open Beyond these Walls: An adventure through Equestria. (Applications open!)

[EcstaticWind 572]

Noble Persona

@, @, @, @@Midnight Scribbler, 

 

Noble shook Midnight Scribbler's hoof. "I thought so. A stallion such as yourself must be quite talented, am I right? In any case, it's a pleasure to meet you." Noble said, smiling in his unintentionally sinister manner. 'If I want them to trust me, I'll have to play along. Well, Sable always did say I should socialize more. Though a place like this may not be what he had in mind.'

 

Aegis Dare

@,

 

Aegis tried his best to relax while he still could, but there was still that little feeling in the back of his mind saying that he needed to fly. He needed to feel the wind and see the sky again. He let out a sigh and scarfed down the last of his bell peppers. But that nagging sensation got too much to bear for him to think quietly. "Hey, Kingfisher, mind if I take a sip of that brandy? I gotta get my mind off this temple before I go nuts..."

[The Elusive Cinder 1,328]

Kingfisher.
 
@,

@@Windbreaker,

"I've heard that name a few times now. I know it from somewhere but..." She smiled and shrugged: she had her friend here - everything else would fall into place sooner or later. Leaning over, she held out the bottle for Aegis. 

 

"Go ahead - don't think I'm much cut out for drinking to be honest." She said. "Helps keep you sane though. I think."

Edited November 21, 2013 by Cinderscribe

[Mephisto 56]

Kingfisher.

 @,

@@Windbreaker,"I've heard that name a few times now. I know it from somewhere but..." She smiled and shrugged: she had her friend here - everything else would fall into place sooner or later. Leaning over, she held out the bottle for Aegis. 

 

"Go ahead - don't think I'm much cut out for drinking to be honest." She said. "Helps keep you sane though. I think."

Blake looked at Kingfisher. "I don't blame you, I wasn't a big drinker when I first tried it. Not much now either, mostly just for special occasions." He brushed his mane back with his hoof. His pipe was already gone and in his bag. "So, how's everypony feeling? Pavi? Aegis? Kingfisher?" He inquired.

[EcstaticWind 572]

Aegis Dare

@, @,

 

"Cheers," Aegis said with a smile. He took a sip of brandy and shuddered. He obviously wasn't a drinker, since it tasted like it burned on the way down. On the bright side, he no longer felt like he was going crazy. He turned to the mystery pony. "Could be better, could be worse. Y'know, I've just had a crazy idea about this place. Since we've been here, we've seen stuff that no sane pony would ever build. So, anypony think that this place might be reacting to our thoughts?"

[Ihei 713]

@,@,@@Windbreaker, 

 

Willow Starsinger

 

"Well.. I.." Willow started nervously, "I might've read a word or two.. of.. the.. Litany.." Willow said, getting quieter each word. "I don't see how you aren't an alicorn anymore. Are you still going to find the Litany?" Willow asked cautiously, hoping the answer would be 'no,' for her brother's sake. She glanced back at Zintiik quickly then looked back at her brother. Willow then heard a voice behind her: which she recognized as Noble's. She handed the sword back to him nervously: she has always been afraid of blades.. she patted around her mane to check for Kricket, and couldn't seem to find it. She looked around frantically, freeing herself from Orion's grasp.

 

Aphrodite

 

Aphrodite was resting against a rock, not even caring for the 'shadow figures.' She was thinking to herself about considering about what Blast had said: did he really mean it, or was he just teasing her? Or was it a trick..? She looked over at him with the others, then continued fiddling with her mane. She knew that she should trust nopony.. not even Blast.

Edited November 21, 2013 by Shaymin

[Geek0zoid 1,468]

Blast

Blast ended up going through the cave with Eclipse. He concluded that he really didn't have much of a choice. They had to get moving again sooner or later. They might as well find their shadows.

"You better make sure you don't get us lost, Eclipse." Blast commented. "If we do, we'll never find the others!"

 

Eclipse

"Boy, you worry too much." Eclipse replied. "If we take out all of these things, the cave will probably just show us the exact way out. Just follow my lead."

