open A Darker Fate: Beyond these Walls Chapter Two.

[Geek0zoid 1,468]

@@Windbreaker,@@Commander Tangent, 

Blast

Blast proceeded to nom on his apple slices and handed the metal rod to Aegis. He hoped that the rod would at least get them started on building a pot or pan. Now if only the group would return. He was beginning to get worried about the others, considering the storm suddenly picking up...

"Don't be worrying about me, doc. We should be worrying about our friends."

 

Eclipse

@,@, 

 

Eclipse entered through the curtain and saw... nothing. He was perplexed by this fact, but he still heard the words "I must avenge her" Over and over.

"Stop saying that! Come out and show yourself!" Eclipse yelled at the top of his lungs, becoming annoyed. The train began to shake slightly on his end, causing him to stumble down to the floor like a clumsy moron. He then heard only five words before the echoes finally stopped.

"I must kill the Princesses..."

[RAGESTAR 479]

@ @ @

 

Crimson was shocked, yet relieved as he entered the room to see nothing but his friends, and a pedestal, not a monster, not a ghost, not his father, but an old, ancient pedestal of all things. Crimson stood there with a confused look as Pavisa asked him the question, it took him a moment to reply. "Uh...sorry Pavisa, but I couldn't tell ya, I wasn't there when you guys found the Litany, remember? I only came after that asshole stole the damn thing..." he said with a sigh, but narrowed his eyes as he noticed what Pavisa was doing. "I wouldn't do that if I were you...this thing doesn't look safe...it's radiating some sort of...magical energy from it..." he said, but he didn't get to continue his outloud thinking, as Eclipse began shouting and hit the floor. Crimson knelt next to him. "What the hell, Eclipse, are you alright? What's wrong?" he asked on concern.

[Geek0zoid 1,468]

@,@, @,

 

Eclipse

Eclipse regained his composure and got back up to his hooves. He then looked over to Crimson and gave a small grunt of discomfort.

"Don't worry about it. We'll talk about it later. We just need to focus on the task at hand." Eclipse then noticed the pedestal that was placed in front of them. It was radiating a powerful magic, which was very unsettling. He noticed Pavisa extending her hoof to it, and couldn't help but exclaim "DON'T TOUCH IT!" Right before she touched it.

[Icy Void 19]

Midnight Sky

 

Midnight was relieved to see his friends on the other side of the curtain, and seeing the pedestal explained quite a bit. "Well if that thing really was at one point a pedestal for the Litany, then that would explain all the strange magic I've been sensing in here. Even though it is not the Litany itself, it's exposure to the book has caused it to absorb the residual magic of the Litany. That's probably also part of why my own magic has been dealing with interference." Midnight said.

 

"Let's maybe refrain from the pedestal that probably once held an artifact that has proven to be an annoyance. We really don't need to deal with another Litany test right now." Midnight said casually when he saw Pavisa reaching out to the pedestal. "That said, I don't think we should leave it here where it could cause trouble in the future. Think you can levitate that thing without activating any magical traps that it may hold Eclipse?" Midnight asked. Even though he could levitate it himself just as easily, Midnight had a feeling that the pedestal was not responsible fro the fog earlier, which could mean that the thing that had attacked them earlier could be near, in which case Midnight wanted to have his horn free in case he needed to cast a pseudo-fireball or at worst his chaos burst.

Edited December 26, 2013 by Icy Void

[Commander Tangent 861]

@,

 

"If any of them come back wounded or in need of assistance, I will be here to help them, but at the moment, you are my patient, and I need to be sure that you don't comatose in your sleep or something else unfortunate" Icarus replied to Blast in a neutral tone. 

[Nomadic 210]

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

 

Denarius placed the pouch next to Orion's sister. She seemed pleased with the offer, and flashed him a smile. Interesting, she must of really cared for this stallion. Hastily his mouth curled slightly in response, giving the appearance of nothing more then a half-hearted smile.

 

Hesitantly, Denarius looked back at the body of the stallion. How battered and bruised it was. It looked almost pathetic, the stallion must of been out in the storm for far longer than any of them thought. He had next to no medical knowledge, and would probably just get in the way if he decided stay huddled around everypony.

 

"If you'll need any more help miss, I'll be tending to my own needs by the other-side of the fire, and besides as it stands currently I'm more likely to get in the way if I stand around here", he told Orion's sister with a grin.

 

Turning around, he found an unoccupied area near the fire. Placing his, now hole-filled and drenched, cloak off to the side, Denarius practically fell on to the ground. Today had been more fruitful than he could of hoped for and he was pleased with this fact, but for now he needed to relax a bit.

