’t you telling us?”

It appeared they were indeed going to end up in the territory of some dark, disturbing memories. And as expected, it were near the core of things, from the looks of it. Usually where your most dark secrets were. Nice and close, though this one were not Lin's memory. It were Sen's. Sort of. It were one that he had a great influence on it would seem, yet it had a root in Lin's memories as well. One that she had been told wrong, by her brother it seemed.

The entity must have gotten under his skin to rummage through his memories like this. A shame, but not wholly unexpected. It likely glanced at what Lin knew, then from that, started its plan. When he were unnerved before, it might have peeked into his memories, and gotten more details. Enough to know this were a pain point that it could use to its advantage, to try and sow more discord between the siblings, and weaken Sen to the point where he'd be less useful in clearing it from her mind.

Or it simply just went by what Lin had in her memories, and Sen were now mentally punishing himself over that needlessly, thinking he had to change things away from how Lin remembered things. Which he might well have to. Sometimes, a bit of harsh truth were needed to open someone's eyes. Either way, he were shaken now, and riddled with guilt. It would weaken him in case things happened.

But she were there for a reason, so she would ensure their safety. The entity would not be able to pierce her mind and glance anything. If it were really powerful, it might be able to look at a higher layer, but that would be all be distractions and falsehoods. Kits dancing around, making faces and humming annoying tunes. Elder Zhao were well experienced in these things, and knew the mindscape well. It made her a strong failsafe, in case something went poorly during a lesson, as she were the immovable object, so to speak. It wouldn't break her. But it might break them, meaning she'd have to take over. An unideal situation, as it wouldn't allow for much learning. Though she supposed that they might not appreciate that she were using this as a teachable experience, rather than simply force this to be handled with speed and efficiency.

In fairness though, it were more than that. The more organic this were handled, the less pain would there be for Lin afterwards. getting your mindscape forcibly jammed into place, could cause headaches, confusion, delusions, bleeding from the eyes, momentary insanity, and so forth. The less she had to do that, the less odds of after effects there'd be for Lin, as well as the ones that might show, lasting for less time, and being less severe. Something she'd likely appreciate.

Omen were about to say something, but Elder Zhao would clench her paw, and her words fell silent. This were not the moment for her to speak. Nor were it hers, so she would have them go at this in silence, for the time being. It would be for the best.

On 2023-12-22 at 12:59 AM, EQ_Theta said:

As the group continued walking down the only path through the footbridge and by the entryway to the siblings’ home, they’d soon come face-to-face with what might be the last crystal that needed to be used. One more memory to be restored, but this one seemed to be warping even its very surroundings. What might be a sinister, yet serene abode now began to change; heat emanated as if the place was on fire, the crimson sky now darkening into a more oppressive night, contrasting the sight of flames surrounding the floating isle. The closer the group came to the longma siblings’ hut, a host of shadowy figures came into view. There would be no use interacting with them, as they didn’t even appear to be real. Everything was morphing and setting the stage to recreate that fateful night.

The more Sen and “Lin” moved closer to the center, they experienced what felt like pins prodding their minds, extracting more and more details from memory and reconstructing it for all to see. It wasn’t a good memory, but whatever was doing this was content to let this old wound fester in the open.

When everyone had gathered in front of the crystal, Sen hesitated for a moment, evident that he was tempted to simply leave this place without doing anything. But he knew he had to act, and with every bit of his resolve, he needed to act. The longma turned to Elder Zhao and Omen and looked at them with stern conviction, yet there was regret in what might happen next.

Now this were fascinating. The area were now warping, trying to change what were to be seen. Potentially to deter them from going closer, and having to face the most painful memory they had? A survival tactic, yet one that didn't seem to work. Not fully in any case, as the siblings kept moving forth, though Sen became visibly more unbalanced about this. She would need to keep a close eye on him, lest he would falter at the finish line.

 She couldn't tell they were being prodded, but judging by the increased amount of details, she would assume that at least one of them were currently having their minds scoured for some sort of details to work with. Lin were already infected, and Sen didn't have the calm and sharpness of mind right now, to be impervious either, so both were a likely wealth of information, ripe for the harvesting. It would be interesting to see what would come of it, but she doubted it would be pleasant. It were rare these sorts of parasitic entities wanted to be removed. barring souls accidentally possessing someone, of course. It were not a frequent thing, but enough to be something of an exception that proved that not everything had malicious intent.

On 2023-12-22 at 12:59 AM, EQ_Theta said:

“Elder? Omen? Before we proceed, I… I’m sorry. I need to apologize for what might happen because when I touch that crystal, I need you two to hold me down and stop me from doing something I’ll regret. I’m afraid I will hurt you while the memory is being restored. This is a very personal and deeply difficult thing to relive, and I will try to change it to something it should not be. Whatever happens, please do what you can to stop me from incorrectly restoring this memory.”

“Lin” readied herself to see this memory for what it was, positioning herself by the crystal and ready to touch it when everyone else was. There would still be time for everyone to go over any final preparations, and Sen would answer any lingering questions before proceeding. Frankly, it seemed like the longma was looking for any excuse to delay or find another solution, but everyone’s come too far to back out or reconsider. 

"Young man, you have a long way to go, to be a threat to someone like me. But I will stop you from hurting the others, or yourself. As well as keeping you honest. I know a falsehood when I see one, when it comes to restoring memories.

You should try and just accept the truth though. Harsh as it is, and painful as it may be, you cannot live a lie forever. Bring it to the open. Accept what have happened, and trust that your family and friends will remain there for you, to help you through the pain that it sounds like both you and Lin will feel, when this one comes to the surface. You are stronger together than you might think, even when you're butting heads."

"I do not know what will happen, but I will help, if I can find out how."

In truth, Omen's help might mostly be through her mere presence, and non-judgmental nature. Fighting were not something she were able to do, and without her gates, she couldn't break up a fight, or make someone get a timeout either. Her mind were not as strong as theirs either, making it unlikely she could force a course correct through. She could try and talk, and be there, but that would be about it. Hopefully it would end up being enough.

"Now, I can't make you... No, that's incorrect. I certainly Can make you do that. Rather, I ask that you strongly consider perhaps being open about it before we see it then, so that you can't fall back on a falsehood anymore. If not, we should begin, before you lose your nerve."

If he'd rather just get started, the elder would be ready to place her paw, just like Omen were to place her tongue. They would soon enough see what truth he hid from, if they didn't get told in advance that were. She somewhat doubted it though. Something about this gave off the vibes of someone who carried something around, that made him fear for his relationship with his sister. An ominous omen, for a lack of better words.

===================================================================

 

@Catpone Cerberus @Evil Pink One

On 2023-12-25 at 10:28 AM, Catpone Cerberus said:

"Physically he's fine, mentally...." she thought about how Shark would understand "He has been through lot of pain, and he was reminded of all of it at the same time." it was bit more complicated than that, but Shark probably wouldn't understand it fully, and frankly speaking, it wasn't really any of her business, if Trox wanted to open up about it himself, he would do so. "It's not something you can help with, or I."

Shark looked with big, sad eyes, as she were told what were with Trox. It were complicated it sounded like, but she were able to understand the gist of it, from the well chosen words she had been offered. Nothing too explicit, and left her with many questions about what things he had been told, but enough for her to understand that it were too much, and it hurt him silently. Something she shouldn't add to, by asking more questions, if she understood things right.

"Poor friend. Shark hope it get better. Special friend should smile, not hurt."

She were tempted to go and nuzzle against him, but if it didn't help, then it might just make things worse, and then she'd be a bad friend, yes? She wanted to be a good one, like all of those in town she had seen. Not a bad one, like Sheez, even if she wasn't a friend. She was a special friend, but bad. A bad special friend. She had hurt Shark's mate. Grr. She'd go after her, but she didn't want to hunt in town. Besides, Sheez smelled and looked like big trouble. Dangerous prey, were not worth going out of your way to catch. And she probably tasted bad too.

Anyway, she'd leave Trox alone for now, but she'd come over if she were needed later. They just had to say, and she'd tacklehug him.

On 2023-12-25 at 10:28 AM, Catpone Cerberus said:

"And Light, nobody expected you to be any use, not because of anything about you, but because she just is that dangerous, Sheska and Trox said as much." "Only thing you can be critiqued about is not thinking, you heard what kind of world they came from, to think that someone who has survived in that world for lifetimes, would be brought down by a single pony, is sheer arrogance." being a bard. Chega knew all about that, that's why she didn't sing about individual heroes, she didn't want to feed the ego of 'heroes', she wanted to inspire others. 

On 2023-12-28 at 3:18 AM, Evil Pink One said:

Light would be ticked off but what the bard said was true. He was in between of getting angry or ashamed at what he did. He was confused and frustrated at this point.

If he had his powers that bind him from the past he could've easily killed or destroyed this dimension. But lose his freedom and Shark.

To be strong and chained? Or be free and weak?

" damn the fates" Light blurted out.

"Heeey. Mate is strong. Light try, he could be best hunter... After Shark."

She'd stand up for her mate here, and show a little bit of ego, but she were allowed to have a little. She were a proud predator. She didn't mind others being too, but she were the best hunter, yes? At least until she saw Light clear a town full of mutant frog things.

He had of course done way more impressive things, but how were she to know about that, when she knew so little about him, and hadn't seen him do things like that? She'd get to see and hear stuff eventually though. She especially wanted to hear things, so she knew more about the strong mate who'd give her good, healthy pups. They hadn't done a lot of talking like that. Not that she would have done that before, when she were just a normal shark,. but this were a new life, and she saw friends walking around, talking all the time. She were sure they had to. Also she liked his voice. It sounded nice, and it were good to have him show her attention.

