The Seventh Stone (open)

[Aureity 3,055]

(Guys, you're supposed to post long thought-out posts Even dialogue can be stretched out (see page 1 for examples))

 

Crystal Fire staggered out of the outpost. Please, he told himself. That better not have been what I thought it was...It couldn't have been right? Nopony in Equestria would do that..Something in the back of his mind told him differently though, and he shuddered.

He backed away from the derelict outpost that seemed to hold a new sinister meaning to him, his hoofsteps echoing hauntingly after him. It's...it's daytime...he told himself, trying to bask in the sun's warm glow as he launched himself back into the air, flying towards the city hall. Why am I so frightened? There must be a reasonable explanation for all of this. And the other guards are still alive...Probably.

 

Shut up, he ordered himself. There's nothing you can do now but tell somepony else. He dropped with a thud in the town square, and stumbled distractedly towards the fountain in the center. He looked up. I'm queasy...The first time in a LONG time. Now where was the city hall? His head was pounding so hard he couldn't remember his sense of direction.

[Strong Hooves 289]

Cloud Chaser had finished his work and was now lazily flying around town. He noticed another pegaus staggering at the fountain near town hall, Whats up with him?, Cloud thought to himself. He flew down to the pegasus, a look of concern crossing his eyes, "Hey buddy, you ok?" he asked, "You look like you saw a ghost".

He looked over the pegasus, he seemed scared, distracted, and about to vomit, Cloud took a step back in case he did. Ok, he thought, something isnt right, "Hey, is something the matter? Anything I can help you with?". Cloud then took a chance and stepped closer to the pegasus, helping steady his staggering body.

[Aureity 3,055]

Crystal Fire cleared his head. "You!" he called to the pegasus. "Have you seen any of the town militia? Guards? Officers? Even recon...?" Nope, he thought to himself. They're all gone, except for that one in the tower that won't be going anywhere anytime soon. "Ah...never mind," he managed to choke out. "I..I need to find anyone...anyone in a position of authority. He looked down and seemed to notice that his hoofprints left marks...red marks that stained the dirt. What scared him was that he wasn't sure whose blood it was.

"I have to go," he mumbled distractedly. "To the city hall..." His sense of direction failed him again and he began stumbling off in the wrong direction.

[Strong Hooves 289]

Cloud was now beginning to get nervous, the way this pegasus was acting, how scared and revolted he looked, how he staggered about, but most of all... the red hoofprints he left behind. "I-Im sorry, I havent seen any patrol officers or anyone like that, what is the matter? Is something wrong?" he began to follow the pegasus, wanting to make sure he didnt hurt himself or anypony else. Cloud gently pushed him on his shoulder, "Uhh, town hall is the other way... are you sure youre ok? And is that... blood... on your hooves?" I need to get answers... fast, if something is wrong, then I need to find Rose right away, to make sure she is ok, he thought to himself and he led the pegasus to town hall.

[Aureity 3,055]

Crystal Fire cursed silently when he heard the pegasus's reply. He hadn't expected there to be any other guards hanging around, but still...the last glimmer of hope was snuffed out. No harm in spreading the word, is there? Summoning all of his strength to regain his military compose, he said as calmly as he could, "Every other soldier, excluding me, in this town seems to have disappeared. The gate guards, the town's militia, the royal legionnaires. I cannot find an officer to receive orders from, and now I have just found out that the body of my commander resides in the eastern outpost. He is dead." Crystal Fire pawed at the ground. "Which does not help the bandit problem, of course. I'm sure you've heard reports of how much bolder they are becoming."

