open A Darker Fate: Beyond these Walls Chapter Two.

[RAGESTAR 479]

@

 

The sudden and extreme drop in temperature was just enough to wake Crimson from his nightmare, his eyes snapping open as he sat up and looked around frantically for any sign of his father, his sister, or the graves, but found none, causing the pirate to let out a sigh of relief. "It was...just a dream...forget about the whole thing...it wasn't real...we haven't failed yet, we can still do this...get ahold of yourself..." mumbled Crimson to himself, as he felt his face and realized that he had been crying, causing him to curse and quickly wipe away what was left. "Dammit! I can't let any of the others see me like this! What would they think of me if they were to see me, an infamous pirate captain, crying in a corner like some little filly? They would probably laugh at me...it doesn't even make any sense...I shouldn't even be able to cry at all...devils never cry..." he whispered solemnly to himself, before standing up and trotting upstairs to join everyone else.

 

((whoever can tell me what videogame I just quoted in my post, they will get an imaginary cookie!))

[The Elusive Cinder 1,328]

Kricket.

 

@,

@,

@@Midnight Scribbler,

@@SilverHeart,

@@Nomadic,

 

 

Hmm... Nothing interesting has happened to team serious recently...

 

 

The ground starting to fall away... that was unusual.

 

As Willow and the Zintiik creature communicated with each other, a deep crack started to open up in the ground behind them - Kricket thought that was unusual. When the fissure turned out to be filled with not darkness, but a piercingly bright light... he knew that was unusual!

 

"Raa-aak!" Screiched the creature in warning as it dropped from the sky to hover in front of them: unfortunately not understanding their strange way of communicating well enough to give any more detailed information.

 

And then the problem with communicating the danger solved itself. With a resounding crunch as if the bones of Equestria itself were breaking, the fracture spidered outwards - pieces of the land falling away entirely - reducing the world around them to a series of mismatched islands amid a sea of chaos and light - the air grew thick and heavy - like being submerged in water, but on solid land. This madness stretched out far enough to cause a significant problem - some of the islands were completely isolated - too high or too low to risk. Even those close together were too far to consider jumping between them a safe option... and given the unknown brightness below - who would risk trying? That said, currents of twinkling lights in the air didn't bode well for flight either...

 

Orion Starsinger.

 

"What now?! Willow!"

 

Orion bolted forward - closing his eyes for a moment before opening them to try and see whatever magic was at work: it was a terrible idea. The light was already bright but the sheer intensity of the magic in the air - the blinding light if the litany was drab and insignificant in comparison... this was something else entirely.

 

Blinded by the light, the unicorn staggered forward a few more paces - eyes squeezed shut as he stopped only a few steps short if the edge by chance.

 

"Willow! Don't move!"

Edited January 23, 2014 by Cinderscribe

[SilverHeart 741]

Mirror Image

 

Mirror stopped walking beside Orion, it was quickly becoming apparent that he wasn't going to speak to her for now. Instead she'd rejoin Scribbler. She looked behind herself at Scribbler. Before the two could reunite the ground began to began to shake as the previously level ground around them began to crack and break apart. Mirror was pushed over as the ground split between her hooves, one side rising quickly before splitting away from the piece of land they were trapped on.

 

The light was bright enough to temporarily blind Mirror, forcing her to clench her eyes shut. Just as quickly as the chaos had begun it seemed to end. Mirror opened her eyes, rubbing them, hoping to help adjust them to see.

[The Elusive Cinder 1,328]

Emerald Gaze.

(Canterlot)

 

@,

 

Emerald felt physically sick at the sound of the voice: she could talk circles around the best that other nations had to offer - but her own city? There was something distinctly unnerving about having to put her talents to work in such a way... it felt wrong.

 

But given no other options...

 

"Aha! Captain, excellent!" She rounded purposefully - holding out a pile of assorted pieces of armour towards him. "Help me load these, won't you? I was supposed to have help with this but naturally today had to be the day that they cut the funding for my escort..."

 

Rolling her eyes, the diplomat gave a somewhat pained smile - the state that the hood had left her mane in completing the picture of a stressed pony with only a little patience left to lose.

