open Shifted

[PeachPalette 1,000]

"Wha-," Peach began to stutter as she tried to wrap her head around it. "A...hu-..." Her eyes wide, her minds gears struggled to turn in overdrive. A human? What...is a human?

 

The once calm and collected Peach jumped as the sky lit up again with a popping sound that echoed loudly. Her magic was interrupted sending Electrobolt's slice of pie to the dirt. Though, she didn't notice this for her eyes were now glued to the sky. This...flair was different. The bright light lingered in the air. "That's coming from the forest!" She exclaimed as she prepared herself to run but noticed quickly that trying to run with a cart behind her would be counterproductive. "Argh!" She growled to herself as she slipped from the reins.

 

She braced herself to sprint off, but stopped to look at Electrobolt. The expression on her face frightened. "Listen...I don't know what a...human is, but I have no choice but to trust you. As long as you can trust me as well, getting to the bottom of this will be all the more easier. For now, I need your help," She said as she took off in a gallop that echoed from the trees and back. She assumed that Electrobolt would follow. He'd been cooperative up to this point, anyway.

 

If this one is really a human, then the others must have been one too at some point. Her mind raced as to what a human really was, what they did, what they looked like, where they were from. She'd hoped her questions would be answered soon. That is...if she was not too late.

[Electrobolt 2,069]

Electrobolt also jumped from the noise as he looked to the sky, seeing the fireball staying in the sky. "Wha---" he muttered to himself before Peach spoke up. As she began running off, Electrobolt looked in the direction she was running in. "She... She trusts me..." he said, relieved that she didn't think he was crazy. Shaking his head, he proceeded to run and catch up with Peach. *If she trusts me, why shouldn't I?* he thought. *I just hope we get to the forest in time...*

[Deshi Bashara 6]

There was a sudden addition of wings flapping, and Cole came into view above Electrobolt and Peach. "Hey, guys." he greeted them. "Sorry for the scare. I've been practicing my flying while I was gone." he added helpfully. He shook unsteadily for a brief moment, then regained control of himself. "It's harder then it looks." he admitted.

 

Cole returned to looking ahead nervously. There could be some dangerous things in those woods. he thought. Bears, wolves, mountain lions...do they even have mountain lions here?

 

Whatever the case, he would try to help out as best as he could. He just hoped they weren't too late.

Edited March 16, 2012 by Deshi Bashara

[Aureity 3,055]

Crystal Flame had been trodding up the path for quite a while (my rp excuse for not posting for 2 days :S). "Jeez," he muttered to himself, turning his head. "I got lost again. Wonderful." Why had he decided to blunder off towards the forest? It seemed like the right thing to do at the time, helping ponies in need instead of munching on pies like everyone else was doing, but now that he was actually here, he had no bloody idea what to do, or where to go. For crying out loud, I don't even know where to FIND the lost ponies.

 

It was at that moment that some sort of fire-too spherical to be natural-burst into view above the treeline. Forest fire? He had absolutely no idea what it was, but he sensed danger. C'mon you fool, let's get moving., He began running full tilt towards the location, but found it to be rather slow. If only I could fly...

 

How hard could it be? He glanced uneasily at his wings. Don't fail me-not now! Closing his eyes, he took a running jump and launched himself into the sky towards the distress signal.

[Flow 1,629]

The female pony that bumped into Arty didn't say anything, and just ran away, "Great, it probably thinks I'm a creep after what I said, nice one Arty, you idiot," he mumbled, then he saw Peach and two ponies pass by him, "Hey!!!! Wait up!!" He called out and went after them. He knew that they are heading to the same place he's also going to, "I hope this isn't anything bad, I hope this isn't that discord creature,

 

He saw that one of the ponies following Peach has wings and is flying, "Hmm, that must be what's called hmm, oh yeah a pegasus, wait, what am I thinking? I need to concentrate on the situation right now!"

[SuperTheAwesome 199]

Speed was terrified of the wolves that had come out. They were attacking the pony that had helped her, and were going for her next. Speed dashed off in the direction that she thought she came from, looking back every few steps. Oh gosh, I hope he doesn't die... Speed thought. Speed was angry at that other unicorn, even thought she knew it wasn't her fault. Speed just felt like she needed someone to blame for this.