[Strong Hooves 289]

Clouds heart dropped to his stomach when he heard what the Pegasus had said. "Theyre.. All gone? How can this be?!". Cloud then nodded about the bandits, "they've been coming out in broad daylight from what Ive heard, what do you plan to do?" he asked the militia Pegasus. Immediately, his mind began to race, the town had to be warned, soon... Cloud the thought about Rose, she had to be warned, "Come on" said Cloud, "we need to ge to town hall and call a meeting, the town needs to know"

[Aureity 3,055]

"What do you think I've been trying to do for the past five minutes?" Crystal Fire sighed. "I don't even remember where the town hall is anymore, my brain is fried." Crystal Fire cleared his head, and used his hoof to unfold a few of the documents he had salvaged from the outpost. He got blood on them while opening them, but he didn't care. He scanned over the first few quickly, then refolded them and picked them up in his mouth.

"Incidentally, I still do not know your name. Allow me to introduce myself. I am Crystal Fire, proud Ponyville militia scout serving since the Everfree rebellion three years ago. And you are...?"

[Strong Hooves 289]

Cloud relaxed a little at the introduction, "I'm Cloud Chaser! World wide adventurer, occasional treasure hunter, and full time tamer of severe weather! Pleased to meet ya Crystal! Now if you need to get to town hall, try turning around" Cloud laughed as he turned Crystal in the right direction. "So what do you plan to do about the missing militia?" he asked, concern returning to his face.

[Aureity 3,055]

Crystal Fire shrugged. "I guess I could go...searching. I doubt I could do much though. Hopefully I'm just overreacting, and all the soldiers went on a picnic or something. Every single one, including the royal guards, yep..."

He sighed. "Well, Ponyville was only established a while ago. It would be a shame to have to evacuate everyone in the name of an abnormality. But I don't fancy ponies going about their daily lives with noponies trained to guard their back."

With that, Crystal Fire walked in the direction of the town hall, his senses slowly coming back to him.

[Strong Hooves 289]

Cloud nodded, the town was quite young, and evacuating now would only mean to end all the hard work that was being put into it. "But if they went on some kind of get together, why didnt they invite you? That also doesnt explain the dead officer that you told me about". Cloud shuddered, the thought of a murdered pony making him sick as well. "So what would be the worst case scenario for this situation?" he asked.

[Aureity 3,055]

(One more post before it's time to sleep )

 

Crystal Fire rolled his eyes. "It was just a thought. A stupid one, maybe, but all a pony can do is hope..." He considered. "A worst case scenario? You want the happy smiley-face version? Well, the worst thing that could happen is either...we miss our soldiers for a few days, and they all come back happy, safe, and sound, and all that's strained is a few emotions of their families left out of the loop..."

Crystal Fire shrugged. "Or do you want the pessimistic version? Bandits, or something worse, see an undefended town full of ponies who can't fight. They come in, loot the houses, burn what they can't take to the ground. They trample the palace, kidnap Celestia, and raze the village. Oh, and, they'll probably sell the villagers into slavery or something. Nice, huh?"

Crystal Fire gave a small sigh. "Guess which one is more realistic?"

[Strong Hooves 289]

Cloud listened to what Crystal said, he had a point, in times like this all you could do was hope. When he began to speak about the scenarios, it got Cloud thinking... Why doesnt anypony else know how to fight? Are they really so reliant on the guards that they couldnt defend themselves on a riad? "Why didnt the militia give the townsponies any basic defense training? Obviously you seem worried about the bandits, why not help them so they could be ready in a time like this?" Cloud wasnt sure about the thinking process of this town...

[Aureity 3,055]

Crystal Fire shrugged. "Why would we need to prioritize a militia over defense? Ponyville didn't have any enemy kingdoms that could be a threat. The unicorn tower guards alone could easily repel any bandits that tried to sneak into the town. The militia, guards, and professional solders were mainly an additional safety catch, each more redundant than the last. If a few towers were enough for defense, why have a standing army at all? How is anypony supposed to know that they'd all disappear at the same time?"

 

"Speaking of," he added, eyeing a crowd of angry ponies slowly marching towards the town hall. "I think everypony else has found out that a large chunk of their friends and family are gone."