 

"Typical... I'm not against a little hard work but... really? This was never in my job description! They pay me to keep the peace: not load the carts! Please? You'd be doing me a huge favour..."

[~Sole~ 852]

Cold... All around him, the only thing he felt was a blistering cold. With a start he sat up with a groan "man.. Where the hell am I? The last thing I remember I was... Damn, what the hell is this..." He mumbled, stumbling to his hooves which were unfortunately already numb from the cold. The first thing he did though was make sure his precious sword was still by his side, and luckily it was. But he soon Realized that if he didn't warm up soon then he'd freeze to death, he quickly pulled out a large thick blanket from his bag and wrapped it around himself. "good thing I've still got my stuff. But where should I go?" He thought to himself, before deciding to head in a straight line, hopefully finding other ponies to help him out of this mess.

[Ihei 713]

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

 

Willow Starsinger

 

"I.. I don't know. I don't know where we are, or how--" Willow was interrupted by a screech from Kricket - something he hasn't done to her in a while, so she realized it must've been important. She looked at the ground that Kricket was trying to point to. She didnt think much of it at first; until the ground shifted under her. "Z-Zintiik!! Kricket!?" Willow thought that she should fly away from it; but it was too dangerous for her first time flying.

 

She desperately pawed around the ground, trying to sit down so that she wouldn't fall. She noticed the rest of the group catching up to them and saw that Orion was calling to her. "Orion!" Willow cried, growing dizzy as she looked down. She was afraid of heights, after all. She covered her eyes with her hooves and shuddered helplessly, trying not to look down.

 

All while this was happening though - her wings were beginning to vanish.

[Nomadic 210]

Denarius

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

 

A thunderous roar from below. Denarius retraced his steps as he tried to gain any distance from such baleful noise. He watched in a state of shock as the land cracked, and an ominous bright light spilled forth from its depths. His eyes moved not an inch and mouth became slack-jawed at such a sight, not in horror or disgust, but in awe of such unbridled power.

 

Was this the strength of Orion's so called Litany? They wished to conquer such a monstrosity of magical might, yet the others thought him to be foolhardy. Denarius gave the craggy landscape a smirk of enjoyment. He to wished to overcome in the insurmountable. Fortune would hopefully guide him to success, despite its fickleness he believed that it would never truly abandon him.

 

Denarius' grinning shouted to Orion. His voice echoed throughout the valley with a ring of tenacity and satisfaction to it. "Orion, I wish to help. Do you think that you can trust me long enough to order me to do something"?

[Umbreon 569]

Stahl

 

@,

 

Stahl raises an eyebrow slightly and smiles, flipping his head to try and push his mane out of his face.  It fell right back into his face, as it always did.  "And what kind of stallion would I be, to deny such a request from a beautiful mare?"

 

Flashing his most charming smile, Stahl steps closer and his horn starts to glow as he begins picking up the pieces of armour.  Truth be told, something felt odd about the exchange to him...  But, this worked to his advantage as well.  He'd be able to get out of the castle, if only for a short while.  As he starts to get the gear she had asked him to carry situated, Stahl smiles at her again.  "And please, Captain is far too formal.  Call me Stahl.  If you don't mind me asking, where exactly are we delivering this to?"

 

 

Zintiik

 

@,

@@SilverHeart,

@@Midnight Scribbler, 

@@Nomadic, 

 

"Ack!  What the - Willow!?"  Zintiik's first reaction when the land had started to buckle had, of course, been to take to the air.  Watching Willow struggle to keep her hooves on the buckling ground, though, overthrew the changeling's sense of caution as he rapidly dove back down towards her.  

 

Landing behind the mare, Zintiik wraps his front hooves around her as his wings beat rapidly to keep her in place.  "I've got you, you're not gonna fall..."  He was briefly reminded of a time shortly after he'd met Willow, when he'd caught her after some unicorn in the bandit's camp had decided to randomly pick everypony into the air...  Unfortunately, this time seemed a little bit more dangerous than that short drop.  

