private Heart of the Jungle RP

[Descant 1,897]

(OOC Topic)

 

 

The desert. Sweltering, sandy, bleak. Across the desert the teal pegasus flew, followed by a streak of blue and green light that was never seen outside the arctic, except for where this pony flew. Ice crystals formed within the trailing aurora, and fell, only to disappear moments later, as they hit the hot, dry desert air. 

 

The Pegasus sighed with relief when his destination, a sprawling city centred around an oasis, within walking distance of the coast, came into sight. Finally, he had arrived at the beautiful Zebran city of Timbucktu...

 

 

He landed in the hot desert sand just outside the city, and, as he was walking through the front gates, examining a piece or parchment from in his saddlebag, a small zebra mare approached him. "You are one of the Equestrians being sent to the Amblezon Jungle?" The pegasus nodded. "You are the first of your company to arrive. Your boat departs in a days time. I will take you to where you can stay." 

 

The pegasus curtly nodded again, and followed the mare as she led him to what must have been some sort of tavern. "You must tell me your name, so I may inform the elders that you have arrived."

 

"My name? My name is North Arrow."

 

The mare nodded, and exited the tavern where he would meet those ponies he would be travelling with. No doubt to inform the elders. Whoever they were.  

 

He took the scroll out of his bag again, and examined it. It was a letter from Princess Celestia, delivered to him about a month ago. North chose to reread it for what seemed the umpteenth time.

 

         Dear North Arrow,

 

You have chosen, among the best and wisest of my subjects, to participate in an expedition to find the fabled Heart of the Jungle. If you choose to accept this invitation, you should travel to the city Timbucktu in the Zebran Desert, far to the south. From there, you and your fellow adventurers shall travel across the sea, to the dangerous lands beyond, the Amblezon Jungle. This is one journey you may not return from. But if you find the Heart, you will be recognised, in front of all Equestria, as one of the greatest explorers to ever live.

 

         Yours truly, and best of luck,

                      Princess Celestia

 

 

 

North Arrow leaned back in his chair, folding up the scroll and putting it back in his saddlebag, patiently awaiting the arrival of his companions. They would come.

[Opalicious 799]

Yemaza chewed on the piece of grass fiercely, the cards in his hand showing no sign that he would win a few Zebs anytime soon, the Zebran currency. He threw them onto the table and nodded politely to his opponents. "I give up, friends. I can not put together a little money to keep, my luck doesn't seem to be holding up. I'm more of an athletic zebra anyway." As he turned to walk away, he heard a few snickers behind him, definitely from the little one who was still learning formalities, but Yemaza paid him no heed.

 

As Yemaza left the building, a mare came rushing toward the Elder Lounge, where the elders usually were. The mare's eyes flicked to him and she stopped before galloping his way instead. She stopped in front of him, and she rapidly pointed at a pegasus standing just inside the door of The Grazing Zebra, a famous tavern in the city, seemingly waiting for somepony. "Aha, yes," he replied smoothly, examining the foreigner. "An escort into the Amblezon? A strange request, but I suppose I am the best choice for it in all of this village." He took his jalabiya and readjusted it to a better position before approaching the stranger.

 

He stopped by the pegasus, his eyes stealthily looking at the pony through his eyes. "I hear you are an explorer wishing to look for the Heart of the Jungle? An old legend, not proven true, but not proven false either." He turned his head to look at the stranger. "There are many fierce beasts guarding it. Now, nopony would come here alone. I guess there will be others coming?"

 

((OOC: A jalabiya is a common garmet in Sudan that is long sleeved, and in a zebra's case, generally covers the body except a small part of the hooves and the head. I thought it would be fitting for the setting.))

Edited January 2, 2013 by The Alicorn Amulet

[Chespin 180]

(OOC: Where are all the characters going to be meeting?)

 

Leaf Orange panicky flew to the place where he saw Flip Flair depart, Zebran City. It was somewhere in the hot, dry desert and Leaf could clearly see the destination that they were going to leave on a boat. To the Amblezon Jungle... Where Flip was possibly stuck, or trapped or worse...

 

Leaf had just arrived at the gates, where he saw a Zebra stallion, and another Pegasus, who's name he didn't know.