[Strong Hooves 289]

Cloud listened to the logic of Crystal, and found out he had a point. But still, he thought, Why would they just up and leave? Perhaps the bandits have gotten sneakier and kidnapped them, or... could it be something more?... Cloud shook the thought from his mind, it was foal-ish to think something beyong their control could be responsible. Cloud saw the angry group, immediately he felt that he had to warn Rose, if ponies were disappearing, then he would want to make sure she was safe. "Hey, I'll catch up with you in a sec ok? I gotta go find someone really quick". without waiting for a reply, he turned and took to the air, looking for Rose's floral shop.

[Page.Turner 940]

((OOC: My BIGGEST and most SINCERE apologies to EVERYONE involved in this game for my absence. I'm not going to give excuses because it won't change anything but I give a PINKIE PROMISE that I will not abandon you without a legitimate and given reason. Like... if a family member dies or something, I don't know >3>;;; Anyway, I'm sorry!! Please forgive me :< I'll throw in a bunch of plot for you all to play around with in my next few posts... and beware, they'll be long posts.)

 

My head... it's never felt so heavy... what's wrong with me? Where are my hooves? My heart feels like a vice...

 

With the heat of the afternoon sun burning down on her back, the dust and dirt of working ponies filling the air with such filth, enough to feel like her throat was coated with gunk, Sky Song coughed like a pony breaking up mucus in her chest. There was nothing there for her to be coughing up but she swore to herself she could feel it. A cat with a hairball would sound prettier than she did at the moment. “I’m sorry!” the dark coated Pegasus managed to get out between her hacking. “My throat is so dry…”

 

 

Sky Song managed to lick her lips and it would seem as though that action alone had cured her coughing as suddenly as it had started. It was very clear her symptoms were all in her head; mind over matter. If her wings were not broken she would have flapped them like a bat out of Hell to clear the air around her but most likely she would have frightened off the ponies around her and exhausted herself of all energy. It was much better to be crippled and energetic… well, energetic to a degree.

 

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Having just arrived to the tower, Post Haste was excited to finally have a militia pony to talk to. After noticing the lack of members out and about or even flying above him, he had wondered if something was up. Perhaps they were on a raid or maybe they expanded their patrols outside of the designated Ponyville boundaries in order to catch thieves and beasts alike. With the Ponyville militia out of commission (in his opinion) then it probably would give him a better chance to join in order to keep the civilians safe. There wasn’t much the young stallion could do in terms of fighting with weapons but his legs could offer a pretty powerful kick!

 

To Post’s disappointment, the moment he reached the tower to talk to the Pegasus who had flown there, said Pegasus was flying away. “Well shoot.” He gasped out between panted breaths, skidding to a stop and stomping his front left hoof on the ground. “Now what is that feather brain up to? HEY!” he shouted to the pony in question, hoping his words would catch on the wind and reach him. “MAKE UP YOUR MIND! COME BACK HERE!” No use. He was gone. Now what was he supposed to do?

 

“Stupid military ponies thinkin’ they’re better than us regulars…” Post Haste muttered angrily under his breath but his anger wouldn’t last long. He just wasn’t the type of pony to hold a grudge. Well, any good pony would know that it was proper to rest after any good exercise and Post was not one to pass up a good nap or a good run, but both at once? This was a good day.

 

Post Haste entered the base of the Ponyville militia, making his way down to the resting room where he knew there would be at least one empty bed if the rest of them were already there. The walk was sort of eerie with the echoing of his hooves not only resounding ominously but the obvious alerting of his presence didn’t seem to stir a single response from anyone. It was almost startling and he felt his heart begin to pound with intense excitement. It didn’t feel good.

 

“Hello?” he called out to the empty space, trotting to quickly approach the door that would lead him to the bed room. “Anypony here? Sirs?” the young stallion entered the room. His stomach churned. What he saw in that room was enough to make his coat go white if it hadn’t already been that shade. “Oh sweet Celestia…” he stumbled back awkwardly, his rump bumping into the doorway which caused him to yelp and skitter on the spot like a filly frightened by a mouse.