 

After a long time of running, Speed was still lost. Well, even more lost. She was going to die in this forest, she knew it. The other pony was probably dead already. There was only one way out of this, to fly. Speed had already proved too herself that she was horrible at it, knocking herself unconscious like that, but it was the only way. She started flapping her wings furiously, and she hopped into the air...

[PeachPalette 1,000]

Peach grinned up at Cole. "Glad to see you've made it!" She called up to him playfully. For a moment she'd already forgotten that this...pony might actually be what they called themselves as...humans. He seemed so natural in the air above them (Even some of the best flyers had their wobbly moments), but this was one of the lost ponies...not a pony at all. None-the-less, she was pleased that he caught up to them. Even if they weren't real ponies there was strength in numbers.

 

She hardly noticed the pony she passed, but the voice that called out told her it was Arty. "Follow us! No time to talk!" She called out, hoping he heard her over the multiple thundering bounds of her and Electrobolt's hooves as the ran.

 

She felt the softness of the grass and dead leaves crackling under her hooves. Trees whizzed by her as she darted in and out of them, leaping over fallen trees and rotting logs. I have to get there before this personality switches!

 

She gasped as she came to an abrupt stop, not liking what she saw. In the middle of a very small clearing lay the pony that called himself Silver, a motionless timber wolf lay sloppily over him. She swallowed hard. She wanted to call out to him and ask if he was alright, but the words were caught behind the lump in her throat. Clearly, he was not fine.

 

The lingering sounds of low growls came from all directions in the darkness of the thick brush. "Shhh!" She quickly called out as her horn lit up so that she could see. "We're being stalked." The light created a reflection in the eyes of the hungry wolves who thought themselves to be hidden. Her expression hardened. She's never fought a timber wolf before, but she certainly knew how to use magic.

 

There was silence...the calm before the storm. Just the low and faint rumble of the wolves' growls put the forest into a low hum. "A pegasus's best tactic is to stay in the air. Clip them, kick them, bite them, but whatever you do, stay in the air," she whispered suddenly. "Just make sure, they are not expecting you. Catch them from behind." Her eyes remained on the ones glowing back at her. "An earth pony is strong. One buck from your back legs could render a foe broken and dead. Remember that, ponies," she said addressing all of them behind her, preparing them for the fight ahead.

 

"A unicorn's best defense is the use of magic," she added in. Her head lowered, her horn pointing at the wolves that starred her down. The yellow glow around her horn became brighter as sparks seemed to arc from it. Come on then, she thought, being not quite brave enough to provoke them by yelling. With that, as if they heard her very thoughts, the wolves charged out viciously, their jaws wide, and ready to consume them.

[Electrobolt 2,069]

Electrobolt gulped nervously when he heard the howling of the wolves, but regardless, he did his best to put on a brave face. Now isn't the time to be scared. As he heard Peach's explanation on what each of them should do, he looked at all the ponies around him, noticing the wings and horns. *So the ponies with wings are called a pegasus, and the ones with horns are unicorns...* he thought. *So that must mean I'm an Earth Pony, since I have neither horns or wings...*

 

He then looked ahead of himself and noticed one of the wolves charging at him. *Alright, your back legs are your weapons...* Just as the wolf lunged at him, almost like it was natural to him, Electrobolt quickly swerved around and bucked the wolf hard, knocking it back. *Wait...* he thought. *Did... Did I just do that... Without tripping myself???*

[Legendary Emerald 622]

The howling was getting closer; she was heading in the right direction. Unfortunately, that direction was the dark and foreboding forest that the silver pony had previously wandered into. Even less fortunately, her stubborn refusal to run like a pony was slowing her down.

 

"Fine, just this once. But if I'm going to run like an animal, I'm going to do this my way."

 

Serah fell to all four hooves in the midst of her stride, stumbling and nearly immediately taking a dive.

 

"No time to learn how to walk; I just need to run!"

 

She barely managed to get all four of her limbs underneath her and moving at a rate that seemed to work, though she still felt awkward. The treeline was directly ahead of her, and a small path lead into its depths. She poured on the speed, all the while remembering how she had taken flight previously. Maybe flying wasn't all she could do...

