open IC: Opaline Alone (Private 1x1 RP with Catpone Cerberus)

[Opaline Arcana]

OOC: https://mlpforums.com/topic/201362-opaline-alone-private-1x1-with-catpone-cerberus-ooc/#comment-6184427

@Catpone Cerberus

Opaline experienced a peculiar sensation that jolted through her senses, momentarily leaving her unsure of whether she was dreaming or awake. Slowly, she opened her eyes to find herself facing an arched opening with a shimmering rim of blue magic surrounding it. Without hesitation, Opaline rose to her hooves and stepped through the doorway. Outside, her dark castle greeted her, but as she glanced back at the tree, she sensed a difference, though she couldn't quite pinpoint what it was.

As Opaline ventured further and examined the base of the tree, she noticed the subtle changes in its appearance. Perhaps it was the hues or the colors that had shifted. Taking a deep breath, she cast her eyes upward toward the darkened sky above her lair. Surrounded by the familiar sights, Opaline couldn't help but smirk to herself.

"It seems those pitiful little ponies couldn't keep me trapped forever," she cackled, pacing around her lair. Glancing back at the tree, she raised an eyebrow in disbelief before proceeding inside. Upon entering, she discovered that the interior of her lair remained untouched, exactly as she had left it. As she roamed the halls, silence enveloped her.

"Misty, come out! You can't hide from me!" Opaline snapped, searching the rooms of her castle. However, there was no response to her demands, and she found no indication of anyone else's presence. She entered Misty's room, finding it exactly as she had left it, but there were no signs of recent habitation. Opaline spent the next half hour scouring her castle, only to realize that she was truly alone.

"Well then, I suppose I'll see what they've been up to! Sunny and her little friends have no idea I've escaped their feeble attempt to imprison me," Opaline mused, entering her throne room and gazing down at the broken magical projector on the floor. Her attempts to use it proved futile, as if her ability to cast magic had significantly weakened. "Hmm...back to square one. I can work with that. Those ponies will pay for what they did to me, and they will bow before their true ruler. As Alicorns reign over the weak..." she murmured to herself as she sauntered out of the castle and made her way to the balcony in the front, overlooking her domain.

And then, things took a bizarre turn. Opaline's keen eyesight caught sight of an abrupt change in the familiar dark landscape that surrounded her castle. In the distance, there was something unexpected - a forest of some kind. Without hesitation, Opaline took flight, soaring high above her castle to gain a better vantage point. What she beheld had left her astounded.

As Opaline ascended, gazing out over the horizon, she discovered that her castle and the land surrounding it seemed to have been abruptly placed in an unfamiliar landscape, forming a circular pattern. Perplexed, Opaline descended, her astonishment growing with each passing moment. She flew toward the edge of her land and continued onward.  The scenery she encountered was characterized by lifeless, leafless trees and an arid, desolate landscape. Looking up, she noticed that the clouds above her castle had also been severed in a circular manner, with only the clouds above her land remaining visible.

"This is... something beyond comprehension. Where am I? How did this come to be?" Opaline pondered, her mind filled with questions as she picked a random direction and continued to explore the barren landscape. The air was devoid of sound, lacking the chirping of birds, the presence of animals, or the rustling of leaves. It seemed as though nothing had inhabited this place for a considerable length of time. Yet, how could this explain the sudden appearance of her castle and the surrounding landscape in the middle of nowhere? Several minutes passed as Opaline gracefully soared over the lifeless trees, occasionally casting a glance back at her castle in the distance. She noticed that the clouds above it were beginning to dissipate.

Turning away, she kept flying onward. Hoping to get some kind of answer.

[Catpone Cerberus 23,428]

@Props Valroa
"Well, that's new." Cinder muttered to herself, a snake slithered up her arm and wrapped itself on her shoulders, she was hanging on the top of a tree, scouting the area around her, when she had spotted something peculiar in the distance, a castle. She wasn't one to claim that she knew everything about places, but she had been around here often enough to be certain that there was no castles around, until now, that is. "What do you think little fella? Could this explain the weird feeling I got?" the snake, was a snake, so Cinder's question went unanswered "You're right, why do I even ask?" She didn't usually feel things going on with magic, but a tiny while ago something big enough had happened to make even her feel it, thus she was here, hanging from a treetop, talking to a snake....not that it was too different from what she usually did.

"Weird clouds too, don't think they usually do that." she let go of the tree and took flight "But well, you seem calm enough, so it's probably safe."  the snake just flicked its tongue, as snakes tended to do. She flew towards the castle, but didn't make it far from her starting point before hearing something, laughter, "Well, that's ominous." 

--

Screaming, roaring, crashing, the sounds of a battlefield, it was so,so glorious, yet, all fun came to an end, and so was the case for Noctuna too, she could hear the rhythm of their steps, they had come to ruin her life yet again, but she was ready this time, this was all part of the plan. She could hear her wolves draw their last breaths, her shadow creatures flee back into the darkness, for even her horrors could not stand the might of the empire, so it was time, she lit her horn, and as the door of her old home was brought down, with a last smile, she cast a spell.

