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

[Umbreon 569]

Zintiik

 

@@SilverHeart, 

 

Zintiik made a face when Mirror offered him the food.  Not a polite reaction, but it was the first thing that came to the changeling.  "Blech, that's pony food.  Don't know how you all eat that stuff.  I'm a changeling, we feed on emotions."  He buzzes his wings quietly as he walks, picking himself up off the ground for a moment every few steps.  

 

"And don't worry, I'll be fine.  I mean, yeah, I'm kinda hungry, but I'll be fine for a few days without feeding.  My time in that other group left me with a bad taste in my mouth anyways...  Mostly hostile and depressing vibes from them.  They work to feed on when nothing else is available, but nothing tastes like a positive emotion."

 

 

Pavisa

 

Happy that her cuts were at least somewhat cleaned, Pavisa moves over to the shore so that she can look over her armor.  Leaving a small puddle around her as she drips dry, the guard starts taking apart her bundled armor to go over each individual piece.  Starting with the section that had received the gouge in the foothills, Pavisa retrieves a field repair kit from her pack in order to ensure the scratch won't damage the integrity of her suit.

[Ihei 713]

@,

 

Aphrodite

 

"Ooh, fun! I can't wait to see the others again: it's been far too long!" Aphrodite smiled, literally hopping out of the group. "I hope I'm not bothering you too much! If anything, nopony likes to be bothered! No way! It turns your smile upside down and I hate to see that! I like to make ponies smile! Like how I made you blush! That's close to smiling, it's even better!" Aphrodite chirped. Normally Aphrodite would've noticed blush but would've called the pony an idiot for blushing. Her old self would've never believed in love. 

[The Elusive Cinder 1,328]

Orion Starsinger.

 

@@Midnight Scribbler,

 

"How am I supposed to do what I have to without everypony hating me?" Orion almost whispered. "How do I protect her when she doesn't want protecting? How do I stop the thieves and the criminals and the warmongers without becoming one myself? It's like... like its given me the tools I need, that I asked for... but they... they aren't what I expected. Like a farmer asking for rain and getting a monsoon."

 

Talking seemed to help keep his head clear - there were probably subjects that wouldn't distress him so much: that might let him continue on pretending that anything hurtful he did wasn't his fault... but at least this way he could remind himself that what he was doing was for the greater good.

 

"I'm not a monster, Midnight." He reassured himself as they pushed onwards.

 

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

 

Kingfisher.

 

@,

 

Kingfisher swum towards the edge of the water lazily: oblivious to the missing ponies or the task at hoof.

 

"C'mon in, it's so..."

 

So what? Relaxing? Soothing? Or something else: why was this pony on the bank looking so... damaged? Why was she cleaning armour, had there been a fight?

 

Kingfisher blinked hard - the black space in her mind where she knew the memory of this mare should be was causing mental alarm bells to ring. Something was wrong - why were they there? You didn't bring amour to go swimming...

 

She looked at a vaguely familiar cutlass on the bank - you didn't bring swords either...

 

The silver-flecked water rippled about her - it no longer felt pleasant - it felt icy cold. The flecks if silver seemed to stick to her coat and mane, even after raising a hoof experimentally out of the water.

 

Something was very wrong.

 

"Don't!" The mare yelped - her addled mind being unable to eliborate any further on the matter - she gasped and hurled herself up onto the bank frantically - scrabbling with her back hooves before sliding halfway back into the water, snatching at the rocky ground in front of her as she battled against her weakened body to struggle back onto solid land.

 

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

 

@,

 

"... If you can manage such a simple instruction!" He finished before pausing, mouth agape as he noticed that the ponies he had been yelling at seemed to be gone - as did the Alicorn. He shook his head and closed his eyes, holding his breath to try and break whatever illusion he might be under...

 

"Huh." He grunted blankly as he opened them again - with great effort - to see the same scene as he had before closing them. Either this was one good illusion, or a substantial amount had passed as he blinked...

[Umbreon 569]

Pavisa

 

@,

 

The guard had smiled at Kingfisher when she swam by, but that didn't last long once Kingfisher started to...  What?  Panic?  Pavisa wasn't entirely sure what was happening, only that something was wrong.  She drops her armor to lie carelessly on the shore, running to help.