 

Her horn lit up with red light, and her body followed suit. Her entire being burst into flames, and she entered the forest like a pony out of hell. The underbrush beneath her stampeding hooves caught fire and marked her trail behind her.

 

She heard a scream of pain from one of the beasts she was tracking. She turned in that direction, now hearing the voices of other people or ponies as well. A devilish grin spread across her lips.

 

Serah saw a clearing, and a group of three or so ponies. One of them was down on the ground, apparently already out of the fight. Another pony was kicking its vicious assailant, sending a wolf-like beast back several feet with half its face missing. But several more of the wooden creatures had the ponies surrounded in an ever tightening circle.

 

One of the large wolves was directly ahead of her, blocking her path to the other ponies. That was just too damn bad.

 

A comet barreled through the wolf, sending it and the two wolves next to it flying up into the air with flames licking at their timber. The fireball then came to an inelegant stop in front of the group of ponies, tumbling against the hooves of the Peach one righ as the flames died down to show the pony underneath. The mare with the blood red coat and blazing pink mane shakily stood up on two hooves, falling into a standard street boxing stance.

 

"This is my dream!" Serah growled. Two of the wolves managed to stand back up and rejoin the circle, but the one who'd felt the full force of her charge was burning to pieces. The wolves all growled back at her. "And in my dream, everything burns!"

 

The wolves attacked.

Edited March 18, 2012 by Legendary Emerald

[Arylett Charnoa 4,919]

There was a lot of damage coming to many of the Timber Wolves from the various ponies, but they bore their fangs and still seemed tenacious to fight. Their territory had been invaded. It was only fair. Backing away from what they had perceived to be the most powerful pony (one with a reddish hue) that had taken down several of their numbers, several of them had once again focused on the weakest link. This time, it was another pony that their pack had taken down. The silver one who bled.

 

Several of the other wolves were about to focus their energies on this one, smelling its blood on the air...

 

____

 

As Artsy ran off deeper and deeper into the forest, she had heard the loud sound of howls and shuddered slightly, not knowing exactly where they had come from and hoping whatever beasts made them wouldn't come to find her. From how far she had galloped (which, she noted, even with her shaky grasp of walking was faster than she had run before), it seemed these howls were quite a ways away. So she tried to calm her mind, and clear it of the thoughts that happened as she tripped over her hooves and fell face flat onto the ground.

 

For a while, she just laid there in exhaustion, the situation washing over her in waves. It was true, she couldn't walk on two legs anymore... and that she had a mark on her hips... a tail... a suspicious lack of fingers... and that she could use magic. Though she had already been aware of this, she didn't really want to think about it. She would've liked to think that everyone else was the ponies, and she was the human. It became increasingly apparent as she lifted her head up for a mere moment, and caught a glimpse of her reflection in a clear lake just a few steps from where she had collapsed. Her eyes widened as she realized she had the same pony face the others had. And not only that, but she had... a horn too. That must've been where she was feeling the magic gather those two times. She was a unicorn then... for some reason, it wasn't that surprising.

 

And she had kept a few accessories, at least. (Although ponies with glasses? Kind of silly. Did the others think she looked silly and not want to say it?) But still, she was totally naked. She wondered why these things didn't seem to bother the others, and why she was so different for being concerned with them. Lost in her thoughts at the reflection, she felt as if she had been staring at some alien being from another planet that clearly looked a lot like her. She even had... a mane. A mane!

 

Her thoughts were interrupted a sudden magical flash that lit up everything in the dark forest, which blinded her for a mere moment. In confusion, she opened up her eyes again and wondered if it was her doing...

 

Sounds suddenly chattered throughout the forest, as she saw all of the frantic animals and creatures flee in the opposite direction from her. She saw all manner of beasts; small, fearsome, recognizable, and fantastical... and all of them seemed... afraid of something. But what was it?

[Deshi Bashara 6]

Cole swooped down and flew into one of the timberwolves, knocking it against a tree. He then bucked a wolf that had snuck up behind him. "This is going to be fun!" he noted, taking down a third wolf by karate chopping it. Karate chopping a wolf made of wood? How does that work? Cole briefly stopped to think, then pushed aside the question for later.

