open A Darker Fate: Beyond these Walls Chapter Two.

[Midnight Scribbler 1,705]

Midnight Scribbler

 

@,

@,

Scribbler dropped the coin he owed into the hoof of the rude restaurant owner. "You won't be getting my business again with that attitude." With that, Scribbler walked out, and stood next to Willow, looking down into the pavement. He felt angry, but he stifled it, glancing up to see an unfamiliar Stallion speaking to Willow. "who is that?? How does he know Willow?" "I'm terribly sorry Willow.. I had no idea they'd act like that.. Who's this?.. wait.. Zintiik?" He lowered his voice when he uttered the name, knowing he had put on a guise for a reason. The realization slapped him in the face. "Of course, how could I have missed that." He sighed, facehoofing, then looked around and scanned for a place they could take food out from. He noticed a small market stand displaying some fresh produce and baked goods. "There.. That should do. We can take it back with us, and be done with all these upper class snobs."

 

@@Commander Tangent,

 

As Icarus twisted the device into the active position, it sparked, then fired an aura around the two of them. Clockwork became mirrored in 20 different places at once, and there were multiple fractured reflections of everything around them flowing about. It was impossible to tell which way was up or down aside from the feeling of gravity. It was as if they'd been tossed into a hall of broken mirrors. "You see? Works wonderfully." Clockwork chuckled "I'll bet if you set that down, and walk away, you won't be able to tell which direction you're moving in at all. Just remember, if you want to find it again, you have to close your eyes, rely on touch, your eyes will deceive you in here. All you have to do is repeat the process in reverse to turn it off."

[Ihei 712]

@, @@Midnight Scribbler, 

 

Willow Starsinger

 

"Go away."

 

Willow was still mad because of Zintiik's talking to another mare; she thought that he was more interested in her than Willow. She never thought that Zintiik would replace her or something. In his Tactic Wind disguise, too.. 

 

Willow turned away from the changeling. She then noticed Scribbler trotting out of the restaurant. "Alright, I'll meet up with you with Orion. That french pony had a heck of an attitude.." Willow smiled at the unicorn then looked back up at Zintiik. She retained her bad mood and trotted away from the changeling.

[Commander Tangent 861]

@@Midnight Scribbler,

 

Icarus kept his calm demeanor. He watched as the the world around him warped and twisted until it was no longer recognizable. It was almost comparable to being in a hall of mirrors.

 

"Most interesting, you are quite a fine craftsman if you can conjure this." Icarus complemented.

 

He went  and found the device. Following the instructions given to him, he deactivated the device, and gave Clockwork a nod.

 

"Thank you my good sir" Icarus said..

 

Not only is this good for hostile situations, this, combined with my Sodium Pentothal could make quite an interesting device for interrogation.

Edited December 4, 2013 by Commander Tangent

[Umbreon 569]

Pavisa

 

@@Windbreaker, 

 

Glancing at Aegis, Pavisa tilts her head a little.  "Locks?  Like what?"  She had to assume there was something wrong with the lock on his door.  In a place like this she wasn't too surprised, really.  "I don't know a whole lot more than any other pony about 'em.  My door's wedged shut with my halberd."  She shrugs slightly before grinning at the pegasus.

 

"A bit of a pain to open, but somepony can probably kick it down with enough force.  Won't deter anypony trying to get in, but the noise may at least draw a curious gaze or two.  Generally the extra resistance will deter petty thieves...  Most of them are looking for an easy score, not something they have to work for."  She had to admit, her training did leave her with a decent understanding of criminal activity...  Mostly how to stop it, but she could think the other way around if she had to.

 

 

Zintiik

 

@@Midnight Scribbler,

@,

 

Zintiik blinks and sits down on the sidewalk, his ears drooping a little.  There were only a few ponies who Zintiik concerned himself about when it came to their opinions of him...  But Willow was at the top of the list.  He turns to look at Scribbler, confused.  He wasn't doing a very good job of staying in-character as Tactic right about now.

