open A Darker Fate: Beyond these Walls Chapter Two.

[Commander Tangent 861]

@@Windbreaker, @,

 

"This Litany you speak of, what is it, you all talk about it like it is quite important" Icarus asked Aegis and Eclipse, "I would like a little more info on what I am getting into, and that seems to be  major topic."

 

Welp, time to see what I've gotten myself into this time

[The Elusive Cinder 1,328]

While the train might usually have given some kind of signal before departing: this time, it didn't. With an unhealthy groaning, it started to move slowly  out of the station with a low, ominous groan. Of course, for all the implications of the situation, it was caused by nothing other than it being completely unprepared for being the only vehicle to make the journey over the past week - and a lack of maintenance had left it in poor condition.

 

As the heat build up and the frost thawed, the trusty locomotive started to build up speed as it's sound returned to normal. It rocked slightly as it went, occasionally jolting as it hit a stray piece of uncared for track - but was otherwise as smooth as could be expected.

 

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

 

Kingfisher.

 

@,

 

Kingfisher snorted slightly at the wager.

 

"You're on..." She smirked, nudging the mare with a wink. "... but only because you already owe me a bunch. Give you a chance to start earning it back."

 

@@Windbreaker,

 

As the train started to pull away, she looked up at the writers revelation. Listening, she placed a hoof firmly over her face for a moment at the part where he claimed that he might be partially to blame.

 

Words. It was always words. Everypony complained about swords and spears and magic... but words were the real danger. Words caused wars - send ponies over the edge.

 

"Not your fault - you couldn't know what would happen." She said heavily - slowly shaking her head. "You'd be surprised how much power words can have you know... and I'm not just talking in a 'pen is mightier than the sword' kind of way."

[Midnight Scribbler 1,705]

Clockwork Green

@@Commander Tangent,

@,

@,

@@Windbreaker,

@,

@,

@,

@@Icy Void,

 

Clockwork took the bottle from Icarus, and shook two pills from it into his hoof. Glancing quickly at the dosage on the side of the bottle, he shrugged and popped them into his mouth. "Looks to be a little high of a dose, but this headache is pretty bad." He capped the bottle again, handing it back to Icarus, then uncorked his wine bottle, washing the pills down with a swig. He knew alcohol wasn't a great mix with painkillers, but he figured it wouldn't hurt with one dose. "Thanks.. I'm glad you're coming along.. This would have been a much longer ride without you." He gave a half smile, as he returned his bottle to his pack, and took out a device, exactly like the one he'd sold Icarus the night before. He then took out a little tool, and poked it into a hole on the side, then placed the device next to his ear. He twisted the tool, listening for the subtle clicking of sprockets within. He then removed the tool from the device, scratched the shell with an 'x', and dropped it back into his pack. He removed another, repeating the process.

 

Midnight Scribbler

@@SilverHeart,

 

Scribbler pondered Mirror's question a moment before responding, then looked to her with honesty. "I suppose we should follow Orion's lead.. He's been the leader so far. We need to locate the Litany, and I think Orion knows where to find it.. Even if he doesn't Willow has been linked to it, she may not know, but it does."

[Umbreon 569]

Pavisa

 

@,

@@Windbreaker,

 

Pavisa smirks, muttering under her breath "Pony that came up with that obviously never tried to parry a sword with a pen."   With a grin she looks at Aegis and shrugs.  "Really though...  How could you be to blame?  I mean, most of us didn't even know about the Litany until a couple weeks ago.  Not like you coulda seen this happening."

 

Leaning back in her seat, Pavisa turns her head a little to glance out the window.  She wasn't sure what to make of the conversation at hoof...  She was the kind of pony who'd normally try to resolve things peacefully, and yet manage to be fairly undiplomatic at the same time.  The ex-guard glances back at Kingfisher curiously, tilting her head slightly.  

