private Journey of the Wanderers

[Jack Baker 698]

OOC: https://mlpforums.com/topic/145454-journey-of-the-wanderers-actionadventure/#entry4330851

 

How many...

 

That was the thought running through Raze's mind right now, as he was sitting next to a bright bonfire. He had found it already set up, embers dancing around it as if someone was just there recently; all he did was relight it. He was in the middle of the Everfree Forest, the sun still shining in the sky. 

 

How many did I kill just then...?

 

He was shocked at himself, for not too long ago, he had managed to strike down a very large number of the Undead, their minds already lost to the curse that afflicted them. He tightened the grip on his shield. He knew he should be used to this; he was a Royal Guard member, who fought in the war between Equestria and the dark lord that sought to conquer it. He had killed many of the dark lord's army, too many to count. And yet, he couldn't handle killing those ponies before in the forest. He knew it was him or them, so why...

 

He shook his head. Now wasn't the time to act so melancholy. He knew that was how you'd lose yourself to the curse, by letting your spirit waver. He'd seen it before, many people he knew had succumbed to the curse because they lost hope, because they couldn't find a reason to live after that. That's why he was here; because he vowed he wouldn't suffer the same fate, and decided to set out and see if there was a way to end this curse. He knew where he had to go: back to the castle in Canterlot. There had to be something there, anything. He had to stay strong...

 

He lowered his head, closed his eyes, and began to meditate...

[Lume WMj 228]

Right after finally hitting the end of a rather lengthy staircase, Vivid Clover slammed the door shut behind her, promptly barricading it with any and every material she could find nearby. Panting heavily, she sat down while pressing a hoof against her chest, perhaps being able to regain her breath at last. She scanned the area around, and found herself at the rooftops of Canterlot.

 

The beige mare had arrived at the city a few minutes earlier. She was planning to move to the main central portion of it, where the royal castle was located. However, she wasn’t quite expecting to be surrounded by what seemed to be a dozen of Undead ponies. Desperately scurrying for a place to hide, she had entered the first building in sight and hurried along towards the higher ground.

 

Feeling relatively safe once atop, Clover looked down at the streets, from where she was able to secure a good-enough view of the dreadful situation below. At that point in time, she was just doing everything in her power to stay alive: even when it meant having to kill them whenever running away wasn’t possible. After all, not much else could be done by herself alone. Once Equestria fell apart, adapting to the smell of blood and the slaughter of every day seemed to be the best - if not only - option. The war between the dark army and the harmony-loving ponies was far from over.

 

After resting briefly, she decided to wait a few minutes longer for the enemies below to diminish in quantity. In the meanwhile, she would try and set up another small, basic bonfire with rocks and sticks she’d brought from the forest. She levitated two of the stones and struck them against each other, managing to ignite the sticks. She didn’t know how long it would last; she only hoped it would be enough. Grasping her enhancing talisman, she waited.

[That One Techpriest You Used To Know 2,286]

It was the light of the bonfire about five hundred yards behind her that brought White's attention to the pony sitting in mediation.

 

It has started earlier that week; with quite the intriguing awakening. After exiting what appeared to be an abandoned underground complex, she had spent the past few days wandering the forest, chasing shadows, and defeating the mindless... zombies that followed her. It was odd, actually. She couldn't remember how she got in the complex at all, or, in fact, barely anything at all other than her name. Of course, she found that blades flowed through her hooves like the wind through the trees, so she knew that, whatever she was, she was a fighter of some sort. But... other than what she knew, she... just couldn't remember.

 

A few times, especially after a particularly strenuous escape, she would hear a voice. It sounded desperate, pleading for some sort of contact or communication. She could never find the source, no matter how much effort she put into finding it... and it was this that lead to her locating the fire behind her that she thought she had doused, but, upon a closer look, had merely been rediscovered. What she had apparently thought had been the monsters fighting amongst themselves was actually, in fact, another living, breathing pony...

 

After approaching as close as she dared, she spoke in a soft voice from the shadows, waiting to see the pony's reaction before continuing.

 

"Hello...? Are you real?"

[Jack Baker 698]

 

Raze immediately stood up and brought his longsword and shield at the ready, not knowing what to expect from the pony that called out.

 

"Who's there? Show yourself!" he said, putting his shield up. He turned toward the direction he heard the voice.

 

Female... sounded quite young, he thought. And... also very familiar... Do I know her?