It took her a moment to gather her surroundings, she was...in a forest? a desolate and dead forest, but forest none the less, and more importantly, it wasn't the dark forest she was used to. "Did I do it?" she looked around, up and down, there was no cursed moon, or endless sun, there was no endless darkness, or forever deserts. "I did it?" "I did it!" "Ha ha..." she started laughing, first carefully, then manically. She laughed for a while, before she got all the emotion out and became composed again, the next question was, if she had made it out of her own world, then where did she end up? She hadn't actually thought her plan that far, she hadn't bothered to think where a banishment spell would send her. 

She took a deep breath and focused, calling upon the darkness, and while she couldn't locate any beings at the moment, there was something in here, it was faint, not too powerful, but something. Dark corners, the underside of a bed, shadows darker than shadows, yet they didn't respond to her call, were they scared? too weak? or did they belong to someone else? There was only one way to find out, so she started walking towards them, towards a castle she hadn't yet spotted.

Little did she know that above her, not too far away, a curious creature with a habit of talking to a snake, was investigating a noise... 

[Opaline Arcana]

@Catpone Cerberus

Opaline found herself soaring above a desolate, lifeless forest. From her aerial perspective, she hadn't yet encountered any signs of life below. Her speed made it unlikely for her to spot Cinder or Noctuna in the vicinity. However, Opaline wasn't actively seeking anyone at the moment. The forest before her was devoid of any signs of life. Dead things held no answers, and there was little hope of finding any here - or so she thought.

Pausing for a moment, Opaline gazed at her castle in the distance, observing how the familiar surroundings abruptly met the forest's edge. She noticed a nearby hill that had been cleaved in half, one side collapsed and fragmented. The sight sent shivers down her spine, filling her with an eerie sensation. "What is this place? It's unlike anything I've witnessed in Equestria... What should I do? Opaline, think..." she muttered to herself, her initial eagerness for revenge now overshadowed by the overwhelming confusion of her surroundings.

Then Opaline started flying off again, she were clearly headed towards whatever might be beyond this forest. It is possible that Cinder, or Noctuna could have spotted Opaline flying about. She was quite a large alicorn - and the only moving thing other than themselves as of yet. Opaline soared over the treetops, moving at a rapid pace. If she happened to fly over where Noctuna was, she would have left a large ominous shadow in her wake as she flew off in a random direction.

Up above in the sky, was the sun. Yet the sun to Opaline and Noctuna's eyes looked different. The sun here seemed to be smaller - slightly bluer. Yet it felt hotter? Across the horizon, she could see the moon starting to rise over the horizon. Yet it was broad daylight, the moon was never out during the day. Wherever this place was - it has already proven that Opaline was not where she belongs. Very odd. 

[Catpone Cerberus 23,428]

@Props Valroa
The laughing had stopped, so Cinder failed to locate the source for it, however, what she didn't fail to notice, was something flying past her, it was just a blur, and she didn't bother trying to catch up to it, but she did get a glance "That was unusually big pony, I'm guessing it's the owner of that castle." she kept flying towards the castle after failing to spot the alicorn on the ground "They'll be back, probably.", but stopped when she saw the border between the forest and the castle's surrounding area "Okay, yeah, that's not natural, this thing is not from around here." she spotted a hill, or well, what was left of it, and landed on top of it, just outside the border where the castle's area started, picking up bit of the crumbled ground and throwing it towards the castle, watching it land on the ground. "Good, no barrier." she then jumped down and started walking towards the castle, taking in the environment "I've seen lot of things during my life but this is certainly something new." "This must be what I felt, but where did all of this come from?" the snake, unsurprisingly, did not respond. "You know, this may turn out to be lot more interesting than I thought." 

--

Noctuna did not notice Opaline flying past her, she however did notice the shadow, or more specifically, she felt it, and then looked up "Ah, so you already have a queen? that explains why you don't talk to me." she said out loud "But worry not my dears, I'm not here to steal you, a good queen doesn't force subordination." she kept walking until she too reached the border, at which point she threw a rock to check for barriers, before looking closer. She walked next to a tree that had been cut in half and pulled her hoof against it, leaving a small red streak on it from her shoe, before looking at said shoe "I should probably wash these." she muttered herself, it wasn't until now she noticed the castle "oh."

She looked around, going through what she could see, Different terrain, unnaturally instant change, clean cut trees and rocks, remains of clouds on otherwise clear sky, round shape...this had been placed here, either transported from somewhere else, or created...she would need to be careful, it took lot of power to do something like this. "Was it your queen who did this?" she asked aloud, yet there was no response, the shadows stayed quiet.

What came to the sun and moon, due to her low position, she barely saw them from among the trees, yet, she didn't pay much attention to them either, because knowing that they were different was enough to her, it was what she had wanted after all. The sun, lot smaller than the one she was used to, though saying she was used to a sun would have been inaccurate, as she had seen the thing only relatively few times in the last millennium, and this one, was nicely cold compared to the ever-shining sun of the east, which made Noctuna feel like she'd combust if she stood in place for too long. The moon, wasn't the cursed moon, it didn't radiate darkness in the same way, thus, it was lot more pleasant. And most importantly, they moved, it had been so long since she had seen a moon rise, or anything similar.

