Dawn and Dusk - a My Little Pony Roleplay (RP thread)

[Mabbz]

Finally, his destination was in sight. He had been cautious up until now, slipping through the night to avoid his foes, but with his hearts desire so close he threw caution to the wind and started to gallop as fast as he could. He managed to stop short of smashing through the doorway; he didn't want to startle his targets. The door was locked, but he had a key. Quietly entering, he found the room deserted. Where could they be?

They would have been hidden, of course. These were turbulent times, and something that precious would be kept safely hidden away. Probably in the basement. He carefully made his way down the stairs, but found the basement to be pitch black. He was about to head back upstair to get a candle, when he heard something. Breathing.

"Amber?" he whispered. "Ginger?"

"Da-Daddy?"

A there was a blaze of light as a candle was lit. He caught a brief glimpse of his beer barrels before his vision was obscured by yellow. He fell back on his rump, eyes filling with tears as he embraced his daughter. His wife was only a short distance behind, smiling the most beautiful smile he had ever seen. Well, he thought as he looked down at his daughter. Maybe the second most beautiful smile.

"Are you ok, daddy?" his daughter whispered.

"I am now," said Pale Ale. "I'm home."

[spoiler=image][/spoiler]

[HectorSmash]

Backlash's eyes went wide in astonishment. "Thunder? You made it! What happened to... to Luna?"

She airbraked with the other two pegasi and turned around. "Where is Celestia? She's not in the castle?"

[Waaaghpower]

The wheels turned in Thunder's head, gears grinding as she considered her options. She could use the opportunity to her advantage very readily if she only played her cards right. It seemed unwise to spill all the beans right out of the gate, but on the other hoof a penny saved was a penny earned... Playing her cards close to her chest seemed like the winning bet. Unless it wasn't.

Alright, make up your mind. Plan time.

"Luna found us," she said, a little out of breath from the top-speed flying. "I barely got away. We need to find Celestia, now."

[Mabbz]

Eventually it became apparent that nopony had any better ideas. "The Magi Tower then," said Celestia in a tone of finality. "Come, let us see what we can find."


Swift Shadow frowned at Thunder. "Find Celestia? But a minute ago you said you already found her."

[Waaaghpower]

Thunder blinked, then shook her head. "I... Sorry," she said, coming up with a quick lie. "Luna was using some kind of trick, messing with our heads. We all thought it was Celestia. I only got lucky and managed to figure out it was a trick, but the others still think they're with the real Celestia."
She didn't add: 'Because they ARE with the real Celestia,' since that kind of candid addition would have ruined the lie.
"It's blurry, I can't be sure what was real back there, but I can tell you we need to get the real Celestia and get her to the others before something really terrible happens to them. We should keep circling towards the gardens."

[Mabbz]

There was little talk as they made their way to the magi tower, and though on several occasions there were false alarms as they jumped at the shadows, the ponies made it to the tower unmolested. Hazy was actually a little suprised by how well rested he felt, considering how hard they'd been pushing themselves today, but eventually put it down to Celestia's proximity. It made sense, he decided, that the presence of the Princess of the Day would make people feel more awake; Alicorns had Earth pony magic after all.

The tower had a huge front door of dark wood that loomed over them as they approached. As Celestia pulled it open with her magic, the normally well-oiled hinges creaked ominously. Inside was a long hallway lined at infrequent intervals with dribbling candles and closed doors. They didn't open any of them though, as everypony wordlessly knew that if the Elements were here, they would be at the top.

After walking doen the hall for what felt like hours to Plumber, he finally decided to break the silence to say something that had been on his mind for a while now. "If Nightmare Moon did hide the Elements here, shouldn't there be guards, or traps, or something?"

As his words sank in, the floor opened up beneath them, sending them plummeting into a dark basement. Celestia was the only one that didn't fall, but before she could glide down to join them the ceiling closed back up, plunging them into pitch blackness. As the noise of their landing faded, they could make out several low growling noises, coming from all around.

[Narric]

In the abyssal darkness, Cynder stumbled himself onto all fours. The growling seemed to come from every direction. Knowing that the group wouldn't last without being able to see what was around them, the best thing Cynder could do at this moment, was to create some light. He brought the magic into his horn, and summoned the knowledge to create an array of small candlelights to hang in the air. His eyes were closed, but in an instant the upper half of the room was filled with small suspended fireballs, illuminating the entire room, showing the creatures that threatened the group.