 

"Um... hey, do you know anything about the Amblezon Jungle tour? Its a good opportunity for me to find something there...." Leaf Orange said as he approached the zebra. He didn't know why he was talking to strangers, he thought he had learned that the last time he did it, but he decided to let it slide.

________________________________________________________________________________________

 

"Hey Leaf, good news! I got a good chance at somewhere called the Amblezon!" Flip Fliar called out.

 

"Well, where is it?" Leaf asked. 

 

"I don't know really, It gave me directions to the town where the boat would be departing, you can come with me to see me off if you like!" Flip requested. 

 

"Sure! I'd like to see what the Zebran city place where you'd be departing would look like!" Leaf said, exitingly

Edited January 2, 2013 by Danger Dashie

[Marathon 562]

*sigh*...*Alright... I shouldn't be to far from the city. But this saddle bag isn't helping.* The light grey mare looked up to the sun covering her eyes as she did. It wasn't often she went on stuff like this, and she had to wonder why Celestia chose her. Out of all the more capable ponies out there, she was chosen. It was probably had something to do with her line of work but she didn't see how anything was more dangerous than the Everfree forest. And yet ponies walk in and out all the time. Looking away from the sun, Hop took in her surroundings. She didn't really like the color of sand, but what could she do about it? Hop pulled out a canteen and took a quick drink before continuing on.

 

"You are now entering Timbucktu." Hop smiled as she approached the sign and entered the city limits. The city was surprisingly beautiful for being out in the desert. She got a couple of glares from some of the zebra folks but she ignored them and went looking for the meeting area. 

 

After a few minutes she happened to find the area were every pony was meeting. There were a couple here already and gave them a respectful nod.

(im going to be playing battle field 3 so control my OC if you have to) 

[Descant 1,897]

@,@,  

 

North brushed his silver mane, which sparkled as if it consisted of nothing but a powdery snow, out of his eyes as the twin orbs, gold as the sun, scanned the group of ponies that stood in front of him. There was a male zebra, who looked experienced; a worried-looking orange pegasus stallion; and a tired looking, light grey pegasus mare. He addressed the orange one first.

 

"Um... hey, do you know anything about the Amblezon Jungle tour? Its a good opportunity for me to find something there...."

 

"Yes, although it's more of an expedition. We're trying to find the heart." He inclined his head towards the zebra respectfully. "I'm not the only one going, no. I'm merely the first here." 

 

His voice was deep and slow, and quivered with an air of calm confidence. A faint Brooklyn accent was detectable within it. 

 

He stretched lazily, and out of his backpack pulled a map. It was mostly blank, depicting the outline of what the label declared to be the Amblezon Rainforest. Lines depicting established roads and rivers disappeared as they entered the outline. "It's largely uncharted. But that means it'll be all the better of an adventure." He looked up at the three gathered around him again. "My name's North Arrow. What are yours?"

[Opalicious 799]

"My name, dear friend, is Yemaza. I do wish to escort you travelers. I am young, but I am strong, I have seen many wonders of the world. You will find I am a helpful companion." His voice, like the other pegasus who had spoken, was deep and thoughtful, a voice uncommon for somepony so young. It was said that voices like this came from wisdom, and others would joke that he didn't have any. He almost scowled at the thought, but he held himself back.

 

"I hope you pony folk are ready, though it is little distance on a scale, it will still be tough to hike through treacherous vegetation. Though we will encounter no burans as the trees do have their uses sometimes, it will  be dangerous. Very dangerous, in fact. Anything that looks harmless may be deadly, and if it looks deadly, it is most likely deadly. No sugarcoating it here, if any beast mothers are just past the point of being enceinte, it will be even worse for us." He decided that it was time to stop drilling these things into their souls, as it was enough to know they were entering the place. He pulled a traditional zebran snack made of salted oats with a little spice and held them out, chewing on one himself. "Want some? Very delectable."

[Undyne 1,483]

Why, Celestia? This HAS to be some sort of joke...

 

Somber Tunes flew throughout the air, his mane parting for the atmosphere to break through. He kept flying until he reached some city that was named Zebran City... Whatever that was. Either way, he didn't like it...

 

Earlier in the week, Somber had received a letter in the mail from the Princess herself, to embark on a journey towards some jungle... At first, Somber had thought this was a prank of some sort, but he had decided to go with it, as he approached the city limit.

