private Adventure to Atlantis

[Ano170 162]

Dox just sat there and listened to everything Moon said to him. 'I know I have to live with it... I've already lived with it my entire life almost...' He thought. "I doubt it will help..." He blushed a bit as both mares got as close as possible, it seemed, until Moon got up and left. She whispered something, then walked away. Feather, who was still there, said something about everypony jumping off a cliff. "Uh... I'm still right here, you know..."

 

(OOC: This'll probably be my last post for tonight.)

 

"Hmm?" Feather jumped away from Paradox; she hadn't even noticed how close she'd ended up being to him. Hovering in the air, Feather prayed to Luna and Celestia that nopony could see her blushing.

 

"Uh," Feather racked her brains frantically. "I was just saying that I should go help with loading the trucks or something - I am a crew member after all, in writing at least." She forced a chuckle, then reached down to grab her beret and turned to fly away, only to turn back to Dox. She felt guilty about leaving him when he still seemed upset, but she needed some time to think. Besides, she did have a duty to help the other crew members, and so far she'd done a pretty good job of skiving already that day.

 

"So uh, you're good, right?" She asked him. Stupid question, Quill. She chided herself mentally.

[Descant 1,898]

 

@@Glaceon, 

@@Nightfall,

 

"Uh-heh." Giant looked over at the colt who'd been fussing over Cascade with him--Nightfall, if he remembered the roster correctly--and leaned in to whisper to him for a second. "Cascade's a little shaken. Might be dizzy, could be she had some pretty bad concussins. I want somepony to walk with her when we move again, to make sure she's okay. She might need to be held up on her hooves. And I won't be able to do that while I'm toting a battle saddle. You mind?"

This was some good busywork to take his mind off the iminent threats; survival measures were everyday, mind-numbing work for him, a menial task he could focus on to forget where he was. If this kept up he might actually be able to be calm.

As if to prove Giant's point, Cascade took a few steps into the sand and stumbled slightly. She managed to catch herself, and trotted over to the rest of the group, displaying an unfortunate limp.

 

Still rather soggy, Cascade limped up to Ocean, stopping a few feet away from the mare. Not because of the curse, no, she was unaware of that. It was because she was tired. 

 

"I'm here... I'm here," she informed the captain of the science team.

Edited May 8, 2013 by Glaceon

[Nightfall 3,950]

@@Glaceon, 

@@Nightfall,

 

"Uh-heh." Giant looked over at the colt who'd been fussing over Cascade with him--Nightfall, if he remembered the roster correctly--and leaned in to whisper to him for a second. "Cascade's a little shaken. Might be dizzy, could be she had some pretty bad concussins. I want somepony to walk with her when we move again, to make sure she's okay. She might need to be held up on her hooves. And I won't be able to do that while I'm toting a battle saddle. You mind?"

This was some good busywork to take his mind off the iminent threats; survival measures were everyday, mind-numbing work for him, a menial task he could focus on to forget where he was. If this kept up he might actually be able to be calm.

 

 

 

As if to prove Giant's point, Cascade took a few steps into the sand and stumbled slightly. She managed to catch herself, and trotted over to the rest of the group, displaying an unfortunate limp.

 

Still rather soggy, Cascade limped up to Ocean, stopping a few feet away from the mare. Not because of the curse, no, she was unaware of that. It was because she was tired. 

 

"I'm here... I'm here," she informed the captain of the science team.

 

"Oh, sure... I guess. Lemme just-"

He looked at Cascade, who seemed to be fine right now.

"Oh. Well... I guess she's fine for now. Still... I just- I'll keep an eye on her, if you think that I should, all right?"

He stopped and looked at the colt who had asked him to help Cascade walk.

[Dawn Stripes 301]

@@Nightfall,

@,

 

 

"Barely staying on her hooves, despite staying on them, isn't fine right now," Giant admonished gingerly. "There's going to be some walking ahead if I remember that accursed briefing. Please do keep an eye on her. Try to make sure she lies down if she had too much trouble--let me know if you need to clear gear off one of the trucks." 

 

With that, Giant returned to the most monotonous physical task he could find, with the result being that the convoy was packed together in chugging steel in relatively short order. "We got everything out," Giant reported, addressing the progress to Captain Iron Hoof. "I don't see any reason to stick around shore longer than we have to."