Edited January 17, 2016 by TheKidInTheCorner

[That One Techpriest You Used To Know 2,286]

 

 

"Who's there? Show yourself!" he said, putting his shield up.

 

The sudden reaction received a flinch from White as she quickly unsheathed one of the swords- the blue one, she noticed, as opposed to the red one. Interesting. Is there a difference between the two, or is it merely an aesthetic difference?

 

"I- well... My name is White Rose... I noticed the campfire I left about an hour ago rekindled itself. You wouldn't happen to be the cause, would you?"

 

As she said this, she kept a steady voice (despite the small giveaway in the beginning) and kept her eyes on the shadowy figure- with the fire to his back, she couldn't see him more clearly than a dark shadow, but could tell that he wore at least some armor and had a decent-sized sword and shield, standing in a defensive stance. Maybe the obvious, honest approach wasn't the best solution here...

[Jack Baker 698]

Raze slowly put his shield down at the mention of the name. He was a bit happy at first, then a bit suspicious: what if this was a trick of some sort? It couldn't have been, no one could have just made up that name off the top of their head...

 

Only one way to find out.

 

"...White?" he said, slowly approaching the voice. "...Is that really you? If it is... it's me, Raze..."

[BlackShardNixium 277]

Silvia crouched lower behind withered old mahogany desk shoved into the farthest corner of the office room. From her vantage point on the ground, she could see the paper files, crumpled receipts, and upended trash bins littered across the entire area, punctuated only by the occasional shuffle of the apparently undead.

This wasn't how she'd pictured her afternoon going.

Silvia genuinely valued her job at the Gazette. Journalism had quickly become an ardent passion for her. She got to travel, meet new ponies, tell incredible stories, spread some hope. All that good, cheery, fluffy stuff. Everyone needed it these days. She was a writer. She was a desk jockey. She either spent her time interviewing ponies or huddled behind her keyboard typing away at some article. Sometimes, she even got coffee!
She was not built for this.
Oh no. No way. Ain't no way.

Another of the undead ambled by her hiding place, gurgling and groaning obscenely. She shuddered and pressed against the sturdy underside of her desk. If she could just get upstairs, just get by these things! Maybe she would make it out of here. 
She honestly had no idea what was happening to the rest of the city. Canterlot was a large place, but, in taking one look at the creatures, it wouldn't surprise her if they were all over the place. It was like something straight out of the horror novels she tortured herself with in the dead of night.
Only real.
Very real.

She chanced a quick glance through the minscule crack between the desk an the floor. She couldn't really see anything, but the distant shuffling told her that she wasn't completely alone just yet. She would have to keep waiting.
Silvia settled herself more comfortabely against the ground. 
Once they were gone, she was out of here. Hopefully to find some other real, live, not-undead ponies and get somewhere safe. But until then, she was just plum stuck.

[That One Techpriest You Used To Know 2,286]

"...White?" he said, slowly approaching the voice. "...Is that really you? If it is... it's me, Raze..."

 

Raze... the name seemed so familiar, as if from a half-forgotten dream. Another time, another place... a name from the past, or the future? But then she did realize- Raze was one of the four she had dreamed about. And, as he approached and shifted his body... the stripes gave it away. So her dreams... were real? Did this mean that she, at one point, had or will be fighting darkness of some sort? There was only one way to find out where she was, when, and whether she could truly trust this pony who claimed to be familiar with her.

 

"... The name. I... I recognize it. It's from my dreams. Four ponies standing against darkness... almost like a filly's cartoon show, but only much, much more realistic... You're one of them, then, if your stripes are anything to go by... but if you recognize me that easily, then that means I'm probably one of those ponies too..."

 

But then... there are the two masked figures. Who are those, I wonder?

 

"But... I don't know. All I do know is my name, my dreams, these blades, and... the past week or so, I guess. I'm not sure what else I can tell you, or if I'm the one you're looking for... I'm sorry."

[Jack Baker 698]

Raze stopped approaching her as soon as she finished talking.

 

"You... don't remember me?" he said, a worried look on his face. Was it the curse? It couldn't have been, otherwise he wouldn't remember anything either. He lowered his head, a bit sad that the one he loved forgot about him. Then he quickly snapped out of it; he couldn't let this get the better of him. The least he could do was keep her safe and try to help her remember.