"What is... Faaa-tesss. Fates. What are that? Strange prey? Dangerous, like strange one outside? Don't want more like her. She hit mate. Bad one."

==============================================================

 

@Catpone Cerberus

On 2023-12-25 at 10:28 AM, Catpone Cerberus said:

The following of example went for their next direction too, as Charir left the choice of direction to Leviathan, however, his glance went between the two directions the skeletons went, as they still interested him even after the assumed scare attempt, and due to his curiosity being more than his greed, he didn't really even think in what direction treasure would be.

Now weren't this fun? They were being warned. Or tested, or something like that. Heck if she knew, but Leviathan were hyped. This were the kind of weird stuff she had hoped were gonna happen. Yes it could potentially be dangerous, but that were all part of the fun. They could probably handle things going badly. Worst case, she'd blast a hole through the walls. Always an option, even if the archeologists and stuff wouldn't be happy about it.

She personally, would follow the corpses going upstairs. The ones below might be waiting for them, but upstairs? What might be there? She were curious, and such, would go there, after waiting for the skeletons to have walked off for about a minute. Just in case they'd try more tendril stuff. She weren't in the mood for figuring out what would happen if that went on for more than just a show. Not with her own face at least. Or Charir's. Or Ruby's. So... None of them currently. Maybe if the pony came around later, she'd be in the mood to toss her at them. After they got paid. Depended on how things went she supposed.

Following them, they'd find that the pathway went up, but they wouldn't be able to find the skeletons currently. There'd be steps of their hooves in the dust, but nothing that indicated where they were at first, and then eventually, it'd just stop. In fact, they seemed to just be gone halfway through. And looking around, they'd get to see why. There were a wall that were hinged slightly. Enough to make it apparent that it were a hidden pathway, though when Leviathan poked to push at it, she'd return her hand instantly, feeling a jolt shoot through her hand.

Looking at her hand after, there'd be a faint, lingering smoke on her nail. It didn't last long, but the plume of black smoke that rose from it for a few seconds, made it rather clear to her what she had just touched, and she was not amused. Freaking black magic and their dumb things sometimes...

Oh well, that side way were out of the question, but they could still keep going the regular path. Though she would blow fire on her claw, just for good measure. Better sterilize it a little bit. And not touch that thing again. It had to be pretty heavy black magic, when it left an actual trace like this on her claw, and you did best in not meddling with that.

Going further, they'd eventually reach a small room. Judging by the pillow remains and stone slabs they had once laid upon, this were a resting room once. It were also one of the places the water ran up to, as there'd be a small spring here, where the water blew up from, and right into the ceiling in a calm stream, though there were a swirling pool where various streams joined up on the side of the spring, where you could easily use one of the old goblets in to take a drink.

There were a way going further up, but if they wanted to sit down a bit, they'd have the chance. Just look at wall paintings, that seemed fairly nice. Forests and deer roaming, around this temple. Full wall arts, and then at the top, a sort of looming presence. A shadow that looked down on them, unbeknownst to the lot it seemed. Funnily enough, the shape were not given features, but she were fairly sure it were a sphinx. That or an odd gryphon, but she felt more certain about it being a sphinx. They had distinct forms, and the eyes were more catty, then the gryphons.

On 2023-12-25 at 10:28 AM, Catpone Cerberus said:

She tried to be careful, going through whatever was the biggest cap, but if she managed depended on how exactly the bones were positioned, she was agile, but she wasn't as agile in this body as she was in her real form, so if it was a small hole that required lot of balancing, she probably wouldn't make it through without touching something, but if it was a pony sized hole that you could just leap through, it would go fine. Ultimately she would go through though, so if necessary, she would just break bones out of her way. 

She'd not hear or see anything at first. Just another pathway going forward. But if she listened well, she'd eventually find that there were clacking noises, coming from afar. Methodical and even, like a machine pushing a piece of wood down on stone.

Getting closer, she'd hear shuffling, and if she looked closely at the walls, the paintings would start to show a few things. Text explaining things in the ancient tongue of the deer, over depictions of fleeing deer, and a looming darkness chasing them. A deer with mighty antlers, standing atop and looking down on many below him, sick or dying. An altar, where a hoof reached up, as several female deer were standing around, and leading a dark shape from themselves into the altar.

Further the scribblings got less, as the pictures got darker, devoid of color. A sarcophagus, bound in chains. Scribblings all around the various depictions of it, as the deer were shown to leave this place. A horde of the deer leaving the place behind, with one sporting glorious antlers leading them, though it were not the same as they had seen before. This one's antlers were less, than the one shown earlier in the hallway.

The clacking would increase in sound, sounding more like someone hitting a rod of some sort, into the ground in a methodical pattern, while shuffling were heard. It coming from behind the door she'd see, just a bit ahead of her.

Above the door, were a grand depiction. A closeup of a deer, the door between his legs, and his antlers sprawling majestically across the ceiling. His eyes were black and the expression albeit simple, still looking stoic. Though between the antlers, a dark shape loomed. One with feline eyes, and a big grin, going ear to ear.

If she pushed the door open - it were a bit heavy, but she should be able to get it done fairly easy anyway - she'd find that behind it, were a large room. In it, around three dozen deer skeletons were shuffling around, seemingly putting shriveled remains of various things into place, while one wearing tattered robes, stood in front of them, turned away from the door. It were a doe, from the looks of things, and the methodical clacking, were from a metal staff, with a head piece that looked like sprawling tree branches.

As to what she were looking at? A sarcophagus, wide and imposing. The imagery on it faded, but showing the dusty imprint of a deer carved into the stone, with large antlers. A group of deer were currently taking silent orders to move aside the slab keeping it closed it seemed, and were pushing it. They did not have much physical strength for a large thing like this, but they also could not tire, and slowly but surely, they would get this open. Were this desecration, or them releasing a leader of theirs perhaps? Ruby would find out if she stayed and watched. She were not taken notice off currently, with all undead present focused on this task, and seemingly preparing for something to happen. And she'd see things well, considering this were the only well lit room, as two skeletons were holding large staves with radiating crystals on top, bathing the room in a soothing candlelight glow, with off course the most light being near the target of their attention. There'd be shadows to hide in if one tried, but there'd also be plenty of opportunities to see.

She could also try and barge in to stop things, at which point every head would turn to face her, and opening to show tendrils sprawling. Though the main priestess, or what you could call it, would instead ooze a thick black mist from its mouth, that would fall upon the floor like smoke, and begin to roll towards Ruby. Considering the altar in the room, and the rusty knives hanging on the wall near it, she might have some idea of what could happen to her, if she were caught.

[Catpone Cerberus 23,588]

@Blitz Boom@Evil Pink One
Chega was unfazed by Light's blurt, because as much as she tried to be a positive force in everything, she tended to also be direct with critique, in fact, those who knew her avoided annoying her, because they knew that she could be quite nasty with her words, not that it should be a surprise to anyone that a bard knows how to use words. "It's not about being strong." she said to Shark "The life on the ground is lot more complicated than that."  she wasn't going to go into details since she knew Shark probably wouldn't understand it "And sometimes the strongest thing is to not get involved." She made her way back to Sear, leaning on the dragon who had sat down now that things calmed down, she wasn't happy that she couldn't do anything, but she understood why, these may have not been her Sheska and Trox, but some things were very much the same, and one of them was that some things needed to be dealt with one on one. 

Assuming nobody disturbed them, Sheska and Trox would move upstairs after some moments, and after a small while, Sheska would come back down alone. 

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

Charir followed Leviathan, and as they went, he started to put some things together in his mind, the dust, the skeleton's they were following left easy to read hoof-steps, meaning that the dust hadn't been disturbed a lot, since if there would have been lot of traffic, the dust wouldn't settle like that. This meant that whatever this skeleton activity was, it was relatively new, as years and years of the same thing happening, would have been more obvious in not only the dust, but the general wear of the place, the routes the skeletons took would be very visible on the floor.

This realization of course meant nothing by itself, being just a curiosity, but it did bring up more questions, when? why? and how? did it happen?, and as his mind went through things, he came to the same conclusion as his sister had come to earlier, this place smelled foul, and it wasn't the skeletons that smelled.  

Leviathan's experience with the door was something in which not knowing something helped Charir to make the right decision, he saw the black smoke coming out of Leviathan's hand, but didn't know what black magic was or anything else about it, however, he also didn't know that Leviathan wasn't as fireproof as he was, so he assumed that the door was either magical or so hot that it burned a dragon, most likely the former since Leviathan's solution was fire, so he didn't want to try touching it, as he didn't want to know how it felt to be burned by something that strong. It may have been a weird chain of logic, but at least the end result was the right decision. 

 
When they arrived to the resting room, Charir didn't really even consider resting there, but he did stop to look at the water and the paintings, he didn't think too much of them, mainly because he lacked so much context and life experience that he didn't have the knowledge and understanding to think that deeply, so it was mainly in the 'huh, cool' type of way, but he also wasn't stupid, so he got the general symbolism of a big shadow looking down on creatures living their lives, in fact, he almost found it relatable, since it was how he felt his life had been, with the shadow of his awful home looming over him trying to be happy.  It also made him feel bit more iffy, he and Ruby had both felt unsure about this whole thing from the start, and that feeling had really only gotten worse for him, even if his curiosity went above it, these paintings, while relatively nice, were not something you painted for fun, you didn't add an ominous shadow to your wall art just because it was 'cool'.

He would keep following Leviathan if/when she decided to move on, but wouldn't hurry forwards without her, as he was fine looking at the room. 