[Miss Light Diamond 2,802]

@@Dawn Stripes,

 

((Alright. Sorry to everyone else but you're now dead. If you want to stay in you better post in the OOC and we can get you back in somehow))

 

Iron Hoof nodded. "ALRIGHT. LISTEN UP. We're leaving. Any injured, get into the trucks. Anypony else can walk." He said as the vehicles around them started their engines and slowly began moving towards the large opening in the cave moving down into the earth.

Ocean hopped onto the back of a supply truck and let her legs hang off the back. She wasn't in the mood for walking and if somepony had a problem with that...buck them.

[The-Master 1,176]

@@Dawn Stripes,

 

((Alright. Sorry to everyone else but you're now dead. If you want to stay in you better post in the OOC and we can get you back in somehow))

 

Iron Hoof nodded. "ALRIGHT. LISTEN UP. We're leaving. Any injured, get into the trucks. Anypony else can walk." He said as the vehicles around them started their engines and slowly began moving towards the large opening in the cave moving down into the earth.

 

Ocean hopped onto the back of a supply truck and let her legs hang off the back. She wasn't in the mood for walking and if somepony had a problem with that...buck them.

"Walking... Oh good fun." Star muttered sarcastically under his breath. So far his impression of Ocean was a less than plesent one, especially considering what Steel had mentioned to him earlier. But it really wasn't important right now, all that mattered was that they found what they came for.

[Dawn Stripes 301]

@,

 

Giant peeked into the refrigerated pod and yelled inside, his booming voice rebounding off the metal edges. "Frostbite! Wake up, for Luna's sake! We're leaving!" 

 

Then he hurried to get a place in line--at first he moved up and down the column to make sure everypony was alright, but he knew that would have to change. He needed a secure formation if this really was the home of some lost city.

Trusting that 'it didn't make sense for there to be monster' hadn't turned out very well last time.

 

"It's not a military exercise, she said. There'll be some bumps along the road, but we shouldn't have to fight, she said." Giant snorted derisively to himself. He should have stopped trusting that mare long ago.

 

She was riding a vehicle in the middle of the convoy. It could make it difficult to keep an eye on her. As the only real gunpony in the expedition, Giant's obvious position was at the front, where he could deal with potential new threats where they were most likely to appear. Yet there was this risk sitting smack in the middle of all his ponies. He thought about asking Steel to keep an eye on her--if he worded it right, he could get him to protect her when he'd really be protecting every pony around her--and he would if he had to, but he didn't want to endanger Steel more than necessary, even if he was the second most reliable protector here. At any rate, Giant had a sickening fear that bullets of swords would go straight through Ocean Wind if she turned into water. Traditional weapons couldn't be trusted. In fact, his best shot was Frostbite. She, beyond a shadow of a doubt, could almost instantly incapacitate the water creature if she turned into a danger. Frostbite was the only pony he could trust with keeping them safe from Ocean Wind.

 

Therein lie the problem.

 

Giant knew he had to give it a shot; there was just nothing for it. He still hadn't found any way to predict the unicorn's behavior, but the logic wasn't lying, and he had to take whatever risk was coming to him. So as he waited for Frostbite to join the convoy, he took the opportunity to make use of his status as 'captain'. "Also, Frosty, it's time to earn your pay again. I'm going to be at the front of the convoy, so I need you...near the rear guard. Somepony needs to keep an eye on the convoy in case something comes at us from behind. You understand. Make sure to keep an eye on the expedition leader and the captain...they should be together...and they're important, obviously. So that means I'm giving you responsibiltiy! You can do responsibility, right?"

[Miss Light Diamond 2,802]

@@The-Master,

((Iron Hoof was the one yelling at everyone to walk. He is the captain of the sub...er...was. He is basically the leader...apart from Ocean))

 

 

 

 

Ocean found a small spot near the back of the truck and lay down. She dropped her bag next to her and curled up into a ball...this trip was going horribly wrong.

[The-Master 1,176]

@@The-Master,

 

((Iron Hoof was the one yelling at everyone to walk. He is the captain of the sub...er...was. He is basically the leader...apart from Ocean.