 

"What do you mean by that?  I mean, sure words can get ponies into trouble...  But I've always grown up hearing 'actions speak louder n' words'."  Pavisa waves a hoof dismissively as she talks, trying to keep the conversation light.

[Geek0zoid 1,468]

@@Windbreaker, 

 

Eclipse

Eclipse raised up his hood in utter surprise. Aegis knew about the Litany and told Noble about it? On top of that, he stole Orion's power? Actually, come to think of it, Eclipse doesn't even know Noble.

"This Noble stallion... he sounds very important to you. And you say that he doesn't even remember that you two were friends?" Eclipse asked Aegis. "If that's the case, we should probably find Noble before we search for the Litany."

[EcstaticWind 572]

Aegis Dare

@, @,

 

“I don’t know, but Noble’s different. When I met him, he was like a noblepony out of a novel. Somewhere in the years since I last saw him, he’s changed. I didn’t say he didn’t remember me, but I don’t know if he will.” Aegis said. Out of the corner of his eye, he could’ve sworn he saw Noble just appear at the Train Station.

 

Noble Persona and Gwyn

 

Noble walked out onto the deck, looking messy and disgruntled from his week of depression. He stared at his now-empty rum bottle, thinking about how he’d let himself sink this low. With a glare, he threw it into the water. ‘I’m a disgraceful knight. And I bet you’re feeling really damn smug right now, aren’t you, Father?’ The shore was in sight, but Noble had had enough of this ship. He didn’t care about aliases at this point. He just wanted off the ship. With a quick flash of magic, he returned to his well-groomed and neat appearance. He unfurled his pitch-black wings and began preening, though he found the act to be somewhat distasteful. Then again, wings were only a recent development. ‘How exactly am I going to hide these?’

 

“Oh wow. Look at you, Mr. Stud.”

 

Noble glanced behind him at Gwyn, a small smile spreading across his face. “Well, it was probably time I pulled myself together. After all, I’m taking you to Canterlot today. I have to look my best.”

 

Gwyn giggled. “Ooh, sounds like fun. A whole day of relaxation, and you’re finally taking me somewhere nice.”

 

“Well, there is one small condition.” Noble said.

 

“I know. No talking in town because wolves don’t talk…” She said, groaning.

 

“Hear me out. The condition is you have to take on a pony form. A wolf might get funny looks at a pirate port, but Canterlot is different. They won’t let us go anywhere nice if you look like a wolf. But, as a pony walking around with somepony wealthy like me, they won’t even bat an eyelid. It’s too bad, though. You do have such soft, lovely fur.”

 

Gwyn smiled at the compliment. She vanished into the Captain’s Quarters once more, emerging a minute later as a pale pink Earth Pony with a jet black mane. “How do I look?”

 

“Beautiful, as always.” Noble said. He glanced at her Cutie Mark, a wolf’s face. “I love your style. Now you just need some nice clothes. First stop once we get to Canterlot.”

 

“I get to choose what I wear, though.” Gwyn said.

 

“As you wish, milady.” Noble bowed, then made a grand sweeping gesture, and two glowing circles appeared under Noble and Gwyn. “Teleport! Canterlot Train Station!”

 

Before Gwyn could say anything, they were engulfed in a flash of violet flames. Next moment, the two of them were standing in front of the train station.

 

“This is Canterlot? It’s a little more…run down…than I expected.” Gwyn said, staring at the buildings around them.

 

“This is where travellers stay cheaply before or after long train rides. It’s not uncommon in major cities like this one.” Noble said, inspecting his sword. He barely recognized the pony reflected in the sword’s blade.

 

“That sword means a lot to you. Why do you carry it?” Gwyn asked. She already knew the answer, but she wanted to hear him say it anyway.

 

Noble sheathed his sword as they came to the more populated areas. “I have been infatuated with the idea of being a knight since foalhood. I’d study codes of honour, valour, the ways of swordplay, when to use force and when to hold back. Father got involved and suddenly, my training tripled in addition to my duties as the son of nobility. You’d be forgiven for thinking that I’m secretly a prince.”