[Mephisto 56]

As Blake had begun to feel better he stood up. He moved out to a ridge of the light. "I'm just gonna check some stuff out. I won't go too far." He said as he stepped toward an old statue. He places a hoof on it and turns around, "By the way, my name is Blake, it's a pleasure to meet you." He noted, realizing that he hadn't been introduced to most of the ponies here.

Edited November 21, 2013 by Blake Diamante

[Umbreon 569]

Pavisa

 

@,

@@Windbreaker,

 

Pavisa starts to laugh, of all things, tilting her head back and shutting her eyes.  She couldn't help herself - it had just occurred to her how funny their situation was.   

 

"Wait, so we're in a temple that may or may not be changing based on our thoughts...  In possibly one of the most dangerous places in Equestria, trying to find this all powerful artifact...  And we're sitting here sharing a drink like we all just got off of work."  She laughs again as she shakes her head.  Not at Aegis' idea - it made as much sense to her as anything else had since they walked into this temple.  She was just laughing at their situation.  

 

"This is too rich...  Hey, if it reacts to our thoughts, does that mean if we get drunk we'll confuse it!?"  That thought simply makes her laugh harder, reaching up with one hoof to wipe a bit of moisture from her eyes.

 

 

Zintiik

 

@, @@Midnight Scribbler,

 

He hadn't noticed it until Willow had said something, but she was right...  Orion's wings were gone!  How did I not notice that?  Was I that distracted!?  That was a disturbing thought for the changeling - from experience, bad things happened when he missed details.  One missed detail could make the difference between a perfect disguise and being seen through in an instant.  While the others spoke he moves closer to look at the spot where Orion's wings should have been.  Glancing from there to Willow's new wings for a comparison, Zintiik just scratched his head.  Weird...  Not that I have much room to talk with what this place is doing to my powers.

[SilverHeart 741]

Sunshine Rays

 

"Hmm, well I don't know much about the specifics, but mine and Midnight's friend Blizzard Blitz filled me in when he came home badly injured. I think the original group was assembled to retrieve the Litany and bring it to the princesses before some unidentified pony who'd already read some of it manages to read it again, which turned out to be Orion. After that several others just kind of tagged along as they got swept up in the conflicts between Orion and our group. And now some of the group have gone more towards the idea that instead of sending the Litany to Canterlot that we should just destroy and be done with the trouble. As for why we oppose Orion, well it sounds to me like we got off on the wrong hoof and things have just gotten worse from there. That pretty much sums it up." Sunshine said, not nervous at all about explaining things that she really hadn't been around for. She just hoped Mirror would realize that she was being honest.

(OOC: Posting from phone.)

 

Mirror continued to walk down the halls sometimes peeking into side rooms st see if it led elsewhere. None of the rooms did. Mirror continued to retrace their steps to where Mirror and Sunshine had separated from the others. She just hoped that Sunshine's brother wasn't a corpse waiting to be found by the two mares. Hopefully, Orion had let him live. Trying to keep away from such thoughts, Mirror renewed her search for a hallway that would lead elsewhere.

 

"I'm having trouble seeing the dark. If you would, keep your eyes open for a hallway please. Perhaps you'll fare better." Mirror requested. She kept silent for a few second before asking a question that had been bothering her since Sunshine had finished speaking. "How does your group plan to destroy the Litany? I'm fairly certain that powerful arcane artifacts are...rather durable."

[Icy Void 19]

Sunshine Rays

 

"To be honest, I don't think they have a plan for that yet. We've just been focusing on finding it, which has been plenty hard to do on it's own. But I'm certain my brother has a few ideas, he's spent most of his life researching magic and magical items, even the Litany, so if anypony were to have an idea it would be him." Sunshine said, proud to be Midnight Sky's younger sister. As she and Mirror walked, Sunshine was conflicted on whether or not to actually look for side paths, seeing as Midnight did tell her to stall Mirror, but Mirror had been so friendly that not looking for paths would be mean. Plus she didn't want to get lost herself, so it would help to look for paths. Ultimately Sunshine chose a compromise, she would look for side paths but she wouldn't necessarily tell Mirror about. This was better than not looking at all, but it still felt mean to her

[The Elusive Cinder 1,328]

Legion?
 