 

"Well..." he finally said. "Nevermind that. Are you cold? It's pretty chilly out today, and there's enough warmth here to go around."

 

He held out his hoof to where she was. "Come on out. I won't hurt you, promise."

[That One Techpriest You Used To Know 2,286]

@,

 

Logic usually dictated to stay away from strange ponies in apocalyptic settings, considered White silently, But desperate times called for desperate measures. Besides, this pony said that he knew her from before, and looked quite saddened at her lack of recognition. Perhaps he was honest- if he wasn't, she'd find out soon enough. Quietly sheathing her swords, she stalked forwards into the light, her pale pink mane reflecting softly off the flames as she approached. After a moment, she sat down next to the fire.

 

"So... what happened here? Why are there so many zombies lurking about?" she paused for a moment. "And... is this place really Equestria, or are we somewhere else... somehow?"

[Jack Baker 698]

Raze took a seat next to her.

"Don't remember what's going on in the world either, eh? Guess I'll start from the beginning then: a long time ago, someone powerful and evil thought he could take over the world, so with his power he gathered up an huge army, and set out to do just that."

 

While he spoke, he took a stick and drew stick ponies on the ground; a big one with what was supposed to be an evil looking face, and smaller ones to represent his army.

 

"Forgive my crude drawings; I'm not really known for my artistic talent. Anyway, he and his army declared war on Equestria, deciding that this would be the start of his reign of terror." He drew a crude castle representing Equestria.

 

"Unfortunately for him, we're not the kind of kingdom that lets others push us around, and in due time, we defeated him and his army." He crossed out the stick ponies.

 

"However, that wasn't the end of it. He decided that if he couldn't win, he'd go down swinging, and with the last of his power, plagued us with a curse. A mark..." He drew a circle. "...Like this. A bright, flame colored circle around your Cutie Mark. I have it, you have it, all of us have it. That same mark, we discovered months later, turns its bearer into the things you see now, either due to a loss of hope or purpose... or death." He stopped speaking. Discussing the curse made him feel slightly uncomfortable.

 

"And here we are. That's about all I know what's going on so far."

Edited January 19, 2016 by TheKidInTheCorner

[BlackShardNixium 277]

Okay. Okay.
The last one was shuffling out. Finally.
This was her chance!
She rose up on her hooves, carefully peeking around the edge of the desk as the last of the undead pathetically wobbled its way out of the adjacent door. Her entire body trembled, filled with a mixed cocktail of fear and nervous energy. 
"Just...a little...further!"
Now! 
Silvia scrambled from the opposite door, the one leading into the small, towering stairwell. She fumbled with the door-handle, silently cursing her terror-addled brain as she finally wrenched it open, darted through, and shut it firmly behind her. Heart pounding, she bolted up the stairs, half climbing, half propelling herself with her wings. She just needed to get to the roof! Then she could fly away, far, far away, to safety. 

Silver lining though.
Today she was getting the workout she never wanted. 
 

[Jack Baker 698]

@@Daylight Heretic,

((OOC: Allow me to intervene!))

 

 The wandering Undead earth pony slowly walked around the roof, blades stained with blood from the other Undead he had killed. He was wielding two large sickles, their blades shaped like crescent moons. His face was covered with an iron mask, and he was wearing bits and pieces of armor, all wrapped in rusted chains. He was quite huge, big and tall enough to tower over a normal sized pony. He had a name, once, but he could not remember... nor could he recall his life before. It seemed as if killing was all he knew.

 

As he walked past the roof entrance, he thought he could hear the footsteps of something. What is was, he didn't care; as long as it was something he could kill...

 

He faced the door, raising both of his sickles in the air, and brought them down hard, the tip of the blades digging into the metal door. With a powerful pull, he yanked the door off its hinges, pulling out the sickles. When he turned around he saw a grey pegasus clamoring to make it to the roof.

 

Sheathing one of the sickles on his back, he grabbed the pegasus by the neck as she was running. He held her in the air for a second, then threw her to the other side of the roof.