-

Ruby stopped for a brief moment when she first started hearing things, sharpening her extra sense too to make sure there wasn't some big metal machinery somewhere, but as that wasn't the case, she continued walking, being bit more careless with her steps, since the sound of hoof steps would be drowned by whatever it was she was now hearing. She didn't stop to look at the paintings, but she did glance through them as she passed, and got the general idea of them, some shadow creature was a problem to deer, and then the deer did bunch of cult stuff to presumably trap it, then leaving the place behind, assuming they were in order, and it wasn't the opposite, with deer coming to do some cult stuff to release a shadow creature.    

It would have probably done her some good to actually think through what she saw, but as was shown with Marley's situation, she didn't really much care to give this type of things lot of thought, cult stuff was cult stuff, and even if she was to take the art as a truth, not much she could do about it now was there? she was here to explore and gain treasure, and while she was still feeling like this whole thing was a bad idea, it didn't have anything to do with what may have happened who knows how long time ago. 

She slowed down as the noise got louder, and eventually stopped to look at the door and the depiction above it, she had to admit it again, these deer had style, she wouldn't mind having a picture like that depicting herself, minus the shadow feline. It did make her wonder slightly though, mainly because it felt like mixed message, in the paintings, as little as she thought about them, it seemed like this shadow thing was a bad thing, yet, in this depiction, it looked more like it was almost more positive, linked to whoever the deer was. Maybe this really was some kind of cult, worshiping some creature that most deer saw as a bad thing, but it didn't explain the art... eh, whatever, it's not like it was relevant anymore...

She hesitated a bit, the sound was clearly coming from the other side of the door, so if she was going to be attacked, this was no doubt the moment, she was most likely walking straight into the hornets' nest, but well, she had gotten this far, so she pushed the door open enough to look on the other side, and that was as far as she went, watching from the shadow of the door, because while she wasn't scared of some skeletons, she also wasn't foolish enough to run in middle of bunch of them.

And who would have thought, it was cult stuff, they even had a sacrificial altar it seemed, though the knifes were so rusty that she could barely sense the metal in them, so it would have been more effective for one of the skeletons to use themselves as a blade instead. Though she had to admit, she had never considered a cult of undead, but after admitting that, she wasn't that surprised by what was seemingly going on, one, what she assumed to be a priest or the main mage or something like that, doing something while others were opening what she assumed to be a tomb, based on the deer picture on it; it looked like the undead were creating one more undead, and frankly speaking, it made lot more sense than lot of cult activity she had heard of.

She had a feeling that she should probably get out, get the two others and leave before the skeletons did what they wanted to do, but her curiosity took over, and she stayed watching, not often you could see someone rise from the dead, and she was curious what was so special about that one deer. 

 

 

 

 

 

[EQ_Theta 457]

@Blitz Boom

On 2024-01-06 at 8:30 AM, Blitz Boom said:

"Young man, you have a long way to go, to be a threat to someone like me. But I will stop you from hurting the others, or yourself. As well as keeping you honest. I know a falsehood when I see one, when it comes to restoring memories.

You should try and just accept the truth though. Harsh as it is, and painful as it may be, you cannot live a lie forever. Bring it to the open. Accept what have happened, and trust that your family and friends will remain there for you, to help you through the pain that it sounds like both you and Lin will feel, when this one comes to the surface. You are stronger together than you might think, even when you're butting heads."

"I do not know what will happen, but I will help, if I can find out how."

In truth, Omen's help might mostly be through her mere presence, and non-judgmental nature. Fighting were not something she were able to do, and without her gates, she couldn't break up a fight, or make someone get a timeout either. Her mind were not as strong as theirs either, making it unlikely she could force a course correct through. She could try and talk, and be there, but that would be about it. Hopefully it would end up being enough.

"Now, I can't make you... No, that's incorrect. I certainly Can make you do that. Rather, I ask that you strongly consider perhaps being open about it before we see it then, so that you can't fall back on a falsehood anymore. If not, we should begin, before you lose your nerve."

“I… I don’t know if I can, not when it could do more harm… Lin, sister, I… I  don’t-”

“Lin” placed one talon over her brother’s mouth, trying to shush him for a moment as he stammered to come up with some kind of response. He could barely make eye contact with his sister, most likely in an attempt to hide the truth. How could he? Sooner or later, it had to come out, and the worst part was figuring out how to navigate Lin’s response on the matter. It was bad enough that he made up a falsehood, but with the truth about to be revealed, he had to come clean no matter what. 

As for “Lin,” she braced herself for the moment, somehow only convinced the fabrication wasn’t as bad as Sen believed. Then again, there was the possibility that it was much worse, but just like her brother, she had to accept that there was something off. A fabrication, one made to spare her the gravity of the situation, was no different than a lie made for convenience. And, in truth, Elder Zhao’s comment that they are stronger together despite conflicts, may simply be wishful thinking. 

“Sen, please, tell me. What really happened?”

“Is this what you want? The truth?”

No answer, not for a moment, at least. “Lin” hesitated for a moment, knowing the gravity of the situation, but the answer would have come regardless of how she responded. Taking one deep breath in and out, she nodded, “Yes.”

There was a pause in Sen’s thoughts. He wanted to spare her the details, make things sound less terrible than they really were, but not anymore. He had to come clean now, or risk making things worse for them when they have to restore the memory. He remembers the sister who looked up to him when they were children, but how long could that image stay before it comes crumbling down? Perhaps now it would be best to let it simply be, rebuild what’s left of that image when all this is over. His sister gave her answer, and now he must abide by her choice. 

“I didn’t stay and fight. The truth is, I ran. When our parents needed us most, I ran.”

“Lin” remained silent, a look of disappointment evident on her face. There were no words that could get her to shake the feeling of her heart sinking. Deep down, she wanted to believe that this wasn’t true, that maybe Sen was just making something up. Sadly, her brother’s voice had a pang of guilt, making him sound similar to the previous times he talked about their parents as if there was truth masked by grief and regret. The two siblings couldn’t look each other in the eye, but they both took up positions by the crystal; they needed to see that memory and what truly happened. Sen quietly gestured to Elder Zhao and Omen that he wanted to get started on restoring the memory, uneasy about what just happened and somewhat regretful that he had to spill the truth before they even started. In his mind, perhaps it was a mistake to say it.

With the two readied and prepared, Sen began to bring the memory to the forefront. He felt one paw and a slender tongue by him, a small comfort for what was to happen. The stage was set as two large hunters marched into their home and began forcefully pulling out a young adult longma, chased by a second, female, crying in desperation. Two more hunters came to hold her back as the young couple were being separated.

What’s going on?! Let go of him! 

Elder, what’s the meaning of this?! You can’t do this to me! 

A third figure, fairly short and advanced in age walked by the two, though his gaze was fixated on the young male longma. His words were inaudible, though some unintelligible murmurs could be gleaned. Given how he moved and carried himself, he didn’t seem to need to raise his voice to get his message across. Omen may recognize this one to be the former elder, Solasan, from previous dealings with his doppelgänger some time ago. 

You have it all wrong! Nothing forbids us from going there!

Guards, I’ve had enough of this. Take him away.

The young male longma struggled to break free, while his partner could only watch and beg as they were being pulled away from each other. And in the midst of this was a young longma child, seeing this unfold, and running as fast as his legs could carry him. He had to be there, to stop this madness, and to make sure his parents were all right. The odds were stacked against him as more hunters emerged, all doing everything they could to stop this interference. 

Let them go! Let them go!

Outside, Sen’s body began to twitch, and as it continued, Elder Zhao and Omen could see his body begin to match the younger longma in the memory, right down to exerting as much effort and struggling with his might. They may be seeing events unfolding from a fair distance away through what appeared to be someone else's eyes, but any kind of emotional feedback was felt through the Sen that was close. Them holding him looked too similar to two hunters grabbing the younger longma, and him fighting to break free there was just like Sen fighting to break free from the kitsune and ki’nathar’s hold, as the two would begin to notice.

Edited January 7 by EQ_Theta

[Evil Pink One 13,506]

10 hours ago, Catpone Cerberus said:

Chega was unfazed by Light's blurt, because as much as she tried to be a positive force in everything, she tended to also be direct with critique, in fact, those who knew her avoided annoying her, because they knew that she could be quite nasty with her words, not that it should be a surprise to anyone that a bard knows how to use words. "It's not about being strong." she said to Shark "The life on the ground is lot more complicated than that."  she wasn't going to go into details since she knew Shark probably wouldn't understand it "And sometimes the strongest thing is to not get involved." She made her way back to Sear, leaning on the dragon who had sat down now that things calmed down, she wasn't happy that she couldn't do anything, but she understood why, these may have not been her Sheska and Trox, but some things were very much the same, and one of them was that some things needed to be dealt with one on one. 

Assuming nobody disturbed them, Sheska and Trox would move upstairs after some moments, and after a small while, Sheska would come back down alone

Light could not disagree to whats she is telling shark but not getting involved has its situations.

He couldn't give a better explanation at this point as he himself just now wasnt a good example.

He can only be furious to himself inside.

As things passed Light can only wait if he is needed... That is IF he is needed.

This swirls within his mind eating him away slowly... But surely.

@Blitz Boom @Catpone Cerberus

[Blitz Boom 4,620]

@Catpone Cerberus @Evil Pink One

Shark wouldn't do more with the odd group, as they'd retreat upstairs. It sounded like they needed some alone time, so she'd let them be, and focus her attention fully on Light for now. Things had eased up a bit, so it were easier to do so, as things would slowly turn back to normal around them, and the various ponies would begin to move back home again.

She'd spend that time first nuzzling him, then licking his face, and then preparing to ask him a question, now that the formalities were over with. But then she saw something close in. A small thing really. Looked like a lumpy tomato with spider legs and puff of bioluminescent fluff, dangling from a bendy protrusion on its head. Very distracting to someone like her. Doubly so when it paused, then headed straight towards them, with a distinct chittering sound coming out from nowhere.

