[MLP:FIM] The Clock and the Mirror (IC)

It's a big hole. Apparently teleporter don't like being broken. And is that the exterior I see here. So we are underground, hey, that explain why Pinkie is trapped here. It also show that we are trapped if we don't find a way out or how to dig an exit.

I slide my hand on the hole, trying to feel the metal, see how tick is the wall and what there is in it. I also look through the hole, trying to see how far the ground is, and copying on Charles, I use my own lighter.

Man, that make me think I needed to buy more cigarette. Given how it's going on, I think I risk to have to ration them...

Hey wait a minute, didn't the ship began to move when we arrived here?

Orator sound a lot better than translator-guy. Okay, Orator, you got yourself a new name. And there is food, perfect, we will not die in three day. We just have to found a way out. Thought the ship must be able to move if he isn't broken. We may also learn something from Pinkie Pie.

It's still weird to found myself standing beside a fictional character. Well at least, I'm not the only human. And there is worse character than Pinkie Pie.

OOC: Sorry about the wait guys, flu and all that.
There we are! All better now, everyone is synced up again. Aren't I a good gm?

---[ Setting: Zap-Stone Mine #12, Entrance, Morning ]---

{ PC: Bruce ; NPC: Rock Hoof, Da Hooves, Dizzy}

Rock Hoof set the rummaging gold mare a pitying glance.
“Look... Da Hooves is, kinda, yeah. No-pony knows where she came from, she's not officially hired but she can sense collapses hours before they happen. Because of that, if the company tried to get rid of her the miners nearly lynched 'em. She's odd yeah, a few of the colts have got a betting pool going on what she actually is, but she's prove to be reliable. That's something she had in common with the rest of the miners here, most just want to make a new start.”

The pale green colt shook his head.
“Never got the chance to interrogate them. The second we spotted them they took off. Hooves got the closest look but that's about it.”

You could see the scientist struggling not to laugh at the notion.
“If that were the case, then we would have a structure capable of burrowing through hundreds of tonnes of rock while being encased in it! Honestly, such a thing is quite impossible without types of technology AND magic far in advance of our own. I mean no offence to Doctor Holiday's design but being trapped in a tunnel for a week is vastly different to be entombed under a mountain for, as far as we know, eons.”

The world around you rapidly changed from colours and natural light to incandescent blue and inky darkness. The emptiness of the mine was only really starting to hit you now, it felt strange, abandoned, untouched and all too perfect. In the logical part of your mine these were all expectant properties but it was strange, slightly fake even, like a didgeridoo crafted by a unicorn into a mathematically correct plastic tube.


“I've got a whistle, never ya mind. I don't want 'em hurt, just for them to get the flock out, but if they get hostile? Acceptable force; you get me?”
Rock Hoof grunted, his head twisting back into saddle bags to fish out a whistle which he acrobatically looped over his own neck. There was a short, sharp whistle as he tested it followed by a slowing staccato of hooves as he pulled up and barked something at the others beside him to do the same.

You looked back at the three of them, lit behind them was the slowly fading light of the sun. The pale green colt gave you a firm nod, the white mare looked sick with worry while the massive gold-coated pony only stared just beyond your path. In that moment, you felt something, a distant feeling of doubt although you couldn't place it. Something was wrong here and you knew that it ran deep, nothing about this added up and you had a suspicion that it was linked together but you just couldn't ram the pieces together in any meaningful way.

You turned back into the blue-lit maw of the mines, hydraulics whining as you quickly began to pick up the pace and speed deeper and deeper to your destination. With a click your flood-lights flickered to life while the camera in your helmet began rolling.
You'll find them, it was just a matter of time.
Maybe then you'll get some answers.

---[ Setting: Zap-Stone Mine #12, Entrance, Morning ]---

{ PC: Bruce }

You've been moving for more than a quarter of an hour now.
Part of you wished you knew where the hell these ponies where going, but another reminded you that there was a hell of a lot of mine to search even if it went in one general direction. Zap-Stone mine 12 was a branched, diagonal shaft on a sharp 18 degree incline. On map it wouldn't look too different from a spiked up pine tree, but all of those side areas made for precious seconds of searching that just couldn't afford to be wasted.

You saw white light up ahead.
Moving down the centre of the shaft, you let your next hop fall into a dusty slide behind a branch's corner and deactivated your flood-lights. You flattened yourself against the wall and poked your head around the corner. From the sounds of it they were door far off to notice you but much closer and you'd be spotted. Planning time, Bruce. How to go about -?
Your only warning was the crumbling of dust falling from the ceiling.

Half a second later you felt the tremors under your paws.

Muffling a yelp, you collapsed down to all fours, the entire world shaking like it was being held in the hand of an over-excited Minotaur calf.

The every earth itself groaned in pain while a noise like a gun shot exploded out around you and echoed through the caves and behind it a tidal wave of dust and smoke belched it's way along the shaft.

Your paws clawed at your ringing helmet, just ringing to make the noise stop as rocks bounced off your suit like marbles.

Then, just like that, it was over.

Your eyes swivelled around, now thanking the arteteciture for being as robust as it was guady. You weren't entombed in a pile of rubble, although you were certainly lying in one, and other than a few rocks loose the tunnel seemed fine.
Then you heard a long, piping whistle. Then another, and another.
At first you thought it was just the suit's hydraulics, then you recalled the sound of Rock Hoof's whistle...

---[ Setting: South Appleloosa, pitch grounds, Morning ]---

{ PC: InsaneCat, Asmodemus; NPC: Sweetie Belle, Vinyl Scratch, Bouncer }

The element was noticeably silent after you asked the question.
At this point, I suppose Secrecy would want me to act all evasive, spouting half-truths and patting ourselves on the back since it's all 'for your own good'. Fuck that sentiment, his lies lead us to this in the first place. When you shift foci, I'm going to die. I'm going to die painfully.

Hold your pity, I don't deserve it. You want to know who pulled the final switch to kill humanity? You want to know why the world is overrun with fucking animals as opposed to peace-loving men, women and children? It was me. I did it. I could have stopped it, but I didn't.

Because I wanted the power, because I had sold my soul to war. I wanted to make peace by killing everything that rose the blade and this is the product. Listen to me Squire, this is the only thing I've managed to learn from this. Rigor means knowing when to apply power and having the courage to know when not to. You're a good hearted man and I know that I'm somewhat like you, but I'm not you and you're not me.

Be better than what I was, but for God's sake, don't look to any of us for moral advice or as role-models. We're just murderous phantoms living on borrowed time.

Taking a look over you shoulder, you didn't recall seeing any duplicates on your way over. That wasn't to say that there weren't more than a few times you thought they looked a like, but there were always subtle differences between them. While it seemed like there were only so many ways once could colour even a technicoloured horse, you started to wonder how difficult it was to pick apart you from the others. For humans, the distinction was far more subtle in comparison to the peacock level of colouring on the ponies. If they weren't the apex predator then they'd be extinct.

Vinyl made her best effort to nod underneath the bouncer who seemed to be freaking out more than the two of them were. Sweetie Belle was taking things as calmly as once could when bring throw to the ground by a stronger man and then wedged next to a stranger.

“Ye-yeah, we're good! Go and check on the others inside!” The fluero-blue maned DJ urged with a wave of her hoof.
There was a reptilian squeak as the tiny alligator released it's jaws from Vinyl's frayed tail, in that brief flash it was obvious that it lacked any teeth. With a puff of smoke it flopped back down to the ground and began to make it's serpentine crawl towards the mines for reasons that only made sense to the toothless cold-blooded midget.

Your mind immediately locked into command mode, legs pumping over to the door of the caravan. The only things you could hear at the moment was the sounds of hoof-falls, yelling and muffled dub-step still filtering from the interior. With your feet pounding up the few rungs, you practically threw your head inside and looked about.
Honestly it was about what you expected, it looked like a night club. Okay that was a lie, most nightclubs had a level of cleanliness about them, this one looked like the theoretical opening of a third Hangover movie, only with horses.

Over in the back was a ruffled assortment of sheets where four equine forms writhed about in confusion. Two of them you didn't recognise, although the largest lump in the sheets sounded male, and buff. The other was female with a curled purple mane, currently groaning in agony while nursing her head with one hoof. The other patted the top of the bed and began pulling the rest of the sheets onto her prone white form.

With a final tug of the sheets you finally identified the remaining two as Apple Fritter and Cherry Jubilee, neither of which looked to be in the best condition. Cherry looked like she'd been in a bar fight with a lawnmower and Fritter seemed to have had a makeover performed by blind clown wielding a skin-coloured paint-sprayer. The green maned mare looked back to you with a slack-jawed expression on her face.
“Bwah... Asmo... you're not Colin.” She mumbled, sounding extremely disappointed in the fact.

Well, she's dazed but she isn't dead. Time to get moving.

She blinks at your statement, shrugs and re-wraps the sword. The merchant was clearly expecting more of a fight than that, but was more than willing to swipe away the bag of bits the second they landed on the counter.
Within seconds the payment is made and you are now the proud owner of a killing weapon. It doesn't take you long to attach the scabbard to your belt and walk out with it lightly slapping at your side.

Sweetie Belle looked up at you from under the bouncer with panic. With prolonged grunt she wriggled her way free from the quivering mass, sparing a glance towards the pluming smoke. She ignored the protests of the DJ and the guardian for her to get down but she only ignored them, the expression on her face was one of shell-shocked horror.
“No... never again.”

The white unicorn kicked off into a gallop and quickly making her way up beside you even as you rushed at your top speed. She looked up at you, a petulant facade of determination on her face.
“I don't care if you yell at me! I'm not leaving them down there!”

---[ Setting: Appleloosa hospital, Talos' ward, Morning ]---

{ PC: Mandalayain; NPC: Talos, SB'ers, Grunwald }

Talos immediately flipped you off at the bandage comment, leaving Grunwald quite bemused at the meaning of the body language.
“Yeah, thanks, 'doc'. Been a real pleasure here sitting on my ass, waiting for my bones to knit. Well, at least I've had good company. Good to see you're still around though, been wondering if you'd left town or not with all that talk last week. As you can see, we've yet to have the inquisition rain down on us, so I think we're safe for the moment. Hope you don't mind, but I've been telling Grunwald about Earth. He thinks we're crazy.”

“I do not believe that, I simply believe-.”

The injured human sat up, brushing the cards off his lap and fixing the magister with a glare.
“That we're just a mental construct? Falsified memories? Uh-huh, us being fake is so much better. At least the actual Doctor's lies sound nice!” He said with a surprising amount of venom.

Talos paused at the silence in the room, falling back down to the bed with a sigh.
“Sorry Grunwald. I'm just... home-sick I guess.”

“We know the feeling.” Colin said, tapping on the tiles with the bottom of his staff.