 

Gwyn couldn’t help but laugh. “How archaic. He sounds like he belongs in a different time.”

 

Noble nodded, the thought sounding funny to him as well, though it quickly turned to sadness. “He was a Guard in his youth, many years ago before his retirement. He’d always go on about honour, dignity, and the way the guards should hold themselves. Not like today where they act as living decorations to lull the city into false security. It’s quite sad that I argued with Father over this, ending in his tragic demise caused by my stupidity and anger, only to realize how right he was.”

 

Gwyn nuzzled him, trying to cheer him up. “Don’t look so sad, Noble. He’s with you in spirit. So now we get a day to just be us?”

 

“There’s one thing I have to do. But don’t worry, I won’t be long. Don’t cause too much trouble, ok?” Noble said. He didn’t want to leave Gwyn by herself, but whatever he needed to do was important and it couldn’t wait.

[Commander Tangent 861]

@StevenEarthPony,

@ragestar,

@Windbreaker,

@Cinderscribe,

@Lhee,

@Shaymin,

@Icy Void,

@@Midnight Scribbler, 

Icarus sank  back into his chair quite annoyed, not only had Aegis cut their conversation short, but everyone had blatantly ignored his question.

 

He looked over to Clockwork

 

"These ponies aren't the best listeners are they?" he said.

Edited December 12, 2013 by Commander Tangent

[The Elusive Cinder 1,328]

Kingfisher.
 
@,
 
"Heh, but what about when the words are the actions?"
 
She was having a little fun with this: despite herself and the situation. Even so: trying to explain what she meant was... difficult, to say the least. Instead, she thought for a moment before leaning forward and reaching for her side, she removed one of the red strips of cloth from the harness she wore, she proceeded to hold it up so that it was clearly visible in the poor light of day.

"Words can cause fear and doubt. Joy, laughter and loyalty - and a thousand other things we cant even start to understand. They turn the ordinary into the extraordinary - make the commoners into heroes and rulers. They take the impossible and twist it, giving us access to the skill and the drive that we always had, but might never even known about..." She said, remembering the speech far better than she expected herself to have done. "... or something like that. Thats how Bardic explained it anyway - he went on for a good five minutes about it though."
 
@@Commander Tangent,
 
Another pony - she had forgotten that newcomers would need to be filled in.
 
"Don't we have a pamphlet or something to pass out by now?" She snorted under her breath, twisting to explain in as simple a way as possible.
 
"Litany of Magic. It's a book - turned a pretty average unicorn into a pretty much unstoppable engine of destruction and he only manage to read half of the thing. Powers that could easily rival the princesses at the cost of every last piece of your sanity..." She drawled - glossing over the finer details. "Oh yeah, then the other unicorn turned on him and and took its power... somehow. So now there's a pretty angry, crackpot of an alicorn-god wandering around somewhere. Think that pretty much covers it."

[Commander Tangent 861]

@,

 

"Ahh, now that sounds quite interesting." Icarus said in a clam tone, "And we are heading to a friend of yours,who may have an Idea on how to stop him?"

 

 Great, I'm hunting down an alicorn god. heh, this ought to be very interesting. This takes priority of over the creator, but I pray to Celestia that he doesn't end up with a new virus.

Edited December 12, 2013 by Commander Tangent

[Midnight Scribbler 1,705]

@@Commander Tangent,

@,

 

 

Clockwork was about to open his mouth before Kingfisher went into explaining the nature of their trip. He looked over at her as she explained the Litany. His eyes widened slightly at the description. "This sounds rather interesting.. What power could rival an alicorn without the aid of technology?" He immediately thought back to the changeling attack on Canterlot and wondered if it might have something to do with their innate emotion draining abilities. He then turned to Icarus again. "Well, I suppose that about sums your question up." He chuckled. "So.. Our mission is to find this book then? What of Orion? Is he dead? Clockwork had overheard the others speak of the unicorn, mostly with distaste. He rubbed his head again, the headache still throbbing, but now dulling with the addition of painkilling drugs.

