private Quest for the Forbidden Temple-Take 2-RP

[Iron Wing 237]

 

 

The shadow beast noticed the dragon but it was just too late for him the vines were no fast enough Colt was now sliding on the ground and placed himself below the creature right between his two legs. With one knee placed on the ground and his wings at his sides each one of Colt magical infused claws pierced the darkness of the monster’s limbs and with his magic the dragon grabbed darkness itself sending his spell into the monster. The dark energy essence of the shadow began to frost becoming black crystals of ice from its insides, the dragon froze inch by inch the monster foot keeping him stuck to him and the ground, it was a success sadly this was just the start of the plan and a moment after Colt felt what he knew to be his punishment.

 

 

Iron Wing was fighting with everything she had got to buy more time for the group, and the battle perhaps had turned out differently if the beast could be physicaly harmed. But since that was not the case, she had to be in a defense position, the pain of the wound hurt badly and she was slowly reaching the limit of her endurance. She could fight for long time periods, but not that drastically. But she noticed that some ponies of the group started to prepare something. Colt got into an attack position and did some magical spells below the beast, holding him in place and infusing something into the darkness. Perhaps this would distract the beast even more, not to finish off the injured ponies who couldn´t evade an attack.

 

 

 

The magic Luna sped forward, and she began to make circles around the shadow being. A glittering trail followed her, wrapping around the creature with every turn. The light magic squeezed him, bit by little bit, as Luna made her way from its legs to the torso to the head. The creature began to crack, bit of light starting to show through as her magic seeped into him. But that still might not be enough. She was powerful on her own, yes, but this monster had a strength unlike any being she'd fought in many thousands of years. Luna poured all her being into the shadowy form, but it was still fighting back, and she feared that if she lost her hold on it, none of them might make it out of here.

 

Also Luna seemed to gather some power to release a spell to bind the creature even more. Iron Wing was impressed how the commander still had enough power and concentration to cast a spell. She was badly injured and nearly choked to death, but there she was, standing on her own and helping Colt and Iron to make the creature more vulnerable to a counter attack. Iron didn´t have much knowledge about the princess, but she thought that Luna didn´t have much combat experience. Irons experience with the more "administrative" ponies teached her that they usually couldn´t even spell the word "combat", but the guardian was now more proud to be a night guard than ever, seeing that her commander was able to fight on her own. Also she thought very well of tactics and Luna used a distance spell so that her physical body was out of the range of the enemy. "Very clever!" Iron whispered as she slowly begun to understand Lunas magic.

 

 

 

Day could feel the force of the spell push him back as he released it, as well as all the coldness and feeling that didn't belong to him leave his body too. He took a handful wobbly steps backwards, feeling rather dizzz before losing his balance and collapsing on his flank.

 

 

No sooner did she get the first step in though, the blast from Daylight went off, and went clean through the monster, the light spreading through it's very being as it staggered back towards the edge of the cliff.

 

 

Then Daylight released a spell and Iron was surprised since she didn´t had even notice that he got on his hooves again. It pierced through the monster and send it back to fall from the ravine. "Way to go Day! Thats what i call heavy artillery!" Iron laughed, relieved that this fight was as good as over. The spell was incredible as it was concentrated light energy and Daylight had done a great job with the aim. Since the cracks showed up thanks to Lunas spell, Daylight had chosen the weakest spot and this was the sure downfall of this monster. Within her thoughts she deleted the thoughts that she would need more guardians than ponies she didn´t know. This group was just perfect, and she feeled that they could handle everything. "Now we just need to get over the..." but her words were cut.

 

 

 

The decision was easy enough to take the mare he had already stabbed, pulling the tendril out of her body he wrapped it around her. "Iron Wing!" Ice yelled as the beast began dragging her across the ground leaving a long, thick, trail of blood behind her.

 

The tendril wrapped around her body and bound her wings to her body, pressing on the wound that was caused earlier. Iron Wing yelped as the beast had grabbed and dragged her to the abyss. In despair she tried to hold onto the ground with her hooves, but the beast was just too strong. Because the tendril was pressing on her tight, her wound lost much blood and the pain was unbelievable. Iron screamed as she was pulled down into the abyss, the beast still didn´t want to let her go. It was useless to do anything against it, the guardian wasn´t strong enough and she fell down the ravine into the thick fog. The walls of the ravine came closer and closer as she was falling, and then she hit the walls. A loud metallic noise was made and the impact hurt bad, injuring one of her hind legs and her left side. She felt numb after the hit, but at least it had stopped the speed she was falling with. After the first impact some less damaging fast impacts hit her and her armor. She was falling too near to the walls of the ravine and now she had to face the consequences to not paying attention in her battle. But she nearly didn´t feel the pain, being dazed by the first impact. Then she hit the ground and lost consciousness.

[Electrobolt 2,069]

When Daylight had responded to him, saying he was alright now but had felt better before, he shook his head and sighed before letting a slight grin appear on his face. *Yep... I think he's alright for now,* he thought to himself before his attention was brought back to the battlefield in front of him. At the sight, his grin had vanished from his face as a look of horror replaced it. The monster had injured Luna and Colt, as Iron and Alex kept trying to fight the beast. However, it seemed like they weren't really having much luck with fighting the monster.

 

Next to Luna was Ice, who was worried for her friend. Worried about how she was feeling right now, he would have tried to approach and see if he could do anything to help. But seeing as he was supporting Daylight, that was out of the question. While Ice was with the princess, Iron did all she could to keep the two safe. To that, he was thankful, but then things seemed to be starting to head south. The ponies that were fighting would eventually run out of stamina and be unable to fight if this kept going. The shadowy monster, however, seemed to be standing strong still as the attacks weren't doing much to it.

 

Just around that moment, Electrobolt heard Colt calling out to Ice and Daylight, trying to figure a way to defeat this creature. As he listened, he could tell that the dragon was in pain. After a while, Ice began to move herself over to him and Daylight, as she started to glow a brilliant white color. She began to speak to Daylight, telling him to take all that he has as well as all that she has, and to take this monster out. After that, she had shot a beam out to Daylight, before transferring as much of her magical energy as she could before the beam broke off.

 

It was then that Ice began to move back to Luna with what energy she had left. Looking over to Daylight, Electrobolt could see that he was charging up a magic attack, most likely a powerful blast of light. Looking at his horn, instead of a golden aura, it had a greenish aura to it. Electrobolt looked at the aura with confusion for a bit, before jumping slightly as the blast suddenly shot from his horn. Quickly looking away and closing his eyes, he tried to keep from getting blinded by the light. But instead, he felt a slight chill. Opening his eyes and indirectly looking at the beam, he could see a bluish color coming from it.

 

*That must be from Ice's transferred power...* he thought, as he watched the monster get struck hard from the beam. A smile grew on his face as he saw the beast start to fall back into the ravine, but then, he saw it had reached out with one of it's tendrils, before grabbing Iron Wing. Suddenly, a look of horror appeared on his face as he tried to charge over to Iron Wing and save her, but he tripped over his own hooves before watching as Iron ended up joining the monster in the ravine. At that time, Ice, whom had gotten close to the edge of the ravine, began to wail. "No..." he whispered to himself. "No, it... It can't be..."

 

Slowly, Electrobolt got onto his own hooves before approaching Ice at a snail's pace, still not quite able to process what all just happened. *Iron... You... You're still alive... I... I'm sure you are...* he thought, not willing to believe she was gone from the world. *She's got to be alive... I'm sure she's gone through much worse than this...* Shaking his head, he looked over to Ice Storm, still on the ground crying her eyes out. At the sight, he couldn't help but tear up a bit himself. Frowning, he got down next to Ice, before giving her a hug. Even though he wanted to say something to her, the words just couldn't form in his mind.