The grey stallion returned the nod with a warm smile.
“My pleasure. Talos is a... difficult, but worthy student. We've taught each other much over the week and I hope to one day see if he he has any magical aptitude to him. I believe that would explain his remarkable regrowth.”

“It could because I'm just that awesome,” Talos paused as the room, in unison, gave him a sceptical look. “Just say'n what you're all thinking.”

Grunwald spared one glance out the window before pushing off his stool.

“Drakkius, Alex, Colin, remain here with Talos.” The former arch-magister ordered as the sound of galloping hooves on tiles chased up behind you.

“Mandalayain, wait!” He yelled out as he weaved his way in front of your path, lowering his head such that his horn stared to look like the edge of a spear. A small prick of light developed on the end of it as he edged towards you.

“Close your eyes; now.”

Ready or not, a familiar tug behind the navel followed...

---[ Setting: Zap-Stone Mine #12, Entrance, Morning ]---

{ PC: InsaneCat, Mandalayain; NPC: Sweetie Belle, Grunwald }

After nearly ten minutes of a dead sprint, Cat and Sweetie Belle had made their way to the front of the mine.

It wasn't pretty sight.
The sounds of chaos met your ears almost immediately, a small storm of dust kicked up by the panicked herd animals running in all directions, the heady scent of dust and fear was thick in the air. The black cloud had looked so distant back a few minutes ago now was a mighty pillar of swirling darkness that blanketed the entrance to the mines. In the crowd was some kind of podium, swiftly abandoned, it wasn't hard to imagine that just this morning there had been high-town officials standing on it. The only only thing standing on it now were deputies calling for calm by the twisting crowds in megaphones.

You could see in the melee a group of unicorns who had apparently managed to keep their head and where now standing over by the entrance to the collapsed mines. They were making some kind of effort dissipating the smoke but without more help it would be a exercise in futility. Waiting in the wings were what you could only assume to be some kind of rescue team assembled over by a dozen dust-blown tents. The tents at least looked like they'd been there for a while, perhaps meant to house testers for this new 'grand opening'. Well, they'd go what they had wanted.

Suddenly Sweetie Belle straightened, her eyes widening as a faint white rune lit up on the back of her raiment.

With a light popping noise and a blinding flash of light, Mandalayain and Grunwald were quickly deposited onto a dry desert plane.

With a elderly groan, the grey-bearded unicorn rose to his hooves.
“Sweetie Belle! What happened here!?”

“I-I don't know! Shiny an-and Skylight said that they-.”

“That doesn't matter right now! Are they in the mines?!”

“Y-yes.” She nodded, looking up to Cat with a pleading expression on her face.

“Then that's were we need to be.” He ended by glaring down at the pillar of smoke.

---[ Setting: West Appleloosa, Holiday's ranch, Late morning ]---

{ PC: Asmodemus; NPC: Doc Holiday }

You doubled over, heaving, looking down at the address on the scrap of paper wedged between your fingers. You've never ran that fast in your entire life and you honestly wished you'd never had to do so again. Holiday's ranch was on the outskirts of town, it was literally straddling the border or at least that's what you had been told. You believed them too, the journey here had taken better part of an hour and full sprint.

The Doctor's homestead was a simple affair, not much bigger than Braeburn's and it had the typical style and construction that you'd come to expect in Appleloosa. You expected either one of two things; either he would be home, and there would ponies in power armour all over the place, or he wouldn't be home, and there would be no signs of life. The only thing you saw was a the shadow of a pony's head inside, hunched over some kind of table.
While you didn't know what he looked like, you certainly knew that he lived alone. Either that was him or it was a very lazy (and suicidal) thief. Although, if it was him, what the hell was he doing here?

You took a moment to catch your breath before you make your way up the steps, choking back heaving cough. You hand reached forward to knock on the door only to find it gently swing open at your touch, the door creaking open almost comically. Before you was only what you could expect to be some kind of kitchen/ logue room, modified to expand to almost half of the house. Inside, the decorations were simple enough if slightly eccentric with the occasional metallic, though tasteful, contraptions on the walls, benches and fireplaces.

Your blood froze as you heard a metallic snap to your left.

There, seated on a well padded arm chair was what you could only assume to be Doctor Merry Holiday. Arranged on the coffee table before him were a series of descending cards. It took you a few moments but you recognised it as a game of solitaire. On his hoof a small, mechanical tri-finger claw which had snapped up the ace of spades.

He was a severe earth pony, this much was clear. He was covered in dusty tangerine coat of hair with a stock of graying hair that had only the slightest hints that it was once violet-coloured. A stern wrinkled face with a pair of azure eyes only highlighted his penetrating glare. Various contraptions, some hooks, some rods were wrapped around his hooves in leather braces, perhaps in an attempt to grant him better fine-art dexterity.
Given his usual work as a dentist and the town mechanic, it was no surprise that his cutie mark was a crossed drill and a hammer.

“Hello Mr. Asmodemus. I was wondering when I would have the pleasure of your company.” He said in a smooth and cultured southern voice. Despite his words, there were no warmth or empathy in his voice, only cold calculation. With a soft click, his claw set the card over to the side of the pile. His head turned to the deck and withdrew another card with a measured motion and turned it over once more.

“Please, my game can wait, take a seat.” He looked back up at you with his sharp eyes, gesturing to the arm chair opposite him.

"If she can warn me about a cave in and get me out, i';; buy her a drink. Don't really give a rats arse about her past and as for what she is...... my money is on a Pony"

"So......yeah, just repeating rumour i've heard."

"This place.....is messed up....".

"Righto you three.......keep me posted and be careful..... I got a feelin in me guts that somethin ain't right here...."

He moves and opens the belly pannel and pulls out a 8ft long slender spear which he hefts for a moment before unscrewing the head and putting it back in his pouch, leaving him with a 7ft long staff. "I think i'm gonna need a pokin stick"

"You'd think...." Bruce pauses and crouches, flipping up the face plate to better look at the ground "there would be some kind of tracks..... it's dirt over rock down here..." Sighing, he straightens up and flips the face plate closed and locks it down "damn ponies"

"awww flock".....

"Ow.....that blew goats.." Struggling, he uncurls himself from where he curled up into the safety ball "Fucking tunnel collapse"

Struggling to his feet, he doesnt care about the damn ponies up ahead. He needs to check shite out first. Pulling out his whistle, he unbuckles the face plate and pulls it off entirely to look at it, noting the large score where a rock that would have crushed his face left a mark. "You do good work Doc" Then he blew two short blasts on his whistle......paused for a few seconds....and blew two more "Right, back to work" Buckling the face plate back on, he picks up his stick and pokes his head around the corner to see where the Pony's were and what condition they were in. If they were out of sight, he was going to go back to Rock Hoof..... if they were present, it's time for some diplomacy....namely, beating their heads until they choose to go back.

I breathed in and out slowly in thought, considering that, what he said, what that meant, considering deeply. 'Thank you for telling me, for being honest about what that means. I'll remember what you've said.

...I can't even begin to comprehend the magnitude of what you've done, to really know what you must be feeling about what happened or what really happened. But, even so, I hope that you all manage some form of redemption and peace after all of this, instead of being just destroyed in pain like you say. Though that's probably just trying to delude myself from trying to face the harsh truth.


Fuck, this situation is just fucked up.' Having to cast a man's soul into a destructive void to die in misery and pain.. an alternate version of myself even.. to get the power needed to save the world and everyone in it? Fucking hell. I zoned out sort of, trying to take it in, what was needed to be done.

Thinking of the many Lyras and Bon-bons in crowds I decided it was probably the animators saving time really.

'Gummy is heading towards the mines.. Pinkie Pie there or something?' I wondered at the familiar alligator heading towards the disaster. That would be the last thing we needed, having one of the mane cast here before we were ready, or worse, one in danger. But Cat was heading that way.. things should work out.

I vaguely wondered about the details of this party before shrugging it off. It was again cute how focused she was on Colin, too bad he hadn't come with. "Braeburn was worried since you didn't come back, so just checking on you, have a nice nap and all." I dropped the sheets again and turned and left.

Dear lord why was this so far away!? Okay, I probably shouldn't have come here after all. If I had taken a second to think about the distance involved I probably would have gone to the mines instead today. Eh, fuck it, good practice for running I guessed..

Okay.. that was slightly creepy.

Well.. that was interesting. I knew he had made that Knight of Mundus armor that could walk as a human but hadn't thought of the doctor's appearance, especially the mechanical claw that he was wearing. That was fascinating, a pony trying to gain opposable fingers?

The doctor's eyes were slightly unnerving along with the rest of the situation and I began to wonder if I hadn't made a mistake. But still, I smiled politely and took the offered seat, taking a few moments to breathe before speaking. "Thank you.. Doctor Holiday I presume? I heard from a certain kangaroo a few times you'd like one or more of us to stop by. I tried before but apparently you were busy that day, got a nice card from your receptionist too." I was slightly unnerved here but trying to be polite and friendly.

I quirk an eyebrow at the gesture, and the conversation. "No. We have not been run out of town yet, though we are being watched. We shall see what happens after they are done with that." I reply easily, before I shake my head. "Talos, please stop trying to break the locals. They are not exactly ready for a fair bit of our knowledge." I pause, tilting my head. "Though, to be fair, we are not exactly ready for some of their knowledge either." I shrug. "Do not let it get to you Talos. We are, who are are. Your memories are true, that I know." I reply calmly, a faint flicker of a smile as I say it. "You should be more worried about being lazy. Let me guess. Has he been trying to charm all the nurses?" I ask Grunwald, smirking faintly, tone good matured.

"Well, you are aswesome at something at any rate." I reply dryly to Talos, before I look to Grunwald. "Again, my thanks. I am more...comfortable, knowing that he has someone around while I am, unfortunately, busy."

I pause, and turn to look at him, eyes sharp, before I notice the forming light. My eyes snap shut as I hear him world, and one hand snakes out, laying upon his neck, as before. "I may not need to hold onto him. But if I am going to let him throw me through time and space, it certainly makes me feel better." I muse, before I feel the tug.

I remove my hand from Grunwald, and apologize as I examine the area, wincing in pain slightly. "My apologies for that Grunwald."

"Of course. Only a few beings can keep their calm." I note, sighing tiredly, tone disappointed, before I tilt my head slightly, listening. "The four of them are in the mines. They were planning something. Unless you have a spell to keep smoke away, we will need cloth and water, else the smoke will cause lung damage." I pause, as if reviewing what I just said. "...And apparently I have already decided to go." I mutter before I start to move towards the mine quickly, weaving around the panicking creatures.

"Hmm. Let us see how this changes things..." I think, plans flickering across my mind as I scan the area, a mask of concern upon my features. "Sir Knight. Would you be so kind as to help me determine where they are in the mines? Or at least how deep?"

