open A Darker Fate: Beyond these Walls Chapter Two.

[Umbreon 569]

Pavisa and Zintiik

 

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

 

 

Pavisa glances at Kingfisher out of the corner of her eye as the mare's weapon is brought back, leaning close to quietly mutter "Don't do anything too hasty...  I promised myself I was going to get you out of here in one piece."  Even if Kingfisher was armed, and in the best case scenario where the unicorn who kept insisting he was also a prisoner and Orion's sister didn't join in, that would still leave a possible fight two against three.  And with two unicorns and an unpredictable changeling, Pavisa still didn't like those odds that much.  Her luck was bad enough on bets with good odds.

 

The mare shakes her head at the offer of healing again - she still wasn't willing to let one of them use magic on her.  "I've had enough of magic for one lifetime, thanks."  Zintiik was still glaring at Scribbler, who had drawn his attention when he scolded him, but was for once keeping his mouth shut.  For a minute, anyways.  His gaze drifts back to Pavisa as she speaks, snorting quietly.  "Stupid thing for a unicorn to say...  HEY WAIT A MINUTE!"  Suddenly the changeling was crouched down and staring warily at the two prisoners again, pointing at Pavisa with one hoof.  "I knew something was off, but I didn't figure it out until now...  The guard was an earth pony the last time I saw her!"

 

 

 

Stalwart

 

@,@@Windbreaker,

 

Stahl cursed under his breath as he warily made his way down the streets of Canterlot.  After the initial panic had cleared, he'd found himself left by himself.  Sol had gone to get the rest of the Sons, Emerald had gone towards the castle, and he'd been left to fend for himself for the moment.  He had briefly worried about his family, but did his best to push that out of his head.  His parents' shop was close enough to the castle that they should still fall under the Guard's jurisdiction...  And even if they didn't, the twins would be with them.  Even the monsters would have to be insane to try and go into their death-trap of a workshop.

 

"Damn it, where did they all go!?"  Given the situation Stahl's blades were still levitating in the air around him, spinning in slow circles around his body.  He didn't have anyone watching his back right now, so he was keeping them moving constantly to try and prevent getting ambushed by one of those...  Things.  "Emerald!?  Sol!"  Shouting probably wasn't a good idea, but he was worried about the others.  He may have just met them, but he certainly didn't want to see any of them get taken by those creatures.

Edited February 25, 2014 by Lhee

[Ihei 713]

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

 

Willow Starsinger

 

Willow frowned, quietly moving on with the others leaving Zintiik behind her seething. "So, how will we get past this?" Willow stared at the booby traps Orion has left behind. Luckily, she didnt think Orion had much experience setting booby traps.

 

The downside was that she never experimented with booby traps either. Could they fly over..? Maybe Zintiik can. Everypony else in the group was a unicorn or earth pony. It was then that she wished she had put her wings to use more. Sure, she didnt need it back then, but she sure needed it now.

 

"Denarius, do you know what Orion used fot booby traps? Magic?"

[Midnight Scribbler 1,705]

Clockwork Green

@,

@@Geek0zoid,

@,

@@Tricksters Pride,

 

Clockwork, having been ahead of the group, continued on through the passage. Suddenly Ronin darted past him, moving ahead into the tunnel to, as he put it, "scout ahead" Something Clockwork had somewhat been doing already. "No matter.. let the fool go ahead. Perhaps he'll be cunning enough to see any traps.. or perhaps he'll set them off for us, so we don't have to deal with them." He mused, keeping a distance behind Ronin, enough to see him ahead. He could hear things in the passage ahead, like a timber wolf or something, but what would they be doing in a place such as this? Ronin was suddenly attacked by something, a wolf-like aberration. It jumped in, testing Ronin's speed and cunning. Clockwork stopped, and hugged the wall, watching. He didn't feel like getting into a fight with something, coming out wounded would be no benefit if the swordspony could kill whatever it was. He only had a dagger, likely not enough to kill this creature. He reached for it, readying himself in case the thing chose to lunge for him next, but remained still and silent, hoping it might not see him. "Blasted creatures.. What luck. We couldn't just have it easy could we?"