 

Once he had touched down on the hot, scorching sand, he subconsciously hovered, trying to blow off the heat to which he had barely endured. "Buck... This is just plain out horrible... This is supposed to be some sort of dangerous quest, and I can't even handle touching the ground for 2 seconds..." He tried to look around for some locals, or just anypony in general. There, he found two ponies talking with each other. He slowly hovered to them, setting down on the sand again, but enduring the heat this time. "Excuse me... But, is this that place where we meet up for the jungle thing?", he quietly asked.

 

((OOC: Well, this is my first advanced RP. This will be fun...))

[The Original 571]

Arcane smiled as he didn't break a single sweat trekking across the plain desert he was sent through, 'Good thing I had time to prepare a cold aura spell, too bad it wasn't enough to perfect it' he thought to himself, of course there were down sides to such an imperfect spell; it was colder than expected, so cold that he was forced to wear two layers of winter gear just to keep the slightest bit of warmth.

 

He could almost see the town, though the aura bubble; another down side, could just be playing tricks on him, or possibly a mirage, but he had walked too far for it to be fake. The truth became so when the cold aura faded, and Arcane was vulnerable to the heat again. It instantly became burning on the inside of all the clothing, he struggled to take off all the clothes he had on, he he tripped on a scarf and he fell to the ground with a barely audible thud. "I'M TOO CLOSE TO STOP NOW" he yelled to the desert, he fumbled back to his feet and he slowly, but surely removed the rest of the gear on him. "Finally..." he mumbled to himself, but the heat still bested down on his dark purple coat, his mane almost drenched. "Ugh, now I remember why I stay indoors" he said in between strained breaths. He continued walking on to the town, hoping it wouldn't take too long to get there, but he knew that hope wasn't enough to keep him walking.

 

He finally reached the town, but right as he walked through the gates, he fell down, gasping for air. "W-...waaateerrr, please" he begged to one of the guards at the gate. The guard to his right quickly rushed over and opened his canteen, putting it up to Arcane's lips. Arcane gratefully drank down almost all the water in the container, he thanked the guard and got back on his hooves with the help of the guard. "You are one of the ponies being sent to the jungle, no?" the guard questioned, "Yeah, i'm with them" he responded with a nod. "Ah, good. Head to the tavern, your group should be waiting there for you." Arcane gave a thankful nod back and he started to head to where they would meet up. He noticed a few ponies already there, some of them didn't look able to keep up or deal with a dangerous journey like this, but you can't judge looks. "Hello, my name's Arcane, I'll be participating this expedition"

[Chespin 180]

(OOC: Hope that there isn't too many people who like posting in the night, because it'd be hard catching up...)

He looked up at the three gathered around him again. "My name's North Arrow. What are yours?"

"Oh hey there, m'name's Leaf Orange, how many more ponies are there going to be on the expedition, thanks whatever is your name is zebra for correcting me on that." he said in a kinda rushed voice. He had been here once before, but only for a short time, just to see Flip off. "So this town's in Timbucktu? How many live here exactly .." he said to the zebra, trying to make conversation. "Also, what's this "Heart of the Island."? I'm curious." Leaf experimentally asked. He had to go to the Amblezon forest to find Flip Flair, but he was curious of what this treasure was despite him probably not needing it.
 

"My name, dear friend, is Yemaza. I do wish to escort you travelers. I am young, but I am strong, I have seen many wonders of the world. You will find I am a helpful companion." His voice, like the other pegasus who had spoken, was deep and thoughtful, a voice uncommon for somepony so young. It was said that voices like this came from wisdom, and others would joke that he didn't have any. He almost scowled at the thought, but he held himself back.
 
"I hope you pony folk are ready, though it is little distance on a scale, it will still be tough to hike through treacherous vegetation. Though we will encounter no burans as the trees do have their uses sometimes, it will  be dangerous. Very dangerous, in fact. Anything that looks harmless may be deadly, and if it looks deadly, it is most likely deadly. No sugarcoating it here, if any beast mothers are just past the point of being enceinte,  it will be even worse for us." He decided that it was time to stop drilling these things into their souls, as it was enough to know they were entering the place. He pulled a traditional zebran snack made of salted oats with a little spice and held them out, chewing on one himself. "Want some? Very delectable."