I shake my head. Wait, Them? Brothers and others... Damn it, what did you do you idiots?

Standard crowd control... But I really don't like this smoke. Anything deeper in mines will be forced to take it in... and that's not a nice way to go.

Well, that's another way of teleportation.

"Why does this day is all bad news followed by bad events?" I mutter under my breath. "We have to get them out of there before something worse happens." I say while looking at Manda.

"Not to me. I should go in first."

I start moving quickly after Manda.

OOC: I'm EXTREMELY sorry about my lateness on this response. Four days is an unacceptable time frame and I'll be certain to be more prompt.

Next update for the top-side lads with be up tomorrow.

---[ Setting: Sky Dancer, Life Pod Halls, Underground ]---

{ PC: Unhappy Anchovy, Roots Lord, DragonDude, NPC: Gwen, Pinkie Pie }

The pony rolled it's eyes, gesturing a hoof to the jagged metal opening behind it.
“Well, if you're trying to tell me to not blow a hole in here then you're a bit late! That's how I got in from the Big Area. Had to make a tunnel out of explosions with those blue crystal things.”

“And, well yeah, I've seen you, but I wasn't sure if you were real or not. Now I'm 99...” she looks you up and down, hoof padding you on the chest. “Point 2 percent sure that you aren't a figment of my imagination. Juuuust in case you aren't an illusion... My name is Pinkie Pie! I wish I could say that it was nice to meet you, Carles but I'm currently trying to avoid dying a slow and painful death. So that would be a lie, and lying is bad.” She said with a stead-fast certainty whilst mangling your name.

Her hoof reached up and tapped the metal ringlet around your neck.
“Well, you're wearing one! This is kinda like stealing the crown off Celestia's head and not understanding what it stands for. Anyway, Twilight explained it like this. There are six mystical, magical, elements of harmony. Me, her and four others of my BFFs are all the 'chosen ones' or something and we use those thingies to get at the chocolatey magical harmony goodness. If you see one with big blue crystal on it shaped like a balloon- that's mine!”

She narrowed her eyes, twisting you around and looking at the back of your neck.

“That one is Twilight's, she gets the crown for some reason. Unicorns, watcha-gonna-do; am-I-right?” The technicoloured creature elbowed you and waggled her brow, clearly expecting you to understand.

The signs themselves are readable, but are largely to do with mechanical information and warnings. Most of it is piecemeal, warnings to keep things at certain ratios, reminder to wear safety gloves, demands of having the head engineer present at all take off and lander, prohibition of the presence of civilians in this area. You could imagine the head safety officer clawing at the roof of his grave at the sight of what had happened to this engine room.

Your eyes glance over the pages as they slowly disintegrate. Your fingers flicking through at an ever increasing pace and you soon find yourself knowing the words even before they were translated. The information provided became... intuitive, understandable, as though you'd picked up a bike and started walking it down the road and remembered that you could ride. You felt a prickling in the back of your mind, a mental image of the contraption you were riding in formed.

The Sky Dancer was some kind of multi-part carriage that flew through the sky like a snake, a troop transport. Roughly seven compartments, one engine, one cockpit and five carrier areas. The book implied that these crafts were top-secret, they were held in a specialised facility as a trump card. Just one of them dropping it's payload could turn the tide of battle, if all of them were used in tandem...

You heard a click from around your neck as the cool metal necklace slid away. A second later, the golden tiara, once firmly secured, clattered against the ground and rolled lazily to a stop a few feet away.

At first, you hands manage to grab something tangible. There certainly was something lurking in the depths of your mind but it didn't so much struggle against your touch as much as it disintegrated. An image in your head formed of a face that was familiar to you, but what ever similarity it might have had quickly faded as it's form vanished like smoke. Within seconds, the presence was gone.

You strike the lighter a few times, damn thing needed to be refuelled, before an orange glow casts it's light around you from the gas flame.

While the light didn't go far, it was clear that the ship's hull was completely breached and just beyond it was some kind of hanger bay... one that was mostly buried in rocks and sand. You leaned out of the side of the hole and looked down below, a incline of rubble forming a staircase led up to you. You could only guess that this seemed to be an obvious point of entry to get in, or else Pinkie was just letting off steam and had gotten in by accident.

From here your lighter wasn't able to reveal much more although you could see a few blue lines that, from this angle, seemed to lead off into a main hallway.

Seeing as you had both food and water now, that was an immediate problem solved, you could freely explore for a while. Your lighter hadn't managed to reveal everything in the hanger (or at least was you assumed to be) or you could check where the blue lines led off to.

There was a shudder when you arrived, but the ship hadn't been making any other motions since. The initial motion could have been the engine starting, could have been Pinkie blasting her way in, or any number of other of theories which had an equally plausible answer. Gwen might have a few answers for you, seeing as she was rapidly attaining a basic grasp of English although the sophistication of those answers may leave something to be desired because of that.

Lying prone on the floor, Pinkie's ear twitched as Orator popped open the first box. Her head pops up, her nostrils twitching at the incredibly faint scent of the well-packaged meal. A hopeful, puppy-like, look on her face immediately ensued.

Gwen only glowered in response, throwing you a 'You can't be serious' sort of look.

---[ Setting: Zap-Stone Mine #12, Interior, Late Morning ]---

{ PC: Bruce; NPC: Red Brothers, Skylight, Shining Horizon }

Definitely ponies, recent, but that didn't tell you much. The entire mine was either practically spotless or walked through by safety officers. You were going to have to do this the long way or there was a solid chance you'd miss them. If only your armour didn't hiss and chink so damn much, you'd be able to hear more than outside of your immediate surroundings. The need to snap up your face plate every time also left something to desired, definitely things that needed to be taken up with the doc before this thing was ready for mass production.

Just then you heard a distant whisper down the tunnel, feminine. Your paw snapped back down the plate and followed further down, time to get these idiots out of here before they got themselves killed.

You poked your head around, taking a peek down the tunnel. Strangely enough there didn't seem to be much in the way of collapse or instability, perhaps a few rocks shaken loose or mining equipment knocked off and the blanket of dust was certainly new. There was something strange about the way the dust was settling that seemed off to you, but you brushed it off. Get the ponies and get out before the place fell on top of you.

You turned and charged off down the tunnel at top speed, suit hydraulics howling in your ear.

There wasn't much left to go now, you could see the glow of magical light just a dozen metres away. Four equine forms, two larger and two smaller shifted into your sight. Two red, one black and one white. From the looks of things they were staggering themselves and generally trying to get their own bearings on the situation until they turned and saw the two hundred kilogram of kangaroo hurdling towards them at top speed.

You skidded to a halt barely a few metres away from them, steel feet grinding down in the dust and shrieking against the rock. The two red ones, stallions at a glance and both wearing face-concealing steel helmets, moved to meet you fearlessly. How cute. Behind them were two unicorn mares, two very familiar mares. Skylight and Shining Horizon, both of which seemed to be one fright away from wetting themselves at your rapid approach. Damn academics, always poking their noses where they don't belong.

“Identify yourself!” The two well-build crimson stallions bellowed. On their flanks were a pair of apple-tree. Oh wonderful, Apple-Family ponies. Now you have curiosity AND bull-headiness.

The groans and whines from your suit slowly quietened itself from the over-charge, your sharp ears thanking you as you did so. A moment later there was another whistle call, and another, and another. Excepting when pausing for breath, the whistle kept blowing in a shrill manner in complete disregard for what you set up with Rock Hoof. Apparently it was even loud enough for the ponies to have heard it, seeing as the two mares began to cast looks over your shoulders.

---[ Setting: Appleloosa hospital, Talos' ward, Morning ]---

{ PC: Mandalayain; NPC: Talos, SB'ers, Grunwald }

“Right, right.” Talos sighed, collapsing back into the bed. Nevertheless, from the expression on his face he seemed a bit mollified to hear you say it.

Grunwald ears folded back, raising a brow over to Talos.
“Do... your kind find ours attractive?”

Talos looked down at the grey pony with an expression one could only have when experiencing a talking horse ask him if he liked to sex up other talking horses, stark, white-faced horror. He immediately turned to you, his face quickly filling with red from embarrassment and indignation.
“I cannot believe I have to answer this question and I *can* believe that you're the one who made me start! NO I am not a furry, I am NOT into horses, I need to get off this planet before I start thinking like it's okay to *settle* for one!!”

Your compartriots stepped back at this, all of them raising their hands and clearly wanting nothing to do with this conversation. All except Colin, would could only face palm in reciprocation.
“Preaching to Choir there, lad. Apple Fritter has been starting to a little too friendly for comfort but I'm not sure if that's just their way or if she'd hitting on me.”

Drakkius blanched, nodded in agreement.
“Say something, seriously. Nobody wants to see that.”

From the increasingly intrigued look on Grunwald's face, there was a possibility that he might.

---[ Setting: Zap-Stone Mine #12, Entrance, Morning ]---

{ PC: InsaneCat, Mandalayain; NPC: Sweetie Belle, Grunwald }

“Quite alright, let us find my the rest of my wards before they hurt themselves.” The magister turned his gaze to the mines, his bushy eyebrows furrowing.

“Four? Curses, I knew those two were ex-guard. Typical of them to follow royalty like a puppy.” He clucked his tongue and studied the grown before him.

“Um, Grunny? How about we maintain a few breath and protection spells on them? That way we'll stay out of harms way and they'll be fresh.” Sweetie Belle said, her hoof twitching forward towards her mentor.

He looked up at her, eyes hard. At first you thought he was going to start yelling at her before the wizened grey unicorn suddenly nodded.
“A good suggestion, but we'll need to remain close to them. I have another idea, now come, we need to speak to the first response-ponies.” With that, he charged after you, his apprentice close behind.

You quickly make your way through, the civilians more than happy to let you through and the deputies clearly thought someone who looked that determined to get front row-seats to a mine collapse wasn't worth bothering with when they had a potential stampede on their hands.

The scant dozen of beings at the front of the billowing smoke had only one thing in common, they were all ordinary people. Earth ponies distributing protective cloth and tending the wounded, a pair of pegasai working in tandem to clear smoke, a single unicorn with it's horn firmly planted in the ground and a look of concentration on his face. Beside them were a bear and a Minotaur sweeping aside huge chunks of rock and sediment, listening to strict instructions that the unicorn gave.
Finally, between your legs a tiny blue pegasai foal with a bucket of water between it's jaws waddled over to the side lines and dumped it with a number of other similar pitches, bottles and cans.

Grunwald trotted forward and addressed the cyan earth pony who was already part way through tying a damp cloth around his mouth.
“What has your spotter found?”