[BlackShardNixium 277]

SWEET CELESTIA ON HER GOLDEN THRONE!
Silvia cried out as she was tossed clear to the other side of the roof, wheezing as she landed roughly on her side. It took her a moment or two to regain herself, blinking furiously to clear the grit from her eyes. She slowly rose to her feet, legs wobbling and heart pounding. 
It had sickles.
It had sickles.
"How is that even fair??" she whined.
She backed to the edge of the roof, keeping her eyes fixed on the once-pony in front of her. She could try to fly? It was...or at least used to be... an earth pony. It couldn't follow her into the sky. But the force in which it had used to throw her had strained one of her wings, and she wasn't exactly sure how far she'd get.
Maybe she could try to communicate with it? Maybe they could be reasoned with!
It was worth a try.
...But if it didn't work, she might as well try to fly. Even if she plummeted, she'd rather get flattened on impact than cut open by sickles.
"U-um.. Heeey, buddy! Uh... nice day, huh?", she rambled nervously, "You, eh.. have a pretty firm grip!" 

[Jack Baker 698]

@Daylight Heretic

The Undead pony unsheathed the sickle on his back, ignoring the pegasus's words. He positioned himself, gathering his strength, then leapt high into the air from his side of the roof, high enough and fast enough to be right on top of his prey. Sickles raised, he descended upon her and swung, slamming the groud hard. Somehow, he had had missed, the blades seven inches away from cutting her wide open.

 

@Lume WMj

((OOC: I figured I should give you something to do ))

 

A group of five Undead soldiers had followed Clover to her hiding space, and had finally caught up. Two were wielding halberds, one had a spear and a shield, and the other had just a sword. They wore torn leather armor, exposing some of the rotting flesh underneath. They stumbled up the stairs and reached the door. Not bothering to open it, they began to hack at the door with their weapons, a minute later, one of the halberd soldiers broke through the door, stumbling in with the rest following suit. The spear soldier spotted the unicorn, and readied his weapon, slowly approaching her.

Edited January 22, 2016 by TheKidInTheCorner

[BlackShardNixium 277]

@
 
She cringed back against the ground, squeezing her eyes shut and waiting for the inevitable sting of the blades, all the while mentally cursing herself and every deity to ever exist. That had been a really stupid idea.
But, when nothing happened, she dared to crack open one eye and peek out.
It had missed???
She processed this for a few moments, really thought about it. The odds had been ridiculously slim, and it wouldn't miss a second time. If she wanted to live, she'd have to fight for it. 
Shoving down her inner revulsion at the thought, she sucked in a deep breath, hauled back one hoof, and punched the thing in the face as hard as she could manage. 

[Jack Baker 698]

The Undead flinched a bit at the punch, which only seemed to enrage him. He raised one sickle, ready to strike, but was interrupted by a piercing pain in his side. He looked and saw an arrow sticking out. He grunted a bit at the pain, then turned around to see who inflicted it. An Undead soldier wielding a long bow was standing in front of the roof entrance, readying another arrow aimed at the sickle Undead. Before he could fire, his target ran towards him and swung his sickles at his chest, slicing it open. The Undead archer cried out in pain, emitting a low guttural sound, then hit the ground with a loud thud. The bow had managed to remain intact, along with his quiver of thirty arrows and something else dangling from the Undead's supply belt: a small dagger.

 

@Daylight Heretic

[BlackShardNixium 277]

@, 
She watched breathlessly as the Undead callously hacked at each other, one with its sickles, the other with its arrows. It didn't surprise her which one came out on top. Though she couldn't help but wrinckle her nose. The noises were absolutely disgusting. 
Gods, these things are aggressive towards everything! Even each other!
She supposed she should be a bit thankful. Had the other beast not interfered, it would be her blood and entrails spilled all over the rooftop by now. The fact that she had been inadvertantly saved by one of the very creatures trying to kill her must greatly amuse some ancient, untold god, but Silvia was in no mood for divine comedy. Besides, she was more interested in the weapons it had carried. At this point, they were her only hope.
She began to edge around the sickled-one, getting as close as she could to the archer's mangled body before it inevitably charged her. She knew she would have no time to untangle the bow and quiver from the corpse. If she survived, she'd retrieve it later. She was going for the dagger, something small, quick, and easy to use. 
Once she was close enough, she launched herself forward, lunging towards the fallen archer and reaching out to snag the dagger from its supply bealt. 

[Jack Baker 698]

@Daylight Heretic

The remaining Undead pony returned his attention to the grey pegasus and swung at her twice while she was heading towards the slain archer. The first hit missed, but the second managed to cut her leg. The wound itself wasn't too serious, but bled quite a bit.