(OCC: Don't worry, I am fully aware of that, and I never referred to Ocean being the one who have the order oringinally. It was simply Star reflecting over what he's learn about her so far. He's a rather inquisitive pony. And this is now just random filler. Yay!)

[Milk Wave 454]

@

 

Immediately, Moon took action and limped up onto the same truck Ocean was on. Within a few moments she started to settle in on the side caps above the tires, grabbing the nearest poles to hold onto and letting her wings stretch out.

 

She felt as the truck started to go over rough terrain, which bounced her up and down. One bump nearly shook her off, but she managed to cling on.

A smile struck her face just a bit after.

 

Man. This day is just getting better, and better.."

Edited May 9, 2013 by 1_0_4_3268764 0 OK 0

[Count Paradox 3,548]

Dox sighed. "I really don't know anymore... I just..." Then, the command for the injured ponied to ride in trucks was shouted, so he stood up. "Well, I guess we're moving now... I'll go get in a truck, seeing as I don't wanna trust myself with my cuts. I lost a lot of blood, and I'm tired, I might fall over..." He walked over to the nearest truck and got in right before it moved.

[Steel Accord 6,660]

@@Dawn Stripes,

 

"Master Sergeant!" Steel called from above. "I see we are Oscar Mike, what would you have me do? My primary position is the protection of Iron Hoof, but I don't think he needs it." Steel said with a grin. "So that leaves Ms. Ocean. Of course, I would imagine you'd have additional tasks for me?" Steel asked.

@,

 

((OOC: Consider me talking to Giant happening at a different time.))

 

Steel flew closely behind the truck that the beautiful unicorn was riding on. Looking just a tad forlorn.

 

"Hello again, my lady." He greeted. "You look somewhat melancholy. Does something trouble you?" 

[Miss Light Diamond 2,802]

@@Steel Accord,

 

Ocean didn't speak. She simply pointed out at a group of ponies who were staring at her and whispering. "Whole crew." She said, letting her hoof hang off the front of the cart. "Its just Trottingham all over again. Only now that we're here...I cant get away." She sighed and rolled over.

[Steel Accord 6,660]

@,

 

Steel was sorely tempted to introduce the indicated group to his namesake, but he held back. No, Ocean was right, this was a closed circle. Discretion would have to be the better part of valor . . . for now. Still he couldn't just leave her like this. Suddenly a thought struck him.

 

"My Lady?" He asked. "Just out of curiosity, how did you get your cutie-mark?" He pointed to the water spout adorning her (nicely curved) flank. 

[Miss Light Diamond 2,802]

@@Steel Accord,

 

 

She glanced back at her flank before speaking. "I was twelve. I was being made fun of by some foals in my town. This was by the lake. I had gone there to read and they were all swimming. They saw me alone and started calling me names because I had no friends...and  I spent all my time in my room except odd occasions where I went out...to read. Anyway, they were all pointing and laughing and I snapped. My horn glowed, I dropped my book in the mud and a water spout shot from the water. No pony was hurt but they didn't bother me after that day...rather than not bothering me ponies would avoid me...until my curse, and that's when they started bothering me again. So I moved away." She said.

[Steel Accord 6,660]

@,

 

Well . . . that sort of backfired on Steel. Here he was trying to cheer her up with some childhood memories and it turned out her's offered no such bliss. Steel rapt his thoughts with a way to cheer her up, to connect with her like before and make her feel appreciated.

 

"I see, well how did you discover the proof that will lead to Atlantis? What about it do you believe holds your salvation?"

 

((OOC: We can stop whenever you wish. Just let me know.)) 

[Miss Light Diamond 2,802]

@@Steel Accord,

 

Ocean glanced up. "In Canterlot. I was doing some research on the Ambleazon and I read something about the ancient city and its connection to the Ambleazon. A book was recovered in the ruins of a massive building in the jungle...very advanced for its time. I did some research and ended up getting to see the book. I connected several dots ponies had been working on for some time...and they were impressed enough to let me join their team. One thing led to enough and we had enough proof to start the expedition." She said, resting her head back on the ground.