[Opaline Arcana]

@Catpone Cerberus

As Cinder approached the castle, she might smell that the atmosphere was slightly different. It was a nearly indescribable feeling but something about the air here was slightly different. If it was any indication by the clouds vanishing slowly up ahead - the air here would soon mix with the other surrounding air and be gone. The castle itself was quite large and loomed up on a hill there. Cinder would likely find some answers there while she waited for the occupant to come back. 

--

For sure by now it had been proven that Noctuna was in a completely different place than where she was before. There was a slight clearing in the trees - allowing her to see the face of the moon here. It was different - more yellow than white. The face of the moon itself also looked different and it was a bit visually smaller in the sky. A more blue sun. And a yellow-er moon. Though, these were the only initial details she could tell differently about the sky so far. Perhaps if she went closer to the castle and got out of the trees she could see some other details she hadn't yet noticed before. 

--

Opaline soared through the air with her large wings as she flew over the tree tops. Opaline was completely oblivious to Noctuna and Cinder's presences as she kept flying in the random direction she chose. Opaline intended on getting a good view of her surroundings. At one point she started to turn in her flight, aiming to do a complete lap at this distance from the castle - which by now, was more towards the horizon than being in her immediate presence. Her large wings carried her through the air as she looked over the dead forest. Her mind was laced with many questions. How did she get here? Why was this forest dead? What had happened here? Opaline kept searching around, for any clues or answers. 

[Catpone Cerberus 23,428]

@Props Valroa
The snake on Cinder's shoulders tasted the air slightly more actively than usual "You smell something?" she asked, before sniffing around herself, while her sense of smell was bit better than a pony would have, she hadn't quite inherited the full dragon sense, though it was enough to spot a difference in the air quality, not that she thought about it much beyond deciding it as the reason for the snake's interest, after all, she expected things to smell different, if not for any other reason than the fact that everything wasn't dead. 

Cinder looked up at the castle "You know snake, this thing reminds me of something that the Dragon lord would live in, if he himself wasn't the size of a building." "It reeks of arrogance and pride." she once again took flight, flying up to a balcony she spotted "But I get it, I wouldn't mind one myself, though this is bit big for me." she landed on said balcony.

---

Noctuna didn't think much about the color or exact size of the moon, mainly because the moon she was used to, was the unnatural one, and while she had seen a normal moon and sun, that was thousand years ago, thus, with combination of age and few hits to the head, she had forgotten what those looked like. She was lot more interested in the castle, she had already confirmed that she had succeeded in her self-banishment, and that was as far as things mattered to her, it didn't matter to her if this was some dead word, or if she just happened to land on unusually desolate part of it, she was just glad to be away from home. However, there was something off about this castle and the assumed owner that had flown above her; even besides the obvious, the shadows were slightly different here than they were in the rest of the forest, maybe Noctuna wasn't the only newcomer around here. 

She scanned the castle with her eyes, spotting what she assumed to be the main entrance, she could always just fly through a window, but she didn't want to be rude, she rather brought down the front door when when trespassing, so she started walking towards the assumed front door, sure she could have flown to get there faster, but she was over millennium old, few minutes were less than meaningless, besides, she deserved to take it easy. She was also looking around to locate any kind of water source to wash her shoes, it was far from her main priority, but it was polite to not leave bloody hoof prints on the floors of somebody else's castle. 

 

 

[Opaline Arcana]

@Catpone Cerberus

Now that Cinder had arrived at the castle, she could see it up close. It's construction was clearly something that was designed to be imposing. It looked relatively well kept as well, with there being an oddly large tree behind the castle itself. Presumably, Cinder would have taken some time to search the castle itself. If she decided to do so she would see that the inside of the castle had many rooms. In the center of the throne room there was a large golden hexagonal space on the floor with a flat pool of some kind of liquid. The castle felt still, and quiet. It's also possible that Cinder would have seen Misty's room as well - complete with her belongings, including some drawings Misty made of herself and her friends in Maritime bay. The happy character of the drawings felt like a stark contrast to the aura of the castle.

---

As Noctuna had headed towards the castle - she would have spotted a lone water source just outside the perimeter of the terrain surrounding the castle. Though the water source seemed to not be natural to the surrounding environment, indicating that it had flowed out of the terrain surrounding the castle. Likely there was some kind of pond nearby to the castle that had spilled out into the surrounding terrain. A closer look would have indicated this was the case - with half a lakebed being near to the area of the terrain where Noctuna had arrived at. At least Noctuna had a place to get cleaned up before she would enter the castle. 

---

As Opaline flew further, the dead forest would seemingly end. A new terrain would be visible - that of a seemingly endless plain of grass. As far as she could see from where she was there was nothing. No structures. No hills. It felt...kind of un-natural? Whatever that plain of grass was, Opaline had the feeling that it wasn't meant to be there. Opaline decided not to investigate and turn back - her body soaring towards the castle again. Opaline wanted to sit down and think in her castle about what to do next. Though, she did not know that there had been two intruders on her land yet. She'd be there soon. 