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

 

Midnight Scribbler

@,

@@SilverHeart,

@@Nomadic,

@,

 

Scribbler paused before speaking, looking back to the plate he'd left at Denarius' hoof. He used his telekinesis to lift it and drew it closer to himself. He looked over into the passage where a few other discarded pieces of it were, and brought them to his hooves in a pile. He then glanced up to Pavisa. "If you will not accept healing, I will not force it upon you. Though you may want these back. I thank you for the use of the breast plate.. it has proven most useful." He looked up at her horn, now that Zintiik had pointed this out, it did seem odd to him. The horn wasn't natural looking, but almost metallic. "I must ask.. that horn.. You weren't a unicorn before? How is this possible?" He instantly had a terrifying thought pass through his head. Had they been hiding the Litany this whole time? He suddenly took the sword from Mirror with his telekinesis and drew it back along with the armour plates. He stepped back slightly, and kept his eye on the two of them. "You have read from the book, haven't you? That horn.. Nopony just grows a horn like that without some kind of arcane magic. You've read from the Litany. Which of you has it?" He glanced briefly to Mirror, motioning her to step back too, these two had suddenly taken on a more dangerous air with the notion that they might have the book.

[SilverHeart 741]

(OOC: Crappy post before I head to bed.)

 

Mirror took a step back, now standing behind Scribbler. She looked at the two waiting to hear what the had to say. Did they have the Litany?  Hadn't they been out to destroy it? Or was that a lie and they wanted it for themselves? Mirror watched the two for any sign of them lying. 

[Umbreon 569]

Pavisa

 

@@SilverHeart,

@@Midnight Scribbler,

@,

 

Pavisa glances at Kingfisher before quickly turning her attention back to the crazy unicorn with the sword.  This wasn't good.  "You have all of our gear, genius.  If we had the book, where the hell would we be hiding it?"  She really didn't know what to say that would make this situation better.  What could she say?  That she was struck by lightning and suddenly the horn erupted from her skull?  As much truth as there was to that, it was hard to believe.  Hell, it had happened to her and she still didn't believe it.   

 

Maybe if she knew how to actually use the random bursts of power her horn sometimes seemed to give off she might have been a little more confident right now.  Or at least willing to try and bluff her way out of this.  The last time her horn had triggered it had just managed to draw the sparks into her, and it had really only made her situation worse.

[Midnight Scribbler 1,705]

Midnight Scribbler

@,

@@SilverHeart,

@,

@,

@@Nomadic,

 

Scribbler gazed down at the pile of armour at his hooves, and let out a slight chuckle. "I suppose you are right.. Foolish of me to accuse you of having much. Yet I cannot ignore that you may have come into contact with the Litany.. Your party must have the book then. Or have you lost yet another to it's corruption like that Noble Persona did?" Sribbler shifted the armour plates over, searching each piece for anywhere a book might be hidden away. Satisfied none of them had anything, he passed them back to the ex guard. "You may have these.. But I will keep the blade. I do not trust you enough yet." He said, tucking the cutlass into his makeshift robes. "But I am not without a heart.. The offer for anything you require to survive still stands. Food, medical aid, and anything else I may provide. Now, let's go. We must be on our way." He looked back to the others, Zintiik didn't look happy at all. "Willow, Zintiik, we must get moving. Orion is still ahead of us, Celestia knows how far he's gotten by now. I'm sure you are both anxious to get to him. Let's go now." He glanced briefly to Denarius, suggesting he follow, but not exactly caring one way or another by this point if he did. The stallion hadn't proven his worth, nor cooperated well with their plans, he wasn't exactly in Scribbler's good books at this point. Turning his head to Mirror, he smiled weakly, hoping she wasn't still mad at him. He noticed her burnt hoof, and quickly cast his healing aura over it. "Better?" He smiled more warmly, and began moving toward the doorway.

[EcstaticWind 572]

Aegis Dare
@,
@@Icy Void,
@@Midnight Scribbler,
@@Tricksters Pride,
@@Frosty V,

Aegis heard the shout and raced ahead to catch up to Clockwork and Ronin. He shouted back at the others in a determined tone. “Keep up, everypony. I said we’re gonna do the impossible, and I meant it! We’re gonna save Pavi and Fisher, belt some sense into Orion and then we’re gonna get our flanks to the Crystal Empire and get some answers outta this Bardic guy! So double time it, guys and girl!”


Noble Persona
@@Tricksters Pride,

Noble’s laughed faded out as he finished venting. The guards seemed a little unnerved at his laughter. Noble stood up, as his horn and irises glowed, as he attempted to consciously replicate the same spell that had altered his armour and possibly enhanced his weapon. A shout and a clatter from behind told him that a guard just had his weapon altered. Noble spun around to see that a guard had just dropped his halberd in surprise and was staring at it suspiciously.

“Sorry about that. I was just testing a new spell.” Noble said, levitating the halberd over. It was silver with a slight violet sheen to it, a hint at the magic now woven into the metal. “Well, then. Seems the effect is more powerful than I thought. Don’t worry, though. It will help keep you alive and stop your weapon from breaking.”