[MyLittlePonyTales 273]

Luna felt her magic growing stronger—or perhaps, that of the creature was lessening. She paused, looking down, and noticing the magical beam now penetrating the beast. It began to dissipate, more seams of light growing larger and consuming the creature. Luna would have sighed with relief, if her current form breathed. But her body still smiled with relief at their victory, a little too soon.

 

She turned to survey the state of the others, the monster still in her grasp for the moment. Colt wasn't in much worse of a state than when she'd first took on her spectral form, and everypony else was already down for the count or barely standing. But where was—

 

Luna's eyes went wide as the shadowy extremity went clean through Iron Wing and came out the other side. There was nothing she could do in this form, nothing at all, and her physical body was in worse shape than most others in the group. But if she thought that was the end of it, a last blow before defeat, she was very wrong. Another tendril shot out, squeezing the mare and pulling her ever closer to the edge. Luna could do nothing except watch, she could even cry out for the mare.

 

Then they fell, the creature evaporating just as easily as it had arrived, but not before taking the Pegasus guard with it. Luna struggled to reunite her magic with her own body. Normally it was a precarious and cautious ordeal, but the monster was gone now and she also needed to be able to communicate with the others. Her haste was a big mistake.

 

Will using the spell, she had not felt the pain of her physical body. If she had been knocked out or fainted or otherwise distracted, it would have broken her concentration, and thus led to the same outcome. But she'd strained herself, and began coughing up blood, before vomiting more onto the hoof that she had been using to cover her mouth. She wanted to race to Iron Wing's aid, to fly down and catch her and keep her safe. Her body wouldn't move, though, and instead gave out on her.

 

She fell into a pool of her own blood, the red fluid seeping into her feathers and coat. She glanced in the direction of Ice Storm, her vision blurred. Luna closed her eyes, doing all that she could to remain conscious. She would be dead weight if she fainted, and she knew now that no way would they leave her behind. But, without Iron Wing, how could the group succeed? They had to get her back, they just—Luna tried to calm herself and allow her mind to rest, listening to the voices of everypony around her to hopefully keep her grounded in the real world.

Edited May 1, 2013 by MyLittlePonyTales

[Iron Wing 237]

There was darkness around her, she was feeling numb and cold, and something was wet around her. She tried to move, but she was still too weak to do anything. Then the feelings in her limbs appeared... pain... also it was difficult to breath. She had to cough a bit and an ill feeling went through her body. She opened her eyes and she saw the ground she was laying on... like a wasteland... no real vegetation, many little grey stones and the walls of the ravine. She feeled dizzy and she was laying in something red... blood? It was her own blood, and she realized how dangerous this situation was. She tried to concentrate on moving and managed to turn her body a bit. Now she was in a normal resting position, but it hurt so badly. She heared voices from above, also Ice´s wailing, but she couldn´t answer. Her own voice was gone, she feeled like she had swallowed a stone. Some tears came out and she looked at her side where the monster had stabbed her. Blood was leaking out of the wound and she knew that she had to do something about that. Slowly she got out of her armor. The heavy plating wasn´t hit on a weak spot... the monster just was too strong. Her armor was good against every physical attack, but not good against magical attacks. She looked at her side to get a look at the wound... she was stabbed on the side, an open wound but it was small.

 

She got her medical equipment out of her saddlebag and looked at her ressources. She wasn´t a medical pony, but she always had a little emergency kit by her side when she was on a field trip. But this equipment wouldn´t help much, she needed medical attention and that as soon as possible. She got some bandages out of the equipment and some cloths, also a sore ointment. She put the ointment on the wound and it burned like some pony was playing with fire in it. "Gnnnnnn..." she just mumbled, not wanting to scream. There where two reasons not to do something like that. Reason one was not to additional worry the group members wo perhaps listened to the sounds of the ravine... if they were looking for her. Reason two was not to give enemies her location. After the ointment which stopped a bit the bleeding, she took the clothing and the bandages and wanted to create a pressure dressing but... her wing was also injured, a pain went through her wing as she wanted to move it away from her side. This wing wasn´t able to do flying movements, but it was fast enough to fight with the wingblades.

 

She prepared the pressure dressing and she knew that she had to make it very tight so that the ointment and the pressure would to the rest of the work. But this would give her pain at the same moment. Iron made one swift move to get the pressure tight and than the pain went to her body. "Grrrrahhhhhhhhhhh!" the guardian screamed outloud, finally able to get her voice back. It was just too much! If dangerous creatures where near her they surely would have heared this. But at least the wound was closed for now. She concentrated to gather some power in her legs to move and tried to stand up after putting on the armor again. She was a bit shaky, but she could move. Her left hind leg was hurt and she was slower as usual. This would make things more difficult. Now that she knew that she coudln´t fly, she had to search for another way up, but this area was more than dangerous and... was that a snarling that she had heared? Unsure where to look she tried to find a way through the fog, going deeper into the ravine. There had to be a way up, and she would find the others! She hoped that the others didn´t worry too much, also she was wondering if they had heared her screaming. She made herself ready to fight anytime now, but her left hind leg made problems with the movement. Sometimes the pain was to big so that she had to drag it a bit and to pause, then she tried to navigate with the help of the ravines walls. She didn´t know that something already followed her...

Edited May 2, 2013 by Iron Wing

[Colt 555]

There was nothing in the world at that moment for the dragon, there was no air around him, no blood painted ground below him his body, no darkness corrupting his body, nothing but pain, pain and the will to endure a next hit. One after another the impacts of the shadow made Colt's lungs to bleed and his flesh to subdue to the attacks of the shadow. To say the truth Colt was way beyond that place, he didnt had hopes of survival he just had the wish for the ponies sent by the sun to end their mission. Then the impacts ended.

 

 

 

This time, the beam was more contracted as it was aimed at a specific area but, it’s colour was also different too. Instead of being pure white like last time, there was a distinct light blue tinge to it.

 

 

A blinding wave of light covered the air above Colt's head, his damaged back and broken wings cast the darkest of shadows below him created by the beam of light that was not piercing and blasting away the existence of the vile dark monster. The scorching corruption on his paws was cleansed in moments the darkness he was freezing vanished causing the crystals of ice that were the legs of the creature to shatter in an burst that released his limbs letting the dragon to sustain his body instead to fall in the ground. "He made it..." were Colt's though while he realized his trust in the golden unicorn payed with the victory of the sun's chosen ones. 

 

The time felt like slowing down the demise of the creature happened in slow motion to the dragon's eyes and mind, he slowly saw how the shadow dissolved into the air falling down going into the ravine into a mixture of ice shards and smoke like shadows that vanished into thin air for just a split second the dragon felt the relief and peace the victory brought. Sadly the next part of that split second took all of what his last month of life worth and took it all down to that ravine.

 

A piercing scream of suffering reached Colt's eardrums making all come back to the dragon. Time was running fast once again before his eyes the moment Iron Wing crossed his sight in the same direction the shadow did, down. "No." his mind thought as his mind noticed the cry of suffering was from Iron Wing "Celes..." the dragon whispered and that all he could do. He was frozen, there he felt all he was all he had become until that moment, week useless, alone. "Come back" another whisper came out from his muzzle as a torrent of tears burst from his eyes. He wanted to stand up, to make a first step to follow her , we wanted but his body failed. Immediately after the dragon tried to walk he crashed into the ground, the pain of his arms and wings was nothing his heart was the where the immeasurable pain came from. 

 

 

 

But this would give her pain at the same moment. Iron made one swift move to get the pressure tight and than the pain went to her body. "Grrrrahhhhhhhhhhh!"