[Catpone Cerberus 23,428]

@Props Valroa
"Anyone or anything home!?" Cinder shouted after stepping inside, asking the same in draconic for good measure, "Huh, no security." "But, just in case." a dim red glow came from her hand, and a colorless dagger, seemingly made of crystal, materialized in her hand, not the most effective weapon, but better for indoors than her scythe. She explored the castle, wary of corners and other blind spots, Cinder was very relaxed creature, smiling at danger and so on, but it didn't mean she was totally careless, if she was going to get hurt, she would do so in her rules. 

She looked around the throne room, ignoring the urge to taste the unknown liquid, it was clear from the layout of the room, that the pool had more use than being just a decoration, most likely magical, thus, as curious as she was, she didn't want to touch it, just in case. "You know scale-noodle, this place reminds me of those stories about evil ponies, they all seem to have similar...aesthetic" "But those stories are ancient history at this point, and this castle doesn't look like it's thousands of years old." she checked every room that wasn't locked, she wasn't looking for anything specific, just exploring, and when she stumbled upon Misty's room, she looked around, but didn't touch anything. "No familiar faces here." though it wasn't the only thing about the drawings she noticed, "And what's with this group, as far as I know, the equines haven't gotten along for a long long while." she looked around "Maybe this place really is older than it looks." and walked to the nearest window, looking outside "Or even more misplaced than I first assumed." the snake went to sleep. 

Time travel or dimension travel wasn't necessarily something that everyone would consider as valid options, which Cinder found bit odd considering that there existed magic that can do both, nobody just knew how to use it, but to her it was lot easier to accept them as a possibility, because she had talked with beings outside the usual reality, they had saved her life after all, she knew reality was lot less simple than most thought it was. 

---
Noctuna didn't worry herself on how the water got there when she spotted some, she had already concluded that this castle had come here through very unnatural means, and that was as far as she looked into it, not that she would have necessarily been able to figure things out anyway, she was a queen of darkness, she hadn't studied what lakebeds look like. 

She took off her shoes and washed them, watching the blood wash away,  she stopped for a moment to look at herself from the reflection of one of the gems, her eyes were bloodshot, and her crown and metal horn painted red from still fresh blood "It has been a long night hasn't it." she looked at her hoof, at the permanent reminder of her struggles "But it was all worth it, we won. I won." she took off her collar and crown, washing them too, they were misshaped and damaged, both due to being self made, and due to the violence earlier today "Long live Queen Noctuna..." and finally, she splashed water on her horn to clean it "...and may the traitors suffer in darkness." 

[Opaline Arcana]

@Catpone Cerberus

The walls of the castle themselves were silent and yielded no answers to Cinder's questions. The eerie silence of the place was certainly something that was noteworthy. This castle obviously had an owner. An owner that would soon return.

About half an hour later, the large shadow of Opaline's wings would soar over Noctuna. Opaline hadn't noticed Noctuna down below on the ground by the lakebed. However now that Noctuna was in closer proximity to the castle, and now that the owner of the castle had apparently returned it was clear that she was in reach of getting some kind of answers. Opaline would land on the balcony outside of the castle. It was possible that Cinder could have seen her landing outside through the windows of the castle - as her shadow would have been noticeable on the walls opposite of the windows as she landed outside.

"No Misty, no Maritime bay...nothing but a dead forest and some grass plain in the East...what even is this..." Opaline spoke, slamming her hoof in frustration. "Is this the fate I am bestowed? Stranded in the middle of nowhere, denied the chance to reclaim what is rightfully mine?!" Her outburst echoed through the otherwise silent halls as she proceeded to enter the castle through the doors behind the balcony.

Wherever Cinder was in the castle at this point, she would have likely heard Opaline's frustrated shouting. The shouting echoed throughout the otherwise silent halls. "Those filthy ponies, thinking they can do this to me?! The audacity of it all, really! And Misty, that little piece of trash, thinking she can betray me for them!" Opaline said, stomping her hooves as she was headed towards the throne room. Opaline was thinking that she could sit on her throne and think for a while, and calm down.

Unbeknownst to Opaline, she was not alone in the castle.

[Catpone Cerberus 23,428]

@Props Valroa
Cinder knew the owner was back, when she heard the slam of a hoof, followed by shouting, she wasn't close enough to really make out what it was that was said, as it had echoed one too many times to stay clear, and even with her better than average hearing, she was just out of range to hear the original source. She did however, make out the tone of the shouting, and she whispered to the now sleeping snake "Dragon's temper too." it may have been odd to judge a pony's character based on dragons, but that was the only real point of reference she had, she had met ponies sure, but they had always been suspicious of her at best, hostile at worst, so she had never really gotten a good feel of the types there, meanwhile dragons she were very familiar with, because her adoptive parents were dragons, and in general her young years had been spent among dragons in good and bad, mostly bad.