 

"Uh...  Did I do something wrong?"  Willow was always so nice...  She saved my life back when I passed out near the Falls...  What did I do to make her mad!?  He wanted to try and figure out what was the matter, but part of his brain said that was a bad idea.  She had seemed pretty clear when she told him to leave.  Mares are confusing...

[The Elusive Cinder 1,328]

Kingfisher.

 

@@Frosty V and anyone else who might hear loud voices from the bar in the inn.

 

"Y'know, I'm not going to rob you or anythin', you doint need to keep staring atme like I'm some kind of mugger..." The mare explained to the pony who had introduced himself as... Frost, was it? Frost, Frosty or... something like that. Close enough. "And uh, thanks. Your alright, you know? Not like the thugs 'round here at least."

 

Kicking at the wooden door to ensure it didn't stick, she stepped inside.

 

"Bit! It's me!" The mare shouted over to to the pony behind the bar. "My usual room free?"

 

"I've got half of Canterlot in 'ere..." The bartender grumbled, putting down the filthy rag he had been failing to clean the bar with. "An' you still owe me for last t..."

 

"I've got it here: and we're only stayin' a night so... do me a favour 'n' grab me some water!"

[Midnight Scribbler 1,705]

Clockwork Green

@@Commander Tangent,

 

Clockwork raised a brow at the words "Sodium Pentothal" He knew what it was and began to find interest in this pony. "What brings you to this place? Somepony of your knowledge in medical chemistry is an odd find out here in the street. And might I ask why you wear the mask?" He inquired with intent.

 

Midnight Scribbler

@,

@,

 

Scribbler could see Willow was in a funk for some reason. As they wandered off away from Zintiik, Scribbler glanced over his shoulder to him with empathy, then asked willow in a soft voice. "What happened? Are you alright?" He didn't want to get too nosy into her business, but he felt that this might be a simple matter. He would do what he could at any rate.

[Geek0zoid 1,468]

@@Frosty V,@, 

 

((OOC: Time for Eclipse. ))

Eclipse

Eclipse listened in on the whole conversation. Finally, he had seen enough and dropped down from the roof of the establishment and landed behind Frost.

"Hello, Kingfisher..." He said in a dark voice, lifting his hood. "It's been a while, it seems. It's only been a week, but still, it was still quite a bit of time."

 

@,

 

Blast

"I just feel like it. Maybe you mean something to me, but I won't tell." He said with a small snicker in his voice. At that moment, a seemingly cheerful stallion approached the two at the service counter.

"Good afternoon! I assume you're here to get a room?" He asked. "Well, that will be about 20 bits." Blast quickly handed him the bits and the stallion gave them the room keys. Blast then heard all of the commotion going on in the bar. He then gave a sigh at the white unicorn in the cloak.

"I should've known he'd show up..."

Edited December 4, 2013 by StevenEarthPony

[EcstaticWind 572]

Aegis Dare

@, 

 

"That's a good idea. I need to wedge my door shut so thieves don't get in. I don't trust this particular inn, or these cheap locks. Experience from my travels has shown me never to trust these types of inns." Aegis said. He could try jamming the lock, but that might lock him out too. And by the looks of it, you could break the lock with barely any effort. "I wouldn't usually be worried, but this time, I have something to worry about."

 

Having run out of ideas, he wedged a piece of wood under the door and jammed it against the frame. It'd do for the time being, but it wouldn't be as effective as Pavisa's halberd. "Problem solved. Time for a drink."

[Umbreon 569]

Pavisa

 

@@Windbreaker,

@, 

 

Pavisa grins at Aegis, nodding down the hallway.  "Yeah, lets go.  Pretty sure there's a bar in the inn...  And I think I hear a familiar voice.  What're you drinking, I'll get the first round."

 

She turns and starts walking back out towards the bar, smiling again when she sees Kingfisher nearby.  She raises her voice to call out to the other mare.  "Fisher!  Share a drink with me and Aegis?  First rounds on me.  Besides, something I want to talk about..."  She glances back at the author and grins at him.  "Goes for you too...  You're writing about this little adventure, right?  Well, I've got something for ya to think about."