[Geek0zoid 1,468]

@@Windbreaker,

 

Blast

Blast was conveniently sitting in a seat where he could look out a window towards the train station. Outside, he saw a stallion and a mare appear in an engulfment of violet flames. It took him a few moments to recognize them, but once he did, their presence utterly terrified him.

"Ummm... Aegis...?" Blast said. "You might wanna come take a look at this."

[Umbreon 569]

Pavisa

 

@,

@@Midnight Scribbler, 

 

Pavisa couldn't help but smile as Kingfisher went about her explanation, smirking slightly as she leans over to nudge the other mare.  "Heh, you're a regular poet Fisher."  As Kingfisher goes on to explain about the Litany Pavisa chimes in to add her own two bits at the end in answer to Clockwork's questions.

 

"Don't forget about the one who lost the Litany's power...  He didn't exactly seem like a bad pony, other than the company he kept, but I doubt we've seen the last of his lot."  

 

As the others began talking about the Litany, Pavisa turns her gaze to Fisher and waits for an opening in the conversation.  "Say, Fisher...  What's this friend of yours like?  This Bardic fellow?  I'm sure he's great if he's friends with you and the captain, wouldn't hurt to give me a bit of heads up on what to expect though right?"

[The Elusive Cinder 1,328]

Kingfisher.
 
@@Commander Tangent,
 
"No idea: He said to meet him, so we're meeting him. It's got to be important if he's come over to the mainland on his own."
 
@,
 
"Bardic's... a bit strange. Reads a lot, doesn't get out much. He's only been to the mainland here a couple of times so it's weird for him to turn up here without warning - guess he ran out of books on Equestrian Culture or something..."
 
She rolled her eyes.
 
"Gets really obsessive about things but he's a decent guy - Red trusts him and thats enough for me."

[EcstaticWind 572]

Aegis Dare

@, Everyone present

 

((OOC: Sorry it's short, but it's all I could think of.))

 

Aegis moved over to where Blast was sitting. “What’s wrong, Blast? You look like you’ve seen a…ghost.” Aegis paused as he caught sight of the stallion’s face. It couldn't be. Why would he be in Canterlot of all places?

 

“Hey guys, please tell me I’m not seeing things. That’s not who I think it is, is it?”

[Commander Tangent 861]

@StevenEarthPony,

@ragestar,

@Windbreaker,

@Cinderscribe,

@Lhee,

@Shaymin,

@Icy Void,

@Midnight Scribbler, 

 

Icarus was about to respond to Cinderscribe, when Aegis called out.He looked to catch a glimpse of what they were looking at.

 

"I'll assume they aren't our friends are they?" He asked, judging off of everyone's reactions to them.

[Ihei 713]

@, @,

 

Willow Starsinger

 

"It was probably Kricket. You know how he likes to fool around."

 

Willow yawned and looked up at her brother. She opened her mouth to speak, but closed it after some thought. She was about to tell Orion her feelings about Zintiik. But she knew his answer already:

 

"I forbid it!"

 

Orion's never trusted any of Willow's stallion friends at home. Orion already seems to be on Zintiik's trail since he's a changeling. She sighed and dozed off to sleep. She was going to have to rethink this if she wanted a happy future..

 

Aphrodite

 

Relieved that she wasn't being talked to anymore, Aphrodite looked out the window. How come this group seemed.. bigger? She glanced at Blast for a moment. How come Blast seemed suddenly so distant? Was it something she did? Something she said? 

[The Elusive Cinder 1,328]

Kingfisher.

 

Peering in the direction that the others were, Kingfisher caught a fleeting glimpse of the cause of the commotion. She froze up for a moment before remembering that they were on a train, accelerating away from him. Teeth clenched, she shook her head.