She quietly made her way towards the sound's origin, though it wasn't hard to guess where the owner would be going even without all the noise, as those with throne rooms tented to like being in them. One of the blessings of being half-dragon, was the anatomy she had inherited from her predator side, because it allowed her to move quietly, and her bipedal build allowed her to hide behind corners and in the shadows easier, due to being able to make herself flatter and being able to take weirder positions without losing balance. She could also just make herself invisible, she knew the spells, but where was the fun in that?

But she didn't need to worry about getting caught for now, as just about when she had gotten close enough to peek into the throne room, a metallic bang came from the direction of the balcony, as certain alicorn landed there with not intent of staying hidden, walking in like she owned the place. She had seen Opaline return home, and decided to forget the plan of not being rude by entering through the main door, and instead just followed the assumed owner of the place, after putting her outfit on first of course. At least she didn't fly through a window.

Noctuna would after landing start walking towards where Opaline was, she could sense her shadow, and it wasn't hard to tell where she was either, as she was purposely slamming her steps slightly more than usual, causing the metallic shoes make a noticeable sound every step. "What kind of castle is this? Where's the security?!" she asked, very loudly. This would go on until she saw Opaline, be it in the throne room, or earlier if Opaline decided to go investigate before she reached it, at which point she'd smile and look at her curiously "Hi. Are you a princess or a queen?" 

Cinder watched from the shadows, following Opaline if she decided to go investigate, wasn't this interesting, two overgrown ponies, she didn't actually know what an Alicorn was, but could tell this was somewhat special, based on the the fact that she had never seen ponies like this. One detail on the intruder caught Cinder's eye , the cutie mark, she couldn't see much from the angle she was in, but she could swear it looked more like a scar than a mark, which she did know was very unusual. There was similar type of scarring in Noctuna's legs, but Cinder couldn't see it as the shoes covered it from that angle. And that mane, it looked like it had the night sky in it, she had never seen anything like that before, and did she have personal wind or something? as the mane and tail seemed to move constantly on their own. 

 

[Opaline Arcana]

@Catpone Cerberus

Opaline would be sitting on her throne in silence for a while. It didn't cross her mind that there might be anyone else here because she had searched her castle earlier and hadn't seen anybody else around the dead forest that had surrounded her. So far, Opaline as of yet assumed that she was truly alone here. With this castle all to herself. It wasn't so bad, being alone like this. Opaline were used to it. Before Misty she would often reside in her castle alone, planning and concocting schemes while she waited for the return of Equestria magic. Of course she had attempted to locate the three Crystals that Twilight had kept all the magic in. Though, that would end up a failure every time she searched. Sometimes Opaline would have "hibernated" for years in her isolated castle, waking up to there being no real change in the world's status. 

Truth be told, Opaline had partially forgotten how long it had been since she originally destroyed Equestrian Unity after killing Twilight Sparkle. That was over a Millenia ago as far as she knew. Her thoughts were interrupted by what sounded like loud hoofsteps headed her way. That was unexpected. If Cinder was watching Opaline, she'd notice Opaline would stiffen up with her wings flared on her throne as if she was about to face someone. Opaline would prefer to face someone in the symbolic seat of her power. And lo and behold, Opaline was surprised by the sight of another alicorn. One she had never seen before.

"It is Queen Opaline, to you..." Opaline would lean forward and look the other Alicorn in the eyes. "Might I be so bold as to assume you are the one who brought me here? My castle, and all?" Opaline said, doing hoof motions in the air as she would stand and begin to walk off from her throne. Her wings still open somewhat, as if a sign of power. "As far as the eye can see, I see nothing but dead forest...what did I do to deserve such a place, to be?" she asked, though, it was clearly a rhetorical question. Opaline were being a little more respectful than usual, if only because Noctuna was a fellow alicorn who might provide answers as to why she was here. 

 

[Catpone Cerberus 23,428]

@Props Valroa
"Ha!" Noctuna laughed, Opaline's attempts to show her power was either ignored or went unnoticed by the visitor, as Noctuna met her eyes with her own, bloodshot eyes, she had had a helluva night, and it showed, she looked like she had been through war, which she had, an hour or so ago. "Sorry to disappoint dear colleague, but I have no idea who you are." "I don't belong here either, I banished myself and poof, I was here, I was hoping you would know where 'here' is, but it sounds like you don't." "But I can tell you one thing, it's rarely about what somebody deserves, I was supposed to live in peace, in middle of nowhere, studying magic and dying of old age, yet here I am, over thousand years later talking to you after burning down my own nation I never wanted to create." her eye twitched "Fate has an awful taste of humor." 

Cinder stayed hidden for now, this was getting interesting, so she didn't want to interrupt yet, she also wanted to wait and see if things stayed peaceful, she was capable herself sure, but she didn't want to get between a pony fight, especially when she didn't know what they could do. 
 