The cyan stallion shook his head in response.
“Nothing good. There were only three ponies in the entrance, probably killed instantly. The entrance wouldn't have gone down like that unless someone made it, we think it might have been sabotage. Collapse didn't go far though so we're trying to open up the shaft to get out any survivors.”

You felt a tap on your shoulder as an silver earth pony filly gestured you down to her height and quickly tied another kerchief around you with her hooves.

Grunwald narrowed his eyes, a thousand options at once going through his mind. He looked back over to Mandalayain.
“I have an idea. This digging might take hours, but I'm not willing to let my apprentices go that long with a check. I am an only stallion and my endurance has long since abandoned me. I believe that I would best be used to teleport a handful of ponies in my stead to just after the end of the collapse. Therefore Mandalayain, Cat, I wish to petition you for your aid. This will be extremely dangerous, I realise that, but I would give anything to ensure Skylight and Shining Horizon's safety, whatever you wish that to be.”

The white-pink filly looked over to her mentor, a lightning bolt of understand struck her as she stiffened and looked over to you with him.
“M-me too! Kinda don't want to go in there alone if I could avoid it, I work better in trios anyway.”

The knight resurfaced in the back of your mind.
Deep, I would say more than half way down. They are still alive, fortunately. The old horse's idea seems sound, but... you have another option. I could share with the creature their location, he'll be able to take you both there directly. Most importantly it will be outside of an unstable area, unlike his suggestion. However, if I do so then there is a high possibility that he might notice my nature. This could be good or bad, do as you will.

---[ Setting: West Appleloosa, Holiday's ranch, Late morning ]---

{ PC: Asmodemus; NPC: Doc Holiday }

The knight giving a huffing, hollow laugh.
I'm... thanks Squire. If you'd seen what I've seen, known who've I've known, maybe you wouldn't say the same. But if you think I have have a hope, maybe I do. I don't know. Just don't let this eat you up, I don't want my last act on this world to be causing more pain.
Just promise me, promise me that you won't let this consume you like I did. Harden your heart when it needs to be hard but don't turn it to stone.

“Oh... okay.” The yellow-green mare nodded dumbly and flopped back onto the sheets, snoring away within seconds.

Just as you left, you saw Vinyl and her bouncer rush past you and back up the stairs. The door slammed behind them, a pair of muffled voices shouting about something as you made you way off.

Just before you got out of visual distance, you took one more look back at them. You'd managed to catch the caravan door get kicked open once more. The DJ, her pegasai guardian and the three occupants, the big red stallion, the white-purple one and Apple Fritter all piled out onto the dirt and rushed their way towards mines.

You turned and began to make your way to the Doc Holiday's ranch, help hands were good but power armour was better.

“Marvelous aren't they?” The old doctor asked, seemingly to himself. He stared down at the cards, claw shifting them about with an agility that approached human-levels. “Fingers, I mean. A sort of versatility that ponies deny, that we lack in. A shame they simply don't understand that our kind did not become what we are by sticking to the old ways. We changed, as all smart predators do.”

As you approached, you noticed something above the fireplace just behind him. Over his shoulder you immediately spotted a faded sepia tone picture of a much younger Holiday and two other ponies, one a knee-high male foal and another a young mare. They were all smiling; a happy family. You weren't sure what had happened to them in the mean time, but the stallion on that picture simply wasn't the clawed individual that sat before you.

You felt something catch in your throat as you walked close to him him, a fleeting feeling like a draft of wind or a hand brushing across your neck. With a tip of your feet you fall backwards into the doughy couch, your weight causing you to sink into a certain position with a cushioned hiss.

He looked back up to you, the sides of his lips twitching up. It wasn't a smile. People don't smile like that we greeting someone.
“Yes, I am Doctor Holiday. 'Doc' if you prefer. The kangaroo you met would of course, be Bruce. A brilliant worker and a rather brilliant mind. A terrible shame he had neither the upbringing or the patience for education, I believe he may have made an excellent engineer. As for my receptionist, she evidently didn't read the memo on my open-door policy towards Humans. Unless that is, she even knows what a Human is.”

With a flick of his wrist, his claw twisted back inline with his forehoof and he turned his eyes back down the table. His hoofs expertly shuffled the cards upon the table in a method that seemed both bizarre and strikingly practical.

“Tell me, Mr. Asmodemous. Have you ever heard of a game called solitaire? It is a favourite game of mine, one of the few I spend time on, and one I've long enjoyed it since I was a foal. I have an earnest belief that all good games have a lesson to teach each of their players and I believe that solitaire teaches one of the most important lessons of their lives-” suddenly, the shuffling ended as he slammed the deck back down to the coffee table, his azure eyes switched back to you.
“Defeat.”

A few metallic clicks crackled down his hoof, the tri-claw reassembling as he slowly and meticulously set out the cards in descending order.

“The end game is a goal to be reached, but that is not the purpose. You see, the game takes some time to prepare, each time one wishes to start anew they must reshuffle and rearrange the game as so. Each and every time. One can play a thousand times, one can know every strategy, every tactic, but one cannot escape a certain fact; one in every ten games... are unwinnable from the start. No matter how well you play, how good you perform, the cards you are dealt may well defeat you through no fault of your own. But you will never know this until the bitter end, where you look back over all your efforts and found them for naught. It is there that you will question if it was your own failing, or if victory was only an illusion from the start.”

He flattened out the finished set up, fresh for a new player. The inventor's claw returned to the upright position as he looked back to you.
“A paradox of life, Mr. Asmodemous. Playing the game will get you either success or failure, but only if you start the game first.”

Then, you caught it. The scent was hidden well, for a second you dismissed it but you knew what it was. He smelt like it, stank of it, actually, just like what Cat said.
Rocks and Ozone.
Your blood chilled, your eyes widened, your hand unconsciously reaching for your shield as the doctor's glare only intensified.

Distortion: Hatred

“So now Mr. Asmodemous, something only you can tell me. How will you start the game? Will we go our separate ways, till we meet again. Will we talk this out, as rational ponies... or will you wish a more personal end to this?” His eyes bored holes into your own, but yet he didn't move. He didn't shift, he didn't so much as twitch. Holiday only sat and watched, seemingly allowing you the first move...

Sliding to a halt in a manner some of the humans might recognize from seeing skiing, Bruce heft his poking stick and frowns before flipping open his face plate
"Ya know, you apples are none to bright it ya don't recognize tha Roo that was on yer doorstep last week. The armour is a Genuine Doc Holliday suit and there has been a collapse in this here mine shaft. So, you four, who are trespassing or not meant ta be down here until tha place is declared safe by the authorities, which include me. Second, what the Flocking Hay! We are in an unstable mine and you want ta yell? Shut the flock up before I put a spear through your head and call it self preservation. Now, either you lot start hurrying back the way you came, or I'm going to start drawing blood."

With a glare of anger, he pulls out the spear head and screws it on. Then he pauses as the hydraulic whining finally settles and he hears the whistling "Shit.....thats the problem whistle....well kiddies, you done flocked up enough for one day......time ta get yer asses back ta the surface before ya wake up dead. If ya wanted tha Fillies dead, there are cleaner ways of doing it than takin them inta an unstable mine"

Not even bothering to flip his faceplate closed, with a whine, hiss and clank, he shoots off back up the tunnel towards Rock Hoof.

'.. I promise.' I didn't know if it was a promise I could really keep, but I would try my damnedest to remain myself and not let.. this.. scar me forever. I wouldn't know how it would affect me until it did however.

I frown at the familiar colors.. could it be? Gummy was here.. nah. Sides, even if it was Rarity and Big Mac letting them hang with Apple Fritter and meeting them under less hectic conditions would be better, that or letting them see Cat helping as a second impression.

"They do give rather an advantage." I offered while looking at those claws, wondering just how he managed to wield them so deftly, examining the mechanisms. I frowned for a second, 'predators'? Ponies may be the dominant species in the country if not the world, but they weren't predators.. I didn't think. I thought back to those eggs the brothers were eating and questioned what I really knew.

I took note of the family, did something happen to them or-? Speculation was useless at this point though, I shouldn't assume until I heard a bit more.

Baring your teeth.. I had tried doing that myself in the past and failed miserably due to how my jaw was. Also, that was very very creepy coming from a pony, especially after that mention of predators earlier.

I thought back to the too-friendly overly talkative kangaroo and wondered how he and the Doctor here came to know one another, the contrast all too obvious.

Having been watching him shuffle I blinked and nodded at that, looking to the cards once more, thinking of the traditional(bicycle) playing cards and wondering how they would compare.

My eyes met his and I processed what he just said, getting even more on edge after all that had happened and the sheer creepiness of this pony.

'Is that a threat or a reference to that family?' I wondered, thinking it might be a combination of the two.

'Oh crap oh crap oh crap oh crap I just literally ran into a distortion's den and it's an hour away from town and isn't this to the east and fuck I am such an idiot and it would have been useful to know this earlier, I should have gotten backup fuck fuck fuck' ran through my head as I forced myself to meet his gaze and prepare to dodge and fight if needed. 'Whose distortion is this? Mine? What can you tell me about the distortion part?'

I breathed in and out and looked back at him, processing what just happened, what was revealed and understanding came as I thought over the big picture. Slowly my hand returned to the couch cushion.

"We.. can talk, yes. Given your speech there I can assume a few things but, I would like to ask a few more questions if you don't mind Doctor.. how much do you know about your.. situation? The thing using you as a host? And, do you knowingly work together with the others?" I was starting to see a pattern, a plan of sorts behind what was going on in the world and suspicions, I didn't have all the details yet though. "Was there a particular reason you extended an invitation to meet? Besides sizing us up."

I frown for a moment, before nodding.

I just shake my head and smirk. "Better. Better for you to be angry at me, than to be depressed, Talos. Though, I expect I will pay for that question after you heal." I reply, amused.

I glance over to Grunwald, still smirking slightly. "To be accurate, no. Most of our kind would have no interest in your species that way. So remove your mind from the gutter." I state, mirthful. "I think most of my species would find yours...cute, as you would view a kitten, or a child however. Some of the features, including the size of your eyes, are reminiscent of our young, causing that effect."

"And Colin? Really? Say something, or at least make it clear you are at the friend stage, and nothing more. It was amusing to watch, but if it goes much farther, you could hurt her."

I glance over my shoulder. "Royalty? As I understand, one of your students is also the apprentice of a important figure. Is it that you refer to, or something more?

"Why in the frozen shades are they allowing a child here?" I mentally frown.

"If it was sabotage...It depends on the exact goal, but I would have dual stages. The first has collapsed, After they clear that out, I would have at least one more trap laid farther in, to either delay, or kill more." I muse, before I speak up. "If you think it to be sabotage, be careful when you clear the entrance. They may have set another trap farther in."