 

"We didn't stand a chance before... we need to find out how we're supposed to fight something like that." She said in a deadpan tone. "We'll deal with him once we at least know how. Until then, I guess we just hope that he didn't see us."

 

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

 

Orion Starsinger.

 

@,

 

Orion was about to close the door, face twisted slightly as the lack of any cause for the knock, when he glanced back at Willow and shrugged. Turning again, he found himself face to face with... somepony. A stallion - barely. Barely into adulthood and grinning manicly.

 

"... Uhh... Can I help you?"

 

It simply stared at him - beaming, unblinking. As if it were on the verge of bursting into laughter and didnt dsre move. Orion's eyes narrowed.

 

"... Hey!" He said a little more forcefully. Strangers knocking at the middle of the night were bad news - but this one was just downright creepy. "Can I help..."

 

"You can't even help yourself." It cut him off in a bright, cheerful tone.

 

Orion blinked. Snapping his view back towards his sister to warn her, his horn burst into a sky blue aura as he turned to warn the stranger away.

 

It was gone.

 

After glancing around the hallway to be sure, he looked back at his sister and slammed the door, locking it behind him. He looked at her with an expression of confusion and concern.

 

"... please tell me you saw that?"

Edited December 12, 2013 by Cinderscribe

[EcstaticWind 572]

Aegis Dare

@, @@Commander Tangent,

 

Aegis nodded. “Right. But let me talk to him first. If friendship means anything to him, he’ll listen.” Aegis glanced out the window at Noble. ‘If not, then I guess I won’t have any choice.’

 

He pushed it out of his mind, and turned back to Icarus. “He was a friend, but I don’t know if he still is. Anyway, we never finished our conversation, with guilty revelations and keeping friends from becoming depressed cutting us off. Where were we?” In his mind, Aegis was partly doing this just for a change of subject.

[Geek0zoid 1,468]

@@Windbreaker,@,

 

Blast

Blast simply continued to look outside from the window at Noble. It was hard to believe this stallion was once a friend of Aegis'. He looked corrupt... like Orion did. Power that one pony couldn't control is something that he's seeing all too often. He didn't avert his eyes, observing Noble and this mare he had by his side.

"Hey, Aphrodite," Blast began. "Do you know of a stallion that goes by the name of "Noble?" "

Edited December 12, 2013 by StevenEarthPony

[SilverHeart 741]

Clockwork Green

@@Commander Tangent,

@,

@,

@@Windbreaker,

@,

@,

@,

@@Icy Void,

 

Clockwork took the bottle from Icarus, and shook two pills from it into his hoof. Glancing quickly at the dosage on the side of the bottle, he shrugged and popped them into his mouth. "Looks to be a little high of a dose, but this headache is pretty bad." He capped the bottle again, handing it back to Icarus, then uncorked his wine bottle, washing the pills down with a swig. He knew alcohol wasn't a great mix with painkillers, but he figured it wouldn't hurt with one dose. "Thanks.. I'm glad you're coming along.. This would have been a much longer ride without you." He gave a half smile, as he returned his bottle to his pack, and took out a device, exactly like the one he'd sold Icarus the night before. He then took out a little tool, and poked it into a hole on the side, then placed the device next to his ear. He twisted the tool, listening for the subtle clicking of sprockets within. He then removed the tool from the device, scratched the shell with an 'x', and dropped it back into his pack. He removed another, repeating the process.

 

Midnight Scribbler

@@SilverHeart,

 

Scribbler pondered Mirror's question a moment before responding, then looked to her with honesty. "I suppose we should follow Orion's lead.. He's been the leader so far. We need to locate the Litany, and I think Orion knows where to find it.. Even if he doesn't Willow has been linked to it, she may not know, but it does."