Being banished was far from a pleasant experience.
 
Of course being a manifestation of Orion's mind, Legion was unable to feel pain, boredom or anger - in fact, he point blank did not exist save for a voice in Orion's head. This he pondered as he drifted through the void, perfectly aware of the falseness of his reasoning.
 
"This is... is this boredom?" He though. "... We do not enjoy it. It is time to leave, as soon as possible... "
 
---------------
 
Orion Starsinger.
 
@,
@,
@@Windbreaker,
 
"You... you read..." Orion stammered, eyes widening. She had done what? Why had she... how had she...
 

He spared a moment to point a hoof at the Changeling. "I'll get to you in a minute..." He muttered before turning back to his sister.

 

"How could you... didn't you think? All of this time trying to keep you safe... look after you after mother and father...  and you... you..." Words failed him. "Don't you understand how dangerous that was? Why didn't you tell me? Didn't you think that I would need to know something this important?"
 
'...Orion?'
 
"And then you run off alone and I find you with... with wings! Don't you remember how dangerous it was back at the last temple? Are you trying to get yourself killed?"

 

'...Orion?'

 

"You asked for some freedom... to go off on your own and I said yes... I didn't want to be overbearing... and this is how you repay me?"

---------------
 
Kingfisher.
 
@,
@@Windbreaker,
@,
@,

 

Reaching for the bottle, Kingfisher hiccuped before draining another fraction of the Brandy. She felt herself slip sideways along the statue and snorted with barely suppressed laughter as she swayed in place somewhat precariously.

"We... we... why not? I'm sick of this dingy place! Five minutes respite for some liquid joy I say!"

She held up a hoof commandingly.

"Turn on the lights!" She ordered the dungeon. It remained just as dingy as before - much to her drunken disappointment. "Pah!"

---------------
 
Redwave.

 

Meanwhile, Redwave was having less of a good time.

"Ugh, by the grace of the sisters... but for a moment of respite and a taste of liquid joy..." He grumbled - feeling the space at his side which should hold a bottle of finest Brandy - but didn't. The going was slow, tedious and, without a companion of any kind - actually quite lonely for the adventurer who was accustomed to traveling with at least one companion.

 

Even worse - he was sober. Not only sober, but sober and given time to dwell on memories he would rather forget. And the sickness in his chest wasn't getting any better.

 

Yes, Redwave was feeling thoroughly sorry for himself.
 
"I despise dry land..."

---------------

[EcstaticWind 572]

Aegis Dare

@, @,

 

Aegis tried to suppress his own laughter, since the very act was infectious to him, but he couldn't help himself with Kingfisher's antics. "I don't think it works quite like that. Hmm... more brandy might do the trick." Aegis said, reaching for the bottle himself. And all seriousness was lost that day...

 

Noble Persona

@, @, @,

 

Noble sensed a family dispute, the one thing he hadn't considered. One the one hand, he could simply ignore it. It wasn't what he was here for, after all. But then, he hated seeing siblings fight. After the years he spent building up the family after his parents died, all so his brothers could live comfortably, seeing families fighting made him uncomfortable.

 

'What should I do? I can't let them fight and destroy their bond, but I shouldn't involve myself either. Why does this always happen when all tasks at hand have been cleared?'

[Umbreon 569]

Pavisa

 

@,@@Windbreaker,

 

Pavisa starts to laugh again.  She couldn't help it, here they were in the middle of this temple...  Drinking and making jokes.  "I think you're on to something Aegis, more brandy...  But think different!  Maybe we need to get the  TEMPLE drunk!"  Still laughing she starts to wave one of her hooves in front of her.  "It's how you're supposed to get to the Litany, I'm telling ya...  We need to buy the temple a drink and have some fun with it!  It's lonely because no one would want to visit here otherwise!"