 

 

That pain made him go forward not walking, not flying how could he his limbs were broken the dragon crawled. The few feet that keep him away from the ravine were the barrier that kept him away from Iron Wing he dragged himself over the soil no matter the pain he kept going "She is calling" were his thoughts and whispers as he listen to the mare screams from down below, he had to reach her, he had to be with her to save her. At last he saw the end of the ground, and the void down below he was unable to see a thing, the dragon blamed his eyes, Colt made a last try to stand up, with his best he back on his knees with that last effort he aimed for the void wanting to be with her "Im coming" he thought just before his body surrendered into an unconscious dream starting to fall into the dark filled gorge.

[Ice Storm 1,020]

Hurt, pain, sadness, suffering. Those were the only things that Ice felt at the moment. She had just watched the first pony that wasn't a princess that had accepted her die. Even worse, she was completely alone again. With Iron gone, she'd never be able to have the family that she was promised. At this moment, she began having thoughts. Thoughts of jumping into the ravine that was right in front of her. After so many years of being alone, and finding a friend, no, a sister that she had gotten so close to so quickly only to lose her just as fast. She felt like just letting everything be over. Letting the hurt stop, permanently. She didn't want to be alone again for who knew how many years. Ice cried, and cried, and cried. She could barely even breath at this point she was crying so hard.

 

When she felt a hoof come around here, she didn't even look to see that had come over, she just turned to them and buried her face into their shoulder, and continued crying. There was no comforting, no, relief to the pain that she felt. there could be none. Almost none, any way. She managed to finally open her eyes and look to the pony whose shoulder she just made a soaking mess. It was Electro. Tears still streaming down her face, she looked back at Luna whom herself wasn't in that great of a condition. This made her heart wrench even more. Luna came for her, for all of them. She thought back to the cave when she had questioned Luna's true feelings about her, but those questions were answered, and now she was badly hurt because of her.

 

At that moment though, her eyes snapped open as she heard a scream coming from the ravine. It sounded like Iron. "Iron wing..." she said looking back over the ravine. The fog was still much too thick to see anything through, but she knew what she heard. She now had hope. No sooner did she hear the scream though, did she see colt approaching the ledge. He seemed to be very weak, and started to lean towards the edge. "Colt..." she said pushing herself up. He started to fall. "COLT!" she yelled diving to him pulling him back away from the Ravine. When she placed him back on the ground, she saw that he was out cold. "This is not good..." she said still wiping tears from her eyes. "I can barely walk, Day's exhausted, Luna's hurt, Colt's unconscious and his wings..." she responded as she looked at the mangled heap of flesh that was attached to his back. "Have seen better days, Iron's in the Ravine in Celestia knows what condition... and we still have to get inside before the winds get down here and it's almost nightfall..." Ice sighed. She didn't know what to do now. She wanted to go after Iron in the ravine, but without being able to see, to even attempt would be suicide. Hopefully though she was far enough down to where the winds wouldn't affect her at least.

Edited May 3, 2013 by Ice Storm

[Alex Night 870]

Alex was zigzagging around the tree branches, trying to keep the vines at a distance.  However it seemed as if the vines weren't being restricted by the maneuverability in moving within tight spaces.  Going from one branch to another, he passed by Iron Wing who passed through the bubble shield, which made Alex irritated for not knowing that he could actually pass through into the shield to be safe.  Alex felt his own hoof get caught by one of the vines and he was quickly slowing down.  He was slowly being pulled down closer to the ground by the creature.  He was giving every ounce of his strength, but the dark creature was winning the pony tug of war.

 

"Grrrrggh, somepony do something!"  Alex yelled out as he flapped his wings faster in an attempt to escape the monster's grip.  Although only five seconds before he saw a very bright light lighting up the forest and felt the tension on his hoof gone now.  Not expecting this, he saw himself flying towards a tree in a very out of control spiral.  He collided with the tree head on and fell down to the ground in a bush.  Alex was twitching a bit and was seeing stars or more specifically, flying orange chickens.  After five seconds, Alex shook his head to get rid of the chickens and get his clarity back.

 

"Ugggghh, what happened?"  Alex said to himself as he looked to see a very different sight.  He just saw the dark creature disappear into the ravine while dragging a slightly wounded Iron Wing along with it.  He was about to charge straight after her, but she already disappeared into the darkness underneath the thick fog of the ravine.  "NO!"  Alex shouted out as he felt helpless to rescue her.  Alex kicked up some of the dirt angrily, wishing that he was just a bit faster to not get caught by the tentacles that the dark monster made.  He wanted more than anything to go down after her, but the fog was too thick for him to see and he could likely injure himself as well.  Alex sighed to himself before turning to the others to try and decide what to do next.

 

Alex saw that the group was greatly injured with Princess Luna looking the worst.  He knew that they had to get across the ravine, but he wasn't sure if they could just leave Iron Wing behind without knowing whether or not she was dead.  Alex looked back to Ice Storm and moved to speak with her.  "Ice...  We need to make a decision...  Almost everypony here is badly injured and Iron Wing is down trapped in the ravine.  We can't stay here for long, so if we are going after Iron Wing we need a way now.  I don't want to leave her behind, but...  We don't stand a chance out here in the night like we are now."  Alex said to her, trying to give her some hope for Iron Wing.  He was never one to give up on somepony...  He just can't give up.

Edited May 3, 2013 by Sam Avalon

[Dave247 568]

No sooner had he lay his head on the ground, he heard a yelp along with Ice yelling out Iron’s name with a strong sense of panic in her voice which may Day sit up suddenly, which he very quickly regretted by his vision blurring feeling light headed.

As he supported his head with one of his hooves, when the feeling started to pass and his vision recover he heard a scream followed by Ice shot Iron name’s again and just managed to see Iron as she was dragged off the side of the cliff.

He sat there in disbelief for a few moments, trying to come to terms with something he had never expected to happen.

“After everything we all did...” Was all that he could think at the moment.

For the third time the screams of Ice Storm disrupted his thoughts and brought him back to the present. He saw her as she collapsed on the edge of the cliff, clearly emotionally distraught. At that he immediately jumped up with the intention of dashing over to her but, his body would not let him due to still exhausted from his previous actions. He just groaned and slowly walked over to edge insead.

By the time he got there he saw that Electro had already arrived there before him and was trying to console her, which he was grateful for as he didn’t much energy to do it himself along with having to deal with his own emotions which he was trying not to feel the best he could as he just couldn't handle it. He just stood motionless staring down into the foggy depths of the ravine below. He knew that a light spell wouldn't do much good because of how thick the fog was.

Just when all hope of Iron having survived seemed lost, a loud and distant scream could be heard echoing from the depths of the ravine. This would have provided him with hope as it meant that Iron was still alive but... for some reason it didn't. He looked over at Ice who because of the scream had mostly recovered, but she seemed distracted with something. He had not noticed Colt had made his way over to edge of the ravine himself and was about to fall head first into it until he saw Ice dive forward to stop him. Alarmed, he immediately rushed forward to help her stop him then place him back on the ground as at first he had assumed as dragon he would be quite heavy, but he turned out to be a lot lighter then he had expected.

Now that everything was finally over it was time to asses the situation they were all currently in and make a decision what to do next. As he looked around at everypony he heard Ice sum everything up.
 

...Colt's unconscious and his wings..." she responded as she looked at the mangled heap of flesh that was attached to his back. "Have seen better days,

As he looked at Colt himself, he had not realised how bad of a condition he was in. Other than the vast amount of cuts and bruises all over his body with looked rather deep, his wings were the worst. They were very mangled to the point that he doubted even if he were at full strength, how much of it he would have been able to cure.