 

Suddenly, a timberwolf scratched him on the shoulder. Not a serious scratch, but a scratch, nontheless. "Agh!" he gasped, turning around and choke-slamming the wolf. Then he rose into the air with it and dive bombed the ground. The wolf's body slammed against the dirt and grass, then lay still.

 

That's what I get for being caught off guard. Cole scolded himself. He suddenly noticed the red pony enter the battle and felt a surge of relief. Good. We need all the help we can get. he thought again.

[Trixies Apprentice L 493]

Lionheart was stunned. He didn't move, He didn't move his gaze he wasn't doing anything at all just rapidly thinking. "Wolfs ? Why ? When? Well we are in a forest but.... Damn what am I toodo now. I don't know how to fight and my magic whatever from what I have seen isn't for fighting either. Well I may be able to protect my self but yet gain how?" Lionheart was thinking fast and he was getting nervous and when he finally cleared his head he noticed that most of the ponies from before have gathered here now.

 

"What the...? How is that even possible." He though out loud as he say them fighting the wolf. "I guess I should just run. I mean I don't even know them and they are a good distraction for now better use that as an advantage." He turned to leave but stopped on his tracks. "But then I will be all alone in the forest. That not a good alternative either." He though but quickly dismished it thinking that he could follow his own trial with his own magic and find them later when he was sure it was safe.

 

He left silently without making himself noticed and when he was finally at enough distance to hear what was going on but be hidden safely from view. He waited.

[Aureity 3,055]

Apparently, you can't fly in a forest. Crystal Flame learned that the hard way as he smashed into a tree and dropped to the ground. He dizzily shook his head, but cleared it soon enough. He swiveled his head around the leafy forest, taking in the gloomy darkness and eerie lighting-he wasn't even sure what was causing that. "What was I here for again?" he asked himself, momentarily distracted by the collision. A few loud howling noises a short distance away made him jump. "Oh, right-" he cautiously trotted in the direction of the sound as the howling grew louder. As he finally appeared in a clearing, he saw a large number of ponies-must be the rest of the group that he had been looking for-and an even larger number of wolves.

 

"Well, that sucks." He wasn't sure how exactly he was supposed to fight when he wasn't even used to his own body, but leaving was definitely not an option. He looked around the frenzied scene, and spotted a silverish pony, surrounded by the hungry timber wolves. "Nope, you're not getting any dinner tonight," he hissed at the them, before barreling into the crowd, trying to break through the circle. The impact of the charge shattered one wolf. They're made of...wood? Whatever. This place gets weirder and weirder. Having broken through, he reached the injured silver pony, and prepared to defend against the advancing hordes.

[SuperTheAwesome 199]

She started flapping her wings furiously, and she hopped into the air...

 

And fell right back down. Well, I shouldn't able to fly anyway. I'm human! Was the excuse that she told herself. She just lay down on the dirt, looking around at the trees. It seemed so... peaceful. Yet, there were deadly wooden wolves in this forest. Wooden wolves? How the hell does that work? She kept denying that anything in this world was real, but it was too real to be a dream. She was a horse. A horse with wings. A pegasus.

 

Speed curled up into a ball on the ground. All she wanted to do was sleep. She was a pegasus who got lost in a deadly forest trying to save a unicorn. It seemed like a TV show made for little girls. When Speed was about to give up on finding help and getting out of the forest, she saw a bright light. It seemed like... fire. Was the other pony okay?

 

Before Speed knew it, she was dashing towards the fire. She was not going to let someone die!

[PeachPalette 1,000]

The timber wolf who had locked it's hungering eyes on her came bounding out at her. It was fast. Too fast. There would be no time to focus on an attack. This called for strategy. In the blink of an eye she disappeared and reappeared behind the confused wolf who lunged at...nothing. It turned, looking behind itself, growling. Her horn sparked. She did not want to hurt the creatures but it was fight or die. She aimed her horn at the angry wolf and prepared to light him aflame.

 

Her eyes widened at what took place after that. The wolf cried out and took off in the other direction. Timber wolves were not known to frighten very easily. A confused brow rose on her face as she watched it disappear into the darkness. Her eyes searched the clearing around her. One by one, the other wolves began to back into the forest.

 

"W-what's....going on?" Peach asked in a hushed tone, more so to herself, but she was sure the others heard it too.