 

[Opaline Arcana]

@Catpone Cerberus

Opaline sat there silently for a few moments as she processed her thoughts. So if this alicorn was telling the truth - then she wasn't responsible for Opaline's presence here. "I can say the same about you. I have not seen another of my kind in a millennia. May I be so bold, to ask you to state your identity to me?" Opaline asked in a regal fashion as she continued to step down from her throne. Her wings flared in a silent signal of power. "All around this area is nothing but dead forest. I fail to see a logical explanation for this." Opaline said, her expression growing more cold. As she approached Noctuna, she looked at the pool of liquid on the floor. Dipping her hooves in, it seemed like Opaline was trying to do something - but nothing happened. 

[Catpone Cerberus 23,428]

@Props Valroa
Noctuna blinked and was quiet for a second before speaking "Oh, yeah, it has been a while since I had to introduce myself." she took a more regal pose, cleared her throat, and spoke with equally regal voice "I am Queen Noctuna, the queen of all that resides in the shadows of night, and the founder, the rightful ruler, and the destroyer of New Equestria, the last sanctuary of pony kind's freedom." she didn't open her wings or otherwise try to signal power, but everything from how she said the introduction signaled authority and confidence, this was someone who believed she deserved her title, and she was ready to fight for it.  "And I don't see dead forest as too much of a weird thing, what is more off, is that the shadows in the forest are empty, that is unusual, usually areas marked with death have the strongest shadows." 

Cinder was curious about what Opaline tried to do, but obviously wasn't going to ask since she was hiding, and Noctuna, while she hadn't seen this exactly, she was aware of the concept of magical pools of liquid used for various things from spying on creatures to casting spells. She used to have something similar but she got rid of it because it was easier to just ask the shadows.

"Speaking of shadows." Noctuna walked close enough to Opaline to speak directly in her ear "Yours have grown weak." 

 

 

[Opaline Arcana]

@Catpone Cerberus

Opaline stood there and took in what Noctuna had spoke to her. None of it was familiar to her. It was clear that Noctuna was not from the same place as she was. To which Opaline would grin. "I am Queen Opaline Arcana, destroyer of Equestrian unity and the leader of Twilight Sparkle's downfall. I had everything in my grasp. It was right there, in my hooves! But those filthy ponies took it all away from me, with their pedantic fantasies of unity. It is the natural order of things, for Alicorns to be ruled. Feared, respected!" Opaline said with a stomp of a hoof. "And then it is all whisked away, here, wherever here is." Opaline sighed as she looked off towards the window. 

When Noctuna spoke to her, Opaline shot her a glance and rolled her eyes. "It is clear you are not from the same place I am. There was never any record, hint, or legend of someone who lead the night other than Luna herself." Opaline spoke, retracting her wings as she looked out the window thoughtfully.

[Catpone Cerberus 23,428]

@Props Valroa
 

"Oh, you're one of those." Noctuna remarked, less as a response, and more just thinking aloud; it wasn't that she had seen lot of Alicorns like Opaline, in fact, she hadn't seen a single alicorn since she fled Equestria, but she was very familiar with the....personality type "You are all the same." that part she muttered to herself, she wasn't judging Opaline per say, sure it sounded like they disagreed on few things, but she wasn't interested in starting another war, it was more that she believed Opaline to be blind to reality. 

"You flatter me." Noctuna stated, sounding amused "You overestimate my importance, I'm not the leader of the night, I'm more like...the zookeeper." "It was to be my job to keep the beings that inhabit darkness at bay, everything from regular wolves to embodiments of nightmares." she moved to look out of a window too "And Luna... that's a name I haven't heard in a long time, heh, those were the good times, times forgotten by most, wiped from history." she looked towards Opaline "To me there was no question about it in the first place, that our origin is different, because where I come from, somebody like you would have died before you ever gained power." she seemingly randomly glanced around the room, but Cinder suddenly felt off, this pony, this...Alicorn was it they called themselves? she had looked straight at her, into her eyes, did she know she was here? if yes, why didn't she say or do anything?

[Opaline Arcana]

@Catpone Cerberus

Opaline seemed to be genuinely puzzled by Noctuna's response, and simply stared at her quietly for a few awkward moments. "Whatever you claim to be - I've never heard of you or seen one like you before. Be that as it may, I, or rather we should figure out where this place is and what exactly is here. If it is just dead forest and endless plains as far as the world goes - that will be most disappointing." she sighed as she kept her eyes on the window, though it was clear she was being weary of Noctuna. Noctuna hadn't done anything against her - but Opaline didn't trust her. It made no sense that Noctuna was connected to anything Opaline was involved in, so at least there was that. It didn't seem like Opaline thought much of what Noctuna had said to her, as none of it really seemed relevant to her.

[Catpone Cerberus 23,428]

@Props Valroa
Seeing Opaline's confusion, Noctuna addressed it even though Opaline had said nothing about it "I could explain things lot better, go through 1000 years of history." "But you don't seem to me like someone with patience." "If it was up to me, I'd take a nap, it has been a very long night for me." she spoke casually, she didn't care to, and had no reason to hold up some regal act, and what came to Opaline, she was equal to her at best, so she got no special treatment from her, and while she was wary of her like one should of any stranger, she didn't show it as clearly, or well, not at all, which may have made her seem trusting. 