Edited February 26, 2014 by Windbreaker

[Nomadic 210]

Denarius

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

 

Denarius finished off his second vegetable as he flashed Scribbler an contemptuous glare. The unicorn seemed to continually treat him like nothing more than a petulant little foal. After all that he had done for this stallion. He had both waited in the buffeting hail and invested some of his resources for this individual. Such outright callousness towards him had before been the cause of another's adversity. 

 

Willow spoke up, and asked him a question. "I'm not sure Willow. I've never seen anything quite like this before, but I would assume it's magically based from what little I know about your brother". His voice was tinged with his usual composure. Denarius would not let Scribbler's little transgressions taint the others' view of him, especially not Willow. 

 

Scribbler began to move forward, yet Denarius stalled to glance over at the two captives. Their favour could be a greater boon for him currently. He slowly advanced, yet trying to linger slightly. He wanted to see what the next move for Pavisa and Kingfisher was to be.

[The Elusive Cinder 1,328]

Stalkers

 

@,

@@Geek0zoid,

 

 

7 Stalkers remaining.

0 are injured.

1 are disabled.

0 are dead.

 

Extremely thin, wolflike creatures - slightly smaller than a pony. Hardened magical energy forms a dark, shell like exoskeleton covering the body.

 

- Large, curved claws.

- Fangs

- Magical affinity (movement based)

- Physically strong and very agile.

- Hard carapace.

 

 

The sword was what did it - not from any kind if internal damage, but from its simple, earthly properties.

 

The Stalker rolled haphazardly across the ground and lay still. Seconds of stunned silence fell, then the pack moved.

 

The hive mind that they shared meant tgat each of the creatures now had learned from their vanguards actions: the ponies were slow, lumbering creatures. They had some rudimentary grasp of magic - but the real threat was the sting.

 

Without warning, the pack flitted into the open - lunging in a synchronisation the no simple creature could muster. Three surrounded each pony: lunging mere seconds apart from different directions: perfectly times to avoid colliding with each other. These were larger that the first - bulkier and more heavy set. They shin with arcane energy as the hardened exoskeletons distorted the magic they wore like a cloak around them.

 

The third pony they ignored. It had no sting, and its aura was negligible.

 

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

 

Kingfisher.

 

@@Midnight Scribbler,

 

Seeing an opportunity, Kingfisher jumped at it.

 

"Wait, you lost it?" She almost shouted. "You lost the Litany of Magic? How's he doing this without it? And you think that..."

 

She snorted and started to chuckle to herself - stepping forward boldly, thin etching of blood staining her muzzle and missing tip of her ear clear in the light of the crystals... it wouldn't have been difficult to call her the mad one, judging on appearance alone. They had lost it? After all this time?

 

"You don't trust us, yet you managed to lose... quite possibly the most powerful relic any of us can hope to ever see? And don't even try to pin it on us - we've never even touched the thing!"

 

That might not have been strictly true, but it was sufficient for the situation - a story for another day. Or never, if she had her way - it wasn't hers to tell anyway.

 

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

 

Amethyst Void.

 

@@Windbreaker,

 

Funny: these ponies - while still having what she considered backwards priorities - seemed more focused. Less tiresome at least.

 

"Stalkers." She chimed - falling in beside the one that seemed to be 'leading' the rest. "Savage things - they learn. Like, really quickly - if something works once, don't count on it working again."

 

See? She was helping - just like she had promised. There was never any appreciation!

 

"If you insist on running after them, try to keep them off guard... and mind their claws!"

[~Sole~ 852]

Stalkers@,@@Geek0zoid,

 

7 Stalkers remaining.0 are injured.1 are disabled.0 are dead.

Extremely thin, wolflike creatures - slightly smaller than a pony. Hardened magical energy forms a dark, shell like exoskeleton covering the body.

- Large, curved claws.

- Fangs

- Magical affinity (movement based)

- Physically strong and very agile.

- Hard carapace.

 

The sword was what did it - not from any kind if internal damage, but from its simple, earthly properties.

The Stalker rolled haphazardly across the ground and lay still. Seconds of stunned silence fell, then the pack moved.

The hive mind that they shared meant tgat each of the creatures now had learned from their vanguards actions: the ponies were slow, lumbering creatures. They had some rudimentary grasp of magic - but the real threat was the sting.

Without warning, the pack flitted into the open - lunging in a synchronisation the no simple creature could muster. Three surrounded each pony: lunging mere seconds apart from different directions: perfectly times to avoid colliding with each other. These were larger that the first - bulkier and more heavy set. They shin with arcane energy as the hardened exoskeletons distorted the magic they wore like a cloak around them.