Then he looked over at Luna. Although her physical injuries didn't seem anywhere near as bad as Colts, her coat and wings glistened from the blood and she looked as if she was on the verge of passing herself.

“What am I supposed to do...? Who am I supposed to heal...?” he thought. The pressure was all very quickly too much for him to handle. There were too many possibilities to consider that it was making his mind spin. He didn't want to make the wrong decision.

Day slumped to the ground before speaking.
“I know you are all relying on me to do something but... I’m sorry... It’s just too much and I can’t take it.
I just... don’t know what to do...” He said both looking and sounding rather helpless.

[MyLittlePonyTales 273]

Luna laid there, every breath labored, her sides heaving. She felt so helpless, all banged up. She was a princess, she was supposed to be the hope that kept everypony strong, the leader that everypony looked up to. Yet here she was, lying down on the job. She considered standing up, and shifted slightly to began doing so, but stopped and let out a moan instead. She winced, gritting her teeth, wishing she could force herself to stop feeling pain.

 

Luna grunted, opening her eyes even though the world continued to spin, and struggling to slide herself onto her belly. She felt lightheaded, and quickly laid her head on the ground, though her horn started to glow as her eyes closed again. Luna did her best to heal herself, at the very least closing her wounds, meanwhile ignoring the distress from the others around her. Using magic would sap more of her strength, but in the end it would be more helpful for her to at least be able to walk.

 

She could hear the chaos around her following Iron Wing's disappearance, the cries of devastation and desperation. The uncertainty, the feeling of lostness. It was up to her to pull them together.

 

Just then, her ears perked, as Iron Wing's cry hit her ears. Luna gasped, opening her eyes and forcing herself to her feet. She took a few shaky steps forward, her legs crisscrossing dizzily as she attempted to regain her balance. She would have normally gone to tend to Ice Storm, first and foremost, but her attention seemed to be occupied with Electro and Alex. No matter, even if she had wanted to be there for her friend, there really wasn't time for sitting around and sobbing. Colt looked as if he was unconscious, and Daylight looked just as worried as the rest of them. Everypony besides Colt seemed in well enough condition to travel for a short distance, so perhaps all was not lost yet.

 

Luna moved forward next to the group, looking over the edge at the clouds below. Her vision doubled for a moment, and she swayed precariously near the edge. As she stood, the ground on which her front hooves were placed began to crumble, Luna quickly backed up before she fell face over hooves off the edge. It wasn't safe for any of them to stay here, for multiple reasons.

 

”I'll go down and retrieve Iron Wing.” Luna's voice sounded a lot faint, and a lot less bold, than she had intended. ”Can you all make it across alright? she wasn't exactly sure HOW they might make it across, but perhaps one of them had an idea.

Edited May 13, 2013 by MyLittlePonyTales

[Ice Storm 1,020]

Ice continued to survey the situation trying to think of the best possible way to get everypony over the bridge. That was her priority at the moment. As much as it pained her to do so, she had to move on, at least for now. The winds would be upon them at any time now and shelter, and keeping the group that was up here alive was her primary concern. She looked up as Daylight began to speak. He seemed unsure of what to do himself. Colt was still laying on the ground out like a light. Luna seemed to be up and walking around at least. Then Alex spoke to her and pretty much confirmed everything that she had seen. She sighed.

 

"As much as I would love to go after Iron right now, none of us are in a condition to do so, nor do we have the time to get down there, find her in this fog, and make it out of the ravine safely before the winds are upon us, and with this new wind that starts to freeze us as we walk, I'd rather not be in that at the moment, Especially since I don't have the strength to protect everypony from them. I'll be lucky if I can even cast a spell right now," she stated as Luna spoke up stating that she would go get Iron and asked about the bridge and if they were okay to cross. Ice sighed and shook her head.

 

"I can barely walk with my knee like this right now. If something happened on the way across the bridge, there's no way I'd be able to react to anything at the moment. Colt is completely unconscious and will have to be carried across. Daylight looks just as exhausted as I am, and with all due respect, You don't look so good yourself. Like I was mentioning before, our best chance of everypony getting out of this situation alive is to cross the bridge as carefully as we can to avoid it collapsing, which, even I myself am not sure how to do anymore, and get into the Palace," she said looking across the bridges to the ruins. Much to her dismay she saw that the roof was gone. "Hopefully it has a lower floor.... Otherwise... I have a feeling we'll be done for ourselves regardless of what we do..." Ice stated at the realization that she had accidentally lead them to a shelterless shelter.

 

She then looked back at Daylight who still appeared to be unsure of himself and the situation. She shook her previous thoughts out of her head. The realization hit her that she was the units morale at this very moment. She was the leader of the group, or had been up to this point. She didn't know if Luna would want to take over now that she's here, but for now, Electro, Alex, and Daylight were all expecting her to have the answer. If she wasn't confident in herself, if she couldn't raise her own morale, then the morale of everypony else she knew would suffer. Without a second thought on the matter, she pushed herself up, walking through the pain in her leg. She needed to be strong for everypony present. She needed to be the leader that she was chosen to be and make a sound decision.

 

"Daylight," she called as she continued towards the bridge. The look of fierceness and determination was plastered on every inch of her face. "Daylight, I need you to either stabilize Colt and get him awake, or see to the few wounds that the princess has. Everypony that can walk carries somepony who can't, and we go across the bridge one at a time. Alex you're on watch. I want you flying above that bridge at all times until the very last hoof is on the other side. Once on the other side, we will quickly, and I mean very quickly search for a stairwell leading down. We need anything that will lead us under the main level of the palace.

 

At dawn, we go into the ravine and go after Iron Wing. I may not know a whole lot about her yet, but I know that she's a greyhoove, and that she's part of the Nightwatch. The only thing we can hope for is that her injuries where bad enough to keep her from finding shelter, because I am every bit of certain that she will find something. If we all went after her now, if one of us went after her now, it would only increase the risk for losses. None of us are in a condition for another fight, we rest, and search tomorrow. All day if we have to," she stated in a bout of confidence that even she didn't know that she had as she stepped onto the bridge. It creaked and swayed, but it held. "Luna, You and your sister used to live here a millennium ago. I know that it's a long shot, but do you remember the layout at all? If so, whats the best way to get to the lower level if there is one?" she asked hoping the princesses had some more information that she could use to go on.

[Electrobolt 2,069]

As Electrobolt continued to hug Ice, he tried to think of some way that he could comfort her. But unfortunately, no words would come to mind. He couldn't think of anything to say at all, as Iron being dragged down to the depths had shocked the whole group, most likely. It certainly shocked him and Ice Storm, at the very least. However, what he heard next surprised him. From the depths of the ravine, he heard Iron Wing screaming, most likely in pain. Although he thought she was hurt, to him, this meant that she was in fact alive. At this revalation, Electrobolt let go of Ice as he collapsed to the ground.

 

"She's... She's alive..." Electrobolt whispered to himself, grateful for confirmation. Even though he had a feeling that Iron was still alive, just hearing her even screaming was enough for him to be happy. "She's really---" He then got cut off when he heard Ice shout out Colt's name. Quickly, he turned his head around, only to see Ice diving after an unconscious Colt who was starting to plummet off the edge of the cliff. "COLT!!!" he shouted out as he tried to quickly get to his hooves. Fortunately, Ice had saved him from his demise. Letting out a sigh of relief, Electrobolt allowed himself to collaps to the ground.