She moved around as she spoke, touching the pool of liquid as she passed it, and generally just touching and looking at things in the room "To me it would make sense if this place was just a lifeless wasteland, I got here through banishment spell after all, a fitting punishment to a target of such spell." "However, that is not the case, as we are not alone..." she then suddenly turned her glance towards a spot "...are you a local by any chance?" she asked, and after not getting an answer, she continued "Yes, I know you are there, you really think you can hide in the shadows, from the queen of shadows?" 

"Fair enough" came the answer, as Cinder realized the ruse was up, and she walked to view, spinning the crystal blade in her fingers skillfully. At a first glance, one could mistake her for a dragon, but right away the impression would break, because while she was build like bipedal dragon, that's where the dragon-ness stopped, she was covered in fur instead of scales, her wings were feathered, and most importantly, her head was that of a pony instead of a dragon, though her teeth and eyes were a combination of both. "Aren't you a fascinating creature." "So are you a local or not?" 

"Yes and no, I'm local to this world, but not this area." "No, I have no idea why you are here, and no, I don't know why this forest is dead." Cinder spoke in casual manner, though there was a certain hint in her voice, that told rather clearly that she wasn't the kind to bow to anyone, it wasn't that she was being disrespectful, it was more she was done with trying to please others. Her body language also mirrored this, along with the armor and weapon, or at least to Noctuna those told that to her, she almost didn't notice the snake sleeping on Cinder's shoulders. 

 

 

[Opaline Arcana]

@Catpone Cerberus

Opaline would silently listen to Noctuna's words and upon there being someone else being revealed her, her head would sharply turn at the strange creature. It was no dragon - but appeared to be some sort of pony-dragon hybrid of sorts. It wasn't something that Opaline had seen before at all. "I would have said that I would have agreed with you about the nap, but if strangers can walse in here without me seeing them it might be a problem." Opaline said with a frown as she looked to Cinder, realizing she wouldn't likely just bow to her authority like she wanted to - so she didn't even try at this point. She were too mentally tired and didn't have any real kind of power to back up her words, for now.

"If you really are a native to this world, than it would be good to know what else is here and where you came from. Clearly, the dead forest isn't all there is and there won't be any answers to be found here." Opaline said with the same slight frown across her face as if she was disappointed that Cinder wouldn't just bow down and worship her now and then. "And as you've arrived her through banishment, I arrived here from being...imprisoned inside of that tree outside. Long story, but, I somehow found my way out of it and ended up here." Opaline also added. 

[Catpone Cerberus 23,428]

@Props Valroa
Opaline's comment on strangers coming in, didn't get a response from either of the trespassers, but both of them had the same thought, maybe if she had some security, it wouldn't have been so easy. Opaline's words later did give some explanation to them why she didn't have any security, but obviously the two didn't know that yet.

"I come from nowhere specific, I'm...whatever you'd call it, a wanderer, a drifter, a nomad. I don't consider myself to come from anywhere." Cinder stated casually, before throwing the blade in the air, though it never came back down, and instead shattered in the air, and the pieces just faded out of existence. "And what's out there? a lot, you just happened to land on the most desolate part of the landmass, if not the whole planet." "If that's the case, why are you here?" "It's peaceful, and it's the only place where snakes don't follow me." Noctuna rose an eyebrow "Don't worry about it."  

"I probably shouldn't tell you more than that, considering what you spoke about and how both of you apparently came here through a punishment..." Cinder said nonchalantly, before smiling "...but unfortunately for everyone else, I couldn't care less about them." "There's dragonlands, a highly volcanic area I grew up in, and as the name suggests, it's the home of dragons." "I don't suggest going there, they don't care for ponies." "And then there's the ponies, they used to rule the place apparently, a long time ago, that's why the landmass is called 'Equestria', but nowadays? they are scattered all over the place in settlements of different sizes, with all the different kinds of ponies sticking with their own kind, and as far as I understand it, they aren't exactly friends." "From the four main types, I think pegasus are the only ones with central government, some royal family or something, the Earth ponies have settlement specific governments, and Unicorns and Bat ponies have what's basically an elder." "Dragon's have a dragon lord,  but that's more ritualistic than a real ruler."  "There is also various other creatures here and there, and what comes to your kind....Alicorns was it you called yourself? never even heard of you, granted I don't know much pony history besides the basics, but they don't seem to talk about your kind at all." While she spoke, Cinder went to lean on the nearest wall, crossing her arms in relaxed way as she did "Not that they talk to me that much about anything." 

[Opaline Arcana]

@Catpone Cerberus

Opaline stood there as she took in Cinder's explanations. Initially she was highly skeptical of Cinder, but it seemed like she was more useful than she would have thought. Cinder appeared the kind to follow no authority, as evidenced by her saying she couldn't care less about anyone else. Why she was here was something Opaline wanted to press more on, as she didn't understand what she meant by snakes. 