The third pony they ignored. It had no sting, and its aura was negligible.

----------------Kingfisher.@@Midnight Scribbler,

Seeing an opportunity, Kingfisher jumped at it."Wait, you lost it?" She almost shouted. "You lost the Litany of Magic? How's he doing this without it? And you think that..."

She snorted and started to chuckle to herself - stepping forward boldly, thin etching of blood staining her muzzle and missing tip of her ear clear in the light of the crystals... it wouldn't have been difficult to call her the mad one, judging on appearance alone. They had lost it? After all this time?"You don't trust us, yet you managed to lose... quite possibly the most powerful relic any of us can hope to ever see? And don't even try to pin it on us - we've never even touched the thing!"

That might not have been strictly true, but it was sufficient for the situation - a story for another day. Or never, if she had her way - it wasn't hers to tell anyway.

---------------Amethyst Void.@@Windbreaker,

Funny: these ponies - while still having what she considered backwards priorities - seemed more focused. Less tiresome at least. "Stalkers." She chimed - falling in beside the one that seemed to be 'leading' the rest. "Savage things - they learn. Like, really quickly - if something works once, don't count on it working again."

See? She was helping - just like she had promised. There was never any appreciation!"If you insist on running after them, try to keep them off guard... and mind their claws!"

as the beast went down ronin smirked "one down..." He mumbled, before the others began to swarm and surround him and his friends. "Dammit, this is why I told you to leave while you could!!" He growled in frustration, before slashing at one of the creatures close to him

[EcstaticWind 572]

Aegis Dare

@,

@,

@@Geek0zoid,

 

“Good advice. Keep it up, Ammy, but cut it out with the threats... They’re not working.”  Aegis said, repaying Amethyst’s favour with some advice of his own. He shouted to the ponies who ran ahead. “Guys! These things are called Stalkers and they’re capable of learning our attack patterns. Don’t use the same trick twice in a row! Vary your attack patterns and catch ‘em off guard!”

[Frosty V 309]

@@Windbreaker

 

Frost ran up to Aegis' side, panting and spitting up some blood, all he got was the creatures were known as Stalker's and that they were smart enough to learn and counter our constant attack patterns, unless the switched it up. He drew another arrow and fired, "Kinda hard to change your pattern with a bow." Frost said with a small chuckle before coughing and spitting more blood, "But I'll see what I can do."

[Geek0zoid 1,468]

@,@, 

 

White Eclipse

"Have you forgotten about earlier, Ronin?? We fought a god-monster together, and brought it down! I think we can handle a few of these things!" Eclipse took the moment to charge his new magic into a powerful beam. The stalkers were looking ravenous while he was charging up, hungry for pony flesh. As the stalkers lunged, he unleashed a portion of his magic on all three of them, hoping it would do something.

 

Blasted Nova

None of the creatures were coming for Blast. This gave the earth pony a good time to try to inflict some punishment. With that, Blast backed up into the nearest wall and charged for Ronin's group of stalkers at a high velocity. It was a gamble, charging into these creatures. With their hard exterior, they could just flat-out ignore Blast's strike.

Regardless, he charged into one of the stalkers, hoping he wouldn't miss and that it'd do some impact.

[The Elusive Cinder 1,328]

Stalkers

 

@,

@@Geek0zoid,

 

 

7 Stalkers remaining.

2 are injured.

1 are disabled.

0 are dead.

 

Extremely thin, wolflike creatures - slightly smaller than a pony. Hardened magical energy forms a dark, shell like exoskeleton covering the body.

 

- Large, curved claws.

- Fangs

- Magical affinity (movement based)

- Physically strong and very agile.

- Hard carapace.

 

 

As Ronin swung, the creature simply stood its ground - hardening its carapace and watching the blade glance off: it wasn't going to make the same mistakes as its predecessor. The second of the three flitted in from behind - appearing unnervingly close with crescent claws outstretched and bathed in a dark light.

 

The third would have mimicked its brethren - had it not been unexpectedly tackled bodily to the side - flying through the air and hitting the ground a number if times before flitting back onto its feet. With an angry (if somewhat disorientated) snarl.

 

...

 

The Stalkers surrounding Eclipse shifted quickly to strike: there weren't particularly fearful of the magic - one of the three catching the beast square on. For a moment nothing happened, before the creature began to staggered backwards with a disbelieving look on its face.

 

The black mark which had began to form around the unicorns horn back in the cave spread further - now resembling an inky spiderweb that reached down to his head: its furthest extend reaching town between the eyes.