 

"Orion!"  Zintiik shouted over the cracking ground, hoping the unicorn could hear him.  "I'm with Willow, but what do we do!?  Don't think we could exactly walk out of here!"  The changeling lets his gaze drift back to Willow - he noted that her wings seemed to be growing fainter, but it didn't exactly seem like a good time to point something like that out.  I don't think I'd be strong enough to carry her across this gap...  But...  "Don't worry Willow...  I'm not going to let you fall."  He smiles at her and nods slightly, trying to take her attention off of the gap if nothing else.

 

 

Pavisa

 

@,

 

"What in Equestria..?"  Pavisa was distracted away from the thoughts of her horn by the sound of the music when the house responded to Crimson's fire - she HADN'T imagined it!  She glances at Kingfisher, tilting her head slightly.   "You heard that too, right?  ...Celestia, it just got a lot colder in here..."

 

Almost running into Crimson near the stairs, Pavisa holds up a hoof to get his attention.  "Hey, pirate!  You were downstairs, right?  What just happened!?"

[RAGESTAR 479]

@

 

Crimson gave her a fake smile. "Nothing happened! The fireplace downstairs just got a little too hot, and the house cooled it off, that's all..." he lied. "I hate lying to my friends, and I'm probably gonna hate myself later, but I can't let them know what really happened...it's just too embarrassing...they'd lose all respect for me if they found out...after all, who would want a cracking pirate captain for a friend?" he thought.

Edited January 24, 2014 by ragestar

[Geek0zoid 1,468]

@,@, @, 

 

Blasted Nova

Blast backed away from the situation with Eclipse and Clockwork to check on what's happening downstairs. The shack had seemed to have to have gotten colder over the past few minutes. When he got down to the basement, he noticed that the fireplace was out.

"Hey guys, what's going on?" He asked all three ponies. "Oh, and Crimson, could you be a good guy and light the fireplace soon?"

[~Sole~ 852]

Ronin continued on through the snow and ice, doing all that he could to avoid freezing to death. "D-damn it's cold out here. I'm g-gonna k-kill whoever sent me here." He mumbled to himself, wrapping the blanket tighter around himself like a cloak. But as he traveled, his thoughts did too stray. It went back to simpler times, when he wasn't always traveling, and had a warm bed and hot food to eat.

 

-------------FLASHBACK------------

"Ro... Hey ro! Wake up you lazy bum, it's time for practice!" A voice called next to him, with a groan a much younger ronin cracked a single eye open and looked up to see his brother and best friend standing over him with a grin. "Ah leave me alone sai, I'm tired. We don't need to train every day." Ronin complained, before feeling a pillow slam into his head with a dull "whump". "Ag, alright, I'm up dang it!" He complained, as he opened his eyes and looked up again. But this time his older brother was offering him a hoof up. "C'mon bro, it's just not as fun without you." He said with a smile, as ronin reached up and accepted the hoof.

 

------------END OF FLASHBACK------------

But at that moment he was pulled back to reality, as he thought he heard noises in the distance. He thought it was the wind at first, as it could be quite loud. But there was no mistaking it, he heard voices. He soon decided to head toward them, his body now refueled with a goal and destination. "Just head toward the voices..." He mumbled

 

(Oh, I forgot to mention that cinder gave me the green light. I've been officially allowed to start posting.)

[Ihei 713]

@,@,

 

Willow Starsinger

 

Willow tried to face the ground before her, not trying to look down as the changeling fled above her. She didnt blame him. It was everypony for themselves in the outside world. She began to give up hope until she felt two hooves wrap around her. She catiously looked up, expecting to see Celestia above to take her away. But Zintiik was there. "Z..Zintiik?" Willow hugged the bug, partly out of not wanting to fall, but mostly out of gratitude.

 

Willow felt safe with Zintiik beside her. After all, the only pony she knew that would do that was Orion, but she was surprised when Zintiik embraced her. Wasnt changelings supposed to think of ponies as prey or at least ditch them when they needed help the most? Wouldn't they fly away heartlessly? Well, they did in the stories Orion had told her when she was younger. Now that she knew a changeling though, it felt different. It felt wrong to trust a changeling, but he wouldn't lie to her.. right?

 

Willow buried her face in Zintiik's chest when she remembered something. She abruptly pulled away from the bug and stood up, wobbling. "Kricket! Oh Kricket, where are you?" Willow called out, standing dangerously close to the edge of the small island.