The rest of what she was saying, was most interesting. It sounded somewhat similar to the setup in where she had designed. The ponies themselves were divided, which was good. But there was no mention of Bat Ponies, or a dragon lord as far as she knew. Bat Ponies were something that she knew existed but she had no clue what happened to them or where they went. The dragons seemed to have abandoned the concept of a dragon lord after Equestria fell apart, because she too, designed the fall of the dragons into their hibernation. All this thinking about dragons made Opaline think about dragon fire - what she required to regain her power. Her attempt to take control of it failed - with the 5 ponies, plus Misty stopping her. But could this world be different, in where those 5 ponies don't even exist? And from the sounds of it, the different types of ponies were still divided which meant their attempts either failed or were never attempted at all. Opaline slowly smirked.

"Every dark cloud has a silver lining. This could be perfect." Opaline grinned. "When was the last time you were around ponies? Did you see or hear anything about any attempts of "unity" between them? That's something I need to know." Opaline said suddenly, looking in Flint's direction as she was pressing for something specific. "I am unfamiliar with any areas that have Bat Ponies, and the Dragons don't have a dragon lord." she added, showing that from where she was from was also different in more ways than she said before. 

[Catpone Cerberus 23,428]

@Props Valroa
Cinder shrugged "I have no clue on equine politics, I don't particularly care, and even if I did, they don't talk about it with me, as I'm not one of them." "But it's not like they are at war or anything, nor are they one hivemind, you have everything from those who feel the need to take a bath from seeing someone not like them, to activists making noise to bring ponies back together." "Though, even if I did know some details about something interesting, I wouldn't tell you. Not because I care what you'd do with that information, I have no loyalty to either species that form me, but because I'm not a charity." she stated "It's one thing to share general information with a stranger, but it's totally different to have my effort helping them." 

Noctuna gave a respectful smile to Cinder, the creature knew her own worth, "Where is the line between those things?" "Depends on the topic." "In this conversation for example, I am happy to give you all the information that you could figure out by asking most creatures, but things that take more work to figure out? it costs." "How much?" "Depends on the information, and how much I like you."  "Do you like us?" "I find you two...intriguing, I'll have to wait and see if you are going to be fun or a pain in the back." Noctuna found Cinder's demeanor refreshing, she was a confident creature that didn't try to please other, even two self-identified queens, yet she wasn't arrogant, and had nothing to prove, she was there because she wanted to be there, and was ready to leave the two alicorns to deal with their problems alone if they got annoying to deal with.

"But I can say that I'm not fan of those who think they deserve anything without giving something back." Cinder glanced at Opaline "Nobody will bow to you just because you say so." "I listened during your conversation, and I just have point something out. If you really think that you ruling is the natural order, how come you had to see so much effort and still failed?" "Natural things tend to happen naturally." 

 

[Opaline Arcana]

@Catpone Cerberus

Opaline stood there and didn't seem to give much of a reaction to Cinder's comments. She knew that she was not from here, and Cinder at least seemed intelligent enough to back up her opinions without worshipping the ponies or their false idols. That was worthy of some kind of respect, though Opaline didn't really like how Cinder didn't bow down to her will. Because of Opaline's ability to take the magic from dragons to use it as her own - she didn't mention this fact to Cinder or Noctuna. She didn't trust them, and wanted to keep her aces up her sleeve for when it was required. 

"I failed because I trusted the wrong Pony. Otherwise, my plans were perfect." Opaline sneered slightly, lowering her head to Cinder's gaze though evidently deciding not to go further with that for now. "Now that I realize that, I will wait and see what is to be done. I haven't even seen these ponies you speak of, anyway." Opaline said. "Perhaps if you give me a direction to head towards, I can go there." Opaline said, looking to Noctuna. "And you can follow along. As I am sure that being in this castle in a dead forest will be boring anyway." she stated. Opaline loved her castle and all, but wherever she was in this world - it just showed that she was not in the closest access to things.

[Catpone Cerberus 23,428]

@Props Valroa
Noctuna wasn't convinced "Excuses, it was just a bad plan." "I was betrayed what, three times? four? my memory has been bit fuzzy after they tried to execute me." "Yet, I had the last laugh, I washed the traitors off my shoes moments ago." nobody had asked her opinion, but it had never stopped her before "Yet you are here too." Cinder pointed out "I banished myself, so it was all according to my plan." it was Cinder's turn to rise an eyebrow, she had heard Noctuna say it before, but she had assumed she had misheard it, "Not all of us are power hungry, I just wanted to be left alone." "But how about those ponies? I'm also curious to see if they are doing any better here."

"Just pick a direction." Cinder said nonchalantly "You fly long enough to any direction, and you'll see a settlement in the distance." "If you need more specifics, give me something to draw on and something to draw with, and I'll make a map."  

[Opaline Arcana]

@Catpone Cerberus

"The traitors took advantage of my magic and they stole what was rightfully mine from me. They were so un-deserving of it." Opaline said with an angry sigh before she processed what Noctuna's thoughts were. Seems she just wanted to be left alone. Seemed like kind of a waste of her power, to just be left alone rather than seeking control that Alicorns deserved. To Cinder's question she would nod and walk off for a minute or so and return with a black pencil and paper - from Misty's room. It seems that Misty's drawing supplies can now have some purpose. "A map will be rather useful." Opaline said to Cinder.