She'd almost pounce on it, when it jumped, swirled, and showed it's grinning jack'o lantern face at them, making Shark confused.

"...Special one?"

"Hehehe."

The laughing sounded like Anomaly, in some ways, but not exactly. Might be the smaller size and thus higher pitched voice? She wasn't sure, but she'd lean down to have a sniff, just to make sure.

Light should pull her back. Fast. Cause if she got close enough, the little creature would open its maw, and chomp down on her nose, causing lines of blood-red to crawl from the bite, and all across her, whilst she started to grow scared and delirious, whimpering and looking around, scared and confused. She wouldn't be focusing on them. Se couldn't. Whatever poison had hit her, would be messing with her head, and run over her eyes, as the little creature would try to scurry off, letting out the same sound as when it had rushed towards them.

If he did stop it, the thing would skitter, then jump at her, maw open, trying to force a bite on her. Anomaly or not, this thing wanted to inject her with something, though why were but a mystery. It were advised that he skewered or stomped it, if he had the chance, lest he wanted to end in a race against time.

=======================================================

 

@Catpone Cerberus

On 2024-01-07 at 2:24 PM, Catpone Cerberus said:

When they arrived to the resting room, Charir didn't really even consider resting there, but he did stop to look at the water and the paintings, he didn't think too much of them, mainly because he lacked so much context and life experience that he didn't have the knowledge and understanding to think that deeply, so it was mainly in the 'huh, cool' type of way, but he also wasn't stupid, so he got the general symbolism of a big shadow looking down on creatures living their lives, in fact, he almost found it relatable, since it was how he felt his life had been, with the shadow of his awful home looming over him trying to be happy.  It also made him feel bit more iffy, he and Ruby had both felt unsure about this whole thing from the start, and that feeling had really only gotten worse for him, even if his curiosity went above it, these paintings, while relatively nice, were not something you painted for fun, you didn't add an ominous shadow to your wall art just because it was 'cool'.

He would keep following Leviathan if/when she decided to move on, but wouldn't hurry forwards without her, as he was fine looking at the room. 

Leviathan would indeed try to check out the room properly. But after the incident with the door, she'd be more careful, and poke at things with the tip of her index claw, just to be on the safe side. Including the water, though it seemed to just be that: Water. It still had an odd glow, but she were starting to think that had more to do with the magic that made it flow upwards, rather than the water itself being bad. That said, she still wasn't gonna drink it. Seemed like a pretty dumb idea, just in case there were indeed something odd with it, though she did linger to look a bit. The whole thing looked rather pretty to her.

The remnants of beds were not much different. She'd have a gander, and poke around, but she didn't lay down on them... Okay, she totally did, but first after blowing some fire to clean off the remnants of whatever comfy cloth had once adorned the one she tried, and then poking it a fair bit more. Seemed safe enough, so she'd lay down on it on her stomach, and then do a stretch. She could almost feel her bones pop when she were done, and relaxed her posture again, arms and legs dangling down the side.

"Aaaah. That was good. I swear, sometimes you just outta stretch the old scales."

She'd let out a yawn and get on her hands and feet again. Wasn't the way that all dragons liked to travel, and especially not at her size, where a fair few just went on their feet. In parts due to wanting to feel taller, but there were several aspects that caused that. Her? She liked it like this. It were how she had grown up to walk and run around, and while yes, she could easily just wander on her own two feet, it wasn't often that she had the inkling, unless there were a reason. Like if she were carrying a cup of coffee or something.

With that done, and the slab of stone used as best as she could, she didn't see much of a point in staying here, and would head for the exit. The one that seemed to go into a spiral staircase specifically, because she wanted to know what were above them.

Which after a short walk, turned out to be nothing. Literally, she opened the door up there, and stared directly into a dark void, where no light would enter. Not a sound were in there, nor a smell, or anything you could feel out. Just pure darkness.

"Awh hay no."

She'd close the door again, and take a few steps back, shivering slightly at the sight before her.

She didn't have to be able to sense magic, to tell that that were concentrated dark magic. Would explain what powered the whole place with dark magic, when it came to that path she had found before for instance. She imagined the water being pathed up here, were something from before this were put here, but it seemingly didn't affect it. Or the water would rot you from the inside out if you drank it. She didn't know, and she wasn't checking.

No going this way. Might be something beyond this, even higher up, but she were not going in there, and nor would she let Charir. He'd probably have his flesh stripped clean from his bones.

So they'd have to walk back, and then see if they could find some other way to explore. Or maybe they should check on Ruby? They'd see what mood struck her as they wandered back.

On 2024-01-07 at 2:24 PM, Catpone Cerberus said:

And who would have thought, it was cult stuff, they even had a sacrificial altar it seemed, though the knifes were so rusty that she could barely sense the metal in them, so it would have been more effective for one of the skeletons to use themselves as a blade instead. Though she had to admit, she had never considered a cult of undead, but after admitting that, she wasn't that surprised by what was seemingly going on, one, what she assumed to be a priest or the main mage or something like that, doing something while others were opening what she assumed to be a tomb, based on the deer picture on it; it looked like the undead were creating one more undead, and frankly speaking, it made lot more sense than lot of cult activity she had heard of.

She had a feeling that she should probably get out, get the two others and leave before the skeletons did what they wanted to do, but her curiosity took over, and she stayed watching, not often you could see someone rise from the dead, and she was curious what was so special about that one deer. 

As she did not interfere, things on the skeleton's side, would go as they were planning. So the saprophagous would slowly, but surely, have the stone slab holding it closed. With a last push, a sliver of air would enter, and dust fall from the stone prison, that had kept its occupant for so long. There were still work to be done, but with this first push done, the skeletons would halt, and move away, as the priestess or whatever she may be, would move forward finally.

Her maw opened, and black smog would pour out from her chest cavity, and slither through the opening in the sarcophagus. This would continue for about a minute, before she'd stop, and then wander back to where she stood before, and clack her staff into the ground again.

A rumbling came from within the sarcophagus after the fourth clack, as every regular skeleton would go into position behind the priestess. Then suddenly, the lid would begin to move aside, via a force from within, and soon would make a mighty noise, as it slammed into the ground to the side of it.

Out of the tomb, would wander a large deer. His massive antlers were adorned in gold and silver, and his form were a solid double size of the priestess, and that were before you took into account that this one actually had flesh. Mummified and dried, it left his teeth and empty eye sockets still very exposed, and the gauze hanging unevenly on his form, should make it clear that he had been actually mummified, so this place apparently had some sort of influence by older Saddle Arabian culture.

As he stepped out, he would opened his mouth, and draw inn a breath of air, with a raspy sound escaping him. And then, dark magic roiled from his eyes, and tore the bandages from his form, leaving them tattered on the floor.

The priestess would be the first to bow before him, though the rest would follow troop in unison right after, while their leader looked around, taking in the sight.

"In...Truuuders..."

It seemed that this one could talk. And that it knew that there were trespassers. They may end up getting in trouble, now that they had what seemed like a leader to rally around.

================================================================

 

@EQ_Theta

This were a lot to take in, and that were just from the non-personal perspective of Elder Zhao. It seemed that once at a young age, someone had come for their parents. Someone older, and with seeming authority. She would for the time being, assume that this were an elder, and leader among their kin. And frankly, she were not impressed with him, even before he opened his mouth to talk.

To her, an elder were meant to be able to stand on their own, and garner respect and authority, by their actions and proven track record. This one had brought thugs along, and as expected, he had acted like a tyrant. Taking the parents by force, to do something to, that she doubted she'd ever be told. It wasn't her job to pry into this, and stir into old wounds more than this already did, though she could venture a guess, that whatever had happened, had been fatal.

As for Sen... She were somewhat surprised that this were his deepest, darkest secret. He were but a child in this. His parents seemingly weren't able to fight back against the thugs, so exactly how were he supposed to? But then she supposed, the guilt of a son feeling he left his parents behind, could conquer such logical thinking. If he had spent so many years, thinking that somehow, it were all his fault, and lying about the truth to his own sister, it could be a deep, festering wound to him.

Not that she blamed him. It were rather clear that whomever this elder were, were the source of this pain. The one setting in action, the pain that would be at his heart, and seemingly at his siter's heart too. Though she needed to give the girl a stern talking later. Considering the circumstances, it were not helpful to look at her brother with disappointment. Yet it were not the time, nor place to do such things now. It were already an emotionally loaded situation, and it didn't need her scolding them, unless they started to attack one another for whatever reason.

Omen looked at it all, as neutral as ever. She hadn't any recollection of Salosan's clone per se, after she had to clear her mind at the time, but she did have a few still shots in her head, with the clone in it. This managed to finally put connection between the name, the face, and Sen and Lin's past for her, in it's entirety. Though as for what she saw, all it made her feel were indifferent. She were on Sen and Lin's side here, and did not agree with the things Salosan did. At the same time, she did not have it in her to hate, as one likely should have, considering the creature in question.

She were more focused on how their parents looked honestly. She hadn't seen images of them before, so this were new information that were interesting for her. It likely meant nothing, as they had both said that their parents were dead, but it were still good to be able to put faces to them, yes? Now she just needed names.

"What was your parents names?"

While she asked a strange question perhaps, considering the timing, Elder Zhao were biting notice in how Sen's form were changing, outside of the memory. Omen wouldn't be able to see both things, as she didn't have that sort of attention span, nor training, but she did, and the change were fascinating. Changing Sen into the boy he once had been, at least here int he dreamscape. Must have been quite the memory, if it twisted his form like this. Usually forms stayed stable, when they entered in the way they had. Sure they could be altered, but it were not something that most just did on a whim. The natural limitation of the mind  were that you had your one shape and form, and thinking beyond that, were enlightenment that not any general mind could grasp.