Edited December 24, 2013 by Nomadic

[Umbreon 569]

Pavisa

 

Pavisa was still staring at the pedestal as her hoof touched it.  Sure it felt like magic, but...  Well, it felt to her like its magic wasn't really working right now.  "It's just the pedestal, not the book...  How dangerous could it be?"  When she hears Midnight mention taking it with them the ex-guard shrugs and leans up against the pedestal, using one hoof to pull it across her back.  She didn't see the need for the unicorns to waste their energy carrying a stone statue like this...

 

Straining a little under the pedestal's weight, Pavisa winces as she looks back to the others.  "Taking this thing with us had better be worth it...  This thing's heavier than it looks.  Should we start making our way back to the others yet, or did you guys find anything?  If that storm keeps getting worse, we're not going to be able to find the cave..."

[Geek0zoid 1,468]

Eclipse

@, 

 

"I found one thing alright; a recipe for disaster, and it's on your back." Eclipse said, gesturing to the giant rocky structure on Pavisa's back. "That thing just REEKS of danger, literally. The magic around it just doesn't seem right." Eclipse then used his psychic magic to help Pavisa carry the pedestal. "But, if you really think we should take it back, then fine, but we need to keep a close eye on it. Like, a VERY close eye."

Edited December 25, 2013 by StevenEarthPony

[The Elusive Cinder 1,328]

@,

@,

@,

@@Icy Void,

 

With the pedestal removed and the carved boxes latched firmly in place by Midnight's sides, the carriage was almost stripped bare. The key still hung from the curling - swaying as the storm battered the walls. The faint light had faded completely now - giving in to the cold dampness of the thick fog.

 

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

 

???

 

There it was!

 

It was unlike the others: not visibly - it's visible appearance meant nothing - but there was something in the air. Not like this pathetic 'magic' that ponies had somehow conquered... no, this was something older.

 

Why was it here? Ponies wouldn't be capable of using it, would they? Of course not - there had never been any evidence that even their leaders would be capable of even comprehending it! No... If anything, they had stumbled upon it by chance: like children playing with something not meant for them, they wouldn't even realise what they had stumbled upon!

 

The old magic wouldn't protect them any longer, and now there were no more questions that their survival would answer...

 

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

 

Kingfisher.

 

@@Windbreaker,

@@Commander Tangent,

@@Snowy Storm,

@@Frosty V,

@,

@@Midnight Scribbler,

 

The mare wandered to the mouth of the cave - looking out. Pavisa and the others still hadn't come back: and the weather was picking up again. She could hardly see anything, and the fog only seemed to get worse the further she looked into the distance.

 

"This is taking too long..." She said vaguely over her shoulder - not quite succeeding in masking the concern in her voice. "They should be back by now... maybe they got lost in the fog?"

 

Of course, going to find them wasn't an option - getting herself lost wouldn't help anypony - but not doing anything was starting to make her feel sick in the put of her stomach.

 

'Of all the times I've seen Red fiddling with that bloody compass... now would be just perfect!' She thought to herself, turning regretfully away.

 

"Okay ponies!" Declared the mare in a commanding tone: mostly trying to drown out her own fears. "Lets stop moping and do something! Doc, I think Icy needs a little help. Frost, Aegis, give me a hoof scouting out how far back this place goes."

 

She swung her saddlebag into a dry corner and looked into the darkness.

 

"Anyone else, try to stay warm or see how you can help!"

 

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

 

Orion Starsinger.

 

@,

@@Midnight Scribbler,

@@SilverHeart,

@,

@@Nomadic,

 

Orion knelt, cradling his horn with a hoof. Willow was doing everything that she could but... well, this was serious! How was she supposed to deal with this? She was little more than a child! She hadn't displayed and signs of power drawn from the Litany either - it would be foolish to expect anything noteworthy of her, no matter how much she wanted to help...

 

Still, he trusted her to do her best - and it wasn't as if she was completely unskilled anyway: she wouldn't make things worse.

 

"I'll try to heal him again. Just... give me a minute. Need to focus..." Orion muttered as his vision swam from the backlash. It was painful and disorientating - but nothing compared to the agony that he had suffered from the Litany: it would pass.

Edited December 25, 2013 by Cinderscribe

[Commander Tangent 861]

@, @@Snowy Storm, 

 

Icarus walked over to Icy. He looked her over and then asked.

 

"What are your injuries, and be specific please" he requested. 

 

Her wounds do not appear to be of major concern. But left untreated, it could possibly end up in a nasty infection and ensuing complications.