I close my eyes for a moment, thinking. "Very well. I will go. But I..." I pause, thinking, gaze sweeping across the ground, fixing on a point underground.

"Lovely. So, the safest option requires me to reveal at least part of my hand. On the other hand, I could use that to place him into my debt." I mule the idea over for several second before sighing. "So be it."

"Grunwald. A word." I state, tone serious, motioning for him to step off to the side with me so we can speak privately. Assuming he goes along with it...

"Your students are quite important to you. And I have grown rather fond of at least three of those down there as well. As such, I am willing to...assist you in this, even though I do not wish it known that I can do this." I lock gazes with him, expression uneasy. "I am...not used to my abilities, and quite frankly, I am not inclined to share any knowledge of them until I better understand them. But while they are still alive down there, they are in danger. So, I will make you a deal. Promise me that you will not share anything you may learn when I show you to anyone, or anything in anyway, and I will show you where they are, so the two of us can teleport directly to them. No reason to involve the the two young ones by taking them into the mine as well. Do you agree?" I finish softly, obviously hoping he takes me up on it.

"Come on... I know you want to save them. Take the deal Grunwald."

Going alone sound like a bad idea as going without knowing where we are. I glance at the hole a last time before putting off my light. Better to economize, I really should have recharged it but how could I know something like that would happen?

About the shudder, it could be a problem with the engine, the ship seem to not have been used in a long time.

"Gwen, do you know where the ship is and where does this lead?" I ask the hologram.

I shrug at her, smiling sheepishly.

"Hey, better having her on our side."

Plus Pinkie is rather dawww worthy right now. But I don't think Gwen would like that explanation.

"We will be getting teleported into the mine with no way out, facing possible suffocation and more mine collapses and other dangers? Fun times...*sigh*, Little over a week ago I would say 'NO' right away but now? Sure why not? Let's get more crazy then we are already."

"Could you tell me about the 'big area'? Is that where you arrived?"

I nod without truly understanding. "So, what is your element then?

I wince a bit at the mental image and silently say a short prayer for the long dead safety officer. With that done, I make sure to memorize the information on the signs.

Though it occurs to me that he might be in stasis instead and I should probally check later.

I'm impressed, but also more than a little creeped out. I've never had that sort of reading speed or intuitive understanding.

I pick up the necklace and put it in my pocket. If it's somekind of ancient artifact then I probally shouldn't leave it lying around. Then, remembering what translator guy said about a scar on his neck, I look around for a reflective surface so I can check myself out.



I hold on to the mental image and look around the engine room to see if everything is setup the way it should be and if there's anything I can do about it. Maybe there's a working console that can give me a status report.

I also check around to see if any of the safety gear is still good.

'The hologram doesn't want this ship failing any more than the rest of us'. I'm not sure I can trust it, but I still wave it over and prepare the questions I have about the ship.

I am very close to freaking out and a take a few deep breathes to calm myself down. I don't like the idea of something in my head, it makes me doubt howmany of my thoughts were mine or how accurate my perceptions are.


Since this might be the entity that transported me here, I try to see if the face reminds me of 'star trek' like the voice did or if I can find anyother connections between face, voice, and any other experiences.

OOC: Whelp, due to terrible time management, I'm going to have to wait till tomorrow to get a response up for the others.
Also, Unhappy Anchovy, is something up? It's been over a week since we've had a response.

---[ Setting: Sky Dancer, Life Pod Halls, Underground ]---

{ PC: Unhappy Anchovy, Roots Lord, DragonDude, NPC: Gwen, Pinkie Pie }

“What? How did you get down here if you didn't go through there? Anyway, big building sort of place. Lots of big smooth rocks and glowy blue rocks, like that one.” Her hoof pointed up towards the engine's crystal, still bearing the glassy scars of her attempted break-in.

“Me? I'm the element of Laughter! I got that by giggling at scary trees! Yeah I'm not really sure it's the best evidence of me being awesome, but hey! Recognition starts with the little things, right?” She said her typical over-excited, rapid-fire speel. If this was her when she was suffering from malnutrition, what was she like on a sugar high? Bullet time?

You have another dive through the drawers, eventually producing a rather filthy looking hand-mirror. From the amount of caked grime on it, you're not completely sure if it was in such a condition before or after this place was abandoned.

Placing down on the counter, you quickly produce your pocket knife and start scraping off the larger sections. Within half a minute you could see your face in it, it would have to do for now. You lift it up to just reflect to the small of your neck while your free hand gingerly traced it. Between the terrible lighting conditions and even worse condition of the mirror, it took some time and paitence but eventually you saw it.
A small thing, a scar certainly, about the size golf-ball in width and length but completely flat against your skin.

It was a small cog, or a gear.

None of the safety gear you've seen looks worth wearing, even the grease towels have been mummified into rigid sheets.

You make your way over to the console just underneath the Crystal, blue light illuminating the buttons, switches, latches and pullies before you. Like a technological marriage between a Flintstones computer and early 20th century engineering. After a few moments, you quickly found your way around the system. Your hand traced around the symbols and gauges, their purposes quickly following. 'This here was the current energy capacity', your finger travelled over to the left, 'this was the altitude indicator'.

Within minutes you'd worked out exactly what this thing was telling you. This was definitely the main console for the propulsion and lift-off system, but none of these readings painted a pretty picture. Everything pointed towards 'This ship have been buried in a pile of rocks for a period longer than the great walls of china have been standing, do not pass go, do not collect $200.'

Gwen approached at your beckon, looking over your shoulder as you puzzled away. She smiled and pointed towards a gauge which displayed a red-coloured icon with a white word embossed on it. 'Off-line', the word jumped into your head after a moment's lag.
“Ingeium is sleep.” She explained in the same tone you would use to explain quantum physics to a child.

No, this certainly wasn't the voice that summoned you. However, it did sound familiar. The accent was most certainly from where you grew up at least, probably even in your age group and gender.

She bit the crook of her finger at your question, giving you a thoughtful look.
“Sky dancer... goes outside to the surface, is subterranus now. Facility just outside there,” Gwen pointed out the jagged metal hole, her eye twitching and giving yet another incensed glare over to the laid out equine. “I am not sure of the facility's condition. Eons have passed, I think.”

The blue hologram let out a frustrated growl, throwing her gloved hands up into the air and walking away from the scene to the hull breach. Evidentially she wanted nothing to do now with feeding the creature that almost destroyed the ship.
She stopped just at the threshold, crouching down and swinging her ethereal legs over the side. The hologram was either unwilling or unable to leave the Skydancer proper.

Pinkie pie looked raised an eye brow at Gwen's retreating back, before turning back to you, then to the cache of food supplies. A quick swipe of her lips with her tongue and a high-pitched grunt, she unsteadily pushed herself to her feet and made her way over. Immediately, she whipped off one of the small boxes and sat back on her flank where she began to study how to open it.

“Okie-dokie, now, how do...?”
She leaned in close, nose sniffing about the sides. Eventually, she when in with her hooves... and failed miserabily. Each time she tried to work open the seal her hoof, malleable as it was, always slipped away. With each passing attempt a more spectacular failure resulted, at one point the box literally jumped out of her hooves and clattered into the middle of the room. You could physically taste the anguish on the pink pony's face as she noticed that it remained tightly sealed even then.

Clearly, she was stymied immediately by the lack of, well, hands to open the containers with. These rations were vacuum sealed and build to last, hooves just weren't going to cut it. From the looks of it, Gwen knew it too, who was now turned about and watching with barely concealed interest at the pastry chef's failures.

With one last growl of anguished frustration, Pinkie turned back to Basile.
“Hey, nice human. Could you be super-duper awesome and open one of these? I'm starving and I don't even know what I'm doing with this.”

---[ Setting: Appleloosa hospital, Talos' ward, Morning ]---

{ PC: Mandalayain; NPC: Talos, SB'ers, Grunwald }

Grunwald's face cracks into a full smile at this.

“Oh? Most? Frankly, I find your kind to be... ah... what was that Hosstralian phrase... 'Uglier than a bag full of arseholes?' However, I find the similarities of our features, despite the difference in species, to be utterly fascinating. Come now, close enough that one might take to fancy one of yourselves? You cannot stand there and say that there isn't scientific merit involved there.” From the look on his face you weren't entirely sure if he was serious or if he was just intentionally trolling the room of awkward humans. You were beginning to see were Sweetie Belle got it from, although she was far less proficient.

The former knight pursed his lips and slowly nodded.
“Fair enough. I'll bring her up on it later, try to be a bit less subtle. I know the type, tries to put up a big facades of confidence, but stupidly delicate underneath.”

---[ Setting: Zap-Stone Mine #12, Entrance, Morning ]---

{ PC: InsaneCat, Mandalayain; NPC: Sweetie Belle, Grunwald }

Grunwald spared an amused glance to Sweetie Belle, who only rolled her eyes as she ran.

“You have no idea Mandalayain. I tend to gravitate towards the strange and unusual. My wards are no exception,” he said with an ambiguous smile for but a moment before taking on a more serious expression. “However they do have own secrets and should they wish to share them, that is their prerogative. For the sake of simplicity though, they are most likely attending to Skylight. She has a rather direct connection to Princess Luna.”

The Cyan earth pony nodded, brows knitting.
“Roger that, last thing I want is for my son to get hurt. We left Ponyville to get away from this kind of crap. You and the old stallion can work out a plan, I'll tell Luscious Meadow, that unicorn there, to keep an eye out for anything suspicious.” With that he turned and called over the young pegasai. After a short conversation which was just out of ear shot, the blue colt was evidently displeased as the stallion clearly told him to leave the site. With a petulant huff the foal ran off towards the crowd, calling out to one of the deputies.

“That's the spirit, Kitty! Don't worry, I used to get into crazy stuff like this all the time even when I was just a filly. Come to think of it, I still do, really.” Sweetie Belle said with a grin and a nudge.

Grunwald's eyes snapped to your own, an air of deadly seriousness about him.
“Mandalayain, I am a blank flank. Currently the oldest living one in Equestria. I do not understand why or for what reason and I have devoted my entire adult life to studying cutie mark phenomena. I understand the value of discretion and if you want to keep your abilities secret then I will not pry into them. Just know this, I would give my life in a heartbeat if it kept my wards safe and would kill, just as quickly, any that threatened them. Now, show me.”

You felt the knight's touch in the back of your mind, requesting your permission for the bridge. After a moment's consternation, you agree.

What you experienced was... something else. In real life the process was invisible, but you could clearly see it in your mind's eye. The knight's very life essence was a swirling ball of orange light, a sharp chord of white light extended out from your chest to Grunwald's and slowly the ball progressed across it. A part of you knew, as you felt the spirit slowly crawl away from you, that you could touch the string... you could break it... destroy the bond. What would have happened to the spirit was unaccountable, but it was enough to know that out here it was vulnerable.