 

"Fisher!  What's wrong!?"  It was an odd sight, but it was obvious Kingfisher was desperately trying to get out of the water.  Pavisa grabs Kingfisher's front hooves, digging her rear hooves into the dirt for leverage.  Lacking any other good way to pull the mare up Pavisa throws herself backwards with a small grunt, attempting to pull Kingfisher up with her.

 

She stifles a groan when the other mare would land on her, instead trying to focus on what was the matter.  "What happened?  Are you alright?  Was there something in the water, or something?"

[The Elusive Cinder 1,328]

Kingfisher.

@,

Crashing muzzle-first into the ground, Kingfisher struggled to pick out words from her clouded memory - as she coughed out a generous mouthful of the the silver-flecked water, some of her thoughts slowly started to clear, though not nearly as quickly as she would have liked.

"In the... no..."

Her memories were fading back into view: fogged and unreadable, but there. No longer the black mass of emptiness she had seem - more like a mist was covering them.

"It's... don't... Agh!" Shouting in frustration as the words she needed seemed to refuse to form in her mind, she waved a silver-flecked hoof towards the water for whatever-her-name-was to see. "It's... I forgot!"

[Umbreon 569]

Pavisa

 

@,

 

"Hey, hey, it's alright."  Pavisa still wasn't sure what had happened, but it was obviously something big if it had Kingfisher this upset.  Sitting up she tries to put a hoof around the other mare's shoulders, hoping to calm her down somehow.  

 

"Just sit for a moment, let it come back to- hey, what's that?"  She had just now noticed the silver flakes seemingly covering Kingfisher, and took the other mare's hoof to get a closer look.  

 

Funny...  I feel kinda light headed when I touch them...  The guard scrapes her hoof on the ground to try and shake the flakes off, blinking as her head seems to clear up as she does.  Is that the problem?

 

"C'mon, I have a towel with my stuff.  Let's try and get you cleaned off, see if that helps any?"  She was out of her element - whatever was going on was clearly unnatural.  But, that didn't mean Pavisa couldn't improvise in a situation like this.  A friend needed her help, after all!  Her bags were with her armor, so it wasn't lying very far away.  In just a few seconds Pavisa had retrieved the towel she had mentioned and brought it back to Kingfisher.

[Geek0zoid 1,468]

@,@, @,

Blast didn't have time for walking. He simply grabbed the mare and took off through the forest. Eclipse had to have already found the group by now, since Blast was stuck hearing Aphrodite talk on and on. Eventually, the two got back with the group, leaving Blast a bit tired.
"Finally. Glad I caught up with you guys." Blast said out of breath. "I think something's wrong with Aphrodite. Eclipse and I found her near this glowing stone. When we woke her up, she acted like she just went through a complete personality change." 

[RAGESTAR 479]

Crimson hummed quietly to himself as he trotted through the forest, scanning the area for anything interesting. "I think I've gone far enough...I should probably go back before nightfall, then I would defiantly get lost..." thought Crimson as he turned to trot back to the camp, only to stop and jump back. "What the flying fuck!?" shouted the pirate in surprise, not believing the odd spectacle before him. What was only a thin dirt trail moments ago, was now littered with grapes and other assorted fruit, all the evergreen trees around him changed as well, they we're now flowing with a vibrant golden hue and seemed to shimmer. But as strange as all of that was, it wasn't what surprised him the most. What surprised him and almost made him jump out of his skin, was the pretty, smiling, slightly glowing green, mare standing right behind him. "Who the hell are you!? And why are you stalking me!? Furthermore, what the fuck just happened to the forest?!" asked the highly confused and suspicious pirate, preparing to ignite his body in flames. The mare giggled. "my name is Ronna! I live in this forest, and I've been following you because I think your cute! Won't you come and join me in my cave?" asked the very bubbly mare as she pulled a bottle of rum out of nowhere. Crimson gave her a blank stare for a moment before breaking out laughing. "hehe, sorry honey, but I'm not interested...I only date mares who I respect, and so far, all you've done is stalk me, kiss my flank, offer me rum, and lie to me...you don't think I'm cute, you just want to seduce me, knock me out, and either steal my bits, or eat me...I still can't tell if your a nymph or a Skin walker yet...but if it makes you feel any better, I'll take that rum..." said Crimson with a chuckle before grabbing at the bottle. Rinna was momentarily stunned at Crimson's sudden switch from confused and panicking, to Smirking and smug, but it didn't last long before she smirked herself and grabbed his hoof, her teeth becommimg sharp and her eyes becoming green and cat-like. "Very clever, you must be very informed...but sadly, your wrong...I'm not going to kill you, or eat you...instead, I'm going to curse you! I'm a witch!" said the mare before tapping his head with a glowing hoof. Crimson's eyes widened, not expecting her to recover from her shock so quickly, not to mention attack him! "Oh shit! I can't hit her...and I can't dodge! This is bad..." thought Crimson as he blacked out and hit the floor.