[Steel Accord 6,660]

@,

 

"Interesting." Steel remarked, genuinely interested. "You've journey quite a ways for your long sought cure. Who, in particular, did you impress enough to have this venture funded?" He flew and hovered to a position across from the unicorn. "Do you mind if I sit, my lady?"

[Miss Light Diamond 2,802]

@@Steel Accord,

 

Ocean sat up so Steel could sit down. "Please do. And Fancy Pants funded the trip. He was quite impressed with what I had so he agreed." She said, looking out at the small gave where the subs surfaced, slowly shrinking away in the distance as they moved through the cave.

[Steel Accord 6,660]

@,

 

Steel sat down but his eyebrows leaped up at that familiar name.

 

"Incredible!" He exclaimed. "Fancypants is not only my frequent employer, but also my close friend!" Steel laughed. "Now I can see how this all worked out. I wondered why he was so unusually insistent on me taking this job. I guess he wanted somepony he was close to, to see if his investment turned out." Steel theorized. 

[Miss Light Diamond 2,802]

@@Steel Accord,

 

Ocean nodded. "That would probably be why." She said, reaching into her bag. A few moments later she pulled out a picture of her and Fancy Pants at the docks before the ship left. They were both smiling happily at the camera and Ocean couldn't help but smile again. "He's been so kind to me these passed few years."

[Steel Accord 6,660]

@@Steel Accord,

 

Ocean nodded. "That would probably be why." She said, reaching into her bag. A few moments later she pulled out a picture of her and Fancy Pants at the docks before the ship left. They were both smiling happily at the camera and Ocean couldn't help but smile again. "He's been so kind to me these passed few years."

Steel raised an eyebrow. Fancypants always seemed to mask his true intentions, even from his close associates. He was not nefarious, just guileful.

 

"I take it he's been more than a mere sponsor for you as well?" Steel said. "I can relate. Nopony would give me a job, in writing or protection before I met him. He was among the first ponies I felt I could truly call a friend."

 

((OOC next post will be my last for now.))

Edited May 9, 2013 by Steel Accord

[Miss Light Diamond 2,802]

Steel raised an eyebrow. Fancypants always seemed to mask his true intentions, even from his close associates. He was not nefarious, just guileful.

 

"I take it he's been more than a mere sponsor for you as well?" Steel said. "I can relate. Nopony would give me a job, in writing or protection before I met him. He was among the first ponies I felt I could truly call a friend."

 

((OOC next post will be my last for now.))

 

Ocean shrugged. "In a way. I own a potions shop which gets next to no business so I spend my days...reading and researching. Fancy Pants hired some help around the shop so I had some more time off to work on the trip...he also gave me a small sum of bits for myself as I was running low. We agreed that if we find Atlantis I can pay him back later." She chuckled.

[Agent505 661]

@@Dawn Stripes,

 

(OOC: Sorry, went to bed)

 

Frostbite opened one eye when Giant spoke, looking up at him in somewhat of a daze. She yawned, covering her mouth with a hoof and then climbed out of the pod, her mane glistened from exposure to the sub-zero climate - as if she had been dunked headfirst into a vat of glitter, and her coat seemed to be much brighter than it was before, taking on an almost reflective sheen. 

 

She raised an eyebrow as the convoy started to move, before turning to face the pod and absorbing as much of the mist into her horn as she could, then jumping down to catch up with the group. "You mean we're getting paid for this?" she chuckled "Don't worry cap, i'll see to it nopony gets cold feet on this journey." she looked behind her at the floor, her hooves now leaving snowy-white frostprints on the ground. "Besides, I think waking at the back would have been the ideal choice anyway."

[Milk Wave 454]

@ @@Steel Accord

 

From the side, Moon still sat. The only thing she heard was two ponies talking to eachother on top. And she listened through the whole story before letting off the poles to look up.

She was surprised at first, seeing that it was Ocean and Steel up top. Since Moon didn't think the captain of the expedition would be on a truck. Was she injured by something, or just there?

But shortly after quite a bit of thinking, she quickly remembered that she was going to state something to them.

"I heard everything.. Though I would question, what do you mean when the whole crew is staring at you? Would something be wrong that I don't know about?"

 

(( Hint about Moon Wave: She never paid any attention that Ocean was ever in a different form at one period of time, so she technically doesn't know what's happening at this moment. ))