Not that it seemed like he had control over it. By the looks of it, she would think it trauma-based, or otherwise an involuntary action. Shouldn't be too big of a deal, now that they were at the core of things, but they'd see. The entity had been somewhat lacking in obstacles recently, and she did not trust it would so easily admit defeat. Not that she planned to give it the choice of course, but it may think so otherwise, for as long as it wished to.

Omen wasn't partaking in grabbing hold of him. Not really. She'd touch him, but she didn't have any physical power to work with. Elder Zhao would keep hold of him, and her grip were like iron. He'd have an easier time tearing his arm off, than he would have to get away from her. He could not compete with her, when it came to mental fortitude, and in here, the mind were strength. Though if it got tot he point where it seemed he might actually hurt himself, she'd move to restrain him more properly. No need for him to go and get himself hurt. He'd have a stabbing headache afterwards if he did.

[Evil Pink One 13,506]

6 hours ago, Blitz Boom said:

@Catpone Cerberus @Evil Pink One

Shark wouldn't do more with the odd group, as they'd retreat upstairs. It sounded like they needed some alone time, so she'd let them be, and focus her attention fully on Light for now. Things had eased up a bit, so it were easier to do so, as things would slowly turn back to normal around them, and the various ponies would begin to move back home again.

She'd spend that time first nuzzling him, then licking his face, and then preparing to ask him a question, now that the formalities were over with. But then she saw something close in. A small thing really. Looked like a lumpy tomato with spider legs and puff of bioluminescent fluff, dangling from a bendy protrusion on its head. Very distracting to someone like her. Doubly so when it paused, then headed straight towards them, with a distinct chittering sound coming out from nowhere.

She'd almost pounce on it, when it jumped, swirled, and showed it's grinning jack'o lantern face at them, making Shark confused.

"...Special one?"

"Hehehe."

The laughing sounded like Anomaly, in some ways, but not exactly. Might be the smaller size and thus higher pitched voice? She wasn't sure, but she'd lean down to have a sniff, just to make sure.

Light should pull her back. Fast. Cause if she got close enough, the little creature would open its maw, and chomp down on her nose, causing lines of blood-red to crawl from the bite, and all across her, whilst she started to grow scared and delirious, whimpering and looking around, scared and confused. She wouldn't be focusing on them. Se couldn't. Whatever poison had hit her, would be messing with her head, and run over her eyes, as the little creature would try to scurry off, letting out the same sound as when it had rushed towards them.

If he did stop it, the thing would skitter, then jump at her, maw open, trying to force a bite on her. Anomaly or not, this thing wanted to inject her with something, though why were but a mystery. It were advised that he skewered or stomped it, if he had the chance, lest he wanted to end in a race against time.

=======================================================

 

@Catpone Cerberus

Leviathan would indeed try to check out the room properly. But after the incident with the door, she'd be more careful, and poke at things with the tip of her index claw, just to be on the safe side. Including the water, though it seemed to just be that: Water. It still had an odd glow, but she were starting to think that had more to do with the magic that made it flow upwards, rather than the water itself being bad. That said, she still wasn't gonna drink it. Seemed like a pretty dumb idea, just in case there were indeed something odd with it, though she did linger to look a bit. The whole thing looked rather pretty to her.

The remnants of beds were not much different. She'd have a gander, and poke around, but she didn't lay down on them... Okay, she totally did, but first after blowing some fire to clean off the remnants of whatever comfy cloth had once adorned the one she tried, and then poking it a fair bit more. Seemed safe enough, so she'd lay down on it on her stomach, and then do a stretch. She could almost feel her bones pop when she were done, and relaxed her posture again, arms and legs dangling down the side.

"Aaaah. That was good. I swear, sometimes you just outta stretch the old scales."

She'd let out a yawn and get on her hands and feet again. Wasn't the way that all dragons liked to travel, and especially not at her size, where a fair few just went on their feet. In parts due to wanting to feel taller, but there were several aspects that caused that. Her? She liked it like this. It were how she had grown up to walk and run around, and while yes, she could easily just wander on her own two feet, it wasn't often that she had the inkling, unless there were a reason. Like if she were carrying a cup of coffee or something.

With that done, and the slab of stone used as best as she could, she didn't see much of a point in staying here, and would head for the exit. The one that seemed to go into a spiral staircase specifically, because she wanted to know what were above them.

Which after a short walk, turned out to be nothing. Literally, she opened the door up there, and stared directly into a dark void, where no light would enter. Not a sound were in there, nor a smell, or anything you could feel out. Just pure darkness.

"Awh hay no."

She'd close the door again, and take a few steps back, shivering slightly at the sight before her.

She didn't have to be able to sense magic, to tell that that were concentrated dark magic. Would explain what powered the whole place with dark magic, when it came to that path she had found before for instance. She imagined the water being pathed up here, were something from before this were put here, but it seemingly didn't affect it. Or the water would rot you from the inside out if you drank it. She didn't know, and she wasn't checking.

No going this way. Might be something beyond this, even higher up, but she were not going in there, and nor would she let Charir. He'd probably have his flesh stripped clean from his bones.

So they'd have to walk back, and then see if they could find some other way to explore. Or maybe they should check on Ruby? They'd see what mood struck her as they wandered back.

As she did not interfere, things on the skeleton's side, would go as they were planning. So the saprophagous would slowly, but surely, have the stone slab holding it closed. With a last push, a sliver of air would enter, and dust fall from the stone prison, that had kept its occupant for so long. There were still work to be done, but with this first push done, the skeletons would halt, and move away, as the priestess or whatever she may be, would move forward finally.

Her maw opened, and black smog would pour out from her chest cavity, and slither through the opening in the sarcophagus. This would continue for about a minute, before she'd stop, and then wander back to where she stood before, and clack her staff into the ground again.

A rumbling came from within the sarcophagus after the fourth clack, as every regular skeleton would go into position behind the priestess. Then suddenly, the lid would begin to move aside, via a force from within, and soon would make a mighty noise, as it slammed into the ground to the side of it.

Out of the tomb, would wander a large deer. His massive antlers were adorned in gold and silver, and his form were a solid double size of the priestess, and that were before you took into account that this one actually had flesh. Mummified and dried, it left his teeth and empty eye sockets still very exposed, and the gauze hanging unevenly on his form, should make it clear that he had been actually mummified, so this place apparently had some sort of influence by older Saddle Arabian culture.

As he stepped out, he would opened his mouth, and draw inn a breath of air, with a raspy sound escaping him. And then, dark magic roiled from his eyes, and tore the bandages from his form, leaving them tattered on the floor.

The priestess would be the first to bow before him, though the rest would follow troop in unison right after, while their leader looked around, taking in the sight.

"In...Truuuders..."

It seemed that this one could talk. And that it knew that there were trespassers. They may end up getting in trouble, now that they had what seemed like a leader to rally around.

================================================================

 

@EQ_Theta

This were a lot to take in, and that were just from the non-personal perspective of Elder Zhao. It seemed that once at a young age, someone had come for their parents. Someone older, and with seeming authority. She would for the time being, assume that this were an elder, and leader among their kin. And frankly, she were not impressed with him, even before he opened his mouth to talk.

To her, an elder were meant to be able to stand on their own, and garner respect and authority, by their actions and proven track record. This one had brought thugs along, and as expected, he had acted like a tyrant. Taking the parents by force, to do something to, that she doubted she'd ever be told. It wasn't her job to pry into this, and stir into old wounds more than this already did, though she could venture a guess, that whatever had happened, had been fatal.

As for Sen... She were somewhat surprised that this were his deepest, darkest secret. He were but a child in this. His parents seemingly weren't able to fight back against the thugs, so exactly how were he supposed to? But then she supposed, the guilt of a son feeling he left his parents behind, could conquer such logical thinking. If he had spent so many years, thinking that somehow, it were all his fault, and lying about the truth to his own sister, it could be a deep, festering wound to him.

Not that she blamed him. It were rather clear that whomever this elder were, were the source of this pain. The one setting in action, the pain that would be at his heart, and seemingly at his siter's heart too. Though she needed to give the girl a stern talking later. Considering the circumstances, it were not helpful to look at her brother with disappointment. Yet it were not the time, nor place to do such things now. It were already an emotionally loaded situation, and it didn't need her scolding them, unless they started to attack one another for whatever reason.

Omen looked at it all, as neutral as ever. She hadn't any recollection of Salosan's clone per se, after she had to clear her mind at the time, but she did have a few still shots in her head, with the clone in it. This managed to finally put connection between the name, the face, and Sen and Lin's past for her, in it's entirety. Though as for what she saw, all it made her feel were indifferent. She were on Sen and Lin's side here, and did not agree with the things Salosan did. At the same time, she did not have it in her to hate, as one likely should have, considering the creature in question.

She were more focused on how their parents looked honestly. She hadn't seen images of them before, so this were new information that were interesting for her. It likely meant nothing, as they had both said that their parents were dead, but it were still good to be able to put faces to them, yes? Now she just needed names.

"What was your parents names?"

While she asked a strange question perhaps, considering the timing, Elder Zhao were biting notice in how Sen's form were changing, outside of the memory. Omen wouldn't be able to see both things, as she didn't have that sort of attention span, nor training, but she did, and the change were fascinating. Changing Sen into the boy he once had been, at least here int he dreamscape. Must have been quite the memory, if it twisted his form like this. Usually forms stayed stable, when they entered in the way they had. Sure they could be altered, but it were not something that most just did on a whim. The natural limitation of the mind  were that you had your one shape and form, and thinking beyond that, were enlightenment that not any general mind could grasp.

Not that it seemed like he had control over it. By the looks of it, she would think it trauma-based, or otherwise an involuntary action. Shouldn't be too big of a deal, now that they were at the core of things, but they'd see. The entity had been somewhat lacking in obstacles recently, and she did not trust it would so easily admit defeat. Not that she planned to give it the choice of course, but it may think so otherwise, for as long as it wished to.