[Geek0zoid 1,468]

@, 

 

Blast

Blast only smirked and got back up to his hooves. He was still in a lot of hurt, but he stood as if nothing happened, though you could see a cringe or two on his expression. He then walked up to Kingfisher.

"You think you're going scouting in a dangerous cave without me? You wish!" Blast said, putting up a smirk. "I'm taggin' along."

[Frosty V 309]

@

 

Frost sat and shivered slightly, he turned his head when Kingfisher spoke. His face brightened instantly when she asked for him to join in a scouting mission. He stood up and went to stand beside her, his bow in hoof, he looked it over for cracks and signs of damage from the crash. Any he found he wrapped with cloth. He then sorted his arrows, throwing away the ones that were in pieces. He put one at the ready and drew back the string, aiming down his make-shift sight, once done he returned everything to its proper place. "Right....I'm ready when you are King!" He exclaimed in a joyful tone, jumping slightly as he did.

Edited December 26, 2013 by Frosty V

[EcstaticWind 572]

Aegis Dare

@, 

 

Aegis swallowed and nodded. "Aye aye, Cap'n!" He said in a fairly convincing pirate accent, practically leaping to his hooves. He dug his wingblades out of his bags, finding them to be surprisingly undamaged. "Thank Celestia for Sable's quality smithing."

 

The blades fitted well and were fairly light. Getting a feel for them, Aegis tried a few practice swings. It wasn't what he was used to, but they would do fine. He couldn't deny there was a certain allure to the blade, considered an elegant weapon by some. Also considered a barbaric instrument of warfare by others. For Aegis, they were tools to help him ensure the group's safety.

 

Within a minute, he was ready to go. "Lead the way." He said, making a mental note to reign in the confidence a little. Too much confidence is just as bad as having none at all.

[RAGESTAR 479]

Crimson gave Pavisa a slightly worried look,  before sighing and turning towards the key. "If we're going to bring that thing along, then we should also bring this, it could be important..." he said before grabbing the key out of the air, the moment he touched it, he felt an odd wave of strange energy emit from the old relic, it almost seemed to grow heavier in his hooves as he held it. "Let's...let's get moving...the others are probably waiting for us..." he said absentmindedly as he stared at the key.

[Geek0zoid 1,468]

@,@@Icy Void, @,

 

Eclipse

Eclipse was becoming quite annoyed by the current circumstances. It seemed as if he was the only one who seemed at all suspicious about the artifacts. Why would they even consider taking things like this with them? If they were placed in here so neatly, wouldn't that be a sign that somepony wants them NOT to be taken.

Eclipse saw Crimson continuing to eyeball the key he had. He pulled the key out of his grasp with his own magic.

"Get your eyes off of this damn key, son." Eclipse said. "These things look like nothing but danger."
 

[RAGESTAR 479]

@,@@Icy Void, @,

 

Eclipse

Eclipse was becoming quite annoyed by the current circumstances. It seemed as if he was the only one who seemed at all suspicious about the artifacts. Why would they even consider taking things like this with them? If they were placed in here so neatly, wouldn't that be a sign that somepony wants them NOT to be taken.

Eclipse saw Crimson continuing to eyeball the key he had. He pulled the key out of his grasp with his own magic.

"Get your eyes off of this damn key, son." Eclipse said. "These things look like nothing but danger."

 

 

 

Crimson growled and snatched the key back from Eclipse, using his own magic. "Just calm down! If we leave them here, Noble or Orion could just take them, so it's a lot safer to take them with us...and don't call me son, you damn twit! I may not look like it, but I'm about a decade older than you think..." he said, tucking the key under his hat.

[Geek0zoid 1,468]

Eclipse

@, 

 

"You know, Crimson, you may not realize it, but I care for everypony in the group, not just myself." Eclipse said to the stallion. "Besides, what if the magic coming off of these things corrupts us just like the Litany would? What then?" Eclipse asked him. "We just need to be very cautious. We're in a place far at the edge of the map, no idea where in Tartarus we are. We just need to be careful with these items, as we don't use them for our ownselves, but for like you said; to keep them away from Orion and Noble."

[RAGESTAR 479]

@

 

Crimson chuckled. "Believe me, Eclipse, I know what you mean...more than you know...I can handle a few possessive relics, it wouldn't be the first time...anyway, we should really get back to the others, they're probably starting to get worried..." he said with a sigh.