 

 

((sorry for the wall of text! This should end pretty funny...I hope...))

[The Elusive Cinder 1,328]

Kingfisher.

 

@,

 

Memories of words were the first to start to clear fully - there was something she had to say... a warning. About... something?

 

"The water! It's... bad?" She tried - satisfied that she had conveyed at least the key point of her message.

 

@,

 

She looked up as the strangers joined them.

 

"Ugh, my head." The addled sailor groaned - deciding to try again. "Don't... go in the water? That... wasn't nice..."

 

Much better. Now if only she could figure out how she knew these ponies - they felt familiar: more so than just a minute ago, at least. Yes, she needed to figure out how she knew them, and why her mind seemed to want to remind her of something about a book...

 

"I... feel like I've been hit over the head with... with something really heavy... What's wrong with Aerodite?" She briefly wondered who Aerodite was: but with all of her memories rendered 'hazy' at best, she assumed that she was supposed to know this 'Aerodite' from somewhere.

[Midnight Scribbler 1,705]

@,

 

Midnight smiled, feeling that more had become of this situation than he'd expected. Orion had opened up slightly, and was speaking to him about the situation he'd been dealing with at least. Midnight felt useful for the first time, and he thought now, maybe, this was the right path after all.

"I don't believe you're a monster, Orion. I may not have believed it last night, but I felt there was more to you than met the eye, and  that's why I chose to reveal myself to you. Having seen your sister, Willow, stand beside you until you cast that final spell. I could see she wasn't afraid of you, and so I tried my chances based on that."

Scribbler continued on, next to Orion, looking around the woods and taking in the scenery as they walked.

"There are many things with magic that have mysterious ways. You mention the old saying of the farmer, wishing for rain. And how true it is, that magic is very much like that at times. This book, what can you tell me of it? You have great power by only reading from it, it must contain some potent spells. I may be able to give more useful advice, the more I know."

[Ihei 713]

@,

 

 Willow Starsinger

 

"Look, you've been petrified for a little bit. Orion's turned you to stone and here you are: don't tell my brother, he'll be furious with me if he found out I've helped your group. Nopony seemed to help you so I decided to help out," Willow said quietly. She made sure the Aspect wouldn't tell Orion, either. He would've made her stay at his side for weeks! Months, even!

 

@,

 

Aphrodite

 

The mare giggled. "Why would there be something wrong with me? I'm getting along pretty well with everypony! But now that I see you guys now, you just made me happier! The more the merrier!" Aphrodite grinned, hopping around in a circle.

[Umbreon 569]

@,@, @,

 

Pavisa

 

"Great..."  Pavisa had turned to the others at the sound of Blast's voice, carefully draping the towel she had gone to get over Kingfisher as the mare attempted to warn them about the water.  "Kingfisher's in a jam too.  Something about the water left her like...  Well, like this.  I think it may have something to do with these silver flakes all over the place."

 

She looks from Blast to Eclipse, then to Aphrodite.  "I think this is a good sign we're getting close to the Litany, but...  What should we do from here?  I'm going to do what I can to get Fisher back to normal, but I really don't know what I'm up against here."  

 

The guard felt out of her league with all of the magic going on, both with Kingfisher and supposedly with Aphrodite now.  She could see exactly what Blast had meant - the bouncy mare seemed nothing like the Aphrodite that Pavisa remembered.  One problem at a time...  You'll go crazy if you try to tackle everything at once.