A second later, the ball reached Grunwald's torso after phasing past his grey beard. The former arch-magister's expression quickly turning wild as he looked about himself, ears twisting wildly as the tried to pin-point the location of a noise. All the while the white string connecting you danced wildly, at times going so taunt that you thought it was about to snap! Slowly, he calmed himself, looking at the ground at first before looking back up at you with an gaze tinged with awe. Finally, he nodded and positioned himself back towards you.

The orange sphere traveled its way back across, disappearing back into your chest where the knight soon made his presence known once more.
A interesting mind, that one. I sometimes wonder what would have happened to the Elements of Turmoil if Caelia did not lock us away. I believe that he would have been made an excellent Knight of Secrecy. I have let him know of their location, he should transport us there now.

Grunwald sighed, pushing past you and calling out to Cat and his apprentice.
“Gather around. I've pin-pointed their location with Mandalayain's help.”

Within seconds, you'd all gathered around, he looked up at you all with a sharp expression on his face. A pin-prick of light slowly developed on his horn.
“Sweetie Belle, I'll be performing this spell by myself. I want you to be fresh for the journey. I don't know what condition they are in or if they need help, so the more magic the better. Mandalayain, Cat, I want you all to know that your safety is paramount. Do not take unnecessary risks, do not proceed into areas that Sweetie Belle has not checked with her magic. Am I understood? Excellent. Sweetie Belle, listen to Mandalayain and give him due respect. He's an experienced pony and should be treated as such. Clear?”

“Yes Grunn- Magister Grunwald.” The filly straightened up, catching onto the formality of the send off.

“Good, now, close your eyes,” with that, Grunwald's horn leaned closer and closer...

---[ Setting: Zap-Stone Mine #12, Interior, Late Morning ]---

{ PC: Bruce; NPC: Red Brothers, Skylight, Shining Horizon }

The two snorted as their hooves stamping into the ground in sync, neither one willing to move.
“Your damn fool doctor is involved in all this.”
“But we're down here precisely to stop something worse.”
“Either we get to the bottom of this tunnel-.”
“-or the entire mountain goes up.”

The black and white unicorn, Skylight pressed her way pass them. The looks of momentary outrage and confusion was a delight to savour.
“Enough, guys. We're going to need all the help we can get. Look Bruce, they've just been tossed about by a quake and had soon after we had two hundred kilograms of metal charge us. Right now we're all on edge, so let's just-.”

The four looked about themselves, a moment of indecision as they wordlessly looked for direction. They seemed to have come to an agreement after you'd turned around as there was a rumbling barrage of hooves chasing up after you as you rocketed through the mines.

Nevertheless, you didn't have far to go.
When you had arrived, you wished that wasn't the case.

The entrance was completely destroyed. Whatever source of natural light there may have been was blocked out by the shattered stone, both natural and constructed. Now there was only the dim blue crystals to light you way. This couldn't have happened by accident, not so close to the surface. The entrance was over-engineered to buggery, sure, but that thing should have withstood a major quake. Anything that was able to collapse this should have brought the entire cave system down on your collective heads.
But it didn't.

Standing in the middle of the cave with a wall of rubble before him was Rock Hoof. His pale green body was beaten, bloodied and battered, a broken and trembling right foreleg suspended limply off the ground. With a final half-pipe of the whistle, it fell from his lips with a crimson line of spittle. His shaved head looked back up to you with a single brown eye... and a empty bloody socket where the other once was.

“You came back.” He groaned breathlessly, looking ready to collapse at any second.
His yellow hard hat had a massive buckled crack in it, clearly being the thing to have saved his life. There was no questioning if the colt had a concussion, it was only a question of 'how bad'. He turned, groaning in obvious agony, and began to drag himself over to a particularly large collection of rocks. The forepony reared up and planted a hoof on the boulder, you could easily spot the specks of blood where his previous attempts had failed.

“Hooves is gone and Dizzy is buried. A boulder fell on top of her just a few seconds ago. Please, I can't lift it off by myself!!” Rock hoof's voice was weakening, pleading even, but he wasn't giving up.

Your suit huffed and squeaked your way up. Despite it's reduced armour, the suit remained every bit as strong as the thing that had annihilated the Flim-Flam brother's own machine. Manoeuvrings your arms into a tight bear hug and positioning your legs just so, you lift the two tonne rock off and almost effortlessly deposit it down next to you.

What had been pinned underneath wasn't much better.

You had to avert your eyes, even if just for a moment. You couldn't look at that. Not in the face. You were never so saddened to know that the one you'd rescued was alive, because you knew she wasn't long for the dream time.

“Oh... the suit... hello Mr. Bruce,” the broken unicorn gurgled as best she should, rapid shallow breathes punctuating her speech. “I'm terribly sorry, I seems I can't feel my legs. Oh dear... I-I don't feel as though I can carry on today.”

Rock Hoof only looked on in horrified silence, tears beginning to flow from his eyes and mixing in with the blood that had now caked on his cheeks. He lowered himself down to her, but you doubted she could see a thing with... with what was left of her.

Around that time, the others had caught up to you.
From the silence, you doubt they took it well.

“Oh... oh Celestia, no.” Skylight gasped, hooves immediately digging into the group to a halt.
“Look away Shiny.” Styre said, stepping in front of the stock white unicorn.
“What? What's going-?”
“Look away Shiny.” Both of the brothers demanded, fencing her off from the carnage.


“Dizzy...? Dizzy... are you okay!?” The pale colt gasped wordlessly.

The doomed mare looked up towards the source of the noise, her ruined face giving a facsimile of a smile.
“Rock Hoof? You've become a strong stallion, j-just like your father. You'll make him... proud...”


Soon, only the colt's sobbing gasps filled the room.
You were too late.


“Hey... I think there's some kind of chord here.” Behind you, one of the unicorns was muttering to itself. Shining Horizon, the white one, was kicking away at an exposed black cable.

“What kind of chord? Strye, take a look.” Skylight order, flicking her head over to it.

“Gotcha,” He trotted over, peering down at it. The large stallion picked up in one red hoof and glared down, his eyes widening soon after. “Those fuckers.” Styre hissed furiously, looking over to his brother.

“Wot?” Red Streak said.

“Explosives, leading off into the tunnels.” His twin answered, dropping the cable back to the ground with a growl.

“Then they're already ahead of us.” Skylight summarised, she gestured to the other ponies to regroup. The black and white mare spared you a long, challenging glance as they slowly began to make their way back down the tunnels. It was clear they wanted your help, it was also equally clear that they were perfectly willing to go through you if they had to.

“I'm coming with you,” a low voice growled from behind you. You turned to see Rock Hoof wrapping his broken limp into a sling with his mouth. There was blood, tears and murder in his eye. “I need to make them pay for this.”

---[ Setting: Zap-Stone Mine #12, Interior, Late Morning ]---

{ PC: InsaneCat, Mandalayain; NPC: Sweetie Belle }

With a loud pop and a flash of white light intermingled with orange, your feet hit the ground with a dusty puff.

Brushing yourself off, you take a look about yourself. You were in a mine, that much was certain. An neon blue light illuminated you to a level roughly equatable to dawn or twilight, it wasn't much but it was better than pitch blackness. However one of your enjoyed its properties more than the other, that much was certain.

“Oh great, now where are we? Are you sure this was the right spot?” Sweetie Belle groused as she picked herself up of the ground and shook the dust of like she was dog in a sprinkler.

Underneath your feet was a well-paved stone road. You quickly noticed the four lanes of train tracks for mine carts across the widened tunnel. Looking to your front and your back you could see a steady incline in one direction and a decline in the other. Logic dictates that the decline was 'down' and the opposite was true. Then again this was Equestria, Isaac Newton's laws of physics weren't so much as abused as violated repeatedly.

The white and pink filly next to you tilted her head up and began to sniff, eyebrows intermediately swapping levels as she puzzled out a new scent.
“Wait... I think I can smell Skylight's perfume. Always sneaks a bit on when she's going to see Braeburn, I think she went that way. Up the tunnel.” With that she pointed a hoof up to the incline, willing to join you if you made the trip.

---[ Setting: West Appleloosa, Holiday's ranch, Late morning ]---

{ PC: Asmodemus; NPC: Doc Holiday }

You looked down at them as he set out the typical game of solitaire, Klondlike. You could see four suits of cards, a yellow dot, a blue star, a red heart and a four-leaf shamrock. Besides that cards were clearly numerically ascending cards and royal cards atop them, although instead of king/queen/jack it was sun/moon/stars.
This particular set was old, very old. Slightly frayed sides, yellowing card base and a intricate back pattern with a looping blue design. All in all, these playing cards were an antique.

Despite having an enemy right in front you, the Knight was completely calm if highly alert.
Don't panic Squire, you'll play right into his hands. This one's hatred, yeah? He's Independence's distortion. Turns out removing yourself from society too much clouds your views on others, twists you inside. Interesting though, the last hatred distort was a mad-dog. There's something about this one that's focusing that hate, balling it up and directing it towards something. Find out what that thing is, find out why it started. Elements don't impose traits, they but can amplify and encourage ones.

Correct, Squire Cat said it was from the east back then didn't he? Guess where Holiday was at the time; in the markets. Which are in the east.

Hmmm... I don't sense a focus on him. He might not access to his full power but I don't think he's defenseless either. Watch yourself, he may have his pawns running about doing his dirty work.

He pushes back into his chair, a pleased expression on his face as he shifted into a softer expression. Despite his attempt at warmth, there was no hiding the cold hardness of his pale blue eyes. Even Mandalayain at his most chillingly practical didn't match the expression.

“I would highly doubt my element or its kin would find teamwork to be in their nature. I understand what I'm in for, however, if that's what you mean. Now if it's any consolation, I don't particularly care for its goals or aims. I only care for what its taught me and a few of its abilities. Considering I already have what I need, its remaining only by virtue of its ability to generate momentum.” With that you see his persona break, just for a fraction of a second, as he casts a glance to the picture behind him.

Noticing his break, his horrendous smile immediately returns and leans forward to the cards before him. His claw soft clicking and twitching as he began the game.
“Because when you start planning goals, you always start small. You have an over-arching desire, of course, but you get the little victories, the important ones, first and then start stacking on top of them. What I wanted to offer you, and your kin, is a partnership. I know outside forces would see us as belligerents, but I don't particularly care for that without proper motivation. I prefer to make allies rather than enemies.”

“But seeing as I've more than had my say, I'd like to hear yours. What I want is to know is... what you want. Why are you here, why now?” There was a hint of accusation behind his words, the kind of bitter disappointment nurtured by age and alcohol.