 

As he glanced around, he could see Ice and Day near the KO'd Colt, Luna still injured but slightly healed now - perhaps with her own magic? - and starting to move about, as well as Alex hovering close to Ice. Sighing, he could tell that things weren't going so well. Just then, Luna had made it to the edge of the cliff as she offered to save Iron Wing herself. Electrobolt blinked and looked at the princess with concern, as she didn't seem to be in any condition at the moment to try and overexert herself. Ice Storm agreed with his thoughts as she put his thoughts to words, before suggesting they move on for the moment. Although he didn't want to leave Iron Wing behind, he felt this was the only thing they could do right now.

 

Ice then began to roll out a plan for the moment, as Electrobolt listened. Daylight had the choice of stabilizing and waking up Colt or tending to Luna's wounds, while Alex would be on watch over the bridge, watching everypony crossing until the last pony safely made it to the other side. Everypony that's capable of walking would have to carry somepony who is incapable of doing so, and then cross the bridge one pony at a time. He agreed with this, as one pony crossing the bridge at a time would most likely have a better chance of them getting across safely. But who would he carry...?

 

Looking at the group, he saw that Alex was fine, but he was in charge over watching the other ponies cross. Daylight had to heal somepony before he could cross himself - or get carried across. Colt and Luna... Depending on which one gets healed, the other would need to be carried across the bridge. And Ice Storm... She seemed capable of moving around good enough, what with her icy cast on her injured leg. Electrobolt let out a sigh, as he saw that he needed to wait until Daylight healed either Colt or Luna to carry somepony. Looking back to the cliff edge, he whispered silently, "Hang on, Iron... We'll get you out of there..."

 

 

OOC: Ice, I would have asked you if my post was alright, but you weren't around at the time... So yeah... I hope my post is good enough and nothing is wrong with it. Feel free to tell me if I screwed up somewhere if something is wrong

 

[Iron Wing 237]

While she navigated with the help of the ravines walls, she tried to observe her surroundings. The ground looked so different from the Everfree Forest, like walking within another dimension. It was a rugged landscape, full of grey and black stones which was a bit dangerous and scary since the fog had the same colour like some stones. Sometimes Iron thought that she run into a window, just because the stone in front of her looked like the fog that was all around her. Still she was a bit shaky on her hooves, but she went forward, further and further. She wanted to go back to the group, but it got darker from minute to minute and she knew that the winds would come back in the evening. Iron had to find shelter somewhere, but it was hard to find anything within this thick fog. Something growled behind her and surprised she turned around and looked where this sound came from. But the only thing she saw was grey fog... Was there a movement? 10 meters... 7 meters... No... A sound from the left side... Iron Wing readied her wing blades, and not a moment too late. A dark big wolf came out of the fog, with glowing yellow eyes, snarling dangerously. Iron Wing gulped a bit. It was a timber wolf, but not with normal wood... it was dark ebony heartwood, a strong and dense material. Iron Wing could see how the stones under it´s paws broke into pieces because of the weight. The timber wolf came closer and started to surround the guardian, slowly and cautious to look for weak spots on his prey. Of course he could smell the blood of Iron´s wound, but the monster seemed to know that Iron wouldn´t be easy to kill.

 

On the other side Iron watched her opponent, how he sneaked around her, disappearing in the fog and reappearing some meters from his last position. She knew ebony wood, it was hard, heavy and dense and even with her sharp blades it would be difficult to injure this beast. She got into a fighting position where she could retreat into the direction she was going to in the first place. She made a few steps, and then she noticed how the timber wolf finally prepared himself for combat. Some moments of silence passed by, then it begun. The wolf made a huge jump in front of Iron WIng and started to attack with his claws. The guardian parried the first attack and started to trade several attacks with the beast, the noise of screeching metal hooves and bursting stones from the weight of the timber wolf was heared within the ravine. The pony grunted as she was driven into combat with each hit, and the wolf growled and snarled wildly. Iron could cut several times into the arms of the wolf, but each time the blade nearly got stuck into the thick wood so she concentrated more on the wolfs weak spots. But the wolf wasn´t dumb either. He noticed that he couldn´t get the pony with just claw attacks so he used his slightly bigger size and his weigt against the pegasus, pushing her further into unknown ground. Of course Iron was heavy weighted with her armor too, and the wolf was able to get that. But the beast knew that one of Irons hind legs was injured since he noticed that she limped a bit.

 

"Take that!" Celes shouted and made some steps backwards. Because of the intense fight her body heated up so she nearly didn´t notice that the temperature dropped for good. The wolf jumped forward and caught with his claws into her blades. Both fighters kept pushing and struggling who may win this close combat with pure strength. The wood of the beast made creaking noises as the wolf kept pushing with all his strength. Iron slided away a bit, standing on her hind hooves, the screeching metal of her hoove protectors send some sparks flying on the rocky ground. Rocky ground? Iron noticed that the wolf had pushed her way too far into an unkonwn area of the ravine ground, but she got sight of a cave not too far away. Meanwhile the beast tried to bite her since he was that close to the pony. Iron released from the wolf and jumped back a bit. He howled loudly with his dark voice and snarled loud starting again an attack series. Iron got several scratches on her armor, but also on unprotected parts, and Iron was able to cut deeper into the dark ebony wood, leaving the wolf yelping several times. She didn´t have the time to scream or shout messages since she had to concentrate on the battle. But perhaps the others could hear the combat noises, and that would mean to them that she wasn´t dead yet. Slowly she would reach the cave, but would she stand against this beast?

Edited May 15, 2013 by Iron Wing

[Alex Night 870]

Alex looked around the group to survey the situation.  As he waited for Ice's answer, he knew that time and daylight was running out on them.  "You know, maybe you should take charge of the group.  Ice Storm is too distraught to think of anything."  Alex heard a voice right next to him and saw that it was one of the orange chickens that he saw when he nailed his head into the wood from the tailspin.  Alex narrowed his eyes at the chicken and flicked it off with his wing, sending the chicken to a nearby bush.  He looked back to Ice Storm as she started to pick herself off the ground.

 

 

 

 "Daylight," she called as she continued towards the bridge. The look of fierceness and determination was plastered on every inch of her face. "Daylight, I need you to either stabilize Colt and get him awake, or see to the few wounds that the princess has. Everypony that can walk carries somepony who can't, and we go across the bridge one at a time. Alex you're on watch. I want you flying above that bridge at all times until the very last hoof is on the other side. Once on the other side, we will quickly, and I mean very quickly search for a stairwell leading down. We need anything that will lead us under the main level of the palace.

 

At dawn, we go into the ravine and go after Iron Wing. I may not know a whole lot about her yet, but I know that she's a greyhoove, and that she's part of the Nightwatch. The only thing we can hope for is that her injuries where bad enough to keep her from finding shelter, because I am every bit of certain that she will find something. If we all went after her now, if one of us went after her now, it would only increase the risk for losses. None of us are in a condition for another fight, we rest, and search tomorrow. All day if we have to," she stated in a bout of confidence that even she didn't know that she had as she stepped onto the bridge. It creaked and swayed, but it held. "Luna, You and your sister used to live here a millennium ago. I know that it's a long shot, but do you remember the layout at all? If so, whats the best way to get to the lower level if there is one?" she asked hoping the princesses had some more information that she could use to go on.

 

 

 

Alex listened to Ice Storm and visibly smiled to see that she decided to get back up after the forces of evil tried to push her down.  He paid special attention to the part where she mentioned where she needed his help and nodded to her.  "You got it, Ice.  Don't worry, I'll be your eye in the sky.  If anything happens on the bridge, I'll be quick enough to react to it."  Alex said to her to voice his confidence before taking flight.  He looked back to Princess Luna who suggested that she could go down after Iron Wing.  "I don't think that's a good idea, Your Highness.  You may be everlasting, but those wounds don't say that you're immortal.  I'm sure Iron Wing will be just fine...  She is the Iron Mare after all..."  Alex said to her before addressing his little nickname for Iron Wing to the group for a small morale boost.  "Okay, nice joke Alex.  Now just get up there before you lose any more credibility..."  Alex thought to himself as he took his position over the bridge stretching across the ravine.

