open Tears of Virtue

[Admiral Colt 61]

Colt snaps out of his gaze of the gem and hears the voice.

"What the... No way I'm following that thing, it's too... mysterious. I don't trust it."

He places the gem back in his saddlebag and looks over at the moving ball and back to his companions.

"Please tell me you're not thinking of following it."

[qqq 217]

"I have not got a clue what that thing is." Pondah addresses the gold ball directly. "Hey, glowing ball of golden light thing, what are you? I have never seen something like you before. Are you a Will o Wisp? If so, don't expect us to follow."

 

Pondah says to the other ponies, "If I do follow that thing, I'm not going alone. I've already almost died enough times today."

[Addem Up 246]

"Please... I cannot stay for long... and my power is so weak here..." The orb glows softly, shedding a warm light on the ponies. "I am in dire need... for the good of Equestria, for the good of your princesses... please... follow me..." The orb passes through the door, vanishing.

[Colt 555]

Colt stopped when he listened to the word princesses the dragon felt a shock running down his spine and stopped his walk with no words and turned towards the glowing orb, he didn’t said a thing he just had to knew if his friends were all right, it was stupid, careless and maybe dangerous but his feelings were stronger. “I’m going with the… light, if there Is a slight chance of helping them I cant turn my back”, he said to the group “you don’t need to come if you don’t want to”.

[qqq 217]

"I'll do it. That thing may of been the thing creating the golden web protection field back in that little battle royale we had. If so, I think it deserves some thanks. Colt, I'll be right behind you. Besides, helping some princesses might get me some action which is always fun."

[Admiral Colt 61]

"Fine... I'll go, if not anything else but to help."

He shakes his head and looks back at the two companions following the orb.

"But I have a bad feeling about this."

He starts to walk slowly and cautiously around him for any traps or ambushes.

"These ponies... and dragon haven't exactly been the most well functioning team, especially Pondah... But the others seem well enough. I'm keeping my eye on him though."

He thought to himself.

[Flicker 141]

Amber tingled with excitement, a thrill running through her entire being from her head to her hooves. Even her wings quivered. The light seemed so beautiful.Besides, it couldn't hurt them. It was light, wasn't it? As far as she knew, none of her friends- no, comrades -were vampires. "I don't know what it is, but maybe it's a spark of Celestia's golden sunlight, glimmering through the darkness." She wasn't paying attention as she slipped into prose. "I must follow, if I can." She lifted off the ground with a powerful flap of her wings and sped after the light.

[MagicalStarRain 599]

Star Rain was momentarily dazzled by the light and almost decided to dash off toward the source, but she quickly composed herself. "We'll have to be careful. Even the brightest light will have its dark corners," she said, remembering something she read long ago. Light isn't always benevolent.

[Addem Up 246]

The golden ball of light bobs up the spiral staircase, shedding its radiance over the tower's dark walls. It floats into a large room, a strange geometric pattern etched on the floor. In the center of the room stands a pillar with a glass case. Nestled among the rich red fabric under the case lies a brilliantly shining silver belt. The links of the belt are woven around seven brilliantly shining gemstones, each a different color. From left to right, the belt holds a topaz, a emerald, a ruby, a amethyst, a lapiz lazuli, a diamond, and an opal. The ball of light hovers above the case, the geometrical patterns on the floor shimmering softly as its light flows onto them.

[Admiral Colt 61]

"If that thing is asking me to part with my gems, I don't think that's happening. It took me too long to find this thing."

Colt said guarding his pack.

"Besides, even if I did, I still doubt that I can trust this thing. I trust ponies, and now dragons. But not strange entities of light that claim "We must help it." I want some proof it won't try and kill us all."

He slowly placed a hoof on the small axe, ready to strike at any enemies.

[qqq 217]

"Sooo. What are these things you were so desperate to show us strange floating un-named light ball?" Pondah asks the rest of the group. "Should we take them? If we are allowed that is. Oh. Wait a moment, seven jewels. There aren't seven of us. If we take them all, somepony will have more. Unless we give a couple away to other ponies."

[Flicker 141]

Solar Flicker whistled admiringly. "Not bad." The stones were obviously precious, thoughthshe didn't know exactly what kinds they were. Stones had never been her thing. They were so cold, so hard, so unalive. Why her mother had loved them so much was a mystery to her. "So what's the catch?"

[MagicalStarRain 599]

Star Rain examined the gems with nothing but sight and made a list of suggestions in her head. A puzzle? Maybe we have to take these gems somewhere? Maybe Colt has to part with his gems... Then she got an idea. What would happen if I charged them with my magic? "Hey, do you think I can try and charge these gems with my magic?" she asked everypony(dragon included).

[Admiral Colt 61]

Fortune listens to everypony around him hearing their opinions.

"I don't know. But my option hasn't changed, this gem isn't going anywhere. Not unless this light proves itself trustworthy in some way. Otherwise, I won't budge. You don't know how hard it was to get this thing."

Every second his grip on his weapon gets stronger and stronger. He looks around himself, feeling as if something is about to happen.

[Addem Up 246]

The light, which had previously done nothing more than bob in the air, suddenly began to give off a dazzling light. The carvings in the ground lit up, shifting colors before assuming a brilliant white hue. The air began to hum, a powerful yet gentle voice echoing around the room. "You have done well, adventurers, to make it this far." Beams of light shoot from the edges of the carving, and a shimmering image of a golden alicorn appears above the case, where the light ball had been hanging. "I am Epona, the Watcher."

