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

[Umbreon 569]

Zintiik

 

@,

 @@SilverHeart,@@Midnight Scribbler,@,

 

 

Zintiik brings a hoof to his forehead in a mock salute, his wings buzzing quietly as he starts to ascend almost straight up.  "No problem, I'll be back after a quick buzz."  Without waiting for any further orders he takes off towards the direction of the falls, flying as quickly as possible.  

 

It doesn't take too long for Zintiik to reach the Splinterhoof Hills by flying, doing a slow fly over to see what lies in wait for them.  After a few minutes of scouting the spiky valley he turns to fly back to the others.  All together he expected it took him maybe twenty minutes for the full flight, maybe thirty.

 

As he comes to land again the changeling gives another mock salute, as if making fun of the gesture.  "Spikes.  A lot of spikes.  No sign of the other group, so they must be nearing the falls.  I could maybe carry somepony across the valley, but anypony walking through that mess is going to get scratched worse than a drone trying to feed on a manticore."

 

 

Pavisa

 

@,

 

"Heh, well, offer stands."  She smirks at the pirate again before quietly turning back to the road.  She was glad they would be stopping to rest soon, both so she could take care of her countless cuts and put her armor back on.  She felt far too naked without the layer of steel.

[Midnight Scribbler 1,705]

@, @@SilverHeart, @, @,

 

Scribbler smiled at Mirror warmly, shrugged, and then looked to Orion as he spoke.

He took Orion's word seriously, not having known the alicorn for more than a couple hours, and seeing what he was capable of, he had no intention of crossing him. Furthermore, he had no intent to hurt anypony to begin with, so being trustworthy was only a matter of proving himself. He could see Orion's pained expression come and go, realizing there must be something wrong with him. Nopony he knew could withstand sleep deprivation on top of sustained complex magical use and function on only a couple hours afterward. He thought about offering his assistance, but withheld, realizing his offers the previous night hadn't been accepted, he would likely maintain his stubbornness and endure the pain. "As I said before, I have no intention to do any harm to anypony, that is simply not in my nature. I'm a colt of my word, you'll see." He smiled, and glanced up as Zintiik buzzed back into view, and landed. "Spikes? What sort of spikes do you mean?" He asked, biting into his apple. He suddenly realized how empty his stomach felt with the sweet taste of the apple on his tongue.

[Icy Void 19]

"Good plan Kingfisher, I have a feeling we could all use a rest anyway. None of us had a very good night last night with all that's happened. Plus we're all pretty scratched up." Midnight said to Kingfisher as she caught up to him and Aegis. "In addition to being well hidden, I wouldn't be surprised if it had layers of magical protection and maybe even traps. They're not too uncommon with things as powerful as the Litany." Midnight added after Kingfisher's remark.

[Umbreon 569]

Zintiik

 

@, @@Midnight Scribbler,@,@@SilverHeart,

 

 

Zintiik blinks at Scribbler, not entirely sure how to answer the question.  What, is he serious?  Shrugging, the changeling starts to speak slower as if he believes that would help the unicorn understand.

 

"Y'know.  The sharp kind.  Touch one too hard n' you'll start bleedin, touch enough of 'em too hard and ya die...  I really don't know how to make it much more clear than that."  A spike was a spike to the changeling, he wasn't about to start going into detail about what kind of rock it was made of or anything.

[Midnight Scribbler 1,705]

Scribbler facehoofs, feeling foolish, then looks up at the Changeling. "The reason I ask is, I might have a way to make a way through them. It depends on what they're made from. I could simply teleport provided I could see the far side to a safe location, but that won't help anypony else here."

[Ihei 712]

(( OOC: Hehe, sorry for the lack of posting! ))

 

@, 

 

Aphrodite

 

Aphrodite wandered through the forest for a river or fruit tree, but sure enough, no luck. There simply wasn't one. She kept going deeper and deeper into the forest, hearing an eerie sound and wanting to hunt it down. She heard Blast's voice in the distance, but she ignored it. 

 

@,

 

 

Willow Starsinger

 

"Orion.. are you okay?" Willow asked, trotting towards her brother. "Is it the headaches again?" Willow worried. Soon enough, this will get worse and worse.. she knew he shouldn't have read out of that Litany. He's trusting ponies to take care of her that she barely knew! She glanced over at Zintiik. He seemed to be a lot more confident than when she was talking to her.. he barely uttered two words. "What's happening to Zintiik?"