 

The remaining two paused - evenly spaced a good distance from each other behind the unicorn - watching to see what had happened, and what would happen next. An arrow lodged itself firmly into the shell of one - seemingly to its annoyance as it snapped at the shaft producing from its side.

 

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

 

Amethyst Void.

 

@@Windbreaker,

 

Amethyst shrugged - not wanting to show any kind of weakness by acknowledging the appreciation.

 

"It doesn't help me if you get eaten. I mean it might be a bit quieter if they thin the numbers a little, but you're not much use dead, are you?"

 

She flitted towards the edge of the battle and hovered in pace to watch - not exactly eager to get into open conflict herself, but eager to leech some of the essences if possible.

 

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

 

Emerald Gaze.

 

@,

@@Windbreaker,

@@Tricksters Pride,

 

Swinging deftly under a low, broken sign in a most unladylike manner, Emerald glanced about to ensure that she was safe - and that nopony had seen her boisterous display - before attempting to move towards the somewhat familiar voice.

 

"Stahl!"

 

She almost smiled. Almost. Any face that was friendly was a bonus right now - they needed to do something - find more ponies to keep order!

 

"The Castle's locked down - they aren't they're letting ponies in but... there's only so much room, and so much order that the guard can do to keep order. The counsel don't know what to do - its chaos! The Sons are around somewhere but... well, we just lost at least one if them. Where's that pony from earlier? We might need him after all!"

Edited February 26, 2014 by Cinderscribe

[Ihei 713]

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

 

Willow Starsinger

 

"It looks too easy." Willow looked around, picking up a pebble with her magic and threw it into the pool of sparks. It seemed to burn and left a red mark on it.

 

Willow backed away in horror. "There should be another way around.. isn't there?" Willow saw that there was another path, but it'd be too risky to take it now. It could make them lost track of Orion. Willow looked at the sparks. She felt its some kind of puzzle they're supposed to solve. That was what happened with every booby trap she encountered anyway.

 

"Does anypony know how to get rid of these sparks!?" Willow frowned.

[Umbreon 569]

((Posting from phone.))

 

Pavisa

 

While Kingfisher argued with their captors, Pavisa looks over her returned armour with a sigh. "Gee, thanks..." Muttering under her breath, Pavisa tosses aside the breastplate she'd been inspecting. After her trip through the sparks, and then both Mirror and Scribbler taking it upon themselves to freely use it to batter away the sparks, most of her armour was a half-melted mess that she would be a complete idiot to think she could wear.

 

'So much for Aegis' present,' she thought briefly before turning her attention back to the situation at hoof. "She's right - you had the book longer than we did. Hell, we barely saw it before you took off with it. Are you seriously saying you lost it after all of that trouble?"

 

 

Zintiik

 

Trying his best to ignore the exchange between the angry prisoners and the others, Zintiik, flies over towards the path Orion had gone. They had been sitting here a long time... How far had he gone? Fidgeting uncomfortably the changeling turns to look at Willow.

 

"I'm going to try and fly ahead to see what's waiting for us... Follow when you can but be careful, alright? I... Don't want anything to happen to you." The changeling smiles at her briefly before turning to try and fly up the staircase, trying to fly over the remaining sparks.

 

 

Stahl

 

Sighing in relief, Stahl's spinning blades slow as he sees Emerald. "Thank Celestia, I was worried something happened... The other pony took off the second one of those things went after the mare with him. So much for him having our interests in mind."

 

Glancing around warily, Stahl was still on guard. More of those things could be anywhere... "Sol left to get the rest of the Sons - do you know where they're based? If we can get there I can try to organize some kind of defense... What I wouldn't give for a group of the lads loyal to me from the barracks right about now though. Untrained farm ponies with borrowed weapons isn't what I would call an ideal defense against these monsters."

[~Sole~ 852]

Stalkers@,@@Geek0zoid,

 

7 Stalkers remaining.2 are injured.1 are disabled.0 are dead.

Extremely thin, wolflike creatures - slightly smaller than a pony. Hardened magical energy forms a dark, shell like exoskeleton covering the body.

- Large, curved claws.

- Fangs

- Magical affinity (movement based)

- Physically strong and very agile.

- Hard carapace.

 

As Ronin swung, the creature simply stood its ground - hardening its carapace and watching the blade glance off: it wasn't going to make the same mistakes as its predecessor. The second of the three flitted in from behind - appearing unnervingly close with crescent claws outstretched and bathed in a dark light.

The third would have mimicked its brethren - had it not been unexpectedly tackled bodily to the side - flying through the air and hitting the ground a number if times before flitting back onto its feet. With an angry (if somewhat disorientated) snarl.

...