 

There was a word caught in his throat that resounded in his mind and became so powerful that he thought his brain was going to explode. In a terrified frenzy he turned and bolted, leaving the tower behind him and heading to Ponyville, all the while screaming: “MURDER!”

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Meanwhile, in Ponyville, Sky Song was feeling a moment of clarity. It was as though she had been looking through a dirty window caked with dried mud that someone just cleaned with a refreshing blast of cool, clean water. The window was now crystal clear and she smiled to the ponies briefly. "I'm sorry... I seem to have lost my appetite." Her attention was caught by the end conversation between Crystal and Cloud and she looked over just as Cloud was taking off in flight. Oh, how jealous she was.

 

It didn't matter, though. Flight would soon come to her but she had to be patient. Sky Song's eyes critically scanned Crystal. Nothing seemed off to her aside from his frantic attitude and she felt compelled to approach him. It was as though the other two ponies she was talking to were no longer there.

 

What came out of her mouth next was completely expelled by feeling; it was like the same feeling that overtook her when she was coughing. Strong, willful, and capable of taking over her senses. "Did you clean the clock?"

[Aureity 3,055]

(You revived this thread just in time )

 

Crystal Fire frowned. "What...? What nonsense is that?" He stifled the spark of curiosity in his brain, there were much bigger things to worry about. He dropped the documents from his mouth. A few of them had gotten hoofprints and blood over them, and it was a relief to have that disgusting grime away from his face. Looking back over at the angry mob of ponies still headed towards the town hall and demanding answers, Crystal Fire pondered his options. He could swear that a few of them had torches, and his soldier instincts screamed at him to stop the mess. "Look, I'm kind of busy," he snapped, his distress giving rise to a hint of anger. "I've gotta tell everypony what I saw in the outpost, so either talk straight or-" he stopped, letting his emotions cool down a little, while still trying to keep his breakfast in his stomach. "Ah, never mind," he muttered. "Be quick, please."

[Strong Hooves 289]

As Cloud flew to Rose's shop, his ears pricked at a new noise, looking out past the town, he saw a speedy young pony, his eyes wide as he frantically screamed "MURDER!". "Oh dear" muttered Cloud, Rose will be ok for now, I'll get to her after I see whats wrong with this colt, he changed his flight direction and headed for the running pony, "Hey! What's the matter?!" he said as he flew next to the pony, matching his speed. He saw the scared look in his eyes, it was the same look that Crystal had, he already had a good idea of what to expect as the pony's reply...

[Page.Turner 940]

((OOC: WOOO! ))

 

One of her wings gave the slightest of twitches as the documents dropped from the other pony's mouth. It was clear, now, what interest she had taken subconsciously in this pony. He was snapping at her, she knew, but she couldn't help but stare at those papers with the red stains. Sky Song caught a glimpse of his hooves as well; they weren't red, no, the dirt had clung to it and covered it nicely but there was no mistaking the thick, clotting clumps on his hooves. The sight began to trigger a memory but it wasn't enough... it was more like deja vu. "It's the blood." she mumbled softly and looked directly at Crystal Fire before snatching the fallen documents and running off in the direction of Dr.Valium's home.

 

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Meanwhile, Post Haste was running at a speed he would swear he had never run before. The pegasus who was upon him had frightened him to where he almost tripped over his own hooves, but it was the adrenaline of what he had seen the images that flashed in his head acted as his equilibrium. "He killed 'em!" he shouted after realizing the other pegasus had not been the one he had been chasing coming back for his throat. "I saw him! I did! I saw him and he killed them all! They're DEAD!" Post's voice cracked and his eyes began streaming with tears.