Edited February 11, 2013 by Addem Up

[Admiral Colt 61]

Fortune gazes at the sight before him, he's almost in awe. He doesn't let his guard down, but he lowers it a tad.

"You're... You're an Alicorn. You say you're a watcher though, what do you mean by that? What do you watch? Oh the questions I have for you. I'm sorry for not trusting before. It's just magic in general really." He walks back and forth, pacing with a limp slowly. Several thoughts running through his head. "This is amazing! That ball of light contains so much power, and it's sentient. Thank Celestia!"

[Flicker 141]

Solar Flicker looked in awe at the allicorn. "Are you sunlight?" She blurted, her moment of prose gone. Just as well. She didn't know what she'd tell the others if they found out about her artistic side. "I mean, are you some leftover sunshine from Celestia? And what do you watch?"

[Addem Up 246]

"Patience, young ones. I shall answer your questions. But first..." Golden light washes over your bodies, reinvigorating you and healing the wounds you'd received fighting the changelings. The Alicorn smiles, softly speaking once more. "I am not sunlight, no. Celestia had no hand in my being. As for what I watch... everything. I see everything that happens in Equestria. It is my duty to record all of Equestria's happenings, for the time when the world is no more. Only thus shall Equestria be remembered."

 

The alicorn clears her throat, then sighs. "Sadly, there is one who wishes to oppose me. An ancient evil, more subtle and powerful than even Discord. He has no name; however, ponies of old called him the Gray One. He is a being of lost memories, seeking to wipe Equestria from the minds of the ancients. Only then can he rebuild the land to suit him. For this reason, he has taken your princesses. Even now, he seeks to overwhelm them, to rob them of their memories. He must be stopped."

[Colt 555]

he has taken your princesses. Even now, he seeks to overwhelm them, to rob them of their memories. He must be stopped.

“No this light, this being must be lying ” Colt thought with his hopes shattered and feelings some disorientation even nausea. “Where are they now? where does this thing has Tia and Luna?” the words of the dragon were filled with a mix of rage and confusion hard to explain and understand.

 

Maybe the other ponies were able to feel de desperation in his words, those two were his world and he swear to protect them, he failed them he failed the only ponies in his life that really matter.

 

“Speak Watcher. How can I stop him? ” he claimed for the light and its divine figure.

[Flicker 141]

"So basically you're the historian of the world?" Solar Flicker asked The Watcher. "I don't get it. How do we stop memories? And what happens if he gets you?" She began pacing in midair. "Does nopony remember the Royal Sisters? And who are the Ancients? I didn't know there was somepony older than Celestia?"

[Admiral Colt 61]

Fortune looked over at the dragon with sympathetic eyes.

"I know what it's like to lose a friend to dark magics... You're not alone my friend."

He drifts off into a memory for a moment then snaps back to reality, realizing his eyes are now glassy and that a tear had been shed.

"I miss you Speedy. You helped me get this jewel, and I'll figure out what to do with it some way or another."

I thought deeply to myself.

[Addem Up 246]

Epona blushes slightly. "Forgive me. I often forget which time I am visiting. The Ancients are merely the future names for the princesses. As for nopony remembering them... It is even worse than that. They will forget you, their world, the entirety of existence. And since everything must exist, it will fall to the Grey One to control it. That is why he has taken them." Epona closes her eyes. "He has removed them from this plane, locked them in an ethereal world. You cannot reach them, not with your current power. If you wish to help them, you must find their champion. He, or she, is their chosen warrior. Only the champion can rescue the Princesses." She gestures towards the case in the center of the room. "These are the Tears of Virtue. They will guide you to the Champion. They are powerful magical artifacts on their own. In the presence of the Champion, however, they are the only weapon against the Grey One."

 

She smiles slightly. "And to answer your second question, Pegasus... He will not get me."

[qqq 217]

(OOC: Yeah, real original name Addem Up)

 

"Tears of Virtue eh. So what makes them so special? Are they like pieces of a super-weapon or something? And also, do you have any idea who or what this "Champion" is? Do you even know what it looks like?

 

Pondah puzzles of what he has heard so far and tries thinking of anything champion related in his mind.

 

[Champion <n>: The best at something who has surpassed all rivals. No, I don't think that that's right. Wait a minute, Champion... Someone who acts in place of a king or queen. That's the one.]

[Addem Up 246]

"The tears are the manifestation of the seven great virtues." Epona runs a hoof over the case, pointing to each gem in turn. "The topaz, symbol of faith. The emerald, symbol of honor. The amethyst, symbol of peace. The diamond, symbol of strength. The ruby, symbol of joy. The lapiz lazuli, symbol of luck. And lastly, the opal, symbol of hope." She pauses over the last gem. "This world needs hope, and only the Champion can restore it. Sadly, I have no knowledge of the Champion's whereabouts; they are hidden, even from my eyes. But you will know him, for the tears will join together in his presence."

[Admiral Colt 61]

"Faith, honor, peace, strength, joy, luck... These all seem like key traits to a pony. Who are these things for then?"

Fortune looks over at the gems for any ideas to come to his mind.

"Wait... You mean for us to take them upon ourselves, and seek out this champion don't you? I was just hoping to help as many ponies as I could then get out of this place."