[Ihei 712]

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

 

(( OOC: I am SO sorry for my extremely long 2 day absence and my poopy short post. I'm in a big rush here.. xc I'll try having better posts by tomorrow! ))

 

Willow Starsinger

 

Willow smiled at both Mirror and Denarius for their kindnesses. She took the needle and worked hard at stitching up Scribbler's head. She tried to hush anypony who tried to talk to her: stitching was the hardest to master out of all of her nursing skills. For her, anyway.

 

A few hours into her careful stitching to make sure nothing went wrong, she finally closed up the gash. She draped a warm blanket over the unicorn's head and just sat beside him, wiping her forehead, relieved it was over. She saw that everypony else was asleep. She sighed and looked at Scribbler.

 

"It wouldn't hurt to sleep next to him." With that, she fell asleep.

Edited December 26, 2013 by Shaymin

[Midnight Scribbler 1,705]

Midnight Scribbler

@,

@,

@@SilverHeart,

@,

@@Nomadic,

 

Scribbler's mind was completely submersed within Mirror's spell still. He remained still as Willow stitched him up, and felt nothing physically. He continued in what seemed like a dream, taking in the moments he was experiencing, uncertain if he was conscious, dead or otherwise.

The setting hadn't changed, Mirror and Scribbler sat, facing one another, their horns crossed, noses together. Scribbler looked into Mirror's eyes, feeling a sense of fear building. He'd been taken advantage of before, and was still unsure if he could trust this mare, no matter how badly he wanted to. He had only known her a short time, and exchanged few words until the day they'd spent time in Canterlot together. He opened his mouth to speak, he wanted to spill his feelings, and see what she would say, or do. "Mirror.. I.." No sooner did he pause speaking, then the world around them began to collapse into a chaotic pattern, breaking apart at the seams, as though reality it's self was being torn apart. He felt a sensation, like the one he knew from teleporting, but combined with surprise because he hadn't cast it. It was like those times as a foal, when he couldn't control his magic, and would teleport at random. He felt timespace shift, as the destination he was about to enter appeared before his eyes at the same time as being in the place he was before. The locations blurred together, and as he watched, the destination appeared to get farther and farther away as the wormhole stretched, then it shot into his full view, and the forest was no longer. He now sat alone, in a cavern, much like the one he physically was in, in reality. He was cold, and lonely, and longed to return to where Mirror had been in the forest. But he lay down, accepting that he couldn't return. A feeling he'd known, and grown painfully accustomed to from his unfortunate youth. Suddenly everything began to warm up, as he closed his eyes. He could feel a presence next to him, that hadn't been there before. He could feel the warmth of a body next to his.

Scribbler's eyes opened, he didn't feel any pain right away, still in a haze from Mirror's spell. His vision was still blurred slightly, as he lifted his head. He looked over his side, seeing Willow had fallen asleep next to him. "That must be what I felt.. Strange it would affect my dream like that." He thought, as the feeling of stinging began to cross his head where Willow had stitched it. He lifted a hoof, and winced as he contacted the fresh stitching. "Ugh.. What happened? Where am I?" His memory of anything previous to this moment, and some of his dream was a fog. He couldn't recall how he'd ended up like this, or even where he was. He could see Mirror and Orion. Zintiik buzzed overhead, and the stranger had taken to his own corner.

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

 

Clockwork Green

@,

@@Windbreaker,

@@Commander Tangent,

@@Frosty V,

 

Clockwork glanced up at the mention of exploring, he sat up, and rubbed his eyes a bit. "I think I'll stick around here, in case the others return.. Mark your paths, if you don't you may become lost." Blast jumped up and staggered slightly as he offered his help. "I admire your spirit, kid, but you really should rest. It's foolish to jump back into action so soon after such a grievous wound." He raised a brow, and gave a half smile, hoping Blast would heed his advice. He wasn't in any condition to be stumbling about an unexplored cave after all.

Edited December 26, 2013 by Midnight Scribbler

[The Elusive Cinder 1,328]

???

 

Four ponies... four of them and something. Something that they seemed to think was important anyway - important enough to fight amongst themselves over. Wasn't that always the way though? If the primaries creatures had learned to let go of such petty grievances, then maybe they would have progressed further as a race?

 

No matter - it couldn't allow them to leave. Not after this, not after they had found something hidden!

 

With nothing more than a thought, the hidden watcher allowed another bolt if the vibrant lightning to crash from the sky - it veered off course, but only very slightly. Whatever had been protecting the train was gone - its influence fading rapidly.

 

The ground shuddered as a huge torrent of snow was blasted up into the air and a crater formed just shy of the train.

 

Why? Why was this happening? Why was a remnant of the old magic here?

 

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

 

Kingfisher.