 

As he hovered over the bridge, he could tell that the bridge was not the most stable kind.  The fog encompassing the unknown darkness down below didn't make it look less dangerous.  As Alex looked up at the sky, he could see that they still had some time left, but they needed to hurry.  He looked back down at the group and gave them a wave to let them know he is ready to watch over them.  "Okay, guys.  Whenever you're ready, but you gotta prep up soon."  Alex yelled out to them.

[MyLittlePonyTales 273]

Luna pinned her ears back at Ice Storm's barrage of words. She didn't have the strength to give orders or counter Ice's right now, and she didn't exactly feel comfortable with the idea of having to talk to her friend as a princess giving orders rather than a companion. So she stood down, allowing the icy mare to take control of the group. Iron Wing could be dying or being attacked by some other mysterious creature below, and Ice Storm wanted to wait? Sure, the rest of the group was important, but it wouldn't do Ponyville much good if one of them was dead.

 

She followed Ice's gaze across the ravine, to the ancient palace. Her head swarmed with memories, and she seemed to be transfixed upon it for several moments. Her weakened state didn't do anything to help bring her out of her haze, and it was only when the blue Unicorn said her name that she snapped out of it.

 

”Truthfully, this was one of the last places I saw before being banished to the moon. It's part of why this was the place Nightmare Moon returned to when her—when our—punishment was over. It's still... very familiar to me...” Luna trailed off, still staring at the ruins before them. Then she shook her head, trying to come back to reality. ”There's another structure just to the right that's more intact.” She pointed a hoof in that general direction. ”It has a lower level. We should be safe there.” Luna didn't mention that the idea of going anywhere near the old castle made her uneasy, as there wasn't really a choice for them at this point. Still, going after Iron Wing would have been a good excuse, had the others permitted her to go.

 

She took a deep breath and gave a huffy sigh. Closing her eyes, she concentrated, casting a quick spell over the bridge so that it glowed with a faint blue hue. Every missing or broken plank was replaced with a magical substitute, making the bridge appear a little more steady. Of course, being made of magic, any empty space was see-through, even if secure.

 

Luna then picked up Colt, slinging him onto her back and giving an ”Oof” from the sudden weight. He was heavier than she had anticipated, or perhaps it was her tired state that made him seem so. Regardless, she put on a determined face, strutting forward and pushing past Ice Storm to begin crossing the bridge. ”Come on, everypony!” she called back to the rest of the group. The sooner they got there and slept, the sooner they could leave that awful place.

Edited May 24, 2013 by MyLittlePonyTales

[Iron Wing 237]

The fight was rough and fast, the timberwolf followed the retreating pony in the direction of the cave, sparks flying around while the metal blades scratched on the hardened wood of the beast. How could wood be so dense? Iron was fascinated and a bit scared of this kind of timberwolf, but she didn´t had the time to study something now. She was in the middle of the fight not to get sliced or eaten, also soon the winds would blow again. Iron was able to get a bit distance between her and the timberwolf. Was he following blindly instructions from an unknown source, or perhaps... it was acting on his own instincts? The ebony wolf slowly walked towards her. He seemed not in a rush... Iron wasn´t a mind reader, but she could have sworn that this beast was enjoying fighting her. She made some steps back to get faster to the cave, but the beast seemed to know her intentions and jumped in front of her again, attacking with it´s claws. Was this thing grinning at her? A strong paw came flying at her and she crossed her blades to defend against the attack. The claws impact made a loud noise on the metal and the guardian was pushed back several meters. With a jump she evaded the next attack and made a little roll while being in the air to get a good swing to slash the monster. With a cutting noise the blade flew into the direction of the monster and cut into the wood. The timber wolve snarled heavily on the hit, but the wound on her side had opened and she was feeling it. Panting she got inside the cave, holding her left side with a wing and defending herself with the other. If this would continue like that, she wouldn´t make it to the group alive.

Edited May 28, 2013 by Iron Wing

[Ice Storm 1,020]

Ice continued to make her way across the bridge as everyone responded to what needed to be done. Alex took off into the sky and watched over the bridge as Luna began to tell her about the Moon Palace. Stating that there was a more stable structure off to the right that did indeed have an underground area they should be safe in. Ice nodded. "Then that is where we will rest for the night," she commented as a biting cold gust of wind blew past her. "I just hope we get there before the winds are in full force," she commented as the princess picked up Colt, placed him on her back, and moved in front of Ice.

 

She then watched as the princess followed suit with her, casting something on the bridge. She didn't know what, but she could easily tell that the bridge felt sturdier. This relieved her quite a bit as she finished pushing her way across the bridge. At this point, the pain in her leg was almost unbearable, however, she knew that she couldn't show it. Not right now. Right now she needed to be strong for everypony else. They were, for all they knew, down a member. Yes Iron Wing was a strong, intelligent pony, but yes, it weighed heavily in the back of her mind about the fact that the drop was unknown, and whether the scream was from pain or something attacking her was indeterminable. She wanted with every fiber of her being go down there and save her now. Something that she was sure that every single pony could see in her. However, this would be what she would want them to do, and Ice had to make the decision that she'd hoped that she'd never have to make. There was just no chance that they could get down there, find her, and find shelter before they became permanent statues.

 

With a few more steps Ice was firmly on the other side of the bridge, and the winds were indeed picking up, and getting increasingly colder. "We need to hurry. The first set of winds are already upon us. I can already feel the temperature dropping to a somewhat uncomfortable level," she yelled across the ravine. Considering her affinity for cold, if it was starting to get uncomfortable to her, she could imagine what it was like for everypony else. She looked back across the bridge. Luna and Colt was just in front of her. "Alright Electro, you and Daylight are the last two that we need to get across. The soon you do, the sooner we can get to shelter, and the sooner we can rest," she told everyone. As much as she wasn't looking forward sleeping again, she was longing for it now at the same time. Which she had a feeling was going to end badly for her and everypony that was around her.

Edited May 28, 2013 by Ice Storm

[Electrobolt 2,069]

Electrobolt let out a silent sigh as he looked back to the group, who seemed to be getting ready to go. Alex had taken to the skies to watch over the bridge, while Luna cast a spell on the bridge. Apparently, Luna used her magic to make the bridge sturdier than it used to be as the princess lifted Colt onto her back, only to begin crossing the bridge afterwards. A few moments later, Ice crossed the bridge as well. With Ice, Colt, and Luna now on the other side, only he and Daylight remained. It was then that Ice spoke up to Electrobolt.

 

"Alright Electro, you and Daylight are the last two that we need to get across. The soon you do, the sooner we can get to shelter, and the sooner we can rest," she told everyone.

 

With this, Ice basically confirmed his thoughts as he looked back to Daylight. As the young colt began to get to his hooves, a gust of wind blew by and chilled him. He began to shiver at the frigid wind before starting to approach Daylight. *Can't stop now... We need to keep going...* he thought before working Daylight onto his back. "Let's get going, Daylight," he spoke up for the unicorn to hear. With that, Electrobolt started to approach the bridge to cross to the other side.  However, halfway past the bridge, Electrobolt stopped as his ears perked up.