 

 

Zintiik

 

Seemingly left with little other choice as Willow and Scribbler walk off, Zintiik sighs and decides to try and find Orion and Mirror.  He starts off in the direction of the plaza Willow had mentioned, still fairly distracted by trying to figure out why she was mad at him.  Willow is mad at me, Orion has been treating me weird since the Falls, and I don't know why for either of them.  ...Are they trying to get me to leave?  

[EcstaticWind 572]

Aegis Dare

@, 

 

"Ale or brandy, I guess. That's really all I know aside from different types of juice." Aegis said, following Pavisa down to the bar.

 

When Pavisa mentioned that she had something for him to think about, he grew excited and worried at the same time. He really hoped it was good news, though after what happened in the temple, bad news couldn't be worse than nearly getting crushed to death. Aegis thanked the Sisters that he'd been fast enough to get Aphrodite out of there when he did. "Ok. Sounds important."

[Ihei 712]

@,@@Midnight Scribbler,  

 

Willow Starsinger

 

"I don't want to talk about it.." Willow sighed. "I'll be fine, Scribbler. You don't have to worry," Willow smiled. But her smile quickly faded. "Zintiik will be fine. Especially with that new marefriend of his.. he'll be just peachy!" 

 

Willow had to admit though, she felt guilty having to worry Zintiik.. but he well deserved it. He wasn't interested in her, but she still was.. and it was a horrible feeling. Good thing changelings can't read thoughts. She'll have to talk to him later..

 

@,

 

 

Aphrodite

 

"Whose he? Somepony we know?" Aphrodite asked thoughtfully. She didn't recognize many of the ponies in the group, judging by how many ponies there were..

[Frosty V 309]

@

 

Frost Typhoon

Frost looked away in embarrassment when Kingfisher called him out on his staring. He had been so interested in the ponies style and talking he must have forgotten to blink. "I figured that you shouldn't be one, besides if you were I'm sure you would have robbed me by now." He said with a half smile on his face. His eyes went slightly wider than before when she said that he was "alright". "Well I try to be

as kind as possible, being a thug doesn't really tickle my fancy." He muttered

 

@

 

Frost heard somepony behind him and his heart almost leapt out of his chest, but he tried his best to hide it. He became regretful that he had left his bow and dagger in his inn room at the moment.

[Midnight Scribbler 1,705]

Midnight Scribbler

@,

 

Scribbler could tell something continued to bother Willow, but respected her wishes and didn't push her. "If you're sure. I'm here for you if you need at any time, Willow. Let's get you something to eat, you must be starving by now." He changed the subject, hoping to brighten her mood a little bit, and walked up to a stand filled with produce. He picked out a number of items, enough food for another 3 days, and handed a meals worth to Willow. He paid for the lot, handing over the bits to the shopkeeper. "That should keep you going for now." He smiled.

[Snowy Storm 57]

@,@, (sorry I can't quote Frost for some odd reason)
Icy Night
Icy looked up from her seat near the window. She noticed the mare and stallion she had met earlier that night. Well she wanted to talk to somepony instead of just sitting here waiting for something.
"Hey" she said, she tried to smile at them. Showing her emotions was a little difficult for her, so she stopped trying to smile at them. 
"I just wanted to say thanks" getting up from her seat. "I was wondering if I can do anything to repay you" 
"Oh, Sorry, I'm Icy Night" She noticed the other two ponies, but she lacked anything to say to them.
"Hi" she said to them trying to be nice.
 

Edited December 4, 2013 by Snowy Storm

[EcstaticWind 572]

Artorias & Gwyn

 

Gwyn stared into the distance, wondering what kind of world waited for them. She didn't look into the memories of her previous lives for this. She wanted to experience this world for herself. But she felt like Artorias was trying to keep her away from it. "Doesn't matter, though. I serve him, regardless of any selfish desires."

 

"Is it wrong to desire freedom?"

 

She nearly jumped at the sound of her master's voice. "Agh! Sorry, I didn't see you there, Master."