 

"So can you explain what you said in a nutshell? I'm not very good at comprehending that sort of stuff..." Leaf Orange said, but this time in a much more calm voice. "Also Yemaza is kinda of a cool name, and yes I'm serious." he said respecting him. "Also, what's that stuff you got in your hoof called?" Leaf asked.

 

 

 

"Hello, my name's Arcane, I'll be participating this expedition"

 

"Well, good meeting you too." he said to Arcane

 

"How about we take turns explaining why we're all here, you go first Arcane."

[Mephala 2,632]

Dyn hated the heat.

 

The way it seeped into his very being, made him glisten with sweat-it was an awful, awful thing. The sand didn't help either, blowing into his eyes and getting stuck in his coat, and the foreign accents of the zebras were confusing to him as he had lived in a rural northern town for most of his days.

 

The zebra city of Timbucktu was, despite these irritating factors, gorgeous. The way the air shimmered in the heat gave an almost ethereal air, and you could look for miles outside the cities gates and not see anything but sand. The food here was excellent too; strange on the palate at first, to be sure, but in time it grew on you. They had many odd and exotic flavours and while not everything looked appetizing-he had had some odd stew a few days ago that was a nasty orange-green shade-he had picked up a few ideas for the cafe.

 

If he returned.

 

While that was a pretty huge "if", Dyn didn't care anymore. Death was a welcome thing in his life; while he wasn't weak enough to stoop to ending his own life, if it did by indirect means, then that was fine by him. Being called a "shemale" and "gender bender" his entire life hadn't exactly improved his already dismal outlook on life.

 

He was currently sipping some interesting tea which was derived from a particular type of cactus on a market street, watching the ponies gather outside the tavern where he had arrived earlier that morning.. Just that morning he had changed his form to his male self again; he had signed up as a guy, and turning up in his form of Fenyw wouldn't be a good idea.

 

Dyn never really remembered where his female form came from, but he had named her Fenyw after his beloved late sister. He had stayed in that for a week-the week he had been here-and he had been foggy on his memory all morning. The tea had helped clear his head.

 

Ponies were coming quickly, and he decided it was time that he finally showed his face. He threw a few coins on the table, the odd desert money they used here, and thanked the waiter respectfully before walking out to the group.

 

Everyone was talking and he lingered on the outskirts, not wanting to disturb anyone.

[Descant 1,897]

@, @, @, 

 

North dipped his head politely at the new arrivals as he shook Yemaza's hoof. "It's nice to meet you, Yemaza. And it would be great to have you along. The more, the merrier!" He knew that there was some truth to the matter, and that there definitely was safety in numbers. It would be nice to have the zebra along.

"Also, what's this "Heart of the Island."? I'm curious." 

When North heard this little tidbit come from the orange pegasus, he rolled his eyes visibly. "It's the 'Heart of the Jungle', not the 'Heart of the Island'. And it's rumoured to be something fantastic! Princess Celestia herself has taken an interest in discovering the truth of the matter. So she's sending me, and a few others to try and find it. Were you not chosen to come?" North gave Leaf a piercing look. "Why would you be here and not know about the expedition?" His voice was not accusing, but curious. North honestly didn't know why anypony in their right minds would leave Equestria for somewhere like this except for the most dire of circumstances.

 

He wished silently that he had managed to obtain a list of ponies who would be coming from Princess Celestia.

 

@, 

 

One of the ponies, the selfsame petite zebra mare that had shown North Arrow the way earlier, gestured at a tavern named the Grazing Zebra, and smiled at him. "They're in there, sweetie."

Edited January 3, 2013 by Descant

[Miss Light Diamond 2,801]

The sun was high in the sky (I think) as a pegasus pony with a white cape and a light grey turban slowly trotted towards a large city. *Oh Celestia this heat is too much.* She thought, Taking a swig from her water bottle and then putting it back into her bag. "Even the water is hot." She muttered. *I think I am going to fly the rest of the way.* She opened her wings and jumped into the sky.

 

After flying for a few minutes she entered the city.

She landed near a small inn where she was told she would meet the rest of the crew.