[~Sole~ 852]

Ronin did what he thought was the wisest thing to do in this situation, he followed the noises he'd heard. But sadly they'd stopped sometime ago, and now he was left wandering through the cold with his less then stellar sense of direction. "Dammit, this is no way for a warrior to die... Need to keep moving.. Don't give up yet... " he thought, as his mind became foggy and his vision blurred. Even with the blanket his legs were numb. Just as he'd lost all hope of getting out of the cold, a small worn cabin came into view through the veil of snow and ice. But he could barely move, and he could already feel himself getting light headed and dizzy from both hunger and exhaustion. But regardless he moved toward it, hopeful of reaching the shelter.

Edited January 25, 2014 by ~chaotic sole~

[EcstaticWind 572]

Noble Persona & Gwyn

@@Tricksters Pride, 

 

“They were your employees? My apologies. If I'd known, I would've been more polite.” Noble said, showing no change in his demeanour. Underneath that, however, he was both surprised and impressed. ‘So, he knows more than he originally let on.’

 

Gwyn’s blush deepened and she giggled.  Noticing this, Noble took on a more casual and light-hearted tone. “I think Gwyn has a crush on you, Mr. Strings.”

 

“N-no…But he is quite charming.” Gwyn said, trying to deny Noble’s words.

 

Aegis Dare

@@Commander Tangent, 

 

Aegis smiled and nodded. “Yep. It’s a recipe I learned from my dad. He used to be in the Fillydelphia branch of the Royal Guard, and he was always trying to get me to be more outgoing. It wasn’t until I got my Cutie Mark that I got like this, though.”

[The Elusive Cinder 1,328]

Kricket.

 

@,

@,

@@Midnight Scribbler,

@@SilverHeart,

@@Nomadic,

 

"Kr-acket!" Kricket popped up from the chasm at the sound of his name, tilting his head to one side slightly - waiting to see if there were any other words that Willow might say that he understood: the magic was excellent, but Willow and the Zintiik creature didn't seem to think so...

 

The precariously balanced island swayed slightly - as did they all, slowly and with unusually slow, shifting movements which seemed unnatural. The cracked world stretches out towards the cliff in one direction, and as far as can be seen in the other. The rest of the group stands on one side and the path onwards stands on the other.

 

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

 

Orion Starsinger.

 

Orion shook his head and blinked - hazy shapes started to form but without the sharpness and clarity that was expected: he was - to all intents and purposes - blind to any finer details of the situation. Would it last? Probably... hopefully not. Looking either way, he just about made out the shapes of some of his other companions.

"We cant stay here: we keep moving!" He snarled - surprise seemingly overtaken by... anger?... at the shattering of the ground before them. "Scribbler... the bridge spell: can you hold it?" He asked before turning towards what he assumed to be their latest addition: what was his name again? "We go forward, or we all freeze to death. Can you help?"

 

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

 

Kingfisher.

 

@Everyone in the cabin.,

 

(Just FYI - this whole scene isn't just filler - something is happening. Or has happened. Or may be about to happen.)

 

Following the mare downstairs: Kingfishers first reaction was to the drop from intense warmth to intense cold. She shivered slightly, but simply listened to Pavisa and Crimson speak about the matter for a moment - not feeling like she had anything to add.

 

She glanced about - eyes falling on the source of the glorious smell: whatever Aegis said about himself in the future she would never call him a liar - he had claimed to make a great stir-fry, and that was exactly how it looked!

 

Helping herself to a small helping, she noticed a slightly unfamiliar smell as she sat with the food: something unpleasant and off-putting... but on further inspection she decided that the food actually smelled pretty good: it must have been something else that she could smell - there would be plenty of time to investigate after they had eaten anyway...

 

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

 

Emerald Gaze.

 

@,

 

'That... worked?' Of course it had worked - she was an expert.

 

"Oh thank you so much... Stahl." She smiled softly. "I'm Emerald - royal diplomat. I've been ordered to have these issued to a group on the outskirts: of the city - peacekeeping mission... Of course it would have been significantly easier had my guide still been employed... but, I have my knight in shining armour it seems!"

 

The cart wasn't too far away - with magic it was an easy trip - and with a guard by her side she wasn't interrupted either: most useful!