If not for the seriousness of the situation I would be wondering if they were unique and old enough for one of my fellows to use as a focus and get a Gambit like fighter. Of course I was rather too distracted by the Distortion across from me to have any such thoughts.

'Calm, right right.. right. Gotta stay calm and focused. Calm.

He's Independence's distortion so even if it did come down to a fight I couldn't really win properly in the end, best option being just getting away. I mean, I might be able to slay him and get the murder of the local dentist on my head but the element would just hop to the next hate filled guy, yeah? Cause Secrecy said something about it coming down to a one on one battle in the end, right? Which reminds me, later we need a rundown of the exact names of the distortions and who connects to who and all. Later.


As for where it started.. from what he's said about defeat and all.. did you notice the picture of him and a family? I can guess, but I'll try to get a confirmation.

He's an inventor of powered armor with metal claws, I'm assuming he's loaded with tricks.'

Not a pony to be underestimated or assumed a friend, ever. I didn't like the way he set off my alarm bells before revealing himself to be possessed by a distortion.

I wasn't sure I could take his word or if it was true, but it was possible they weren't working together if not likely, but being pulled along towards the same end goal via their nature. It seemed a good plan from the outside, repeating what had happened so long ago. War or whoever started getting the Griffon Kingdom riled up and ready to assault Equestria, Doc Holiday here made new, powerful weapons that would be incorporated while some other did the same on the other side and both sides get into an arms race that would escalate until the worst spells and powers were brought out, like with the human war.

Still, if he could hang onto it without being a real opponent and we could just zap Hatred once we got a battle of the mind thing ready.. of course it couldn't possibly be that easy and whatever he was up to was something that we likely wouldn't like.

I met his gaze, taking in everything he said, every word was important and could mean the difference between foiling whatever was going on and losing horrifically.

"We are here, from a cursory standpoint, because the griffons decided to summon up their own versions of the elements of harmony as a superweapon and one rogue pony did so by bringing humans into this world from another one and grafting those elements without consulting them about it first.

From a more detailed standpoint, because some unknown force decided that the distortions of the proper elements, like the one you now have, were about to try to kill the world.. again.. by being the way they are along with the events that are happening lately. And so this force went about bringing back the Elements of Turmoil by using the griffons and that pony to abduct humans from an alternate reality that were very like the last group of humans to bear said elements so they would be accepted by the elements and be able to learn what happened before.

We all want different things, motivated in different ways, most of us seem to be motivated by getting home and not being killed by our opposite numbers.

What I personally want.. is to try to stop the end of the world stuff I keep hearing about with the minimal amount of casualties possible.

And since you seem to regard the distortion as a useful tool and expendable and I'll assume you bear no strong desire to see the world burn in fire, you should have no problems with us destroying it, right?

...Once we figure out how to destroy them other than in a one on one duel to the death between the bearer of the element proper and the bearer of it's distortion. Which could be awhile.

If so then I currently see no reason we can't all live and let live in the meantime, if not work together. Depending on what that partnership you were talking about entails."


I had no illusions that this would make us friends or that things would be this simple, that he could go about whatever the business that led to him getting this distortion in the first place was. Rather, this was mainly to put him at ease. Communicating that we had no intention of killing him without reason, so he would be more at ease talking about things and seeing me as less of an enemy. Plus admitting that we weren't going to rush him to destroy his useful tool should also be helpful I believed.

Right now none of us knew who the bearers of the distortions were properly, Trixie seemed a good bet and confirming Doc Holiday here would bump it up to two. Getting word back and not dying horribly was important, know thy enemy and all that. And if things actually did go smoothly.. well that would be just awesome.

But, I remained on guard while trying to keep calm and think things through rationally, seeing how he reacted.

(Been a bit hectic this week. Also, I haven't really been able to think of something to say beyond "I keep watching.")

I suppose by now there's little for me to do but try to join in the conversation.

The conversation. With Pinkie Pie. Yes. That.

I am definitely insane.

"Sorry to interrupt," I say, standing up. "Exactly which element is this?" I point to the back of my neck.

"Fine, we will deal with it in a sec. I wanna hear how the Doc is involved. this doesnt seem like him"

"Streuth Rock......fuck.....this is bad, let me handle it, you just relax for a sec" He visibly flinches, evne in the suit when it is said Hooves is gone

Flipping up his faceplate, Bruce also crouches down by Dizzy. "Hey Diz, look like you got a bit banged up. Thats cool though, you just rest. I'll make sure Rock stays safe.

A soft humming emits from Bruce as he, quietly, drones a chant. Then when she goes limp, he reaches out and closes her eye. "You gunna walk in da dreams now little sister. Tha Dreamin got ya and it's gonna keep you safe. Walk in tha lands of grass and sweet water. Dance in the cool breeze. Never know hunger. Never know pain. Then, when ya reach ya tribe. Ya gunna tell em. You dun your bit. Ya did good and now ya gunna dream."

Nodding to himself, Bruce offered his spear to Rock "Ya look like ya need sumtin ta be leanin on Rock. Ya got a broke leg and we not gunna go slow. Jus be careful of the sharp bit, ya could hurt somethin if it connects"

Then, he flips open the belly plate and pulls out first the crossbow and then a tube of gum and a zapstone

"This gonna take a few secs, okay? This..... this Roo, this Fella, he's gonna hop down tha path of that pissed off fella an full o vengance. Fuckers dun killed some of me Mob..... "

He calmly and deliberately pulls the clip out and with brisk motions, glues a small fragment of Zaptstone onto the tip of Bolt in the now loaded crossbow. "Fuckers gotta pay"

Then keeping the face plate open, so he can better hear, he turns and starts making his way back down the tunnel "So, while we walk, how bout you fella's tell us a little story bout whats goin on?"

"Me? I appeared without warning in a hollow crystal that contained no air."

Nod, "Quite right. Sometimes it's the little things that define a person."

Ugh, i'm not into tattoos. Especially tattoos that probally have some effect besides looking strange.

If this is a mark of those chosen by the elements, which seems like a big thing if the queen and her advisors are part of that group, than I'm not sure how recognizable this would be. I turn up my collar and try to cover it.

This is about what I expected. Next stop will be the hole in the wall to get to the larger facility or the cockpit to get more information.

I'm not hungry yet, but I grab some of the rations and put them in my pocket with the artifact.

The way it talks, reminds me that i'm pissed off at the hologram, but I try not to show it.

It also reminds me that she's still talking gibberish, when I didn't have much trouble understanding pinkie pie. With the ease that I understood the book and signs around here, it seems that my theory that I had trouble understanding it because it wasn't biological was proven false, So I know there's something else at work here.

Stupid, bipolar piece of scrap code. Still, I guess I can't really hold it's behavior against it when I'm pretty shook up myself. I take a deep breath and..."Hi, I'm charles."

Then I decide it'll go smoother if I focus on what I want to know and on translating it's answers to something understandable.

"How old is this ship? How long has it been off line? What caused it to go off line? What can you tell me about the captain, is he in stasis? Are you the captain's daughter or some kind of emulation of her? Is the cockpit functional? What is the name of the facility we are in? Are all five of the carrier compartments filled with stasis crystals or do some of them contain weapons/supplies?"

I hardly take a breath when i'm saying that, and I start a breathing excercize while I wait for answers.

Frustrating. I'll just have to keep looking for clues.

Well, Eons are bad for machine. It's good that it is still standing. But it also doesn't said anything good about how structurally sound the hangars is. It could just collapse on me as he could be in the same state as the ship. Thought Pinkie did come from outside apparently. Well, we can let her eat, explore a little and see if we can find an exit.

Okay, it's actually rather amusing to see how Pinkie piss off Gwen. It's cathartic, like, nobody have any idea of what is going on so everything is alright.

It's sound really stupid. Well, nothing I can really do to smooth thing between Pinkie Pie and Gwen. How would I even begin to try to reconcile a fictional pony and an hologram?

I take the ration, examining it. It doesn't look too dificult to open but I guess they never were designed for hooves. Hey, what if it is meat, or something not comestible for pony?

"Hey, Pinkie, what can you eat?" I ask as I open the container and look what it contain.

I smirk, before giving him a considering look. "Well, this is a surprise. I did not think that I had left such a...impression upon you." I reply easily, quirking a eyebrow. "You might be correct. Perhaps there is a certain merit to the idea, in the name of science." I reply, expression similar to his.

I narrow my eyes slightly before nodding. "You see more clearly than I thought. She is not one to bond easily, and she highly values those connections. One way or the other, you formed one with her. Keep that in mind."

"I can respect that." I reply, smiling softly. "And you do certainly seem to have the most interesting entities around you. I will respect their secrets and not pry. Perhaps one day I will be able to speak with Skylight about Princess Luna however. I think that could be very interesting."

"...We need to make sure they do not enter the mines until we have the others out, Grunwald." I reply, frowning as I look at the mine entrance. "It depends on the goals of whoever sabotaged the entrance of course, but..." I trail off, frown deepening.

I nod once, relaxing. "I respect that. And agreed."

"...Do it. Let us see if I am correct."

"So. I was right. But I did not quite expect this level of trust. He is gambling a great deal. Odd. I wonder why he is showing me such trust." I muse, taking care to stay still, and not touch the chord.

I meet Grunwald's gaze and nod once. "So, Sir Knight. It seems my theory was correct. How is your health? And how much did you learn from his mind, while you gave him the information, if I might inquire?"

"Oh? I will need to speak with him about exactly what he saw. It appears the result was one of the betters ones I predicted. How very useful." I muse, as I listen to Grunwald. "We will be fine, Grunwald. I will do what I can to save them, and return everyone to you safely." I reply gently, before I close my eyes, waiting for the spell to hit. "I really, really hate this sp..." *Pop*

I clutch my skull and groan softly, taking deep, heavy, long breaths, temples visibly pounding. After a few moments, I swallow thickly, and stand, fastidiously brushing myself off somewhat more slowly than normal, hooded eyes examining the area before opening fully, as I enjoy the dim, non-painful light for the first time in days. "Hrmmm. Much better. Much better indeed."

"This is the correct area, yes." I reply, stepping slightly away from the dust cloud known as Sweetie Belle.

I give her a odd look. "Excellent sense of smell, Sweetie Belle." I note, before I frown. "Sir Knight. Are we still tracking them?" I inquire, as I take a closer look at the area, eyes dancing over the tunnel, moving in the darkness smoothly around our landing pad without hesitation, looking for possible traps, or signs. "If I understood Grunwald's meaning, you can search for traps, correct Sweetie Belle? If you would not mind, and if it is not too draining, check for explosives, or cabling that can be used to set it off at a distance. Something feels off." I state, my eyes open wide for the first time in Equestria where others can see them, the hauntingly pale irises invisible in the thin light.