She pushed open the door and noticed a small group of ponies gathered around a table. She walked over and introduced herself. "Good afternoon everypony...My name is Light Diamond, I was hired to be your escort." She Nodded at the ponies and sat down on one of the chairs. "I have one tiny rule that I hope you will all obay...I am happy to work as a team but don't get in my way, If you can follow that one rule than we will get along quite nicely." She smiled at the group then ordered a cup of tea as a waitress trotted by.

 

(OOC: Well...Eeyup.)

[Chespin 180]

(OOC: I may play my Wii U a bit after this post.)
     "Oh wait, here it is..." he said, holding up a letter with Celetia's signature on it. "It says that I was one the ponies enrolled to be on the look out for the "Heart of the Jungle"... sorry 'bout that, I must of been so worried about something personal that I forgot all about it..." Leaf had been lucky to be chosen to explore the jungle, a ticket to get to the mysterious, scary Ambleon forest would normally cost a lot of money that he himself could never afford. Leaf Orange later decided to thank Celestia for sending him a solution to all of his problems, and a free trip!
 
     Leaf decided to take a bit of a closer look at the tavern they were in. He knew the tavern the group was meeting in was called the Grazing Zebra. Leaf saw a bartender, who looked sweaty and is a zebra, he also looked at the drinks that were served there, even though Leaf Orange was a light drinker, he didn't care that the meeting group was here. "Oh, and don't worry, I am here for the expedition." he said to North.

[The Original 571]

"How about we take turns explaining why we're all here, you go first Arcane."

 Arcane smiled and nodded, "I came here to research the Heart of the Island, I enjoy inspecting every single inch of things and testing. This is actually one of the projects I've been wanting to do for a while, and with this opportunity, I had to accept. I've been working under Celestia's hoof for a long time, but this is finally something I get to do without her telling me to" he said happily. "I also think it would be a good personal experience, a true first challenge, to strengthen one self to prepare for a later date for any situation." he said, making it sound a bit cheesy. "Also, I didn't catch any of your names, mind introducing yourselves to me?" he asked everypony politely. 'Arcane, don't get too cocky, this could be seriously dangerous. My spells should be all I need, but what if they aren't enough, what if I didn't prepare enough? I could just be jumping into a pit of death and I wouldn't even see it coming, Celestia did warn me of the dangers, but she also told me we don't know of everything that might be lurking in there'

[Mephala 2,632]

Dyn was busy examining everyone, trying to get an idea of what each pony was like before he said anything.

 

There was an orange pegasus who had an odd, unfamiliar accent who seemed to be fairly confident. A pretty purple pegasus was trying to give off a sophisticated air and seemed calm and collected. A black pegasus was rather shy and quiet and the zebra seemed wise beyond his years. Another pegasus seemed rather haughty, his coat a blue-grey colour. The final one was a unicorn as well, a deep purple who seemed rather normal.

 

He sat down behind them and ordered another cup of tea, sipping it carefully as he listened to the others talk about the Heart of the Jungle, some incorrectly referring to it as "the Heart of the Island".

 

Dyn had been quite surprised when he had received the letter from the Princess, whom he hadn't even met or seen before. She mentioned that his talents may come in handy. Dyn was useless at anything besides cooking, and he didn't see how male and female shapeshifting was going to be of any use. 

 

He glanced around, seeing if anyone else was coming, and sipped his tea carefully.

[Undyne 1,483]

Somber looked around the city, the sun glaring right into his irises, obscuring his vision to the maximum amount. And this heat wasn't helping either. The sweat dripped from the tips of his wings, and all down his neck from his blond mane. He needed to get inside before he passed out. What a fun experience that would've been: pass out in the desert before this "expedition" even got off the ground. He looked left and right, trying to find someplace that he can try to cool off as best as he could. Luckily, he saw that there was a small building to his right, and he dashed in there, where he was greeted with not-so-hot temperatures. Perfect. He also saw a group of ponies sitting around each other, and one of the ponies seemed to have a small scroll... He quickly took his out of his saddlebags, comparing it to the other. Sure enough, they were the same. They must be part of the expedition as well! 

 

"Uh, excuse me... Is this also part of the "Heart of the Jungle" expedition to which I've received a scroll about?", Somber asked the group in his usual, depressing, quiet tone.