Edited January 24, 2014 by Cinderscribe

[Umbreon 569]

Pavisa

 

@,

@@Windbreaker, 

(And everyone else)

 

"Strange...  Did you hear the music too?"  As she asks she starts to walk over towards Aegis, her stomach starting to growl.  Now that they were downstairs the smell from the food was much stronger...  "Hey Aegis...  Thanks for cooking."

 

With a grin towards the author, Pavisa fills a plate with some of the stir fry and moves off to the side.  She takes a bite of the food to stop her stomach from growling, then stares intently at the plate.  She concentrates, trying to picture one of the peppers rising off of the plate the way she'd seen her brothers do it...  Nothing.  All she ended up doing was making her head hurt from trying to concentrate so hard on a pepper.  Pavisa sighs quietly and takes another bite - it seemed as though some mysterious force had given her a horn, and not even a useful one.  Granted, she didn't know how to use magic, but it never looked that difficult.

 

 

Zintiik

 

@,

@,

 

The changeling grits his teeth as he walks to the edge with Willow, not wanting to get away from her under their current circumstances.  When Kricket pops up from the side of the abyss he sighs, his wings buzzing quietly.  "Sheesh, we're in peril, and he's having the time of his life...  Willow, we should get back from the edge, I don't like the looks of that light down there."  

 

 

Stahl

 

@,

 

Stahl tilts his head slightly as they walk, listening to what she said.  "Outskirts of the city?  I didn't think they had kept anypony garrisoned that far out, I figured the old cowards had pulled all of us back to the castle."  He glances at the equipment again, frowning slightly, but quickly replaces the frown with his usual grin.

 

"This is expensive equipment - Miss Emerald, I would never forgive myself to let you make the delivery without escort.  The streets are growing dangerous, sadly...  I can tell that much, even with my superiors restricting my usual patrol routes."  Stahl flashes a smile at her again, attempting to be charming.  The fact that he was using this as an excuse to get out of the castle was starting to slip from his mind at the moment - that seemed to happen a lot when he was in the company of mares...

[Nomadic 210]

Denarius

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

 

Orion snarled at him. Denarius rolled his eyes, such anger would probably cloud the stallion's judgement. Looking over the varying surfaces, he believed that he might be able to make it to Willow and the bug. Granted, without a way to get back with either such an effort would be truly in vain, and a waste of time. Denarius watched as the craggy stone islands swayed gently.

 

"And how would you suggest I help? Must I remind you, that you and your 'friends' still have me at the disadvantage. If you need me to do something for you, TELL ME WHAT TO DO ORION", his carefree voice erupted with a strong passion to rival Orion's anger.

[Tricksters Pride 100]

Strings

@@Windbreaker, 

 

After flashing an amused grin at Noble, Strings' tone changes to one that he would probably use use when discussing something unimportant and trivial. "Oh i don't mind one bit... I'm just going to have to charge you for their time. They did demand overtime for the few hours that they cannot remember, and i found their request to be perfectly reasonable... They did such good work after all." He then winks conspiratorially at Gwyn and his grin deepens. "Don't let my charm get to you Lady Gwyn, i'm sure that there are hundreds of much younger and handsomer stallions just waiting to sweep a dazzling young mare like you off your hooves. You don't have to settle for an average stallion like myself."

Edited January 24, 2014 by Tricksters Pride

[Geek0zoid 1,468]

@,@@Windbreaker,

 

Blasted Nova

Blast limped back upstairs with the others and took his plate over to the sink. He had finished his stir-fry a long time ago. It wasn't that big, but after all of the shit that he was forced to eat out there, he was just thankful to be eating something warm.

 

"Thank you, Aegis. That was great." He said with a small grin, returning to the table. He sat across from Pavisa and slightly put his hooves up. "Are you gonna manage alright for awhile, Pavs? I mean, your new horn looks like it frightened you at first..."

Edited January 24, 2014 by Geek0zoid Steven

[Commander Tangent 861]

@@Windbreaker,

 

"Well, at least h succeed then. You are also a good cook, this stir fry tastes quite good" Icarus said before hearing Blast's comment.