 

Looking around for a bit, he wondered what the noise could be. However, as he looked down into the ravine, he could hear the noise again. This time, he could barely make out what sounded like fighting. This had worried him, as that meant Iron was most likely fighting something, all alone. However, he knew Iron Wing was a strong mare,so she would most likely be able to take care of herself. This didn't ease his concern though, as the winds would be picking up soon. Realizing this himself, Electrobolt shook his head and began to cross the bridge once more, this time having completely crossed.

 

As he looked at the group that was there, Electrobolt sighed and apologized. "Um, sorry about just stopping in the middle back there..." he said. " I heard some sounds as I was crossing the bridge, and... It sounded like Iron Wing was fighting something down there... I'm sure she'll be fine, but... I'm still concerned for her..." Sighing, Electrobolt looked back to the bridge and the ravine, before shaking his head. He needed to have faith that Iron Wing would be fine, and that nothing bad would happen to her. *Stay strong, Iron... We'll save you soon enough...*

[Colt 555]

A shiver... no it was more than that, a fresh weird sensation ran through his back as his consciousness tried to recompose itself into reality. A constant sway was the first thing that he was able to recognize, he was moving not by his own his limbs were cold... weak  then how? how was that possible?. Then the warmth beneath his chest was what followed, it was a warm soft feel that remembered the dragon those past times when he felt the same movement, the same trot, the same warmth at the back of his loving guardian... "Mother?..." he whispered with almost a fating voice. There was one particular difference though that refreshing and alleviating touch at his back, like if a breeze nested over his scales. It was weird, yet comforting that feeling covered him was enough to fight the weight on his eyes making them to open to find a sight that had no explanation in his mind.

 

Stars sparkled all around Colt’s sight, a dark beautiful sky was all he could saw. The scent of a perfect summer night invaded him, what was this, was he, gone?, was he on the other side?. The feeling from this night kept him away from fear or worries, he was dazzled by all the sparks at his eyes. Slowly the dragon felled down again into his slumber he was never able to understand how he was carried by the princess of the moon itself.

[Ice Storm 1,020]

As soon as Electrobolt took the last step to get himself and Daylight across the bridge, Ice looked back to the other side just to make sure that they weren't missing anypony. Other than Iron Wing, the thought of her made Ice a bit upset, everypony else was here. Please hold on sis... I don't like having to wait... but there's no way we can safely find you right now... she thought to herself praying to Celestia that Iron was okay. The last thing that she wanted was to have something bad happen to her. Granted, she'd only known her for a small while, but she felt closer to her than she had to anypony else. She felt like Iron was the only pony that actually understood her, and the only one that actually cared.

 

She then looked up to area above the bridge where Alex was. "Alex, everypony's across. Come on down. We're heading to the tower," Ice told him as another gust blew past her chilling her to the bone. "Alright, lets move. I'm already starting to feel the winds. The sooner we get inside, the sooner we can get to shelter," She told everypony beginning to walk towards the tower. It wasn't the quickest walk that she'd been able to make as even with the cast on her leg, the pain in her knee was starting to get really bad. Every step sent lines of stinging pain through her entire leg. She was certain that she wouldn't be able to walk right now if it wasn't for the ice cast around her leg. After about five more minutes, she stood in front of the door to the main tower that Luna spoke of.

 

"Luna, we're here. How do we get to the lower area of the tower? The more things we have between us and the winds, the better off we'll be," she asked her mentor, the painful look on her face betraying her attempt at a confident voice. The longer that she stayed on that leg, the more that it was hurting. She could only hope that somepony here could fix it before they had to continue on. Otherwise, she would just be a hindrance for the rest of the ponies here.

[Alex Night 870]

Alex hovered above the bridge, watching over the ponies as they attempted to cross.  The first ponies to cross were Princess Luna while she was carrying Colt.  He couldn't help but shiver in the cold air as the sun started to descend upon them again.  He then saw that Ice Storm was the next pony to cross after Princess Luna made it to the other side of the bridge.  He was glad that they were going at it one time, but he knew that the time that they had was growing more thin by the minute.  After seeing Ice cross over to the other side, Electrobolt was next carrying Dave on his back.  For some reason, he saw Electrobolt stop in the middle of the bridge.  Alex was about to fly down and investigate until Electrobolt started to move again, apologizing that he stopped due to hearing Iron Wing from down below in the chasm.

 

As Alex hovered high above the bridge, his mind tried to put together a plan as to how to go and get Iron Wing back out from the chasm.  He knew that the fog engulfing the chasm was going to be a problem if it was going to stay there even during the daytime tomorrow.  Suddenly, a strong gust of wind blew him off course, knocking him out of his thoughts.  He was able to right himself out of the spin after a couple of seconds, but the winds were really trying hard to push him back.  He looked down, seeing that the others were already on the other side and Ice Storm was calling for him to join back with the others.  He beat his wings to descend down lower as to lose the brunt of the winds that were pushing against him and threaten to separate him from the group.  After a hard thirty seconds, he was back with the group, next to Ice Storm.  He could see that Ice was hurting and decided to do something about it.  "Climb on top of me, I can give you a lift in the air."  Alex offered to Ice Storm.  He was more than able to do so, it's just that he would go more slowly due to the winds that were picking up around them.

[Iron Wing 237]

Iron Wing Celes Grayhoove

 

The cave was dark but wide and long, many tunnels leading into different directions and there was not much light left to see anything. Iron Wing had managed to run into the cave and hide in one of the tunnels and she could hear the timberwolf searching for her, the heavy wooden creature sneaking through the cave, the glowing eyes searching for it´s prey. Of course Iron´s armor made metalic noises, but since the cave´s walls created sound reflection, it wasn´t easy for the beast to track her down by hearing. The pegasus had hidden behind some rocks in a tunnel curve and got out of her armor to take care about her wounds. Her leg still hurt but she had managed to renew the bandage she had on her side. She sighed and looked around to spot her enemy... but he wasn´t there. Time to rest a bit, so she got her saddlebag and looked what ressources she had left. Some apples and sandwiches, water, some chains and hooks from her construction equipment, ointment and bandages, cooking equipment, note and pen. Also some minor maintenance tools for her armor, but using them would cause sounds and she didn´t want to be spottet right now.

 

She put her armor on again and got into a resting position. The winds outside started to blow again and it got more cold, but luckily she was inside the cave. Celes also thought about the group and how far they probably managed to go. She hoped that they had made it to the old castle of the princesses. Thinking about them, it was a very encouraging experience to see Princess Luna who had joined the group. Iron Wing was in the rank of a commander, at least for a watch tower. But Luna was the commanding pony of the night watch, specialised guards who operated in the night. Iron gasped as she remembered her night watch training and how she should behave in dark areas. Yes, that would be a solution! Her training in memory she stood up and started walking further into the cave. She had to use her experience to move as fast possible to build up a distance to the beast and to find the group again.

 

Resting and sleep sure was important, but if she would lay down now, it could get serious if the beast found her. With every step she build up more hope to find her new friends and her commander. Perhaps if she was sleeping, Luna could visit her with her power in her dreams, but to find a good resting place she had to build up a good distance between herself and the beast.  "Luna, bless me and everyone who walks into darkness and show us the light of the moon to find out of this nightmare..." she whispered an old saying while she continued going deeper and deeper into the cave.

 

"Thorn" the ebony Timberwolf

 

The prey fled into the cave and probably was hiding somewhere near. At first the beast had sensed her, heared her and spotted her again and again, just to continue the fight. But now he was searching in this dark cave, and slowly the giant timberwolf was moving, sneaking around rocks and stalagmites. He didn´t fight because he was hungry or thirsty... he hunted the pony... because it was fun to fight her. Thorn had challenged most creatures in the dark corners of the Everfree Forest already, and the aspect of fighting and hunting was given him with the magical core the forest insane magic had given him. But unlike his smaller brethren he didn´t hunt every creature he got sight of. Only strong ones were interesting, and got excited every time he was in combat with an unknown creature and to figure out it´s tactics, advantages and flaws. The time this tin can pony fell down the ravine and got into his hunting grounds, he smelled that there was something special, something unknown. There was royal blood on this knight, something he investigated already in hope to fight a strong opponent. The first time he feeled the presence of a royal being of the pony world was years ago as he got into an old castle, the castle where this cave led to.