[RAGESTAR 479]

Crimson awoke with a soft groan, groggily and clumsily getting up, blinking as he did so. "Ugh...I think I had too much to drink last night...what happened...wait...the witch!!" said Crimson, quickly scanning the surrounding area, only to find himself completely alone and the forest to be back to normal, causing him to sigh in relief. "hehe...that was a little too close...I'd better be more careful next time, or I could get myself killed...anyway, I should head back to the falls..." mumbled Crimson to himself before trotting back towards the sounds of the running Waterfall. Once Crimson emerged from the trees to see the others in a somewhat odd state, he gave them an odd look. "I smell like booze and I think you all look totally ridiculous right now...why did I just say that?!" said Crimson with a slight blush, his eyes widening in sudden realization. "That bitch of a witch cursed me!!" thought the pirate, his eye twitching slightly.

 

((hehe, a truth curse! This is gonna be fun!))

[Geek0zoid 1,468]

@,@, @,  

Blast was beginning to become not only worried about Aphrodite, but also a bit annoyed with her. It seemed as if she had completely forgotten about the task at hand. It also didn't help that Kingfisher couldn't seem to recognize him and Eclipse. Blast's ears then perked up with Pasiva's statement about "The water." 

"What are you talking about, Pasiva? Why wouldn't Kingfisher want us to go near some water?" He asked her. He had been away from the group for a while now, and he might've missed a few important events.

Meanwhile, Eclipse focused on the white flakes on the ground. He picked up a handful with his psychokinesis and examined them closely.

"Interesting. I really have no idea how these little things could cause Kingfisher to act like this." Eclipse commented. "If it has something to do with us approaching the falls, I wouldn't be surprised. We have an insane alicorn hot on our tail and he wants this thing just as much as we do, if not more."

[Icy Void 19]

Midnight Sky was now fairly high up the mountain of the Neighagra Falls, and close to the actual falls. At first it had just been a hunch, where better to hide a secret cave than behind a waterfall, but now he had evidence to show he was right. Midnight had been right to assume his telekinetic scan would prove useful in finding the entrance, because he now found himself close to the top of the Falls on a very narrow and slippery path that appeared to end by the downward torrent of water, but Midnight had already detected that it led behind the waterfall and into something along the lines of a cavern, though he wasn't sure. "So this is the way to the Litany, it's well protected. High up along a cliff face with the only path being a narrow and slick trail that makes walking treacherous, and the water is coming down so hard that no pegasus could ever hope to fly through it and actually get into the cavern beyond. And even though I can't sense it, I'll bet there are magical defenses too, so any form of teleportation could be risky. There is no doubt the Litany is in there, aside from the very clever defenses even I can pick up on the magical energy radiating from the Litany. I need to tell the others that I found our target." Midnight said to himself before turning and making his way back down the path. Even though teleporting down to the base of the cliffs would be an easy feat, Midnight didn't want to risk triggering any magical defenses that may be in place so he had no choice but to take the long and slow walk down.

[EcstaticWind 572]

@, @, @, @, @, 

 

Aegis awoke to the sound of splashing water. Without a second's hesitation, he darted off in the direction of the sound, finding Kingfisher, the guard he hadn't yet introduced himself to, and a few others he didn't recognize by a riverbank.

 

'I'll have to deal with that later. For now, let's focus on the important stuff.'

 

"What's happened? Is everypony ok?" He asked, his concern showing through his worried tone.

Edited November 8, 2013 by Windbreaker

[The Elusive Cinder 1,328]

Orion Starsinger.

@@Midnight Scribbler,

"It's... strange. I couldn't understand a word of it but at the same time... I did! I just kind of... know things! Like a whole library of anything I need is somewhere inside my head, and all I have to do is take what I need from it!"
 
He left out the part about the headaches and near-blackouts. And the voices.
 
'You do not understand it yourself even, do you?' It asked silently. 'Who we are? Do you want to try and figure it out?'

"Something about it... changed me. It's in my head: like a library ten, no, a hundred times the size of Canterlot's archives trapped inside my head." He said - only half directed towards the unicorn beside him as they followed the Changeling.
 
'Closer than you might think...'

 

"And it... It's like I can learn from it - only I don't need to learn because I already know it - I just need to remember." He tried to explain.

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

Kingfisher.