[Marathon 562]

Hop looked around at the growing group of ponies. The purple mare seemed to have a certain something to her, Hop couldn't put a hoof on it but it defiantly got to her. Like many of the ponies there she ordered some tea and sat back to watch the group convers amongst them selves. Each pony seemed to have a quirk to them, but then again every pony she had talked to had something weird going for them. Like that Pinkie Pie character. Boy was she weird. After a few minutes her team came and thanked the zebra as they trotted off to take anymore orders. Hop took a sip of her tea and was taken back by the taste. It was different but good, and she was surprised she had never heard of it before. She then heard a quiet voice ask something. Looking over she saw a new pony and smiled at him. "Yes, this is. Are you part of our exhibition group?" she asked walking over to the pony who seemed a little down. "My name is Little Hop, or you can just call me Hop for short. Whats yours if you don't mind me asking." she led the pony to a table where the two of them could talk.

[Undyne 1,483]

Hop looked around at the growing group of ponies. The purple mare seemed to have a certain something to her, Hop couldn't put a hoof on it but it defiantly got to her. Like many of the ponies there she ordered some tea and sat back to watch the group convers amongst them selves. Each pony seemed to have a quirk to them, but then again every pony she had talked to had something weird going for them. Like that Pinkie Pie character. Boy was she weird. After a few minutes her team came and thanked the zebra as they trotted off to take anymore orders. Hop took a sip of her tea and was taken back by the taste. It was different but good, and she was surprised she had never heard of it before. She then heard a quiet voice ask something. Looking over she saw a new pony and smiled at him. "Yes, this is. Are you part of our exhibition group?" she asked walking over to the pony who seemed a little down. "My name is Little Hop, or you can just call me Hop for short. Whats yours if you don't mind me asking." she led the pony to a table where the two of them could talk.

 

Somber's head did a good 90 degree turn once he heard a new voice enter the conversation. Turns out, it was a gray mare who had struck a conversation with him. He was mainly phased by her white mane, how it glistened in the light... He was basically mesmerized until she had gotten up from the table, and led Somber to a new table so that the duo could talk privately. 

 

Great... She wants direct conversation... *sighs* This moment just keeps getting worse and worse... You might as well speak. Since she's part of the expedition, you might as well get to knowing her. 

 

"Uh... My name is Somber Tunes... But I go by Somber...", he said meekly, looking directly right at the tabletop. Talking... wasn't his forte. Neither was being around a lot of ponies. Or chances of dying. Or--

 

DAMN IT, CELESTIA! WHY DID YOU PUT ME THROUGH THIS?!

 

"Uh, could I... Ask a question, uh, Hop? What exactly is this for? I've received this scroll in the mail, saying something about the "Heart of the Jungle", and I figured this was a scam or prank... Until I saw the signature of the Princess... What does this all mean, exactly?"

[Miss Light Diamond 2,801]

@@Descant,

 

Diamond sat quietly, sipping her tea. *Oh my...This tea is...It could be better.* She took another sip. *I wish we could get a meeting together...I think a few of us are still unsure how things are going to go.The letter said the leader of the trip is somepony called North Star...Now, Who would that be ?* She thought, Looking at each of the ponies sitting at the table. She noticed the small grey one was missing. Diamond looked around the room and saw her sitting at another table with a colt who Diamond assumed was also part of the expedition.

She then turned her attention to the pony sitting across the table from her. "So...I assume you are North Star." She smiled at him. *He's... Kinda good looking......Ugh, Dont let colts get in the way of your job Diamond.*  *Ahem* "When do we leave and is there anything we need to do to prepare before leaving ?" She asked. "Also, How far away is the jungle ? I thought I could see it when I was flying here but...I wasn't sure, It looked very very far away...And I thought it may have been my mind playing tricks on me." 

 

(OOC: Come on, Lets get this thing rollin.)

[Marathon 562]

Somber's head did a good 90 degree turn once he heard a new voice enter the conversation. Turns out, it was a gray mare who had struck a conversation with him. He was mainly phased by her white mane, how it glistened in the light... He was basically mesmerized until she had gotten up from the table, and led Somber to a new table so that the duo could talk privately. 

 

Great... She wants direct conversation... *sighs* This moment just keeps getting worse and worse... You might as well speak. Since she's part of the expedition, you might as well get to knowing her. 