 

"Is freedom what you truly desire, Gwyn?" Artorias asked.

 

Gwyn was torn. On the one hand, she was obligated to serve Artorias. But on the other, she would love nothing more than to experience the world through her own eyes. After a moment of silent thinking, she gave her answer. "Yes, Master. It is what I truly desire."

 

Artorias nodded. "Then so shall it be. You are released from your debt."

 

She expected some magic, or a strange feeling, but nothing happened. "What happens now?"

 

"Nothing." The reply was short, but it left Gwyn feeling cold.

 

"Then I'm still in your debt..." She said dejectedly.

 

Artorias smiled. "It's all a matter of perspective. If nothing happened..."

 

"The debt never existed in the first place?" Gwyn's ears perked up. Artorias nodded. Gwyn threw her forelegs around him, her tail wagging. "Thank you, Master. You have no idea what this means to me..."

 

"I'm not your master, Gwyn. It doesn't matter what your origins are or what you look like, because you're family as far as I'm concerned. And I'll do anything for my family." Artorias said. Even with ancient powers and memories, he still had a caring side.

[The Elusive Cinder 1,328]

Kingfisher.

 

'Vengeful Celestia... I'm never going to live this down... Winced the mare as she looked around at the number of ponies who recognised her.

 

@,

 

Looking over at Pavisa, she gave a noncommittal half-shrug and tried not to make eye contact with the guards-pony - which would have been considerably easier had she been wearing the armour still...

 

"Uh, give me a minute!" She she called over before glancing back to the pony that had appeared behind her - whom she had recognised just in time to stop herself attacking.

 

@,

@@Frosty V,

 

"Y'know Eclipse, pullin' stunts like that in this part of town tends to not be too healthy... Frost - Eclipse. Eclipse - Frost."

 

She waved them inside - no doubt Frugal Bit wouldn't mind the extra custom - but Redwave would have been furious at having attracted so much attention... Redwave wasn't here though: he was on his way to the next village. And loath as she was to admit it, Kingfisher found the attention and the 'not being alone-ness'... well... nice.

 

@@Snowy Storm,

 

"Don't worry about it - Wasn't going to just let you wander 'round Canterlot for the night." She shrugged - neglecting to mention that she had only initially pointed them towards the place to try and get them out of her mane - it seemed like a moot point now.

Edited December 4, 2013 by Cinderscribe

[SilverHeart 741]

Orion Starsinger.

 

@@SilverHeart,

 

"I'd appreciate it. If theres anything I can do in return..." He said - mostly out of habit, being raised with a strong concept of give and take - he doubted that there was anything she would actually need from him.

 

That was the problem: before he had been a leader - strong, omniscient and worthy of their trust. Now he was nothing again - just the unicorn that read too many books. The unicorn who wanted to protect hi sister - to think that less than a week ago he had seriously being considering revolution against the sisters... he had the power inside him, and it had been taken!

 

But he would change that. He'd give them a reason to follow him again: he'd give them a purpose - a place where they could live as equals. Without fear or hatred.

 

Orion Starsinger wasn't finished just yet.

 

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

 

Kingfisher.

 

@@Frosty V,

 

Stopping herself from snorting at his comment about being shy, she instead opted to act thoughtful for a moment, before shaking her head.

 

"Nothin' important." She shrugged. "Friend of mines a guard - we were gettin' along real well but... now we're back in the city and she's back on duty... I'm not exactly on great terms with the Canterlot guard."

 

Yeah, that summed it up... pretty much.

 

"Like I said - nothin' important. Right now? I've somehow claimed the responsibility of fixing..." She paused: fixing what? The weather? The astronomical events? The Litany of magic going missing? Failing to think of a suitable answer, she simple waved towards the world around her. "... well... everything."

 

As the inn drew into view, she stopped walking and prodded the stallion in the chest with a hoof.

 

"Not a word about what I told you about my friend, okay?"