 

She jumped as a strange bolt of lighting cracked in the darkened sky. Then something...some sound...began to fade in as the echo died down. Laughter. It was...laughter. She looked up through the clearing to see a garganchuan yellow eye peering back down at her. She gasped...it was all she could do. She knew all too well who this was.

 

"Well, well, well...PeachPalette, is it? You must be the lucky pony to have found the humans," His voice echoed in the air as his image pulled back and seemed to lounge . He brought his right hand up to his face to examine his nails. "Or...ponies? You know, even I'm getting confused as to what they are now. Seem to fight right in, don't they?" He looked back down with a wide grin.

 

She wondered if the other ponies...erm...humans could see this as well. Or was he just toying with her? None-the-less, she was intimidated beyond measure. She couldn't utter a word. Discord. Her eyes narrowed in a desperate attempt to look brave, though her legs were shaking like a leaf.

[Deshi Bashara 6]

Cole looked up in shock at the yellow eye above him. What the hell? he wondered. Suddenly, he remembered the flash he had gotten earlier. He had been seeing Discord then, he realized with a sudden chill. And he was seeing him now. He looked more horrible in person. His razor sharp claws looked like they could cut open a pony in one slice. A gleam of madness flickered in his eyes, and Cole couldn't escape the feeling that the monster was staring into his soul. I can't let him intimidate me. Cole decided. No, I won't let him intimidate me.

 

"So, you're Discord?" he said out loud. "I thought you'd look more terrifying then this."

Edited March 18, 2012 by Deshi Bashara

[Electrobolt 2,069]

Electrobolt was about ready to tackle another wolf when he noticed they all had gone away. Unsure as to why they left, he decided to keep his guard up in case any of them tried to make a surprise attack. However, when he looked into the sky, he had seen an enormous yellow eye gazing down at them. Trying not to show an ounce of fear, he listened to the being speak. *So he knows we were humans...* he thought. *He must be Discord then...* Then, almost as if confirming his thoughts, Cole had spoken up. *Well, that confirms my thoughts...* Electrobolt remained silent for now as he continued to listen.

[Legendary Emerald 622]

Serah's fire-engulfed fist tore through the head of a timberwolf who had dared to attack her. She heard another wolf lunging at her from behind, and without having to turn around, she launched a fireball from her horn which arced around her and hit the beast full in the chest.

 

"I don't know how I'm doing this, but I don't care." The wolves started to run away. She threw more jets of flames at their behinds to make sure they stayed gone.

 

But just as the wolves left, a more foreboding presence took over. Serah looked up to see the yellow eye in the sky, the image slowly expanding to reveal a hodge-podge of a creature that she couldn't even describe. She listened to what it had to say, but it didn't make any sense to her. One of the other ponies addressed the enigma as ''Discord'', and insulted it.

 

"I agree. For a nightmare, you're practically tame." Serah snorted, steam rising out of her nostrils.

[Marcato 2,143]

Silver awoke to an evil sounding laugh. He quickly recalled what had happened before the black out. Well, one thing was sure there was still a wolf on top of him. He pulled himself up while brushing the wolf aside. He noticed all the other wolves had run off, and many of the rest of the group had arived. However henoticed lionheart and the pegasus from earlier were gone. He had told speed to run, but he had no idea what happened to the other one.

 

He looked up at the strange creature that faced them now. At first he had no idea what to think of him. Then he heard the creature mention something about the humans. "Hold up here." Silver managed as he was still recovering. "You say you know about us being humans?"

 

So far this was the first living thing to know about this besides the others from the original group. Silver slowly approached the creature. "Do you know how we got here? We need an explanation as to what is going on here." He stumbled from the pain in his shoulder and still lingering exhaustion. "And, who are you? What are you?" Things were finally becoming over whelming for Silver. The ponies and magic he could handle, even maybe the wood wolves, but this thing? He was starting to get a head ache.