The Stalkers surrounding Eclipse shifted quickly to strike: there weren't particularly fearful of the magic - one of the three catching the beast square on. For a moment nothing happened, before the creature began to staggered backwards with a disbelieving look on its face.

The black mark which had began to form around the unicorns horn back in the cave spread further - now resembling an inky spiderweb that reached down to his head: its furthest extend reaching town between the eyes.

The remaining two paused - evenly spaced a good distance from each other behind the unicorn - watching to see what had happened, and what would happen next. An arrow lodged itself firmly into the shell of one - seemingly to its annoyance as it snapped at the shaft producing from its side.

---------------Amethyst Void.@@Windbreaker,

Amethyst shrugged - not wanting to show any kind of weakness by acknowledging the appreciation."It doesn't help me if you get eaten. I mean it might be a bit quieter if they thin the numbers a little, but you're not much use dead, are you?"

She flitted towards the edge of the battle and hovered in pace to watch - not exactly eager to get into open conflict herself, but eager to leech some of the essences if possible.

---------------Emerald Gaze.@,@@Windbreaker,@@Tricksters Pride,

Swinging deftly under a low, broken sign in a most unladylike manner, Emerald glanced about to ensure that she was safe - and that nopony had seen her boisterous display - before attempting to move towards the somewhat familiar voice."Stahl!"

She almost smiled. Almost. Any face that was friendly was a bonus right now - they needed to do something - find more ponies to keep order!"The Castle's locked down - they aren't they're letting ponies in but... there's only so much room, and so much order that the guard can do to keep order. The counsel don't know what to do - its chaos! The Sons are around somewhere but... well, we just lost at least one if them. Where's that pony from earlier? We might need him after all!"

ronin was surprised when his blade seemingly no longer had any affect on the creatures hard bodies, but kept his cool and tried to think of a weak point. But his planning was quickly interrupted as one of the beasts appeared behind him with his claws bathed in an ominous glow. Thinking on his hooves he quickly brought his blade up and stabbed at its only visible weak point; the eyes.

[EcstaticWind 572]

Aegis Dare

@, 

 

“Charming as always...”  Aegis deadpanned. He saw the fight in front, right between him and the side passage.  ‘Damn! They’re in my way… Guess I’m gonna have to fight after all.’

 

Making sure he was far enough ahead that he wouldn’t hurt anypony by accident, he flared open his wings and kicked off from the ground.  Once he got close enough and had enough height and speed, he twisted his mare-ish body into a powerful kick, aiming for the Stalker’s legs

[Midnight Scribbler 1,705]

Midnight Scribbler

@,

@,

@,

@@SilverHeart,

@@Nomadic,

Scribbler paused as Willow attempted tossing a stone at the sparks. "Willow, the Northern corridor is clear, you can head that way, but don't go too far, Orion is your brother, but he may be dangerous even to you. Wait for us, alright?" He smiled at her, hoping she would heed his warning, and follow his advice. As Zintiik flew past, he nodded to the bug approvingly, though didn't have time to respond before being bombarded with questions about the Litany's disappearance. Turning back to the others, he responded with a more humbled tone. "I suppose you never saw that part of my little adventure.. I had just taken it, teleporting out past everypony as they were fighting amongst one another.. I panicked in the face of that being called Legion. I believe that was what powered Orion, the essence of the book in it's form. When I escaped.. I took Willow from the conflict, and ran. I had every intention of destroying the book.. I didn't even know if I could have, it seemed to be protected somehow. It's magic is far beyond what I practice.." he paused, looking down briefly at his hooves, thinking. "When I got far enough from the fight, I stopped to take the book out.. and asked Willow if she could break it's defenses, but.. As soon as she laid her hoof upon it's cover, the book vanished. It seems to teleport as a defense mechanism or something. I have yet to understand how or why this happened. It was shortly after that, I cast the spell to keep that temple from collapsing upon your heads. It was my magic that saved your lives if you remember." He paused, hoping this would sink in. Then he glanced down to Pavisa's discarded breast plate. Looking over the damage on it, he glanced up to her. "I apologize about that, I owe you one.. If you don't want that, I will keep it in case we encounter more of those sparks. If we ever meet in someplace more civilized than this.. I will repay you for the damage done." As he began moving toward the Northern corridor, he glanced over his shoulder at the two of them. "I do hope you think better of us when this is all over. I intend to make this all right.. All this trouble with Orion.. I want to see it all end just as much as you." There was little more to say now, waited for Pavisa's response about the armour before carrying on.