@,

@,

@,

@,

"Just... I'm okay. Look after Aerodite if she's not well." Kingfisher said, placing a hoof against whoever it was that had helped her out of the water reassuringly as yet another stranger appeared. "I'm just a... dazed."

 

'Kingfisher... thats me. I remember. Okay - thats a start. And I'm... an earth pony.' She thought to herself - cementing the knowledge in her mind, just in case.

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

@,

 

Redwave and ???

"So it would seem..." Muttered the Captain as he tried and failed to move his limbs: apparently his body had wasted no time in starting to delete basic functions once no longer alive - it would take a little while to get even simple movements back to normal.

 

He put all of the strength he could muster into turning towards the voice. "... Willow, was it not? You... how?" Red said blankly before attempting to shake his head. "Actually, I think it may be better if I do not know. You have my thanks."

 

The aspect - well out of Redwave's line of sight - poked its head out from behind his back. It had deduced that the cold pony wasn't for eating. Red's sense of feeling hadn't fully returned yet but thankfully the drake had caused no lasting harm: having attempted to bite an area which was still tough and stony.

[Midnight Scribbler 1,705]

@,

 

Midnight frowned with deep thought at what the alicorn had said. Pondering the idea, he looked back to Orion

"It sounds to me, more like a litany of knowledge. Like a book of omniscience or something of the sort. I can understand why you looked so tired and worn out last night. Having that much knowledge.. seems.. well, impossible. You may have unlocked something quite dangerous.. Now that I think of it, I understand why this book should not be found. It possesses great power." He gazed with seriousness in his eyes. "This book could destroy the entirety of Equestria, should it fall into the wrong hooves... How much of it did you read?"

[Ihei 713]

@,

 

Willow Starsinger

 

"Don't mention it," Willow said. "You might want to get back to your group. You have a bit of catching up to do," Willow smiled. "Or you could come with me if you want. I could get you on Orion's good side," Willow said reassuringly. "...or you could go back to your group," Willow muttered. She had a feeling that she wanted to get to know this stallion better: Orion's made far too many enemies already and it's about time somepony fixed his mistakes.

 

@@Windbreaker,@,@,@,@,

 

 

Aphrodite

 

"Ooh! Kingfisher! What happened to you? Did you have some kind of amnesia or something? Is there anything I could do to help?" Aphrodite asked, starting to back up knocking a tree over in the process. In the personality switch, Aphrodite must've lost her coordination...

[Umbreon 569]

Pavisa

 

@,

 @@Windbreaker,@,@,@,

 

 

Pavisa looks worriedly to Kingfisher before addressing the others.  "I don't really understand it, but something about the water made Kingfisher...  I don't know.  Lose her memories?  She was having difficulty even speaking when I was able to first pull her out."  

 

Pavisa was worried, and she wasn't planning on leaving Kingfisher's side until the other mare was back to normal.  "Like I said, I think it has something to do with these silver flakes that were on her, but I'm not sure.  I'm no unicorn, I don't even know what they are."

 

 

Zintiik

 

@@Midnight Scribbler,

@@SilverHeart,

 

The changeling came to a stop, hovering in place as he turned to call back to the others.  "Hey, we're here!  If ya walk much farther past this spot, you'll start cutting up your hooves.  So, yeah...  Don't walk past this spot."

 

With a small shrug the changeling flies in a slow circle, waiting for another order.  Or for somepony to at least figure out how they were going to get across.  He spares a glance back in the direction they had come from, watching the path while the others talk.  I wonder where she is..?  I hope she's okay.  Gah, why do I even care!?  I think I might be getting sick or something.

[The Elusive Cinder 1,328]

Orion Starsinger.

@@Midnight Scribbler,

"No... no its not just knowledge. It's power as well - I just cant... cant really describe that as well." Orion said, shaking his head. "It's like... like if you cast a spell, and somepony else helps by casting the same spell or the same thing? I cast something and It's like there are hundreds of others all putting their power into it as well."

'Well technically that is what is happening...'
 
He walked on a little further, debating whether to answer the other question.

"Half of it. Then these appeared..." He said - spreading the ethereal wings which glowed brightly on their own accord, as if to emphasize his point. "... took me by surprise and I dropped it: it vanished before it hit the ground."