 

 

Zintiik

 

@,@@Windbreaker,@,

 

Zintiik blinks and flinches away instinctively when Orion points a hoof at him.  Get to me?  What does he mean by that?  Orion may not have looked like an alicorn at the moment, but Zintiik was no less intimidated by the pony.  He sits by as Orion starts to lecture Willow about the Litany, feeling all the more uncomfortable as he listened.  

 

He wanted to say something in Willow's defense, but he couldn't speak up against Orion...  It was Orion's power that had first drawn the changeling in to him.  It reminded him to an extent of his Queen's power.  And a drone was never allowed to oppose the Queen.  So he was left looking from Orion to Willow rapidly, hoping that the argument wouldn't last.

[Geek0zoid 1,468]

@ Anypony concerned of Blast and Eclipses' safety.

 

Blast and Eclipse have been through the seemingly endless cave. By this time, both stallions were growing tired. It also didn't help that they were looking for shadow creatures in the pitch black darkness. Their search came to a halt when Blast felt something on his shoulder. Next thing he knew, he was being pulled into the darkness. Eclipse frantically looked around for his companion, but was stopped by the same situation.

[Midnight Scribbler 1,705]

@,

@,

@,

@@Windbreaker,

 

Scribbler felt the unease build in the air. You could practically cut it with a knife. He glanced with a slight cringe to the changeling, feeling for his position, knowing what it was like being told to wait for something negative to happen. He would stand up for them as best he could, if Orion's case got out of hoof, but only after things had blown over. Trying to intervene now would be a waste of breath, and only put him into Orion's path of anger. He had no idea what danger the Litany possessed, but whatever it was, he'd not spoken of it until now. Scribbler was curious of this point. What could he possibly mean? Surely this book was powerful, but if merely reading a couple pages was dangerous, what was he thinking trying to read the whole thing?? Thoughts began to race, until Scribbler shut them out forcefully, taking a deep breath, then letting it out. He didn't need to get carried away with theories, now was no time for it. He silently watched, and waited for the storm to blow over. He could pick up the pieces afterwards.

[Ihei 713]

@,@,

 

Willow Starsinger

 

"I read it when you started reading it! I didn't read it in the temple!" Willow shouted back to her brother. "I was curious! You didn't come out of your room for days and I wanted to see what was happening!" Willow cried, "besides, you read it even more! Orion, you're very powerful right now, you could even kill me on the spot! But you're still looking for that STUPID Litany!"

 

@, 

 

Aphrodite

 

"Where is that moron? Oh, I knew I should've followed them.." Aphrodite mumbled, trotting in the direction Eclipse and Blast ran off to. "Blast? Eclipse? You two anywhere out there? If you come out now, I promise I won't break BOTH of your forehooves!"

Edited November 21, 2013 by Shaymin

[The Elusive Cinder 1,328]

Orion Starsinger.

 

@,

@,

@@Windbreaker,

 

"Everything I did, I did for you!" Shouted the unicorn. "Everything I've become was to protect you! I gave up everything to be able to keep you safe and...

 

'Orion...?'

 

"What? He snapped.

 

'You are close to the central chamber: that is how you can hear us - the Litany is close. Also, you may want to answer me mentally: your companions cannot hear me after all...'

 

Orion flinched at the thought and glanced back at Willow: he held her so dear but the filly just didn't understand what was best for her.

 

"You are so grounded when we get home..."

 

---------------

 

Kingfisher.

 

@,

@@Windbreaker,

@,

@,

 

Kingfisher watched as the other mare - Aerodite - followed after the stallions - pausing to look as Pavisa and raise a brow knowingly before she burst into poorly hushed laughter.

 

"Guess somepony's got... their priorities straight!" She said with a smirk, failing to stagger upright. Of course, she wasn't a drinker, save very few exceptional circumstances, and so the effects of over a third of a bottle of vintage Brandy had quite a potent effect.

 

"Guess we gotta... Gotta make sure they don't get lost or anythin'!" She shrugged as she failed to rise once again.