[Aureity 3,055]

Crystal Flame eased as the wolves surrounding him backed away slowly in fright. What? Ponies aren't scary...He pondered why a group of wolves would back away from one pony when they were just about to eat another. A tingle up his spine made him turn around. Oh. He was looking at would he could describe only as a goat twice flattened, dipped in radioactive chicken waste, left to mutate overnight, and...yeah, forget it. Even I can't come up with an explanation for this! All he could do was stare at the...thing...in wonder as it spoke out loud. When it came to the part about humans, his stomach gave a jolt of recognition. It knows! Apparently, this was the "Discord" that other pony had been talking about.

More confused now than anything, he sat down to listen to Discord speak.

[PeachPalette 1,000]

Peach cringed as he threw his head back and laughter rang in the air again, Discord finding amusement in their sternness with him. His head snapped back towards them all. Peach's front hoof involuntarily brushed upon the earth as she snorted. Her teeth clinched and ground together. She spoke to the other ponies this way, keeping a watchful eye on Discord. "This is Discord. God of chaos and disharmony. He's not to be taken lightly, ponies." She grunted. Ponies. Why do I keep calling them that?

 

His deviant eyes turned towards the pony, Silver. "You being here is all a part of my plan," he said as he lanced his fingers together. "I've had a taste of letting chaos rein over Equestia, and upon being impressioned...AGAIN," he showed a distaste for the memory of turning to stone yet a second time, "I've decided to go...BIGGER!" He held his mismatched hands out with a smile on his face, reveling in his beautiful plan. His smile faded as his eyes burned into Silver. "Humans let their curiosity get the best of them, or so I've come to learn. You all did exactly what I wanted you to do."

 

Suddenly he wasn't in the sky anymore, but right in front of them. It happened so fast. "And now, since my little experiment worked. I will be throwing both worlds into chaos!"

 

"How?" Peach finally spoke up as she took a step forward. "How are you going to do this?"

 

He grinned wide at the question. "I thought you'd never ask. You see, I plan on merging worlds, and THAT, my dear, is only the beginning."

 

"You can't do that!" She exclaimed. Her expression stressed and terrified. The apples. This is...creating a damper in our ecosystem. "Discord! You must stop this! Our apples have all rotted in the course of one night! At this rate, we won't be able to sustain life in Equestia! And who knows what it will do to the humans' world!" She calmed her voice for a moment, hoping to reason with him. "This isn't as harmless as soapy roads and chocolate rain. This could mean life or death!"

Edited March 19, 2012 by PeachPalette

[Marcato 2,143]

This discord creature was obviously trying to discourage Silver. That comment on curiosity was directed at him because he ran into the forest. He cringed at the realization that he started all this, but he held his ground still looking directly back at Discord.

 

When peach finished explaining, Silver suddenly understood everything. Discord must have brought them here to start this off. This was the beginning. And if he followed through with this who knows what could happen? Chaos, death, destruction. The very fabric of reality could potentially be torn. Silver still had questions on his mind however. "And just what do you need us for? Why are we so important to your plan?" He asked, keeping his courage up in front of this large creature.

[Electrobolt 2,069]

After hearing everything so far, Electrobolt said, "So it was you who made those cracks appear..." He was confused about Discord's motives for his actions and wanted to know more. "What makes you think merging the two worlds together is such a good idea? Do you even know what would happen?" He was determined to stop Discord regardless of what the answers might be. He knew he didn't belong in this world, and wanted to set things right as best as he could.

[Aureity 3,055]

Crystal Flame smirked, as his mind linked together the words "chaos and disharmony" with "troll". Well, if this Discord-thingy had brought him from where he actually belonged to this pony-filled...place, then yep, Discord really was a troll.

 

What could he possibly mean about the experiment and throwing both worlds into chaos? Crystal's mind raced to come up with a solution, then it clicked as his brain came up with one thing, Discord's mention of human curiosity.

 

"You bloody troll," Crystal Flame snapped angrily at Discord. "You're going to introduce humans to this world in large quantities, aren't you? And count on them to start logging forests, drilling into the ground for oil, and fighting ponies off their lands?"

[Legendary Emerald 622]

"This doesn't make any sense. And even if it did, it's too complex for a simple dream scenario."

 

Serah tried to ignore everything that Discord was saying, but some of what the god of chaos spoke triggered foggy memories in her mind. She was confused, and being confused just made her angry.

 

"Stop taking this all so seriously." Serah sneered, and then sent a geyser of flame towards Discord.