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

 

Clockwork Green

@@Windbreaker,

@,

@,

@@Frosty V,

@@Geek0zoid,

@@Icy Void,

 

Clockwork stood, watching the fight, not moving. He appeared to have become lost in deep thought, and a vile smirk began creeping across his face. He was still aware of what was going on, but did not seem slightly worried about what was taking place. The others were defying death with these beasts, and he continued to stand aside, perfectly still and silent, waiting to see what would happen next.
The creatures seemed to pay him no mind, perhaps they sensed something? Perhaps they hadn't seen him yet? All he knew was that for the time being he wasn't in danger, but would be ready if they chose to pay attention to him suddenly.

[Geek0zoid 1,468]

@,@,

 

White Eclipse

Seeing the creatures back away from Eclipse (Almost) made him smirk with cockiness. It was as if they were showing signs of fear. However, before he could fire another shot, he noticed that he couldn't conjure up any magic.

"What is this??" Eclipse exclaimed, looking up to his horn. It didn't take long for him to notice the black goo caving around his horn. "Ugh! What is this glop? It's stuck to my horn, and it keeps expanding!" Eclipse said, trying to conjure up something. He attempted to create a magic beam large enough and powerful enough to break the seal, and free him from the goop. At that moment, Eclipse got to work, and a small glow was dwindling it's way from inside the black seal, and it was expanding.

 

Blasted Nova

Blast smirked to himself as he left a dent in the shell of one of the monsters. He came in like a shot, and it seemed to leave some impact. But it seemed like it wasn't exactly done yet.

"Heh. Time to put these dogs down. Let's see what you've got, mutt." Blast said, charging at one of the stalkers.

[Icy Void 19]

Midnight Sky

 

As the rest of the group got closer to where Ronin was fighting what Amethyst had called Stalkers, Midnight couldn't help but feel disappointed. "And here I thought we might be able to avoid a fight for once, but I guess that was just too optimistic." Midnight grumbled to himself as he watched the others fighting. With just his spear at his disposal since his magic was still drained after the fight with the Litany, Midnight didn't feel comfortable in the idea of joining the fight. Instead Midnight stood his ground a good distance off near where Clockwork, Amethyst, and Sunshine were and he watched the fighting to try and analyze the Stalkers. Thanks to Amethyst's little bit of advise he had some basic notion of what they were, but what Midnight was looking for specifically were anatomical weak points. Everything had at least one weak spot, with common ones being the head and joints, but Midnight would need to be very precise to hit a Stalker in one of it's joints and he had no idea what effect a blow to the head would have on an ethereal beast. So for now all he could do is watch and wait for an opening, all the while wishing that they had been able to just go on their way since they really didn't have time to waste fighting a pack of magic creatures, what with the impending end of the world and all.

[Frosty V 309]

@

 

Frost kept his bow drawn and pointed, waiting for one of the Stalkers to take a stab at him but when none did he lowered his bow slightly, could they not see him, or did they not see him as a threat? It seemed that they went only for a few, he looked around to Clockwork and saw that he was in the same position as well.

[Ihei 713]

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

 

Willow Starsinger

 

"Be careful, Zintiik!" Willow cried out to the bug before he left. She decided to listen to Scribbler, so she sat down in front of the booby-trapped path. She didnt want to get lost. At least not now.

 

She just needed somepony to tell her what to do. She probably was the youngest in the group after all. But then something came to mind - how old is Zintiik? Do changelings even have ages? If so, how long has Orion known Zintiik? Has Orion introduced him to her before? And why has Orion been acting suspicious around the changeling lately? So many questions, but not enough answers. Sometimes she wished she could talk to Orion about.. well, himself so that he could stop this from happening.

 

But it looked like she was on her own.

[The Elusive Cinder 1,328]

Stalkers

 

@,

@@Geek0zoid,

@@Windbreaker,

 

New info!

 

7 Stalkers remaining.

2 are injured.

0 are disabled.

1 are dead.

 

Extremely thin, wolflike creatures - slightly smaller than a pony. Hardened magical energy forms a dark, shell like exoskeleton covering the body.

 

- Large, curved claws.

- Fangs

- Magical affinity (movement based)

- Physically strong and very agile.

- Hard carapace.

 

- Stalkers are very fast learners and pass on knowledge with their pack by a kind of shared intelligence or 'hive mind'. They adapt to difficult situations very quickly: even a small pack can become very dangerous after just a short duration as they adapt to negate their preys strengths. Packs tend to range from five to as many as thirty Stalkers - occasionally reinforced by other, likeminded creatures.

 

 

@,

 

Ready for the blade this time, the Stalker twisted in the air - fully turning and allowing the edge to glance it's hide as it brought the crescent claws around from the side. It followed this up by flitting forward to smash itself into the pony with unexpected force.