Edited November 22, 2013 by Cinderscribe

[Umbreon 569]

Zintiik

 

@,@,@@Midnight Scribbler,@@Windbreaker,

 

Zintiik physically jumped as Orion seemingly yelled a question at himself, taking a cautious look around.  What's going on?  It has to be this place...  It's...  It's messing with everypony...  That has to be it.

 

 

Pavisa

 

@,@,@,@@Windbreaker,

 

Pavisa snickered at Kingfisher as she got to her hooves, just a little shakier than normal.  The guard wasn't a heavy drinker, but she wasn't a stranger to liquor either.  The brandy was stronger than what she was used to, but she hadn't had as much of it so she was a little better off than Kingfisher seemed to be.

 

Still giggling at the other mare, Pavisa leans down to help her stand up.  "C'mon sailor, you've gotta use your legs if we're going after the others.  Here, let me help."

[EcstaticWind 572]

Aegis Dare

@, @, @,@,

 

Aegis struggled to get to his feet. A combination of his stiff muscles and the brandy meant he was having a hard time keeping balance. "Y'know, they could put a few more windows in here. This place needs more light. And cake! Everything's better with cake!" He said, having taken leave of his senses for now.

 

Noble Persona

@, @, @, @@Midnight Scribbler

 

Unable to stand by any longer, Noble stepped in to stop the senseless argument, while unintentionally dropping his pretenses. "That's enough! I won't stand by and watch this nonsense happen. You two are family, for Celestia's sake! Do you know how fortunate you two are that you still have each other? Whenever I'm in Canterlot, I see foals on the streets without any parents or siblings whatsoever. And you two are arguing over who read what in a book? I do not care how powerful either of you are. Family is family, and you ought be grateful for it."

 

He let out a sigh, frustrated with his own judgement. "My apologies, but family is a subject that I am passionate about. I said I would turn my blade against the world for those I care about. And I've gone to great lengths to provide my two brothers with comfortable lives. Family is more important to me than anything else in the world." As he waited for the response, the fact that Orion had yelled at seemingly nothing was great cause for concern...

[Midnight Scribbler 1,705]

@,

@@Windbreaker,

@,

@,

 

Scribbler began to feel tedious, as the argument rolled on, but was thrown off when Orion yelled "what" As though somepony had been attempting to get his attention while he ranted. Scribbler turned, peering at Orion through slitted eyes for a moment. "It must be the litany.." He thought. It had to be the only explanation. He was communicating with it, it all made sense. His strange behavior all along, he'd been speaking with a voice in his head. A library of knowledge, generations old within a book, within Orion's head.. Telepathic magic was among the most basic of spells it likely contained.. But then, who was the voice? Scribbler pondered this for a moment, but reached no ideas. "This could all just be wild conjecture, but this wouldn't be the first magical item I've encountered like this, though surely would be the most powerful of it's kind." He remained silent, holding his thoughts for the moment he could again speak to Orion under more calm circumstances.

[Icy Void 19]

Midnight Sky

 

Midnight had long since lost track of how long he'd been walking down this hallway. All he knew was that the hall seemed to go on forever in both directions, and that the glowing crystals get slightly brighter the further along he goes. While the thought that it is just one big illusion has crossed his mind, Midnight did not want to expend his magic just to check and so kept on walking. "Leave it to a magical relic to have me stuck in a hall that goes on forever. I just hope that it leads somewhere useful like the Litany chamber, but with my luck this is probably some sort of test that the Litany made especially for me since it's little shadow trick didn't work for me. But then, I doubt whoever built this place imagined a prince from Neighland coming here." Midnight said to himself with a sigh. While he had never been a pony to stay in a crowd, this hallway was rather boring with nopony else to interact with.

 

He would even settle for having his eldest brother Frozen Stars as company, at least then things would be far more lively with his least favorite relative around. 'Well, I guess I'm not that desperate for company. If Frozen was here he'd just taunt me about how I'm not an alicorn like he is, and with the kind of stress this trip has put me through I don't know what I'd do. Besides, I'm not ready to face him yet, and nowhere near ready to face mother. I can't go home and set things right until I learn the secret of becoming an alicorn, if Princess Twilight can do it the Equestria way then there must be a Neighland way that I can become an alicorn.' Midnight thought to himself. While it was possible that the remainder of the Litany could easily grant him alicornhood as it did Orion, Midnight didn't like the idea of just reading the power from some scroll, there had to be a drawback equivilant to the power you gain and partial insanity seemed to part of it based on Orion. So the only way to achieve alicornhood with no strings attached is to earn it, though that has proven very tedious indeed.