"I'll keep that in mind, Orion." Mirror said. Iit seemed like a good time to learn more about him. He certainly hadn't talked about himself too much. "How about we turn this into a little game? Well take turns asking questions. Whoever runs out of meaningful questions first or refuses to answer a question, loses. To keep it fair I'll asks some questions first, since you've already asked me a few." She said as she followed after Orion, preparing a mental list of questions in advance.

 

"So what made you decide to.:.." She lowered her voice so that none but Orion would hear her, "want to usurp the Princesses? What do you plan to do the the Princesses after everything is done? And finally, where exactly are we going?"

[Commander Tangent 861]

@@Midnight Scribbler,

 

"Tis a long story on how I got here, and the mask is shall I say, a side effect" Icarus said.

 

I might as well tell him, nothing to hide.

 

"Do you recall, Clockwork, the Plague that hit Stalliongrad almost 15 years ago?" Icarus inquired, his eyes becoming focused on Clockwork.

[Midnight Scribbler 1,705]

Clockwork Green

@@Commander Tangent,

 

Clockwork tilted his head a moment, thinking. "Perhaps, I recall hearing something of the sort. That's quite a long time ago. What of it?" He was thoroughly interested now, this pony had a story, and wasn't from around here. He'd seen many interesting technologies come out of Stalliongrad.

[Commander Tangent 861]

@@Midnight Scribbler,

 

Icarus nodded his head

 

" At that time, lived in Stalliongrad, working as a medical student under my parents. So naturally, we were "on the front lines" as you would say when the plague hit the town. It started in the outer rim of the town, and slowly made its way inwards. It was there in the start of it things didn't add up with the virus, it had come out of nowhere, it was extreme;y effective at killing, and spreading, but not efficient at reproducing. Eventually, after a heavy death toll, and the loss of my parents to the disease, I was forced to take a bit drastic measures to find a cure. It eventually came down to me having to run experiments on myself, in witch I found that I myself was immune to the virus. Eventually I created a vaccine out of my own body using dead end cells of the plague that had not been made properly. I saved all those that lived, but lets just say it left my face in interesting shape." Icarus looked around for a few seconds before continuing "It was then I found the truth about this plague. There was a old run down farm on the outskirts of town that several guard patrols had gone missing near. Being a curious fellow, I traveled to the farm to find the guard patrols, dead, by arrow and sword wounds. But at this, I continued on into the farm to find..... some most interesting things. A small mobile laboratory, that had been hastily abandoned, along with these".

 

Icarus reached into his bag, and showed Clockwork several papers with writing all over them, from top to bottom.

 

"Ways on how to create, incubate, and spread this plague that had struck my town. It was here I realized, this wasn't some horrid accident, or freak on nature. It was an attack, a test. Using what was left from the laboratory, I packed up my supplies and belongings, and tracked this "Creator" down. Through a long strain of many events, I have been led here by my search."  Icarus let in a deep breath after his explanation, and awaited clockworks response.

Edited December 4, 2013 by Commander Tangent

[Geek0zoid 1,468]

@@Frosty V,@, @@Snowy Storm,

 

Eclipse

Eclipse examined the stallion in front of him. Average build, startled by Eclipse's mere appearance. The stallion seemed like he didn't mean any sort of harm. He nodded and walked up to the new stallion.

"Frost, huh? Well, I apologize if I startled you." Eclipse said, sticking out his hoof. "White Eclipse."

 

@, 

Blast

"Eclipse, Aphrodite. My frenemy from our last escapade. We got a new guy around here, and he seems nice enough. Maybe Eclipse got the wrong idea about him." Blast speculated for a moment. Now was the exact time that he DIDN'T want to see Eclipse. He always acts this way around ponies he's never met. 

[Frosty V 309]

@, @

 

Frost Typhoon

Frost stared at Eclipse for a few moments before shacking his hoof. "Frost Typhoon, but you can just call me Frost, nice to meet you Eclipse." He replied with an almost embarrasses look on his face. "Its fine....I need good scare once in a while.....although usually I'm the one trying to scare others, but it appears the tables have turned." He said, holding back a laugh.