OOC: I'll have a post for the other characters up in a bit, give Cat some more time for a response.

---[ Setting: Sky Dancer, Life Pod Halls, Underground ]---

{ PC: Unhappy Anchovy, Roots Lord, DragonDude, NPC: Gwen, Pinkie Pie }

“A crystal? That sounds like totally awesome! Oh wait, no it isn't. Humans need to breathe, right?”

You take a look back down the corridor for a second, it was a long way back down that way. The cockpit wasn't likely to have much more useful equipment than what you'd found in here. From the way the engine was set, it may not even have pilots in the seats as this thing was still in 'park' mode. Of course, splitting up from the others and searching could prove useful as well as dangerous.

There was no way those rations were fitting inside of your pockets, both of which were rather obviously bulging with what they already contained. With a frown, you look over to a few components still in the room. You figure you could make a fabric bag out of a metal-link chain and cutting a square out of that mummified engineer's uniform tucked into the emergency rations closet with your pocket knife. The creation would take a bit of time, however.

Gwen looked up to you from her perch on the side of the ship, your sudden re-introduction drawing her attention away from the Pink horse. With a huff she gets back up off of the ground, needlessly dusting off her translucent dress and turning to face you. She did her best to school her features from the scowl to a rosy smile and succeeds for the most part.

“Hi Charles, I like to see you.” Her accent was getting better, but you couldn't expect perfection in thirty minutes.

Her eyes blink throughout your motormouth line of questioning. After a few seconds of stunned puzzleing she prompts you to repeat your questions again, slowly. Which you do, nearly three times, before you believe the medieval machine can even begin to grasp your language. Finally, you think she's got it.

“The Sky Dancer is four winters olds, I am afraid I do not know how long it has been off-line for. She was put into off-line with the deserters so they would be able to survive the war,” Gwen looks over to the petrified pair of leather gloves with evident dread on her face. “The Sky Dancer was not meant to be off-line this long. Captain O'Cleirigh... surrendered his stasis area to his youngest son... he died.”

There is a short, far-off look on her face as she looks down the pitch black corridor. Her lower lip trembles, one hand grabbing her opposite elbow. Nevertheless, she quickly shakes herself out of her ravine and turns back to you.

“I am not an emulation of Gwen O'Cleirigh, I am her. The blue light forms my appearance. I am the Sky Dancer's Spirit, she is my body and I am her mind,” She turns towards the engine behind her and points up toward blue crystal. “And that is my heart.”

“The Sky Dancer's... Cockpit... is functional, but useless in her current state. The facility she is in, Prima, is partually collapsed. She will need large-scale excavation to be free again. Her sister carriers are likewise here, I think. They would not be carrying weapons, any space was left to be used for deserters.”

After a few seconds of carefully rotating the box, your finger tips trace around a small latch on the side. Tucking the box next to your chest, you use the leverage to pull the lid open. The scenet of terrible tasting food awaited you... as well as something else.

A voice flashed through you mind as you looked down at the container's contents.


Emergency Rations:
Dried meat, wheat, vegetable and dairy products arranged clockwise into four quarters. Heavy with preservatives, vaccuum-state and flash frozen to be instantly reheated upon opening. Safe for consumption, high in nutrients. Keeps indefinitely until seal is broken or decayed then varying perishability times apply. Barter ten cases for detailed map of area you are located in. Pursing true worth of the item is likely not worth the effort.


Her face stretches into an attempt at a serious expression which ended up looking more constipation.
“What? Like a diet or something? Well I can eat lottsa stuff like bread, and cookies, and pasties, and muffins, and cakes, and fruit salad, and potato chips, and sour cream, and water, and fruit juice and -ooh! Ooh! I like chocolate, do you have chocolate?!”
She immediately lifts herself up on to the tips of her hooves, peaking over the side of the box. Her face falls immediately not seeing any clear sign of it, although she didn't look any less hungry.

OOC: Not a problem, just like to keep tabs on the players.

“Ummm... I won't have a clu-.” The words immediately get caught in her throat and you find your own thought process similarly constricted.

There could only be one word to describe your recent experiences; surreal.
You have been taken from your home in the middle of the night, to a medieval submarine along with two other people (one of which was french) where a blue hologram was waiting to enlist you in door handling. Soon after you'd found out that, yes, technicoloured children's cartoons did in-fact exist and now you were both staring each dead in the eye. That was only topped by the single prickling knowledge that you knew this creature. There was an unspoken sense of respect between you, impossible to understand or explain but you were somehow both two sides of the same coin.

“Torment. You're the element of Torment.” She mumbled in a hushed tone, for once a straight face and voice.
It didn't last long, her puffy mane thrown about as she shook her head.
“Woah, got kinda soul-searchy there... do I know you?”

You closed your eyes for a few moments, just trying to get a handle on what exactly just happened. The second you re-opened them, you saw her and yet you didn't. All across her body, running up and down her limbs and contours you could see pin-pricks of light blue light. It was different from the electric blue here, physical, manipulatable. You just knew that what ever they were it was causing her pain. You almost felt like you could almost reach out and just... pull it out.

Almost immediately, you attention was stolen away by Gwen clearing her non-existent throat.

“Heus, Orator. Go that way to get to the surface,” the hologram's gloved hand extended out towards the hole in the ship, towards a tunnel with yet more of this blue illumination. “If you go, you will come back... yes?”

Her ear's perking up at your conversation, Pinkie Pie tossed the ration container aside like it was a football. The remains of which splattered across the wall. Gwen blue face was making an epic attempt to turn red.
“Wait, is she saying to go that way?! I'm in! I looked all around that place and I couldn't find a way out. Maybe we need more of your hands feeling the place up like with that box.” With the oblivious look on her face you couldn't quite tell if she was made made the double-entrae on purpose or not.

"Indeed."

I definitely consider it. I don't feel attached by the others. Hell, I'm not even sure if we're working together as a group for survival, though all evidence indicates we're just a group of individuals that happen to be in the same place.

Then I decide it's there are still items of interest in this location and it would be better to check before wondering off.

I go ahead and do that.

I guess there are worse things than waking up in an unfamiliar place. I suppose waking up to discover your family dead and civilization gone would be one of them.

Before I think about it, I put an arm on her shoulder and give a comforting smile, which turns a bit self conscious when the arm doesn't touch anything.

"Is prima facilities only purpose to house the carriers?"

"Would the cockpit or the prima facility have further information or supplies I could use?"

"Can you provide a map of the facility, or turn the lights on?"

"What can you tell me of the area that prima facility is located in?"

---[ Setting: West Appleloosa, Holiday's ranch, Late morning ]---

{ PC: Asmodemus; NPC: Doc Holiday }

The Knight's voice seeps into your sub-concious, taking a back seat and allowing you full control.
Think of this like a knot, this is a problem to be tackled like one. It is just a matter of remaining calm and pulling the right strings. Control you emotions and your abilities, then watch him unravel.

That's right, it wouldn't help but if he becomes a threat then don't hesitate to put him down. Don't worry, you'll know when that time comes and you'll be ready. We'll get the full plan together, don't stress about that.

Families are a prime motivation for hatred, either towards them or for revenge. He keeps the picture on display, meaning it wasn't likely divorce or it would be just the boy or not there in the first place. My guess? Someone killed his family. He struck a deal with Hatred because he couldn't move on. Pretty standard stuff, really.

You heard the Knight make a pleased and somewhat proud growl in his mind.
Good work, Squire. You're starting to see the patterns, predicting his strategy and methods. A war would be bad for all of the Elements, but brilliant for the Distortions. War, Zealtory, Despair and Pride all feed on it like ticks. But I'm not sure he even realises that. Now, keep pulling at the strings.

Holiday's features twitched at the mention of the griffins. Before he was focused on you as an attentive, if creepy, host. Now you had his undivided attention as he settled into a forward slouch, his two hooves meeting together as though he was knitting his fingertips. It was in that pose in which he remained throughout your entire explanation.

“Interesting, so you claim that you aren't from the past. Very well,” he leaned back, a satisfied smile on his face. “I am however, pleased that you can see things from my perspective. I have and always have wanted, a strong Equestria. By whatever shape that takes. I am a Patriot Mr. Asmodemus and I'll do what I can to ensure my vision goes through. As of this moment however, this spirit proves more useful to me alive than dead. Should I decide this otherwise then I assure you, you'll be the first to know.”

He leaned back out of his pose, a sharp metallic click as his claw reset back into place.
“Now... regarding the terms of our partnership.”

The tangerine coloured earth pony leaned down to the coffee table in front of him, his claw latching onto a hidden compartment in one of the legs. After a few moments of tugging, he wrenched out a duo of polaroids, both turned over. Soon after the picture was followed by a jingling thump, a small brown sack heavy with small metallic objects inside.

Doctor Holiday held one of the pictures up to you, it was Trixie alright. She seemed to have been caught in the middle of a shopping spree with Tender hoof, the poor filly's head disappearing into a far too-big hat which the stage magican seemed to have dropped onto her with glee.

“This mare is called Trixie. On the surface she is a pitiful stage magican, underneath,” his claw dropped the shot and retrieved another. The show was of Nyx. Sure, it was blurry and taken at night but the red-crystal eyes and tar-like alicorn form was unmistakeable. “She is a monster. I believe she is another of my 'fellow' distortions. Her wanton abuse of her abilities and tendency to catch the vapours gives me cause to worry for the safety of the citizens of Appaloosa. I want to ensure that never occurs.”

His clad discarded the picture and pushed the bag of coin over to you, jingling with metal as it shuffled over.
“In this bag is one thousand bits, enough to get you started. Bribe who you will, make what purchases you need or otherwise prepare. One thousand now, nine thousand after. Take it or leave it. Either way, this conversation never happened. In the mean time, and so long as you remain out of my business, I shall do my best to use my contacts to cover your trail. Be warned however, even my pocket has their limits.”

The southern gentlecolt looked back down to the cards on his table, his claw quickly following and rearranging the stacks. His eyes traced back up to you and back down. With a annoyed click of his tongue he leaned over to one of the stacks and withdrew a single withered card which he placed down on your edge of the coffee table.
The Sun (or king) of hearts.

“This card has a locator signal in it. Should you require my assistance then burn it. I will warn you, do not squander this tool.” He glowered as he said it, loath to effectively ruin his deck but ultimately willy to go through with it.

Take it or don't, Squire. I wouldn't trust him with our location at all times, but we could use his firepower and his favour. This is your choice to make.

“Now, I believe this concludes our business. I would wish you a pleasant day Mr. Asmodemus but I feel that statement already outside the realms of possiblity.” He said as his hooves began to gather the game of solitaire back into its deck. His azure eyes turned to the window, a pillar of black smoke still looming high into the sky.