 

 @,

 

"I can assure you that, medically, she is perfetly fine. At least for now" Icarus said, hopefully answering part of Blast's question. 

[EcstaticWind 572]

Noble Persona & Gwyn

@@Tricksters Pride, 

 

Gwyn was left practically speechless and blushing. Something Noble found funny. “Look at you, Gwyn. You’ve gone bright red.” Noble said, playfully teasing his sister.

 

She didn’t respond aside from a brief glare at Noble. He grinned at Gwyn and returned his attention to Strings. “It sounds reasonable. They’ll receive fair compensation for their time and memory loss. They did their job admirably, but I hope they understand that I was only being cautious.”

 

Aegis Dare

@@Commander Tangent, @, @,

 

“All good, guys. I’m glad you all enjoy it. The horn kind of suits you, too, Pavi.” Aegis said, trying to help Pavisa feel better about her new horn. “Y’know, when I did research for my books, I ran across some useful information for using magic. If you’d like, I’ll tell you what I know about it.”

[Tricksters Pride 100]

Strings

@@Windbreaker, 

 

Strings' only response to the poor blushing mare is to wink at her playfully before turning his attention to Noble. "It does complement her natural colors rather nicely doesn't it?... And don't worry about them understanding, they've already revived their overtime pay and a nice little bonus. Who your going to be paying is me, for the time that they should have been working... My friends often know when not ask questions, and when i'm giving out some small bonuses they tend to leave well enough alone." he then stops and sits next to a grey mare that seems to have been sitting there for some time. "Sooooo are our other acquaintances coming?" When she answers him her tone is monotone and bored. "Yes." Strings looks pleased with her answer and turns to Noble again. "It would appear that today was a very productive day indeed... Oh and this is Ice."

[~Sole~ 852]

Ronin tried to yell, but no one came. He was on his own. He didn't know how long he'd been laying there, it could've been hours for all he knew. And as he lay there in the cold and snow he knew he was spent. Even before he was transported here, he still hadn't eaten or slept well in several days. But he'd worry about that later, His only goal for now was to Get to someplace warm. Get to that cabin." He mumbled to himself, stumbling to his hooves and back to the cold. He ignored the freezing cold as he made it to the porch. With one final push kicked through the door and quickly entered the cabin, before slamming the door shut and slumping against it in exhaustion.

Edited January 25, 2014 by ~chaotic sole~

[Ihei 713]

@,@,

 

Willow Starsinger

 

"K-Kricket! Come over here, little guy!" Willow cried anxiously, beckoning the Aspect with her hooves. After a few minutes of no response, she shut her eyes and jumped toward the drake, expecting to feel no earth beneath her. She met the ground though, and got closer to Kricket. "Kricket!" Willow paced herself so she wouldn't go too fast and jump over the edge. The Aspect was far away though, and she struggled to keep her hooves on the ground.

 

@@Tricksters Pride,

 

Aphrodite

 

(Now for her triumphant return!)

 

Knowing it's long since she's been forgotten from her past journey, Aphrodite was happy that she finally didn't have pressure on her anymore or was in a life-threatening situation. She's went to the bathroom before boarding the train and lost her chance to follow the group. Now, she's at a tavern wasted until somepony remembers she was gone. She huffed at a nearby stallion that was inching closer to her, glaring at him until he felt uncomfortable and trotted away.

 

Aphrodite didn't know what to do anymore. She didn't live in Canterlot or have enough pocket change to buy a ticket to her hometown, so she's been wandering the streets and sleeping by an alley for a while. She often wondered what the group was doing without her. What about Blast? Has he noticed? What about the crazy alicorn stallion.. Orion? 

 

She decided to not think of it. It seemed that drinking was the only thing that kept her sanity..

[Frosty V 309]

@

 

Frost gulped down his stir-fry like it was the last plate of good food on the earth. He never really fancied the dish, but now he could care less, with his stomach growling like a mad dog. He looked over to see Kingfisher, he hadn't poken to the mare since the train crash. He nudged her playfully to get her attention. "Hey...you alright? You look like you smelled something horrid." He said with a laugh as he finished the rest of his plate. "So...where do we go from here...I don't know what your plans are but I guess I need to stick close to this group if I wanna survive." He said in a slightly more serious tone.