Omen wasn't partaking in grabbing hold of him. Not really. She'd touch him, but she didn't have any physical power to work with. Elder Zhao would keep hold of him, and her grip were like iron. He'd have an easier time tearing his arm off, than he would have to get away from her. He could not compete with her, when it came to mental fortitude, and in here, the mind were strength. Though if it got tot he point where it seemed he might actually hurt himself, she'd move to restrain him more properly. No need for him to go and get himself hurt. He'd have a stabbing headache afterwards if he did.

Light could only block it with his hooves and take the bite for her loved one.

He would not scream or whimper from the pain, but would wake a primal instinct within him.

to kill.

The poison though would probably affect him.

" No... You're not allowed to touch her. You wont have her way."

@Blitz Boom

[EQ_Theta 457]

@Blitz Boom

On 2024-01-10 at 4:41 AM, Blitz Boom said:

"What was your parents names?"

While she asked a strange question perhaps, considering the timing, Elder Zhao were biting notice in how Sen's form were changing, outside of the memory. Omen wouldn't be able to see both things, as she didn't have that sort of attention span, nor training, but she did, and the change were fascinating. Changing Sen into the boy he once had been, at least here int he dreamscape. Must have been quite the memory, if it twisted his form like this. Usually forms stayed stable, when they entered in the way they had. Sure they could be altered, but it were not something that most just did on a whim. The natural limitation of the mind  were that you had your one shape and form, and thinking beyond that, were enlightenment that not any general mind could grasp.

It was a strange thing, Omen asking for the names of Sen’s parents. At this time, deeply mired in a tense memory, Sen didn’t see how it was important, especially given his current circumstances. As his body shifted into the younger self that was present at the time this memory happened, even he was seeing things rather differently. It wouldn’t be apparent to Elder Zhao or Omen, but to Sen, he was seeing the two as simple hunters like those who grabbed his parents. Right then and there, hearing one of the two guards asking for his parents’ names was rather out-of-place and unexpected. He’d resist all the same, using what strength he has to continue to break free.

Still, there was a remnant of the real Sen’s cognition poking here and there. To some degree, he could still recognize Elder Zhao and Omen’s presence, and the longma wanted to do what he could to help despite his focus being placed on the situation unfolding before him.

“What does that matter?!” Sen replied, his anger more than evident, as his mind is still convinced he’s experiencing the tense standoff from his memories. “They’re Nobu and Jia, not that you’d care! If you see how wrong this is, let me go and stop them from taking my parents away!”

The tight grip on the longma meant there was no risk of him breaking free, but with Sen focused on the situation more than the surroundings, he’d only continue to see things from a narrower perspective. As for Lin, she didn’t appear to be anywhere within line of sight, though something was off. One would notice her rapid breathing, reacting to the events unfolding before her as if she were present that fateful night. So far, nothing here lined up with her brother’s claim that he ran. He was there, held down perhaps, but he didn’t run. Yet, there was guilt in his answer; he couldn’t look at her as he gave it. Even so, it had been so long since she last saw her mother and father; her memories of them were incomplete, barely able to remember their faces. It was through her brother that she slowly began to see them as they were. 

As these events went on, the hunters positioned closer to Elder Solasan, and the siblings’ parents continued to pull the two apart. Solasan didn’t seem affected by the pleas of the two, nor those of Sen. 

You don’t need to do this, elder. Let this matter go! There was nothing there!

And let you go like nothing happened? You know our laws on those forbidden places. Who’s to say you placed a curse upon us all? No, you must be made an example of to the rest of the village.

You are our elder! What do you hope to gain by punishing us like this?!

You could have avoided all of this. You only have yourself to blame.

There were no further words from the elder as Sen’s father was being pulled away, his mother crying out for him and begging for his release. All this time, “Lin” could only watch in horror as she was powerless to do anything to stop this. Likewise, Sen continued to struggle against the restraints put on him due to Elder Zhao’s tight grip. 

While all this happened, a little dark weed slowly and quietly manifested on Sen’s body. Or rather, this weed crawled up on him, implanting itself onto his chest, thorny tendrils wrapping themselves on his limbs and wings. It appeared the entity within the mindscape had also grown interested in the events unfolding before everyone, and this one was intent on giving some much-needed “assistance” for the young longma. Elder Zhao may begin noticing Sen’s strength growing, slowly beginning to overpower her hold over him. Sen felt this as well, as he could slowly try and overpower his captor. 

Edited January 12 by EQ_Theta

[Catpone Cerberus 23,588]

@Blitz Boom@Evil Pink One
Sheska hadn't yet come back down, and Sear and Chega didn't really follow Shark closely, so the laughter was the first thing that got anyone's attention, that being Chega and Sear, but since they didn't really know what was going on, nor did they have really any time to do anything, they just watched and let the situation progress, though Sear was ready to axe the thing if it came close.

(sorry, got nothing this time)
------------------------------------------------------------
Charir was bit confused by Leviathan's stretching moment, not because there was anything weird in stretching per say, but more because of how she decided to do it, one could do it anywhere, yet she had insisted on doing it on the surface she first felt the need to burn and then poke....well, who was he to judge, maybe it was some anatomical thing he didn't have to deal with, and from the sound of it, even if he didn't understand the words, it had felt good, so that was all that mattered, right?

He hadn't, nor did he really pay attention to how Leviathan walked, sure he could tell her build was different, matching that of bipedal creatures, but so what? he was build to fly, yet most of his kind preferred running, though they were also build for that, but that was beside the point. He followed Leviathan. 

Leviathan didn't need to worry about stopping Charir from going to the room of Dark magic, because while he didn't know he was looking at dark magic, or even what dark magic was, the lack of things to sense was a good enough warning, as his most basic instincts knew that whatever this was, was not natural, and that in turn meant, that you shouldn't go any closer. It was also his survival instincts in general that kept him back, because while he was a predator, he was also prey, prey to bigger dragons, so he had enough prey instinct to avoid places where he couldn't sense the danger, and the room in front of them was clearly a place like that. Leviathan's reaction of course also made the decision to not get closer even stronger, as he trusted her judgement on things that were bad. 

As Ruby watched the special skeleton...excrete..smog that acted as it did, she rather quickly concluded what it was, it was some kind of dark magic, she didn't know if it was Equestrian dark magic, or maybe some deer variant of dark magic, or even undead magic of some kind, but it was clear that it was magic that went under the category of dark, and not just because it was black in color; no not-dark magic would be used when animating dead, as however you put it, and as little as she believed in concept of good and evil, bringing back the dead was impure by it's nature, not that it had anything to do with nature, as it was one of the most unnatural things out there. 

 Ah, so now the pictures made sense, this mummified deer was clearly one of the big antlered ones from the pictures, and the shadow? probably something to do with this whole dark magic business, though that was as much as she could figure out, not that she tried that hard, as the details didn't really matter to her. The mummification itself didn't really mean anything to her, she didn't know much about different cultures, so she didn't even think to think about a reasoning for it, to her it only meant that this deer was buried differently than the others, like it clearly had been, and thus hadn't rotted in the same way. It didn't really cross her mind to wonder if it had been a purposeful mummification, or a natural one, and even if it had, she would have seen the whole concept as a matter of cultural nonsense with no real meaning. After all, even the concept of ceremonial burial to her was absurd, the only reason she saw to ever bury something, was to get the body out of the way and stop it from attracting things, so making a big deal out of it was just pointless. 

When the deer spoke, Ruby knew it was her time to bounce, so she took off without much thinking the fact that her hoof steps probably echoed, since the deer clearly wasn't bound by the rules of basic senses. However, one thing did escape her mind at the moment, her box, she had strapped it back on after getting past the bone-door, meaning that the same problem was in front of her, so there was really only two options on what she could do, assuming she'd find herself from where she expected to end up, either she had to stop to take the box off, which would take precious time, or she would need to just go through and hope that it either doesn't get stuck, or her speed was enough and the bones were weak enough to break if it did get stuck. 

One fact that didn't escape her mind however, was the inconvenient spot she was in, it was a hallway with only two directions, and it was too small for her to effectively transform to her real form, and one direction was pretty much blocked, that being the one she was fleeing from, thus, she could really only hope that the skeletons were as stupid as they seemed, or at least slow enough for her to get out of the hallway. 

 

 

 

 

[Blitz Boom 4,620]

@Catpone Cerberus @Evil Pink One

The little thing munched into Light, but hadn't gotten a good angle since he blocked it, so it couldn't hang on for long, nor inject too much poison. Yet poison he'd still get, spreading from the bite, and branching out. He'd feel a warm, tingly sensation, but it wouldn't get bad until it hit his eyes, and he would begin to see through a tinted red haze, hallucinating things in the lines, standing behind others, readying unseen claws and weapons, with big, unnatural smiles upon their shadowy faces. Had he gotten a bigger dosage, it would have already made him seen worse, but it would still take some time to go through his system properly. And when it hit his brain? Those shapeless forms, would begin to take forms after those he actually feared, or felt strongly about in other ways, and would begin to overlay, making it hard for him to distinguish between friend and foe.

He would have two minutes until the infection hit his eyes. Five until his brain started to become affected. He needed to either get help, or bolt soon, or things would likely start to get ugly.

"Mate? You okay? Tell Shark!"

While Shark were slightly panicking out of worry for her mate, after seeing lines starting to appear on him, the thing turned around and tried to jump at Shark again, but she'd bash it away hard with her tail, sending it sliding across the floor. It would get up soon though, and seeing the ones arriving from upstairs, would pick the softer looking one of the two - that being Chega, in its opinion - and launch at her, maw open and ready to chomp down on something that looked soft. The laughing sound kept going, making it seem that either it were thinking this hilarious, or it was just a sound that it made, that they interpreted as laughter.