[Geek0zoid 1,468]

@,

Blast waited for a response from Aphrodite, but nothing came. He knew that Aphrodite was just going out to get food, but she was taking her sweet time in doing it.

"Blast, we're getting left behind. Just leave her. She'll catch up." Eclipse commented.

"In the middle of a forest? No way." Blast began to step into the area that Aphrodite trotted into. "C'mon, Eclipse, we need to find her." Blast continued to trot into the forest.

"Blast, wait!" Eclipse said, but Blast just kept going. He then let out a big sigh. "Stupid kid." Eclipse ran into the trees and went after Blast.

Edited November 5, 2013 by StevenEarthPony

[The Elusive Cinder 1,328]

Kingfisher.
 
As she finally approached the pool at the base of the huge, cascading torrent of water, Kingfisher allowed a slight smile to hersself - she he never really understood what Redwave had meant when he said that he hated dry land but now, with her aching hooves and the spray of water against her coat, it made sense.

"Everypony! Get some rest, tend ya wounds 'n' get lookin' for the entrance as soon as ya can. Yell if ya find anythin' important!"

Looking back at the water, then down at the wounds from the razor edged hills, she rolled her eyes at her own foolishness before plunging into the water - feeling the brief sting of the wounds before the cold liquid numbed them. Resurfacing, she kicked through the water - feeling fantastically soothed at the freedom she felt..

They had time, she figured. Nopony would miss her for just one moment.

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

Orion Starsinger.

@,

"I am... Ahem, I'm fine." Orion nodded towards his sister. "I don't know, he's useful though, isn't he? Why do ponies hate creatures like him so much? I cant understand it..." 

@@SilverHeart,
@@Midnight Scribbler,
@,
 
"Spikes? Show us: We can carve a path through them maybe?" He requested of the changeling '... literally, perhaps...'

"I can fly or... probably teleport..." He said. 'Yes, easily.' Confirmed the voice. "...but wont allow Willow to be put in danger - being held over some kind of spikes..."

[EcstaticWind 572]

Aegis lay on the ground, staring at the sky. He liked to slow down and appreciate the weather at times, when it was warm and had a nice breeze. It seemed strangely calm for such an important venture.

 

'Funny. A race against time with the fate of Equestria resting squarely on us, and I'm here admiring the weather. Well, I can rest and recover for a while. The sun feels good, and that breeze...'

 

Next moment, Aegis was fast asleep.

Edited November 6, 2013 by Windbreaker

[Midnight Scribbler 1,705]

@,

 

Midnight speaks to Orion

"I can break a pathway if they're stone or something brittle, depending on the size of them. If they're wood, I can burn them away easily. The more magic I use, the less you have to. Which could save you some headache if we end up getting attacked."

Scribbler was determined to prove his worth, and gain the trust of the alicorn, and hopefully the others as well. He had to, there was little option otherwise. He had already committed to his task here. He could always teleport home, but then he'd be left, forever wondering what this "Litany of magic" was all about, and he was very interested to know. He would also cause a risk, abandoning Orion could be dangerous in it's self, if not just for his own life, but for whatever it was the alicorn intended to do when he reached the book.

Edited November 6, 2013 by Midnight Scribbler

[Umbreon 569]

Zintiik

 

@, @,@@Midnight Scribbler,@@SilverHeart, 

 

The changeling gives a small bow and gestures in the direction of the hills.  "We should probably start moving, then.  It didn't take too long to fly there, will take a little longer on hoof though."  Zintiik starts to walk in the direction he had indicated, stopping after a few steps to wait for the others.  He opens his mouth as though to make another comment, but a growling in his stomach makes him stop and grin sheepishly.  

 

 

Pavisa

 

The guard gave a sigh of relief that they were finally at the falls.  Splitting off by herself, Pavisa tries to find a somewhat slow moving branch of the large pool under the falls.  She had no desire to be close to the pounding waterfalls, but she needed to clean out her numerous cuts from the foothills.  

 

Grumbling under her breath as she pulls away the tattered bandages from the first night, Pavisa starts to clean out her cuts while sitting in the shallow water close to the bank.  She left her armor bundled together on the shore, not wanting to risk it getting unnecessarily wet.  She was going to have to check it over when she was done - that initial scratch from the stone spikes may need repaired.  That, and she still felt naked without it and was eager to don the suit of steel again.