 

"Uh... My name is Somber Tunes... But I go by Somber...", he said meekly, looking directly right at the tabletop. Talking... wasn't his forte. Neither was being around a lot of ponies. Or chances of dying. Or--

 

DAMN IT, CELESTIA! WHY DID YOU PUT ME THROUGH THIS?!

 

"Uh, could I... Ask a question, uh, Hop? What exactly is this for? I've received this scroll in the mail, saying something about the "Heart of the Jungle", and I figured this was a scam or prank... Until I saw the signature of the Princess... What does this all mean, exactly?"

Hop watched the pony while he looked at the table and she gave a small look of confusion and interest. It always made her wonder what was going through a ponies mind when they kept away eye contact from other ponies. But for Somber it seemed he was a little uncomfortable, which was understandable considering no pony here knew each other and that she was up front with him. "A scam? I don't think anyone would come up with such an idea. And to answer your question I believe we are supposed to be traveling to the center of the forest. For what reasons I have no clue." she took a moment to study the stallion some more, who was still looking at the table. "Is there something wrong? You keep staring at the table and...it just strikes me curious. Are you not really wanting to go on this, because you know you didn't have to. Its not like the princess was going to throw you in jail or anything like that." Her voice soft showing her curiosity. Hop ordered a second cup of tea and again thanked the waiter. "You want some, Somber?" she asked offering him some. 

[Chespin 180]

(OOC: @ One problem, it's an advanced RP)

(OOC2: Also, I can't wait for the second day to come.)

 
"Okay a bit more ponies came along to spice up the party, how many are coming along on this trip exactly?" Leaf eagerly asked.
 
________________________________________________________________________________________________________
 
"So, are you okay going yourself?" Leaf asked Flip as she was getting on the boat. "Yes, I'm going to be okay, stop worrying about me, I'll be back in a week!" she confirmed. Flip then trotted on the boat, It was early morning, and she was the last passenger to get on board. "See ya." Leaf said. He didn't think that anything was going to happen to her since he was confident she'll return.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________
 
Leaf didn't think he'd have to worry about her, but here right now, It turned out that way. He then turned to the purple Pegasus mare, who he had to admit, her pupils are kinda weird. "Oh, hey there, I think from what I heard, were supposed to leave in a day, not too much time when you think about it..." he answered. He then turned over to a pony he heard who's name was Somber.

"Say, aren't you the one they called Somber? I'm trying to get to know everyone here...

[Descant 1,897]

@, 

 

(OOC: SOrry, I got carried away. Been watching Netflix all night.)

 

 

"Oh, and don't worry, I am here for the expedition."

"I came here to research the Heart of the Island, I enjoy inspecting every single inch of things and testing. This is actually one of the projects I've been wanting to do for a while, and with this opportunity, I had to accept. I've been working under Celestia's hoof for a long time, but this is finally something I get to do without her telling me to"  

"I also think it would be a good personal experience, a true first challenge, to strengthen one self to prepare for a later date for any situation." 

"Also, I didn't catch any of your names, mind introducing yourselves to me?"

 

 

North smiled, and inclined his head towards the pair, studying them intently. The orange pegasus seemed slightly preoccupied, but well prepared and fit. The purple unicorn, however eager he may be, didn't look the type to be going on such wild and dangerous adventures. He looked like he'd be more of a library pony. North knew that the cover of a book would be misleading, and he chose to withhold judgement for the time being. He extended his hoof to the unicorn, to shake. "North Arrow."

 

...

 

 

"So...I assume you are North Star." 

"When do we leave and is there anything we need to do to prepare before leaving ?" 

"Also, How far away is the jungle ? I thought I could see it when I was flying here but...I wasn't sure, It looked very very far away...And I thought it may have been my mind playing tricks on me." 

 

North looked around. It had been a gorgeous purple pegasus who had addressed him. He had to blink twice to make sure that she was no mirage.

 

"Well, it's North Arrow, not North Star, but... That's not important." He was quiet for a moment to hear her following questions, and responded in his characteristically confident, low voice. "What is important is that we each need to be able to support ourselves should the need arise. Before we depart tomorrow, we need to make sure to get canteens full of water, and the means to purify more for ourselves, which means we need fire and something to boil the water in. We need to pack food, but we won't be able to pack enough for the whole trip, so we'll need to find edible food on the go. Sorry, those of you who are squeamish; odds are it won't be something pleasant to eat. We'll need tents to protect us as we sleep. But most of all, we need to be prepared to defend ourselves. The forest is unforgiving." He spoke with a finality that was unmistakable. His experience was heard through his voice.