Edited December 4, 2013 by Frosty V

[The Elusive Cinder 1,328]

Orion Starsinger.

 

@,

 

Orion raised a brow. 'Or maybe she was playing the game after all...?'

 

The corners of his mouth twitched slightly - this was hardly the place for such a discussion, but he couldn't help himself.

 

"... Okay, why not?" He nodded quietly.

 

Checking the area around them for eavesdroppers, he continued to speak under his breath. "Look at this... ponies scrabbling on the streets to feed themselves. There's a small, select few that rule everything - for all their talk about 'equality' and 'fairness' there's never any action. There's always ponies left to fend for themselves, left to solve their own problems while the elite thrive on nothing but idleness!"

 

He shook his head.

 

"I don't have anything against the royal sisters... I just think its time someone stood up for those who can't stand up for themselves. When the Litany started to make sense, when I saw that I could do something? I had that chance - I couldn't not take it.."

 

It sounded stupid - like some foals bedtime story. Every word made it sould to him at least like the ramblings of a maniac.He knew that but... well, he had agreed to the game.

 

"As for where we're going? That's no secret: a friend agreed to send me some things for... for what I have to do next." He pointed ahead as they left the market. A statue - Starswirl the Bearded - was coming into view. "It should be here, be right back."

 

...

 

No more than a minute after the unicorn had accelerated towards the statue, he returned with a small satchel hanging by his side.

 

"That's it: we can head back now, unless you need something?"

Edited December 4, 2013 by Cinderscribe

[Ihei 712]

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

 

Willow Starsinger

 

Willow smiled at the unicorn then kept trotting ahead. She levitated some of the food in Scribbler's bag into her saddlebag. Now she had to worry about Kricket's hunger.. 

 

"I'll see you at the plaza. I'm going to wait with the others," Willow nodded, wandering off on her own (again) to find them. She knew it was dangerous but she still found them. Sure enough, she found Mirror still talking to Orion and Zintiik just sitting alone. "When are we going to find a place to stay?" Willow asked after clearing her throat.

 

@,

 

Aphrodite

 

"You mean that idiot is back?" Aphrodite glared at Eclipse. "Oh god.. I thought that he had left!"

 

(( OOC: Bit of a lazy post. ))

[SilverHeart 741]

Orion Starsinger.

 

@,

 

Orion raised a brow. 'Or maybe she was playing the game after all...?'

 

The corners of his mouth twitched slightly - this was hardly the place for such a discussion, but he couldn't help himself.

 

"... Okay, why not?" He nodded quietly.

 

Checking the area around them for eavesdroppers, he continued to speak under his breath. "Look at this... ponies scrabbling on the streets to feed themselves. There's a small, select few that rule everything - for all their talk about 'equality' and 'fairness' there's never any action. There's always ponies left to fend for themselves, left to solve their own problems while the elite thrive on nothing but idleness!"

 

He shook his head.

 

"I don't have anything against the royal sisters... I just think its time someone stood up for those who can't stand up for themselves. When the Litany started to make sense, when I saw that I could do something? I had that chance - I couldn't not take it.."

 

It sounded stupid - like some foals bedtime story. Every word made it sould to him at least like the ramblings of a maniac.He knew that but... well, he had agreed to the game.

 

"As for where we're going? That's no secret: a friend agreed to send me some things for... for what I have to do next." He pointed ahead as they left the market. A statue - Starswirl the Bearded - was coming into view. "It should be here, be right back."

 

...

 

No more than a minute after the unicorn had accelerated towards the statue, he returned with a small satchel hanging by his side.

 

"That's it: we can head back now, unless you need something?"

(OOC: Ten minute break. Super short post incoming.)

 

Mirror nodded, rather surprised that he had been so honest in the company of strangers. But that was half the fun of this game. "Yes, tere actually is somewhere I'd like to visit. There's a shop in northern Canterlot that I've been meaning to go to for some. If you come I can give you a lesson on practical Illusion magic."

 

She noticed Willow coming over and waved to her.