[Icy Void 19]

Seeing as he had already tended to his cuts, Midnight Sky instead split off from the others and began hiking along the Falls. Midnight figured this would be the perfect time for him to be of use, since he can use his telekinesis to scan the mountain for any sort of passageway or cave which may lead to where the Litany might be hidden. Besides, Midnight loved the view from high up, so hiking up the mountain would be worth it regardless of if he actually found a way to the Litany. 'I just realized, this is the first time I've climbed a mountain since I crossed over the Crystal Mountains with my sister on my way here to Equestria. Now that I think about it, every time I've climbed a mountain has led to the beginning of a new chapter of my life. I had to cross mountains to escape my family's castle, and another mountain range to escape my homeland. The I crossed the Crystal Mountains which marked the beginning of my time in Equestria. I wonder what climbing Neighagra Falls will bring me.' Midnight thought as he hiked higher and higher, scanning the mountain as he went.

[Ihei 712]

@,

 

(( OOC: I hope this is okay.. I got permission from Cinderscribe to do it, so I figured it'd be okay! I hope my storytelling skills are good: they're pretty bad. ))

 

Aphrodite

 

Aphrodite finally found the source of the sound: a stone. A tall, narrow stone that glowed. "I came all the way out here for a rock!? That's stupid.." Aphrodite shouted angrily, inspecting the stone closely. Where has Aphrodite heard of this stone before? Her mother has told her many stories of myths and legends, and sure enough, most of them were true. One of the stories was, "The Identity Stone." It was told that if you followed the sounds that lead you to the stone, the deepest and farthest you can go into the eerie forest, you'd find the stone. If you stayed long enough, you will feel drowsy.. within a half hour you will wake with a reversed personality.. the opposite of your true self. 

 

Before Aphrodite knew it, she realized she felt tired trying to walk away from the stone. She fell to the floor with a thud.

 

@,

 

Willow Starsinger

 

"I know that, Orion, but he acts different around me. He seems so confident around everypony else, just not.. me." Willow said quietly. "Is it okay if I go on a walk for a little while, Orion? Alone?" Willow asked after a long pause.

[Geek0zoid 1,468]

@,

Blast ran through the forest with Eclipse tagging along. He hoped that Aphrodite didn't get herself into too much trouble. Granted, she was more of a thinker than he was. She shouldn't have gotten into that big of a problem. After a while, Blast and Eclipse came across Aphrodite in the forest, lying on the ground unconscious.

"Oh my. Aphrodite, are you okay?" He said, shaking the unconscious mare.

[Ihei 712]

@,

 

Aphrodite

 

Groaning groggily, Aphrodite woke up with a start. "Of course I'm okay! Why wouldn't I be?" Aphrodite chirped happily, smiling big. "I had the weirdest dream, I saw this stone--" Aphrodite paused. "And, I forget. Oh, well! That wasn't important anyway, at least I have a dear friend with me!" Aphrodite smiled. 

[The Elusive Cinder 1,328]

Kingfisher.

 

It want long before Kingfisher lost track of time: almost even forgetting the entire reason for her being there: there was a reason that families came here in warmer weather to 'get away from it all' after all.

 

"This..." She muttered to herself as she telexed in the clear water. "... is so much better than scrambling through wood and stones to find some stupid book."

 

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

 

Orion Starsinger.

 

As Orion made to follow the changeling, he paused, thinking for a moment about his sisters request.

 

@,

 

"Just... Don't go far. And take the dragon thing with you in case anything happens." The older Alicorn instructed. "We're heading northeast - this way. Shout if you need anything and I'll be there."

 

It didn't feel right, letting her wander off alone, but he didn't want her to end up hating him.

 

"Okay everyone, lets keep moving."

 

'We should track...'

 

'I know.'

 

Briefly closing his eyes - little more than a blink really - the ethereal horn flickered slightly as the spell was cast as casually as blinking.

 

'Just in case...'

Edited November 6, 2013 by Cinderscribe

[Midnight Scribbler 1,705]

@,

@@SilverHeart,

@,

 

Midnight Scribbler began to walk alongside Orion, beginning to feel somewhat small. The alicorn seemed to ignore his offers, never giving him any chance to prove his worth. He hesitated on this thought, and retracted it, realizing that there would be plenty of time to worry about that later. He shook the whole thing out of his mind, and concentrated on the current task.

"Orion.. Your sister seems.. sort of distracted. I'm confused by her methods, she wanders off away from you again for the second time in the couple of hours I've been around." He glances over his shoulder as willow trots off in another direction. "She will slow us down doing this sort of thing. And she's bound to get herself into some form of trouble, I feel." He looked to Orion, awaiting his response.