Edited January 31, 2012 by SkySong

[Strong Hooves 289]

Cloud listened to the frightened pony, He? Does he mean Crystal?, He then saw the pony's tears falling, Alright this is getting rediculous, in one motion, he swept in front of the pony, holding out his forehooves and stopping the pony with a skid, "Aright kid, get a hold of yourself!" he said, trying to snap the pony out of his panick, "I need you to calm down, take a deep breath, and tell me what happened, are you sure you saw... with your own eyes... that this pony, whoever it may be, really killed them?" he wasnt certain that it was Crystal who had killed them, but the way the pegasus had acted left Cloud with some room to think otherwise, but he needed the whole story before jumping to conclusions...

[Aureity 3,055]

(If only I could find a better-size gif

 

Crystal Fire blinked in surprise as the pony snatched the documents right from under his nose. "What-hey! Give those back!" He chased after her, thought his injured hooves really did not help his efforts. He stumbled a bit, cursed silently, then realized he wouldn't have to use his hoofs in flight. Sweet Celestia, why didn't I think of that before? "Give em back," he yelled angrily. Flapping his wings, he used the burst of speed given by flight to make up for her head start. "I need to know what's going on and those papers might be the only way!"

 

(I can't really make half-page posts when the action gets rolling 0_0)

[Page.Turner 940]

((OOC: It's alright! Don't worry about long posts right now. I'll be posting in about an hour, I have a lecture class to go to on Business and then I'll have a nice long break to keep postin'! ))

[Strong Hooves 289]

(yay we will be waitin )

 

(Where did you go )

[Page.Turner 940]

((Sorry about that, had a bit of a car issue))

 

Post yelped when the other pony held him back and the sudden, skidding stop caused him to dig his hooves into the dirt which built up around him in a pile. A skid mark trailed behind him but the comedic moment did nothing to his mood and he raised a leg to wipe his eyes. "Well sure I saw it!" he hiccuped, attempting to calm himself but it was very hard. His breath was short, his heart raced and pounded in his chest, and he could feel himself feeling a bit faint. "I saw him do it! I did! I ain't lying! He killed them all and I bet he's goin' to kill everyone else, too!"

Of course he was exaggerating what he had seen, but he felt in his heart of hearts that it was true. "I have to tell them all!" the young stallion was getting rowdy and he shoved himself away from the pegasus violently. His exhausted legs were trembling but it was nothing compared to the adrenaline that pumped through his veins. It was fueling him; that and his desire to rescue Ponyville. "If you know what's good for ya you'll leave!"

 

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As Sky Song ran towards what she considered her temporary home, she ignored the shouts of the pegasus who chased her. These documents would not only tell him what was going on but it was going to be vital to what she needed to do. If what was happening had anything to do with her then it might just spark her memory. She wasn't a very fast runner but she did know where she needed to go; it only helped that the newly developing town was so small that she could reach Dr.Valium's home in what felt like no time flat.

The only problem with her particular plan was that she didn't expect the door to be locked. "Fwuh!?" she bumped into the door and fell back on her hind legs, sitting there and staring with wide eyes at the door that was blocking her from her saddle bag. The documents were still held delicately in her mouth and her wings remained unharmed for the time being.

[Strong Hooves 289]

Cloud sighed angrily as the pony tore off once more, he took off after him, "Now Just HOLD ON!!" he yelled as he followed, "Im not sure youre thinking quite clearly, I saw the pegasus that you're talking about, and he seemed just as scared as you... if not more! Now Im not saying that youre lying, but be sure to have your facts right! You cant just go around yelling accusations if you cant back them up!"

[Aureity 3,055]

"Aha," called Crystal Fire triumphantly from the sky, as he saw Sky Song attempt to push open a locked door. Triumphantly, he dropped to the ground and walked over to her. Looking irritated, he snapped, "Give those back now!" Noticing she was injured in some way, he decided to cool down a bit. "Okay, look..." he growled. "You've heard the story, those papers are the last clue anypony has got as to what just happened. Do you really think anypony in Ponyville would appreciate you snatching them right as they're about to be delivered? The mob must be wrecking the town hall right now in their anger." He extended a hood. "I'm waiting..."