[kingofmonkeys]

Plumber picked himself off the floor with a grunt as the wound on his leg ached painfully.
"me and my big mouth."
at the sounds of growling he shivered and backed closer to his companions

[HectorSmash]

Backlash's mouth pulled into a tight frown. "Where are they, though? How did you get out, and not Hazy? Why aren't you back there, helping them? We're fine, you were supposed to be sticking together and keeping Luna busy."

Her eyes went wide suddenly and she backed towards the guards, looking around nervously while still trying to keep some kind of hostile glare on Thunder.

[Waaaghpower]

"Back where you left them," Thunder Bolt said, answering the myriad questions in order. "I think I got a little lucky, but I also knew what her illusions looked like. Remember? When I thought you'd attacked me, and the same with you. And then there was the... thing... in the Everfree forest. Trust me, I'm on guard for illusions and stuff screwing with my head. I knew what to look for."

She paused, looking for words. "It didn't seem like I could help, so I..." she swallowed, blushing. "I ran away. Because I was scared and I didn't know what to do.

"Now believe me when I say, we need to find the Princess."

[HectorSmash]

Backlash snorted and let the wind carry take her towards the castle, the way she'd been going before Thunder showed up.

"Well, go back and do something for 'em! What good's it for you ta be over here tellin' us to do what we're already doin'? Go, go on, now ain't the time for butterflies and stupid games, filly!"

She turned her back on the dark pegasus, ears perked as she made to leave her behind.

[Waaaghpower]

Thunder felt a hot response building up before Backlash had even finished speaking, but she bit it back for a second. She was chomping at the proverbial bit to shout something angry and bitter, but she at least wanted to be prepared. She needed ammo for an argument.

That wasn't hard. The past few days gave her plenty of experiences to draw from the she could throw back at Backlash and say 'See? I've put up with more crap than anypony here!' The sleep-deprived exhaustion, her injuries, the scorn and abuse and lies that everypony, (Backlash especially,) had given out... Their first night in the forest... The pony she had... killed...

Turning her face away quickly, Thunder wiped her eyes and hoped that nopony was looking at her. Dammit, don't cry, not now, she told herself, trying for an angry response at Backlash to serve as a cover for her impending breakdown. "I-" she choked out, but that was all she managed before her throat closed up completely.

Some ten or fifteen seconds later, her tears started landing on the ground far beneath them.

[Mabbz]

Suddenly the creatures were all darting towards the ponies.  Cynder lobbed a fireball at the one going for him, but this merely brought him a moments respite at it whipped out of the way and continued its attack. A bear claw came out of nowhere, and the next thing Cynder knew he was sprawled across the floor.

Hazy flinched away from the snapping, crocodile like jaws of his foe, trying to push it away with his telekinesis. The thing was proving nigh impossible to keep hold of though, as it thrashed around in impossible ways. Dodging another snap of teeth, he lost his balance and fell. The draconequus pounced instantly, and Hazy found himself struggling desperately to fend off its many limbs.

Plumber nearly froze at the sight of a tiger's teeth, a dark grey hoof and an octopus' tentacle flying towards him, and did the only thing he could think to do. Jabbing blindly forward with a length of pipe, he was rewarded by a choking sound. Looking down he saw the monster coughing on the floor, trying to dislodge the pipe now holding its mouth open. Quickly glancing around, he saw Leather Wing nearby, wrestling his enemy to the ground. Deciding he was probably OK, Plumber ran over and bucked Hazy's draconequus across the room. It was strangely light for a creature of its size.

Cynder saw a giant wasp stinger stabbing towards him and rolled out of the way. The hybrid switched directions in a heartbeat, so Cynder lunged forwards, horn blazing. Tumbling over it, he turned to see it thrashing about in a panic, trying to put out the fire now engulfing it. Suddenly it glowed blue, and before Cynder could react it had frozen solid.

The one Plumber had downed rose into the air, pipe lying nearby. It spotted Plumber, and in a flash it had coiled around him, trying to choke him. As he fought for air, he saw a flash of light. A golden glow encompassed the monster and pulled it off him, before collapsing into a blindingly bright spark, then vanished leaving no trace of the creature. The one Plumber had kicked fled into the darkness, closely followed by Leather's as it broke free from the pegasus' hold.

[kingofmonkeys]

Plumber wheezed as the breath came back to him he coughed loudly.
"w-who, *COUGH* who saved me?"
he glanced around the room looking for the source of the glow that had pulled the creature off before he choked

[Mabbz]

"That would be me," said Celestia, landing gently after having floated down through the hole she had cut in the ceiling. Her horn lit up and bathed the basement in a silvery light. It appeared to be a fairly normal basement, full of boxes and other random items. There was a set of stairs at the far end, which appeared to be the only exit to the room. "I suppose we should go that way then."