[The Elusive Cinder 1,328]

Orion Starsinger.

 

@@Midnight Scribbler,

 

Exploding at Scribblers observation would have been easy - but wouldn't have solved anything. The siblings had enough enemies without turning potential friends against them and after all - he could hardly be mad that somepony else was concerned for Willows safety.

 

"I don't... I don't know." He dropped his voice so that Willow wouldn't overhear him, looking sadly at Midnight - emotionally winded by the observation being pointed out so bluntly.

 

"I'm just... trying to do what's right for her: I tried keeping her close before and it only drove her away - right into their hooves! I don't know how to do this - I'm just... some guy who read a book. And now everypony is convinced that I can't control what was inside and wants to take her away from me!"

 

He looked pleadingly at the unicorn.

 

"What would you do? Keep the one thing precious to you close and risk them slipping away, or give them the freedom to return? I've learned so much from the Litany already but... nothing like the answers I need."

[Midnight Scribbler 1,705]

@,

 

Midnight looked to Orion with concern

"I have a lot of experience with magic, and the one thing I can say is, some magic, like the Alicorn's amulet for instance. That is something that can turn anypony into a tyrant with immense power. Now that being said, I don't know what this Litany does, so I can't say that it is evil, or overpowering. That is something only you can be the judge of, having read from it yourself."

He paused, then thought of Willow "Keeping her close and trying to protect her so heavily is noble of you, but you must also remember, she's her own mare. I cannot tell you how to conduct yourself, but in my opinion, you may have to consider that she has fears of what the litany may have done to you. You do seem to suffer, and won't accept help.. What answers were you seeking from this book anyway?"

[Ihei 712]

@,

 

Willow Starsinger

 

Willow smiled brightly at her brother. "Thanks, Orion!" She said, then let the dragon Aspect follow her into the forest. She followed the trail so she wouldn't get lost again, and came across a surprise lying against a tree. She inspected it closely, then sat down nearby it. "This will take a while, but it will all be worth it." She used her magic to free the poor thing for almost eight hours.

 

(( OOC: "It" will be revealed later! ))

[SilverHeart 741]

(OOC: Sorry I haven't been posting. I have job training this whole week. I'll try to keep up as best as I can.)

 

Mirror Image

 

@@Midnight Scribbler,@, @, @, 

 

Mirror Image stood a short distance away from both Orion and Scribbler. Growing bored of having no one to talk to she looked around. The other mare was walking off into the forest by herself, she didn't sound like she had wanted any company though. That left Zintiik who was waiting ahead of everypony else. Mirror walked over and sat down next to him. She wasn't sure but she could have sworn that she had heard the changeling's stomach growl. If changelings were capable of that she had no idea. "Good morning Zintiik. I'm not sure if you would want any but I have some food that you're welcome to have." Mirror Image said as she pulled out some dried fruit, bread, and oats.

[Geek0zoid 1,468]

@,

Blast was extremely puzzled at Aphrodite's sudden change in personality. He was expecting a big "Of course I'm fine, you moron!" from her when she woke up. Instead, she was all bright and cheerful and calling him her friend. Something was definitely off. 

"Ummm... what did you just say Aphrodite?" He asked her. Eclipse's eyes then darted to a stone it seemed to have a glowing property on it. His mind told him that it was probably best to keep a good distance away from it.

[RAGESTAR 479]

Crimson smiled in relief as Kingfisher told them they could rest. "Best news I've heard all damn day! This moment would be much better if I had some rum though...maybe I'll just take a walk until I get over it..." thought the pirate before slipping into the forest away from the rest of the group.

 

((sorry for the lack of posting! I've been pretty busy...))

[Ihei 712]

@,

 

Aphrodite

 

"I said, quote, Well, that's okay, at least I have a dear friend with me!" Aphrodite squee'd, hugging the stallion. "I love having new friends, it's just more fun, fun FUN! I have a lot of friends, but you sure are the dearest! I have four-hundred and fifty dearest friends, and they are the best!" Aphrodite said, talking on and on. 

[Geek0zoid 1,468]

@,

Blast honestly didn't know what to say. All he did was blush at the hug he received from Aphrodite.

"Ummm... thanks, Aphrodite." He said, voice a little shakey.

"Blast, I'm sorry for interrupting the moment, but we really need to catch up." Eclipse said, running off. Blast then nodded.

"C'mon, Aphrodite, we need to get back to the group." Blast said, ready to jet off.