If it were axed, the thing would die, as expected. The inside showing it to be very much some kind of arachnid, with a large poison sack near the middle, along with what seemed like an egg tube, intertwining with the poison tube near the fangs. Light might be in bigger trouble than one might realize, if he had gotten himself a dosage of both, and it wasn't just the poison now messing with his system.

=======================================================

 

@Catpone Cerberus

2 hours ago, Catpone Cerberus said:

When the deer spoke, Ruby knew it was her time to bounce, so she took off without much thinking the fact that her hoof steps probably echoed, since the deer clearly wasn't bound by the rules of basic senses. However, one thing did escape her mind at the moment, her box, she had strapped it back on after getting past the bone-door, meaning that the same problem was in front of her, so there was really only two options on what she could do, assuming she'd find herself from where she expected to end up, either she had to stop to take the box off, which would take precious time, or she would need to just go through and hope that it either doesn't get stuck, or her speed was enough and the bones were weak enough to break if it did get stuck. 

One fact that didn't escape her mind however, was the inconvenient spot she was in, it was a hallway with only two directions, and it was too small for her to effectively transform to her real form, and one direction was pretty much blocked, that being the one she was fleeing from, thus, she could really only hope that the skeletons were as stupid as they seemed, or at least slow enough for her to get out of the hallway. 

Her steps were indeed heard, and she'd be able to hear the raspy, hollow voice of the leader of the deer, before she'd get too far out of range. It carried longer and with more strength already, showing that this one were getting stronger, and likely a bigger issue, as the minutes would pass.

"Bring me the wakeners."

A wave would coarse through the floor, walls, and ceiling, rushing past Ruby faster than she could move. In its wake, torches would flare to life, old symbols on the wall would glow ominously, and from many places, were heard the subtle sounds of stone moving, and clattering bone. The temple were coming to (un)life, and there would be no escape.

If she tried to run for the exit, she would find the door opening covered in a thick layer of dark magic. Touching it would wither her scales, and begin eating away at her, every second she touched it. Best be it to not go through, lest naught but bone emerged on the other side.

The path she had wandered, had the clattering of bony hooves moving calmly ahead, seeking their intended target. To apprehend? To kill? The leader had said nothing about wanting them alive, so at this point, one shouldn't make such silly assumptions, as if they would still be breathing, once their leader got hold of them. Furthermore, the passage that had once swallowed bones, would begin to spit some out, as she got nearer. Bones clattering together, with weapons finding the grasp of the deer's hooves, before the hoof were even attached.

If she followed the other path, there would be some respite, but it would also take her further away from the entrance. And she should think quickly. Because judging by the clacking behind her, the priestess had been sent to fetch her too, and she were not as slow as the lesser skeletons.

So her choices were limited. She could turn around and fight. She could run around the bones before they had reformed, and try for the exit, or she could take the last path, leading away to the unknown where nothing so far were looking like it were happening.

9 hours ago, Catpone Cerberus said:

Leviathan didn't need to worry about stopping Charir from going to the room of Dark magic, because while he didn't know he was looking at dark magic, or even what dark magic was, the lack of things to sense was a good enough warning, as his most basic instincts knew that whatever this was, was not natural, and that in turn meant, that you shouldn't go any closer. It was also his survival instincts in general that kept him back, because while he was a predator, he was also prey, prey to bigger dragons, so he had enough prey instinct to avoid places where he couldn't sense the danger, and the room in front of them was clearly a place like that. Leviathan's reaction of course also made the decision to not get closer even stronger, as he trusted her judgement on things that were bad. 

They'd be on their way back, when the surge would rush through the walls. The torches lighting up in the hallway, and strange runes glow among the pictures. Behind them, from the room where the darkness rested in, they'd be able to hear an otherworldly groan.

"Oh we are So out of here."

 

She were all for exploring, but this just shouted bad times all over the place. Which were only reinforced, as a part of the wall opened, and a half dozen skeletons wandered out, weapons drawn. They'd turn towards them, and began lowering them. Then Leviathan would shoot a lightning bolt through them. It did great... For about a second, but sadly the bones didn't scatter far, and got pulled back together by thin black strings, bringing them together without the weapons even resting soundly on the floor.

They were reaching down for them, still blocking the path, when she'd go to plan b: Using wind to smash them back into the path they had come from, and then take off, signaling for her companion to follow. If he did not, the skeletons would be back soon after, and prepared to grab him, and detain him so he could be dragged down, into the abyss.

He could well smash them if he wanted to, but it wouldn't last, even if he broke the bones. It would only delay them a bit. Either way, they should better go and haul rear, before they'd be in serious trouble.

================================================================

 

@EQ_Theta

The elder narrowed her gaze, as the vine got into sight. So this were how it was going to be then? It would infect him here, turn them against one another, and try to claim all? Hmph. It seemed she would need to step out of the teacher role for a moment then, wouldn't she?

So she would lean into Sen's face, and talk to him with a slight sneer.

"Sen. You are losing grasp of reality, and are getting infected by the entity. Get yourself under control, or I will beat the sense back into you, and rip its tendrils out of your mind."

She were not kidding. If the entity wanted to fight, it could bring it on. But using this surrogate? Pathetic and vile. And what did it hope to gain from it? Her killing him? Him killing her? Laughable notion. She had held back quite a lot here, but if it wanted to go head on, she would put the pain on it. And Sen. If she had to. She'd give him a thrashing he'd never known, and then go after this thing personally. Because at that point, he would be in no position to handle this himself, and Lin likely wouldn't be either.

Quite frankly, this would reflect poorly on his grades. But if he failed to keep his composure here at the end, that would be how it were. No matter what, she intended to clear Lin's mind of this thing, lesson or not, and she were not going to call quits because some ancient parasite thought it could get the upper paw.

If it kept spreading, she would let go of her grip on Sen, and prepare to knock sense into him, one way or another, whilst keeping him from the others.

Omen could simply just observe the memory as it unfolded, though she wasn't sure what to say of this. Sen did not seem to want her to ask more things, so she would be quiet towards him, and let Elder Zhao speak with him. Perhaps, she could ask Lin though?

"Lin? Was this the last time either of you saw them? Your family gone... That hurt you, yes? Both of you?

I think this is why he wanted to find you so much back then too. His last family. The most important creature he had left... Mother would be proud of you, thinking about one another that much."

[Rising Dusk 27,510]

@Blitz Boom

Returning to Equestria was a much more different feeling than that felt by the two newcomers.  While the two mares took their first steps into the family's lands, basking in the new alien feeling, Rising only felt relief.  Passing through the membrane of the portal that separated the two lands, Rising could feel the inkiness of Harrowmark's dark magics flee from his senses.  All to be replaced with the wave of Harmony magic that coursed through the land of light and uplifted the detective's soul all the same.  Familiar shores to all his senses.

The family and guests would find soft grass on a hill beneath their hoofs, a stark contrast to the stone they'd all been on this celebration.  The tree Rising had connected the anchor of the portal spell stood behind them all towering in the moon light.  A gentle breeze wafted across the small hill as if in greeting to Equestria's newest arrivals.  Wrapping around the gathering of ponies enough to cause cloths to flutter before going off again.  Flowing off toward the city.

The city.  Manehattan stood before the hill.  The city lights were alive, Manehattan a mesmerizing blend of vibrant colors and shimmering reflections. The towering skyscrapers, adorned with neon signs and magical advertisements, cast a soft glow over the lively streets below. Ponies and creatures of all kinds traverse the bustling avenues, creating a lively and dynamic atmosphere. The skyline is punctuated by the iconic landmarks of Manehattan, silhouetted against the night sky.  A city that never sleeps, home to a million creatures in Equestria's largest city. 

Home.  Home sweet home.

"Welcome ladies.  Welcome to Equestria, our home," Dawn presented the ladies with a flourish of her hoof toward the city.  Understably, there was little in Manehattan that resembled the old architecture of Harrowmark.  Stone and wood traded for brick and steel.  "More specifically, our home Manehattan,"  the mare finished, dropping her hoof.  The travel from this hill to the city would be quite the hike, giving more credit to the size of it all.  "Ho ho ho.  What a beautiful sight it is to see every time," the older stallion admired.  The trip to Harrowmark for the celebration was a true delight, but nothing beat home.  "Worry not, we won't be walking darlings.  I'll just take my parents home and then we'll be off from some well deserved rest," Dawn informed the newcomers.  Trotting over to her parents.  "It was a pleasure to meet you both," Grace bowed.  "Ho ho ho.  Farewell for now!" the jovial father chuckled.  Then the three were simply gone, leaving the pair with Rising on the hill. 

[Evil Pink One 13,506]

On 2024-01-14 at 8:39 AM, Blitz Boom said:

@Catpone Cerberus @Evil Pink One

The little thing munched into Light, but hadn't gotten a good angle since he blocked it, so it couldn't hang on for long, nor inject too much poison. Yet poison he'd still get, spreading from the bite, and branching out. He'd feel a warm, tingly sensation, but it wouldn't get bad until it hit his eyes, and he would begin to see through a tinted red haze, hallucinating things in the lines, standing behind others, readying unseen claws and weapons, with big, unnatural smiles upon their shadowy faces. Had he gotten a bigger dosage, it would have already made him seen worse, but it would still take some time to go through his system properly. And when it hit his brain? Those shapeless forms, would begin to take forms after those he actually feared, or felt strongly about in other ways, and would begin to overlay, making it hard for him to distinguish between friend and foe.

He would have two minutes until the infection hit his eyes. Five until his brain started to become affected. He needed to either get help, or bolt soon, or things would likely start to get ugly.