 

"It's about a day's trip away by sea. And it's nearly as big as Equestria, with trees as tall as our highest mountains. So we can't just fly over it. And rumour has it that it's guarding something precious. That all that savage jungle is not just there by coincidence." He jabbed a hoof at the map. "And we need our way to its center." When he lifted his hoof, the red X that marked the center of the jungle seemed to gleam in the light of the lamps that lit the inside of the tavern. 

Edited January 3, 2013 by Descant

[Miss Light Diamond 2,801]

(OOC: Danger, Your second OOC said it. I can't wait for day two.)

 

@@Descant, 

 

(OOC: I know what you mean...Netflix is like a drug.)

 

Diamond grinned. "Oops, My mistake. I have a tent, I still need to get more food, I need to refill my canteens and...Trust me, I am well prepared to defend myself...And everypony else." She drank the last little bit of her tea. "This jungle doesn't know what its in for. You gotta see my knife collection." She chuckled and pulled a large pouch from her huge saddlebag and placed it on the table. She untied a few pieces of rope and unrolled it. Inside were several throwing knives, A bowie knife, two butterfly knives a switch blade one jungle king dagger and one kitchen aid knife. "Pretty sweet huh...I also have a wakizashi." She grinned mischievously and rolled up the case. "Now I just need to find food to bring along, I also have several different types of tea...That I made of course." She smiled at North Arrow and put the knife case back into her saddle bag.

 

 

(OOC: A wakizashi is just a shorter katana...If you're wondering.)

[Mephala 2,632]

Dyn heard the mention of food and felt himself brighten a little. Finally, something he could do!

 

The large, powerful unicorn gently pushed his way from the edge of the cafe and stood next to their table.

 

"Dyn," he said in a rather deep voice suiting his size. "I'm a chef, and I studied at least some edible flora before I arrived. I should be able to make sonething at least consumable, but I can't promise about the taste."

 

Feeling as though he was intruding somehow, even though he had a right to be there like everyone else, he backed up a little again and looked everyone in the eye with a practiced stare. His tendency to remain calm and quiet could come off as timid, but Dyn merely didn't like to mince words, and knew that he wasn't the type ponies normally approached. He was too large, too menacing-nothing like the other regular sized ones surrounding him.

 

He felt the sudden urge to transform-Fenyw was a pretty mare who gave off a much warmer air than Dyn did, normally attracting more attention.

 

<No,> he thought firmly to himself. He had to kerp his secret-no one had to know what a freak he really was, and thus far he didn't know anyone well enough to judge them.

Edited January 3, 2013 by Nicolas Cage

[Descant 1,897]

@,

 

North looked reasonably impressed at Diamond's extensive knife collection. "Simply magnificent. I've never really gotten the knack for using throwing knives myself. It's a kind of flick, isn't it?" He flicked his wrist experimentally, then shook his head, smiling back at Diamond. "I keep only one, for when this doesn't suit my purposes." With this statement, he pulled a slingshot out of his own saddlebag.

 

Usually slingshots were mere toys, North knew, but there was something about this one that just seemed... powerful. It was sculpted out of a strong, flexible ash tree, and had intricate patterns carved into its surface. The lines, carved into it, seemed to be emitting a faint, icy blue light, as North knew they did. He had had the slingshot enchanted, so that any projectiles hurled out of it would be frozen solid, packing a more powerful punch. And more often than not, the projectile would have an icy effect upon its target, too... 

 

He would have demonstrated this, but before he could, a green unicorn approached them. North leaned back a little, to see him better. He was quite large, and coming from North, who was no small pony himself, well, that was saying something. His face grew into a smile at the news the unicorn bore. "Brilliant! I was wondering if we would get any botanists. I was afraid we were going to have to eat meat!" He laughed. He was not joking. 

 

He extended his hoof, as he always did when meeting somepony new. "North Arrow." His hoof hesitated, as the unicorn shrunk back, as if away from the handshake.

 

@, 

Edited January 3, 2013 by Descant