 

@,

 

"Thank you Zintiik. Well... spikes..." He looked over the field of razor edges before them. "We've given the warmongers too much of an advantage: I say we cut right through it."

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

Kingfisher.

@,

"I'm fine, really!" Kingfisher smiled a little at Aerodite's concern. "Uh, are you? What happened to you? Were... you always so clumsy?"

 

@,

 

She positioned herself next to the pony she knew the best and muttered under her breath "What's wrong with Aerodite? She looks happy enough to... me?"
 
---------------

Redwave and ???

 

@,

Red tried to smile: in effect it came off as more of a grimace thanks to his uncooperative body - but the effort was there.

"I believe that for a short while at least, I shall not be traveling very far at all." He failed to shrug. "Given that my limbs seem to have forgotten how to function.."
 
Somehow, he managed to drop himself down into a vaguely sitting position: narrowly avoiding the Aspect as he did. It proceeded to continue inspecting him from behind - unsure whether to test to see if his mane might prove more edible than the rest of him.

 

Redwave sighed, tried to raise a hoof to his face and failed. He tried to raise the other and failed again: they were starting to regain feeling at least: sharp stabbing pains started to lance through his extremities like hundreds of tiny pins and needles stabbing away at them. He rolled his eyes at his predicament.

 

"You remind me of somepony I used to know." He said simply - unsure of how else he was supposed to make small talk with the mare who had somehow freed him.

[Geek0zoid 1,468]

@,@,  

 

Blasted Nova

Blast shrugged to Kingfisher and trotted over to Aphrodite. She called him her "dearest friend" earlier. If anyone was going to bring some sense back to her, it was probably going to be him.

"Aphrodite, you remember me, right?" He asked her. "The moron of an earth pony that got his hoof wounded yesterday?

 

White Eclipse

Eclipse levitated the white flakes in front of him. He then proceeded towards Kingfisher and showed her the little white specks.

"Tell me, Kingfisher," Eclipses said. "Do these little white flakes look familiar at all?"

Edited November 8, 2013 by StevenEarthPony

[Midnight Scribbler 1,705]

Midnight continued to ponder the thoughts he'd been left with, knowing there was much more to this Litany now than he'd ever thought possible. Could someone gain the power of a god? Was that really possible? He looked on towards the spikes, thinking to himself, then stopped in his tracks. This looks rather treacherous.. I do however, have a spell that may make this a bit easier. Though it's not exactly what it was intended for, I'm sure an adaptation would not be hard... Hold up, what about Willow? She hasn't caught up with us yet."

Scribbler turned to peer down the pathway for any sign of her, but his eyes were met with empty trail and trees.

[Ihei 713]

@,@,

 

 

Aphrodite

 

"I'm not that clumsy, just clumsy enough!" Aphrodite said, purposely trying to confuse Kingfisher. She turned to Blast. "Of course I remember you! You're that one pony who saved me from the forest!" Aphrodite chirped, "It's not fun to be called a moron.. It's not fun to get your hoof wounded, either!" Aphrodite frowned.

 

@, 

 

Willow Starsinger

 

"Somepony you know? Was it somepony close to you?" Willow asked, trying not to ask too many questions. She didn't want to scare him away so quickly.. just because she was the sister of an alicorn doesn't mean she has to be scary. She didn't want Red to have to use too much of his brain: he seemed like he was having enough trouble.

[Umbreon 569]

Pavisa

 

@,

 

Pavisa leaned closer to the obviously confused Kingfisher, trying not to smirk as she whispers to the other mare.  "That's the problem...  Aphrodite was never happy before.  Completely serious, a little full of herself maybe, but never this...  Bouncy.  It's a little freaky, honestly."

 

 

Zintiik

 

@@Midnight Scribbler,

 

Hearing Scribbler mention Willow, Zintiik spins around in midair to wave a hoof, trying to get Orion's attention.  "Oh, I can go look for her.  We can't leave her behind, right!?"  

 

The changeling blinks, starting to think he may have come across as too eager for the task, then continues with a little less enthusiasm.  "Er, I mean...  What can I say, I'm a drone?  I like having a job to do..."  

 

Smooth, bug-brain.  Stop acting like a freak, you're going to make them think you're weird even for a changeling.