"Mate? You okay? Tell Shark!"

While Shark were slightly panicking out of worry for her mate, after seeing lines starting to appear on him, the thing turned around and tried to jump at Shark again, but she'd bash it away hard with her tail, sending it sliding across the floor. It would get up soon though, and seeing the ones arriving from upstairs, would pick the softer looking one of the two - that being Chega, in its opinion - and launch at her, maw open and ready to chomp down on something that looked soft. The laughing sound kept going, making it seem that either it were thinking this hilarious, or it was just a sound that it made, that they interpreted as laughter.

If it were axed, the thing would die, as expected. The inside showing it to be very much some kind of arachnid, with a large poison sack near the middle, along with what seemed like an egg tube, intertwining with the poison tube near the fangs. Light might be in bigger trouble than one might realize, if he had gotten himself a dosage of both, and it wasn't just the poison now messing with his system.

=======================================================

 

@Catpone Cerberus

Her steps were indeed heard, and she'd be able to hear the raspy, hollow voice of the leader of the deer, before she'd get too far out of range. It carried longer and with more strength already, showing that this one were getting stronger, and likely a bigger issue, as the minutes would pass.

"Bring me the wakeners."

A wave would coarse through the floor, walls, and ceiling, rushing past Ruby faster than she could move. In its wake, torches would flare to life, old symbols on the wall would glow ominously, and from many places, were heard the subtle sounds of stone moving, and clattering bone. The temple were coming to (un)life, and there would be no escape.

If she tried to run for the exit, she would find the door opening covered in a thick layer of dark magic. Touching it would wither her scales, and begin eating away at her, every second she touched it. Best be it to not go through, lest naught but bone emerged on the other side.

The path she had wandered, had the clattering of bony hooves moving calmly ahead, seeking their intended target. To apprehend? To kill? The leader had said nothing about wanting them alive, so at this point, one shouldn't make such silly assumptions, as if they would still be breathing, once their leader got hold of them. Furthermore, the passage that had once swallowed bones, would begin to spit some out, as she got nearer. Bones clattering together, with weapons finding the grasp of the deer's hooves, before the hoof were even attached.

If she followed the other path, there would be some respite, but it would also take her further away from the entrance. And she should think quickly. Because judging by the clacking behind her, the priestess had been sent to fetch her too, and she were not as slow as the lesser skeletons.

So her choices were limited. She could turn around and fight. She could run around the bones before they had reformed, and try for the exit, or she could take the last path, leading away to the unknown where nothing so far were looking like it were happening.

They'd be on their way back, when the surge would rush through the walls. The torches lighting up in the hallway, and strange runes glow among the pictures. Behind them, from the room where the darkness rested in, they'd be able to hear an otherworldly groan.

"Oh we are So out of here."

 

She were all for exploring, but this just shouted bad times all over the place. Which were only reinforced, as a part of the wall opened, and a half dozen skeletons wandered out, weapons drawn. They'd turn towards them, and began lowering them. Then Leviathan would shoot a lightning bolt through them. It did great... For about a second, but sadly the bones didn't scatter far, and got pulled back together by thin black strings, bringing them together without the weapons even resting soundly on the floor.

They were reaching down for them, still blocking the path, when she'd go to plan b: Using wind to smash them back into the path they had come from, and then take off, signaling for her companion to follow. If he did not, the skeletons would be back soon after, and prepared to grab him, and detain him so he could be dragged down, into the abyss.

He could well smash them if he wanted to, but it wouldn't last, even if he broke the bones. It would only delay them a bit. Either way, they should better go and haul rear, before they'd be in serious trouble.

================================================================

 

@EQ_Theta

The elder narrowed her gaze, as the vine got into sight. So this were how it was going to be then? It would infect him here, turn them against one another, and try to claim all? Hmph. It seemed she would need to step out of the teacher role for a moment then, wouldn't she?

So she would lean into Sen's face, and talk to him with a slight sneer.

"Sen. You are losing grasp of reality, and are getting infected by the entity. Get yourself under control, or I will beat the sense back into you, and rip its tendrils out of your mind."

She were not kidding. If the entity wanted to fight, it could bring it on. But using this surrogate? Pathetic and vile. And what did it hope to gain from it? Her killing him? Him killing her? Laughable notion. She had held back quite a lot here, but if it wanted to go head on, she would put the pain on it. And Sen. If she had to. She'd give him a thrashing he'd never known, and then go after this thing personally. Because at that point, he would be in no position to handle this himself, and Lin likely wouldn't be either.

Quite frankly, this would reflect poorly on his grades. But if he failed to keep his composure here at the end, that would be how it were. No matter what, she intended to clear Lin's mind of this thing, lesson or not, and she were not going to call quits because some ancient parasite thought it could get the upper paw.

If it kept spreading, she would let go of her grip on Sen, and prepare to knock sense into him, one way or another, whilst keeping him from the others.

Omen could simply just observe the memory as it unfolded, though she wasn't sure what to say of this. Sen did not seem to want her to ask more things, so she would be quiet towards him, and let Elder Zhao speak with him. Perhaps, she could ask Lin though?

"Lin? Was this the last time either of you saw them? Your family gone... That hurt you, yes? Both of you?

I think this is why he wanted to find you so much back then too. His last family. The most important creature he had left... Mother would be proud of you, thinking about one another that much."

Light would freeze in his place. He would try to evade the haze or move away if it tried to go near.

As the haze continue to materialize he'd still stand firm and ask.

".... what do you want from me."

He sweats as he questions the hallucinations.

@Blitz Boom @Catpone Cerberus

[EQ_Theta 457]

@Blitz Boom

On 2024-01-14 at 8:39 AM, Blitz Boom said:

"Lin? Was this the last time either of you saw them? Your family gone... That hurt you, yes? Both of you?

I think this is why he wanted to find you so much back then too. His last family. The most important creature he had left... Mother would be proud of you, thinking about one another that much."

Though “Lin” was still caught in the memory, she was lucid enough to hear what was going on outside, and even see some of it within her peripheral vision. Everything was like it was that fateful night, though the sights and sounds of Omen and Elder Zhao meant she could still tell where memory began and ended. It was a lot to take in, and telling the difference between lie and truth was at the forefront of her mind, but she wasn’t sure how to respond to Omen’s claim. Maybe it might be true for Sen, but not so much for her, especially with what became of her now. 

“It was, at least for Sen. We were separated that night; brother made it back home before me, and what you’re seeing now… it’s all his memories and what I thought happened based on what he told me. I only returned home the day after, returned to a home where my father and Sen were gone, and Mother was hurt. She told me to run because it wasn’t safe anymore for me in the village. I didn’t want to go, but she insisted I save myself before I got taken away as well.” 

“I don’t know if Mother could say she is proud of me. If I had cared so much about finding Sen, I wouldn’t look like this or go to the lengths I did for some selfish goal. For too long, I was focused on finding some way to get my revenge on the village, even if I had to turn to dark magic to do it. Look how that turned out… Maybe you don’t see me that way, but I’m not a shining example of a good sister.” 

Though others can see Lin’s positive aspects through their interactions with her, she is the last who can say anything good about herself. It may be true depending on perspective, but this might just be another way the entity tried to demoralize her. Without the strength of their bonds with each other, it would weaken the resolves of the siblings, leaving them possibly trapped within a nightmare of their own making. With certainty, Lin couldn’t see herself coming to Sen’s aid, not with her grappling with her shortcomings and conflicting feelings about her brother. Unfortunately, that would make things more difficult for Elder Zhao at this moment.

On 2024-01-14 at 8:39 AM, Blitz Boom said:

"Sen. You are losing grasp of reality, and are getting infected by the entity. Get yourself under control, or I will beat the sense back into you, and rip its tendrils out of your mind."

She were not kidding. If the entity wanted to fight, it could bring it on. But using this surrogate? Pathetic and vile. And what did it hope to gain from it? Her killing him? Him killing her? Laughable notion. She had held back quite a lot here, but if it wanted to go head on, she would put the pain on it. And Sen. If she had to. She'd give him a thrashing he'd never known, and then go after this thing personally. Because at that point, he would be in no position to handle this himself, and Lin likely wouldn't be either.

Quite frankly, this would reflect poorly on his grades. But if he failed to keep his composure here at the end, that would be how it were. No matter what, she intended to clear Lin's mind of this thing, lesson or not, and she were not going to call quits because some ancient parasite thought it could get the upper paw.

The entity found strength in a chance at victory, the opening it needed to come out on top. The mindscape warped Sen into a younger version of himself, an advantage it would capitalize on now that it got its tangled weed gripping onto the longma. It had Sen in its grasp, and it would soon break free of Elder Zhao’s grip. He turned his attention to the kitsune with a furious glare, his eyes now black with nothing but anger. Sen only saw a hunter unwilling to see reason, and that was enough for him to fight. 

“Uncaring monster! You will not touch my family! I will make you regret this!”

Without hesitation, Sen pounced forward intending to claw and wound Elder Zhao with all of his might. He took several wide swipes, though, in his rage, his form made him sloppy and predictable. However, the entity was certain that no one would try direct retaliation, not when they found themselves in a situation where they would hurt a child. Sen was a wounded animal now, and to him, he had little to lose. It was all that was needed to fight, sending him into a berserker rage. However, that was enough to snap “Lin” out of her funk. Regardless of what she felt, seeing and hearing her brother like this was wrong, and she had to do something. 

"Lin" quickly took up her position next to Elder Zhao, ready to help. This wasn’t what she wanted, but if fighting her brother now was necessary, they had little choice but to do so, especially if they wanted to get the weed off Sen without hurting him too much.

“Elder! Omen! Let’s try to tire out my brother. How do you want to do this?”