[Geek0zoid 1,468]

@,@, @,

 

Eclipse

Eclipse was the first one to rise to his hooves. He awoke from being knocked out cold. He couldn't see the figure that did this since it was obscured by the darkness. He opened to eyes to see a shadow figure. In fact, he saw a bunch of shadow figures, the one for almost everypony in the group... and they were about to make mince meat of the two stallions.

"Ah shit..." Eclipse muttered under his breath.

[Ihei 713]

@,@,@@Midnight Scribbler,@@Windbreaker,

 

 

Willow Starsinger

 

"Fine," Willow mumbled, trotting away from her brother to deal with Zintiik. She didn't want to see his face for the rest of the day.. he's already put her in a bad enough mood. She decided to listen to Noble, though.. she felt like it was the right thing to do.

 

"It was just a few words.. Orion is such a drama queen!" 

 

@,

 

Aphrodite

 

"Where are they?" Aphrodite asked herself, venturing into the depths of the temple, hearing profanities and running. "BLAST?! You there?" Aphrodite asked nopony in particular, not noticing a peculiar shadow following her..

[The Elusive Cinder 1,328]

Orion Starsinger.

 

@,

@,

@@Windbreaker,

 

'This. This is what I need to know: why couldn't the Litany teach me how to use it without bringing all of this hatred? Without turning the ones I love against me? How am I supposed to protect her when it makes her wish I was dead?

 

Orion looked at Noble as if seeing him for the first time for a few seconds before regaining his senses: shaking his head and holding a hoof to his face.

 

"Sorry... I just..." He said, decidedly shakily before being interrupted by his own mind.

 

'We are going to try something - in case we are severed again...'

 

In an instant, a blue glow erupted from under the hoof on his face as his eyes regained their ethereal look.

 

'You should now be able to see as we do now - it will help you to track dow...'

 

And the voice of Legion was gone - leaving behind a lot questions for the pained unicorn struggling to see through his restored vision.

 

"Come - we are ending this. Now."

 

---------------

 

Kingfisher.

 

@,

@@Windbreaker,

@,

@,

 

Seizing hold of the guard - Kingfisher allowed herself be pulled upright - swaying and clutching onto her friend for support before snorting and finding her balance again.

 

"Le's go an' be heroes then!" She decreed - punctuating her statement with another hiccup, drawing her sword and starting to make her way down the passage - twisting her head every which way to look for any of the missing members of the expedition.

Edited November 22, 2013 by Cinderscribe

[Umbreon 569]

Zintiik

 

@,@,@@Midnight Scribbler,@@Windbreaker,

 

Zintiik blinks as the sudden light appears in Orion's eyes and he looks around.  He'd seemingly been forgotten thanks to whatever had caused Orion's earlier outburst, so he attempts to slink away to the side.  The changeling considered Orion a friend, but he wasn't about to remind the stallion that he had been going to yell at him about something.

 

Instead he simply starts to follow Orion obediently, making his way over to be next to Willow.  He gives her a sympathetic look, not liking seeing her fight with her brother.  "You okay?" he asks quietly.  Zintiik knew Orion was only concerned about Willow's well being...  But upsetting her like this surely wasn't the way to approach it.  Even the changeling could see that.

 

 

Pavisa

 

@,@,@,@@Windbreaker,

 

Pavisa snickers again as she walks alongside Kingfisher and Aegis, pointing a hoof down one of the hallways.  "I think I heard somepony down that way...  Are you sure about that hero thing?  I'm not sure...  Anytime I've imagined myself being a hero, I was never naked."  Even tipsy, the guard was still upset about having to abandon almost all of her armour it seems.