 

But now the owner of this castle had returned, he knew it, and this knight he was hunting now would lead him to the royal pony for sure. He had seen old pictures in the castle of a white and a dark blue mare. Thorn didn´t know how strong they could be, but in nature every leader was the strongest of his kind. So the dark blue mare with the moon on her flank was one of the strongest, and now there was an already strong opponent he was hunting. He got excited to think that this moon-pony could be stronger than the knight, so he thought about a small plan. He would attack the metalic mare near the surface to attract the moon-pony to finally got sight of her. Thorn moved his massive body to the tunnel who lead to the castle. Was there a sound? Was the metalic pony already in front of him? He would find out...

[MyLittlePonyTales 273]

Luna was panting heavily, the weight of the dragon straining on her back. Each step she took was shaky, and it was all she could do to not collapse under the burden. She could feel beads of sweat forming on her brow, though it was actually getting colder, the air was more of a relief than an impending danger.

 

She didn't look nor feel much like a princess. Though her wounds were closed for the moment, she was still caked in blood, and now she was sweaty, she was tired, and hungry, her head hanging low instead of its normal high and regal pose. She didn't even notice Ice Storm's pain, when she would normally be overly concerned for her friend.

 

Though she had led the group across the bridge, as they made their way to their destination the princess began to fall farther and farther behind. The rising wind didn't help to steady her any, and the Dragon on her back didn't allow her to move very quickly without him sliding off. Luna just tried to focus on putting on hoof in front of the other. Just keep walking. Just keep pressing forward.

 

So when Ice Storm called to her, her ears and head perked up, as she attempted to pretend strength she didn't have. “There should be an entrance on the east side.” Her chest heaved, and her body still ached, but she gritted her teeth and did her best to bare it. It wouldn't be long now before they were inside, and she could put down her load.

 

Luna made her way to Ice Storm and the front of the group as quickly as she could, leading the way to the entrance. Where there had once been a door, now there was moss and vines obscuring it from view. At least the flora would help block out some of the wind, assuming the group didn't end up tearing it all down on their way through.

 

The princess glanced inside, noticing how dank and dark it was. ”Somepony will need to light the way.” It only took a few moments for her to glance around the group, and then grimace, realizing that many of them were not in any state to be using their abilities. Being on this side of the building, the winds were blocked for the time being, but as they increased they began to whip around, and there wasn't much time for the group remaining for them to get safely sheltered.

[Electrobolt 2,069]

As Electrobolt continued to walk along with the group while carrying Daylight, his mind thought back to Iron Wing, down in the ravine. Although he wished he could hurry down the ravine to find her, he was carrying a pony on his back and needed shelter. So really, all he could do right now was continue forward while hoping Iron Wing would be safe down there. *Keep safe, Iron... I have faith in you...* he thought as he returned his full attention to the group. After a bit of walking, they all had arrived at the tower.

 

After having stopped, Ice spoke up to Luna, asking how they would get to the lower level of the tower, to which Luna responded with the location of an entrance. After she caught up to the group, she then took the lead and showed the entrance. Moving all the moss and vines over, she peeked in before making a comment about how dark it was, saying that somepony would need to light the way. Electobolt began to look around the outside walls of the tower as he thought about a way to bring some light. As he did though, he saw an unlit torch lying directly against the wall, covered by plants and grass.

 

Approaching the torch, he cleared the grass and plants away before picking it up with his teeth before returning to the group. Once he returned, he sat the torch on the ground and said, "Well, I found this torch... But I don't remember seeing anything near it that could start a fire, like tinder..." He looked back to the area where he found the torch, before shaking his head. "Um, anyways, I'll go and try to find something that should work to light the torch up." With that, he made sure that Daylight was safe on his back before turning around, ready to look for tinder unless someone spoke up to him.

[Ice Storm 1,020]

Ice paused for a moment and let Luna walk by her and take point so that she could lead her to where the entrance to the basement of the main tower was. She quickly pointed out the obvious fact that the basement was very dark and that they would need something to light it with. That however would be a more difficult problem than normal considering she wasn't good with fire magic at all. In fact, quite the opposite. Aside from teleportation magic, Fire was her worse, and considering she was already completely drained, her casting anything was out of the question. Alex joined them and asked if she needed a lift. Ice shook her head. "I'm fine. We're almost to a spot that we can rest. I can make it there at least," she replied.

 

She then heard Electrobolt say that he had found a torch, but wasn't sure how to light it at the moment. If Colt were awake there wouldn't be an issue with that, she thought to herself. She began to look around and scan to see if she could find anything as well. She noticed a few rocks and some metal. "Over there, I don't know how well it will work, but it's metal and stone. It might work like flint and steel," she told Electro before going against her better judgement and pressing down into the darkern path. She lit up her horn as if she was going to cast a spell just enough to get a faint glow. However, as soon as she stepped down on the first step, the ice cast around her leg shattered, causing her leg to buckle and sent her crashing down the stairs, landing at the bottom with a dull thump.

[Colt 555]

Echoes of impacts and shouts reached his ears, echoing with no end they had no place in this barren and forsaken place. With his sight blocked by dark gray smoke Colt was unable to see his surroundings, his back paws that felt heavy and tiered placed over a dry death soil that was also gray as the clouds of smoke around. In his confusion and with no other idea hin his mind the snout of the dragon opened up to call for somepony but his voice never came out. The feeling of the mute sound was right at the end of his throat, the air flowing from his insides was also there but no sound was emitted. With the desperation growing Colt tried with no results to yell until he felt the cold pain of his sore throat it was no use there was no voice in him,

 

In that moment the desolated place broke down, the smoke was absorbed by the death soil and the horizon began to sunk into a void of darkness. Wide fissures ran from the end of his sight to the place he was standing consuming in a landslide all the land he could see, it all crumbled until there was nothing more in front of him. That place was no more than a ravine standing over a sea of that visions dark smoke.

 

The floor once again shook and the dragon knew what was coming, the ravine he was standing on began to crumble and with it the figure of the dragon fell into the darkness. Colt did nothing, his legs wont move, his wings wont flap, he was just able to turn his eyes to the place he was falling from to see her, Iron Wing, watching him as he fell down trying to reach him with her hooves, but it was to late, the dragon was falling into the abyss, despairing, falling.

 

"Im Faling" he thought as his eyes opened wide "it was all a dream and now you are awake", the body from Colt slide from the back of the Alicorn princess as some thumps filled the pitch black room with its sound. There were mere moments before his body found its destiny and knowing it the dragon tried to react placing his left arm to save him from the fall. Too late and too week, the pain of the scorched arm by the lighting was an instant reminder of his peccary condition and the following crash on the land a more than vivid evidence of his last battle. Colt felt like his back was being broken into pieces as his chin impacted the ground flowed  by the limp scaled body. 

 

Moments filled with the pain of his back and arm followed while he realized he was sunk in darkness "The pain must mean Im still alive" the thought as he tried to sustain the suffering. The only lights at his eyes were the infinite stars covering Luna's mane, he was unable to see more, he listened to the fall of something unable to know that was Ice going down the stairs. "At least I am awake" he said trying to recompose himself. 

Edited June 28, 2013 by Colt