 

Holding onto the half-forced smile, Kingfisher wandered into the darker reaches of the cavern. Pitch black: still, even without fire...

 

"Somepony want to light this place up a li'l? Can't even see my own hooves back there." She asked, raising a brow at the ponies behind her. Unicorns - they were always good for something at least. "looks like it goes back a way but... too hard to see how far."

 

She hoped it didn't - keeping watch on one side was going to be bad: but watching their backs as well? That was something they could do without. Not that she expected to be lucky... things seemed to have a habit of working out badly recently.

[Umbreon 569]

Pavisa

 

@@Icy Void, 

@,

@,

@,

 

Pavisa is nearly knocked off her hooves as the lightning crashes right next to the train car, getting back up and glancing at the unicorns with her.  "We can argue once we're back in the cave - we need to leave, now!"  She starts to move back to the entrance of the train car, straining slightly under the stone statue's weight.  As she reaches the door she squints into the storm, looking back to the others.  "I can't see a thing through this fog...  Please tell me one of you can get us back to the cave?  Midnight, you found it in the first place, right?"

 

 

Zintiik

 

@@Midnight Scribbler,

@, 

@,

@@Nomadic, 

@@SilverHeart, 

 

Zintiik sighs in relief to see Scribbler seemingly alright, spreading Tactic's wings to fly a little closer.  He still keeps his distance, not wanting to actually get in the way, but wanting to be close in case he was needed.  "You really are amazing, Willow..."  The changeling blushes slightly - where had that come from?  Quickly looking away he moves off to the side, close to the fire to keep warm.  The changeling wasn't doing much to help anyways...  He may as well try and get some sleep until somepony called on him. 

[Icy Void 19]

Midnight Sky

 

Midnight had been about ready to intervene with the ongoing argument when he felt a blast of something hit near the car, a bit too near for comfort. "Right, let's go. I can still use my telekinetic scanning to guide us back to the cave, but I need each of you to stay close. Being separated in weather like this would be deadly. Now let's go, I have a feeling that this storm isn't exactly natural. It feels all too much like the one from before when that whatever it was attacked." Midnight said, turning and walking to the train car's door. Once again he'd have to lead the way through a magic and malevolent snowstorm, once all this business with the Litany and Noble was done he'd have to arrange for a vacation, somewhere warm and sunny. With a sigh Midnight began sending out his pulses from where he stood in the train car's doorway so he could try and get an idea of where to walk. Thankfully it wasn't too difficult to find the way they had come, though their tracks were almost entirely covered by this storm. "All right, stay close and follow me if you want to live. Crimson, keep your fire ready in case we're attacked." Midnight said to the others as started walking, hoping to prevent another argument from coming up by forcing them to hurry up and follow.

[Geek0zoid 1,468]

@,@@Icy Void, @,

 

Eclipse

Eclipse trotted upwards to Midnight and supported his magic with the stallion's. Both unicorns knew telekinetic magic, so they could possibly detect better through the fog.

"Need some help?" Eclipse asked the unicorn.

 

Blast

@@Midnight Scribbler,

 "Nonsense, Clockwork. I can manage no proble-" Blast was stopped in mid-sentence when a giant spark of pain jolted through his head. These sparks of pain were quite frequent. If they were great enough, he could potentially lose consciousness for a few moments. "Ugh. Fine, I'll stay behind." Blast limped over to a far end of the cave and sat in his lonesome. Head hung, he just kept eyeballing his wounds, wishing he could run right now.

But, it's be fatal if he did.

Edited December 27, 2013 by StevenEarthPony

[Midnight Scribbler 1,705]

Clockwork Green

@,

 

Clockwork grinned at the determination this young pony was showing, not to mention the wisdom to heed the warnings that were present. He wasn't stupid by any stretch, though he wasn't patient with his injuries. Clockwork could see Blast wasn't happy, having to sit behind, so he chose now to make friends. Allies would be valuable to him in this journey after all. He got up. and wandered over, sitting beside Blast. "I can see that you're upset with having to stay behind.. I'm sure you're not used to it to begin with. And I understand, it's difficult to be thrown out of your element. Just remember, pain is a lesson, be it physical or mental. You must will learn one way or another.. But I can see you have the wisdom to take the path of least obstacles. I'm glad you chose to stick around anyways.. It would be rather boring sitting here alone." Clockwork smiled. He knew he could just use his battery pack again, but if he did, it wouldn't be a full heal, and they may need it later. Icarus only had so much to give at once it seemed.

Edited December 27, 2013 by Midnight Scribbler