[That One Techpriest You Used To Know 2,286]

White remained silent, taking in the stick ponies, the fire, and the situation in equal terms. So... we're in a potentially apocalyptic era of Equestria. That should be quite the shocking revelation, but it doesn't... surprise me, for some reason. She sighed in frustration. Amnesia sucks. There's no other way to put it.

 

"Well... I think my first stop should be somewhere like Canterlot. The princesses, or some clue to their whereabouts should be there, and I think that most of the other ponies that haven't succumbed would be there as well, assuming that they survive," she muttered to herself. "But, that makes me vulnerable to any brigands on the road, assuming there are a significant number more. Alternatively..." she paused before turning to Raze.

 

"Well... I know it sounds a bit... sudden, but you seem to have known me some time in the past, and... I'm not sure where to go. Do you mind if I stick with you for the time being?"

[Jack Baker 698]

Raze nodded at her. "Of course. Two's definitely better than one, right?" He smiled at her, then looked up. The sun was still shining high in the sky. "We better move, while there's still daylight to burn. Come on." He stood up, and reached into a pouch on his supply belt. He pulled out a small, blue crystal. It was a Water Gem, a stone made of crystallized magic water, created by the sorcerers of the Equestrian army to replace the need to use buckets of water for extinguishing bonfires. He threw the gem into the fire, and it reacted immediately to the flames, the magic water bursting out and engulfing the fire. Once that was done, he grabbed his shield and sword, and waited for White to get ready.

[BlackShardNixium 277]

@

The cut to her leg sent her sprawling, though she was mercifully able to swipe up the dagger before crashing back to the ground.

Yup, that was definitely going to bruise. 

She shoved herself upright, gritting her teeth as the pain in her leg spiked and throbbed. Slowly, gingerly, she allowed herself to put weight on it as she steeled her muscles and prepared herself, brandishing her small weapon at the undead menace. A last, desperate plan took form in her mind and, gritting her teeth, Silvia charged the beast straight on, only dodging to the side at the last second and twisting around to sink the dagger into the side of its neck. 

[Jack Baker 698]

@Daylight Heretic

The Undead cried out in pain at the blade entering its neck, yet it was not enough to stop him. He slowly took the blade out and threw it in front of the grey pegasus, slowly approaching her, one sickle raised. He ran up to her, ready to strike...

 

Until a dark sphere of magic came from the side and blasted him in the face, taking a chunk of it off. The Undead stood there for a while, then fell to its side, lifeless.

 

Someone was approaching from the side the magic orb came from. An elderly looking pony in a wooden wheelchair slowly approached the corpse. The pony was a unicorn, and from the looks of it, a male as well. His horn was still powering down from the spell he had cast.

 

"Oh my," he said, looking at the corpse. "How unfortunate..."

[BlackShardNixium 277]

@

Wild-eyed and breathless, Silvia stared unblinkly at the newcomer, trembling from head to hoof. She'd been that close to dying. That close. 
As the adrenaline faded, the reality of the situation was setting in hard.  
Slowly, she sank down on her haunches, thinking it better to just go ahead and sit down rather than pass out like a tiny filly. Her chest burned and her breath came in short, sharp gasps. But before the shock could carry her off, she managed to wheeze out a response to the old unicorn.
"T-thanks. I owe you one, Mr....?"

[Jack Baker 698]

@Daylight Heretic
The old unicorn turned his wheelchair to look at Silvia.

"Why, it's another Undead..." he said softly in a Trottingham accent, noting the mark. He began approaching and observing her. "Hmmm, could it be... no, it couldn't... doesn't stand a chance... but perhaps..." He cleared his throat. "My apologies madam, I was thinking aloud. My name is... well, not important really. I'm just an old pony in a wheelchair, as you can see..."

As he was speaking, another Undead came up the stairs, this one unarmed. He came stumbling quickly towards the two of them.

The old unicorn turned around, and put a hoof up to his horn. It began to glow black as night, and after a few seconds, he thrusted his arm out in front of the Undead pony, launching a dark orb at it. It blasted the pony, launching it a good distance away from them, landing on the ground hard and skidding to a stop just towards the roof entrance. It raised its upper body, reaching out to the two, then dropped dead.

The old unicorn turned to face Silvia again. "I also happen to have a bit of knowledge on hexes," he said softly. "How about you? What is your name?"

Edited January 29, 2016 by TheKidInTheCorner