Mirror looked down the street towards the hotel, she was honestly more than a little glad to see it. The day had been long, tiring, and stressful. Sleep would be welcome. "Do you think Orion still intends to use the Litany? Would he regain his lost abilities or would he start over completely?"

[Midnight Scribbler 1,705]

@@SilverHeart,

 

Scribbler shook his head "I have no idea what Orion intends to do.. I have fears he may try to use it again. It nearly broke his mind the first time round, doing it again may cost him his sanity. Some magic was never meant to be used.." He glanced up toward the hotel, and smiled at the thought of sleep. Then turned to Mirror again. "I honestly don't know what would happen if Orion tried to read it again.. I do know it wouldn't be good though. I've been thinking.. I may have something in the works that might be able to destroy something like the Litany.. Although, it might be too destructive. I've been in the midst of researching a spell, which I'm not entirely certain will work, and it may destroy me to use it. Although.. if it works.. It could be for the best." He took on a slightly sad, yet dutiful expression. He knew that this might be the only option. Something had to be done about the Litany, and even if it meant sacrifice, he would destroy it if he had the chance to.

[SilverHeart 741]

@@SilverHeart,

 

Scribbler shook his head "I have no idea what Orion intends to do.. I have fears he may try to use it again. It nearly broke his mind the first time round, doing it again may cost him his sanity. Some magic was never meant to be used.." He glanced up toward the hotel, and smiled at the thought of sleep. Then turned to Mirror again. "I honestly don't know what would happen if Orion tried to read it again.. I do know it wouldn't be good though. I've been thinking.. I may have something in the works that might be able to destroy something like the Litany.. Although, it might be too destructive. I've been in the midst of researching a spell, which I'm not entirely certain will work, and it may destroy me to use it. Although.. if it works.. It could be for the best." He took on a slightly sad, yet dutiful expression. He knew that this might be the only option. Something had to be done about the Litany, and even if it meant sacrifice, he would destroy it if he had the chance to.

Mirror faltered, it wasn't what she had been expecting. The feelings evoked thinking of him sacrificing himself were mixed.... It would work out better for her if he died, even more so if he killed himself. At the same time though she was...disappointed? "Why would you do that? Are you even sure that it would destroy it?"

[Ihei 713]

@,

 

Willow Starsinger

 

"I did.."

 

Willow hid herself under the covers. Now this hotel is haunted? Is Willow really that shallow to believe it? Nah, it can't be. But she couldn't help but shiver. "Orion, can we leave the hotel tomorrow? As soon as possible?" Willow whimpered frightenedly.

 

 @,

 

Aphrodite

 

"Actually, yes. He's this annoying stallion in the other group. Followed them to the Litany and now he's gone. I saw him exit out the back when everypony started wrestling each other. Not sure where he is now."

 

Aphrodite shrugged. It wasn't much of a big deal. She wasn't too sure what he was doing though..

[The Elusive Cinder 1,328]

Orion Starsinger.

 

@,

 

"We're going as soon as we can." The stallion nodded. "Try and get a little rest - don't worry yourself with the idiots around here: I'll keep watch until the others get back."

 

As much as he put on an act of calmness, inside he was turning over the event in his mind - his stomach clenched at how eerily accurate the madpony had been...

[Midnight Scribbler 1,705]

Midnight Scribbler

@@SilverHeart,

 

Scribbler gazed to Mirror, sighing. "I'm not certain it would be destroyed, but I do know it would never be reachable again. I'm just not so sure I could escape from it.. Have you ever heard of a singularity?" He asked, knowing this might be fairly uncommon knowledge for most. Many who had tried this spell before him never lived to tell the story, they were lost in the conjuration stage, never to return. Nothing they had on them ever came back. No amount of magic could ever return them from one of these spells. "I would face obliteration if it meant Equestria was safe from this power.. It would be a greater cause than trying to use it, and being destroyed by it's power."

They trotted along, getting close to the doorway of the Hotel now.

Edited December 13, 2013 by Midnight Scribbler