 

@@Geek0zoid,

 

The second rolled into an upright position and blinked as Blast charged at it. It simply stood - motionless - until the pony was mere inches away, at which point it flitted to the left - leaving only the wall where it had been standing.

 

The staggered third Stalker blinked - nothing had suggested that this prey was capable of magic - not more than a few tricks and illusions and certainly nothing that needed defending against... though its aura was unusual - familiar even. There was a touch of Arcana about it. As the creature found its footing again, it paused - unsure exactly what to do as it shielded itself.

 

One of the pair behind Eclipse chose a new strategy - it flitted through the air to appear above the unicorn: dropping with otherworldly claws outstretched.

 

@@Windbreaker,

 

The sixth Stalker was caught unaware, its legs swept from under it. Contending with both the sudden impact and the strange laws of this world, it crashed to the ground: carapace hardening in anticipation of an attack.

 

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

 

Amethyst Void.

 

@@Frosty V,

@@Midnight Scribbler,

 

"They've started the hunt - they don't know anything about you yet. Keep quiet and it'll stay that way." The outsider explained in a hushed to e from the sidelines, before moving away.

 

Amethyst picked her way carefully through the chaos of the fight - taking care not to draw too much attention to herself. Why the Stalkers had chosen to attack was a mystery - the ponies would have made a pitiful meal for the pack: it was almost as if they were starving...

 

She reached the fallen Stalker - it looked up at her angrily and tried to shuffle away but seemed to lack the strength.

 

"Huh. Too bad."

 

With a sickly glow, the creature dispersed into a fine mist of red and blue, mingling into a purple cloud, marred by steaks of black - fading into the air as the glow around the Ethereal pony strengthened for a moment. She smirked.

[~Sole~ 852]

Stalkers@,@@Geek0zoid,@@Windbreaker,New info!

 

7 Stalkers remaining.2 are injured.0 are disabled.1 are dead.

Extremely thin, wolflike creatures - slightly smaller than a pony. Hardened magical energy forms a dark, shell like exoskeleton covering the body.

- Large, curved claws.

- Fangs

- Magical affinity (movement based)

- Physically strong and very agile.

- Hard carapace.

- Stalkers are very fast learners and pass on knowledge with their pack by a kind of shared intelligence or 'hive mind'. They adapt to difficult situations very quickly: even a small pack can become very dangerous after just a short duration as they adapt to negate their preys strengths. Packs tend to range from five to as many as thirty Stalkers - occasionally reinforced by other, likeminded creatures.

@,

Ready for the blade this time, the Stalker twisted in the air - fully turning and allowing the edge to glance it's hide as it brought the crescent claws around from the side. It followed this up by flitting forward to smash itself into the pony with unexpected force.@@Geek0zoid,

The second rolled into an upright position and blinked as Blast charged at it. It simply stood - motionless - until the pony was mere inches away, at which point it flitted to the left - leaving only the wall where it had been standing.

The staggered third Stalker blinked - nothing had suggested that this prey was capable of magic - not more than a few tricks and illusions and certainly nothing that needed defending against... though its aura was unusual - familiar even. There was a touch of Arcana about it. As the creature found its footing again, it paused - unsure exactly what to do as it shielded itself.

One of the pair behind Eclipse chose a new strategy - it flitted through the air to appear above the unicorn: dropping with otherworldly claws outstretched.@@Windbreaker,

The sixth Stalker was caught unaware, its legs swept from under it. Contending with both the sudden impact and the strange laws of this world, it crashed to the ground: carapace hardening in anticipation of an attack.

---------------Amethyst Void.@@Frosty V,@@Midnight Scribbler,"They've started the hunt - they don't know anything about you yet. Keep quiet and it'll stay that way." The outsider explained in a hushed to e from the sidelines, before moving away.

Amethyst picked her way carefully through the chaos of the fight - taking care not to draw too much attention to herself. Why the Stalkers had chosen to attack was a mystery - the ponies would have made a pitiful meal for the pack: it was almost as if they were starving...

She reached the fallen Stalker - it looked up at her angrily and tried to shuffle away but seemed to lack the strength. "Huh. Too bad."

With a sickly glow, the creature dispersed into a fine mist of red and blue, mingling into a purple cloud, marred by steaks of black - fading into the air as the glow around the Ethereal pony strengthened for a moment. She smirked.

ronin cursed as his blade was once again guarded against, and barely had time to bring his sword up and block the claw strike. But as he did he was knocked back by the creature with heavy force. "Damn!" He growled, before rolling back with the force. As he rolled to a stop he jumped back up to the creature and began to slash at the creature near its limbs in an attempt to find a soft point.