My Little Pony: The Cycle (IC)

[Derjuin]

Bassline's House

Reacting to Bassline's words, the disc spins faster and faster, ascending and flipping onto its side. It gleams with a neon-blue light, and a feminine, monotone voice echoes from its center. Entry initiated. Summoning portal...

The disc tilts onto its edge, growing larger and thinner at the same time. In the growing void at its center, a series of words appear, similar in syntax to the mysterious voice's. They seem to be steps in a process.

Spoiler: Bassline's Disc

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Initiating reckonings... done.
Alternating timelines... done.
Obfuscating puns... failed.
Crossing streams... done.
Process complete.

Once the words finish, the disc evaporates entirely, leaving only a blindingly bright blue circle hovering in the air. It's just big enough to fit a bat pony, if he were to jump into it. Something from inside it seems to call to Bassline, and after a moment, it becomes clear what it is - a mare's cry, though it is barely audible...

"Help us!"

Stamps' House

If I must.

The pull from the portal becomes overwhelming, though it only seems to be affecting Stamps. An almost deafening crash, like shattering glass, erupts from the disc as thin tendrils of smoky darkness lash out and wrap around Stamps' legs, yanking him through the hole.

Stamps/Muse/Marbles/Trump

As soon as you pass the threshold of your respective portals, they disappear, leaving no trace behind whatsoever. You are all dropped unceremoniously onto the ground beneath a massive tree, whose bough is so wide that it blocks almost all view of the sky. You appear to be in a depression in the ground whose walls are too high to see beyond without climbing out. A strange structure is woven about the roots of the tree, and with investigation it becomes clear that it is actually a huge, serpentine skeleton tangled with the tree itself.

The skull is turned directly toward the four of you, perhaps in eerie coincidence. One of its eye sockets shimmers for a half-second, though it otherwise remains entirely stationary.

Spoiler: Muse Bloom

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A voice booms in your head, a gravely cacophony that resembles more of a roar than speech. The others don't seem to hear it.

HERO... WHERE IS... THE THIEF...

[cavalieredraghi]

As Stamps is wrapped up by the Tendrils. He smiles at his parents hoping to calm them.
Don't worry Mom, Dad. I will be ok, this will just be like one of your adventures you told me when you both were kids. I will be back! I love yoooouuuuu! Stamps says as he is pulled in.


He gets up on his feet rather quickly. He looks around ignoring the others.
Wow this is like a VR. I mean I heard it could be possible, but i did not expect to see it till I was an Adult or something. He then looks at the serpent Body.

Is that a Naga? Or something Else. He moves over to it and picks up the skull like a puppet.

Hi everyone I am Stamps who are you?

[Dudeons]

Trump Card stands up, taking note of the new scenery and the ponies that were lying about him. Before he can do much observing, he notices his hat fell off his head during the landing. He quickly swipes it up, brushing off dust.

"The name's Trump Card," the pegasus colt says, twirling his hat on his hoof before putting it back on his head. Trump looks up, but can't see over the walls or through the tree branches. He takes to the air, flying up onto a tree branch in order to get a better view of what was beyond the walls.

[DigoDragon]

"Help us!"

"Whoa... did it...?" Bass looked the portal over for a moment, bewildered at the magical opening before him. Against his better judgement he made his way inside. "I'm coming, help is on the way!" he replied into the portal.

[igordragonian]

She fall on her face, her glasses sliding from her. She getting up, groaning. "mpphh..."
She getting up, with narrowed eyes, because of her short sightings.
She perks her ears, looking scared for a second.
Voices in my head? It cant be good... but it is absoulty awesome!
she smiling.
Are you calling me a hero? what was stolen?

And then she blinking, at the fuzzy shapes, that were the other ponies. "Why I'm Queen Muse Bloom!" she presenting herself with a bow.
"Oh. And some mysteriouse voice talking in my head! Do he speaks to your heads as well?" she asking cheerfully.

[Drakeburn]

Falling through the vortex, Marbles couldn't help but to scream while clutching onto his book tightly.

When he felt that he had landed, he opened his eyes, but still screaming. Only weaker and slightly awkward.

"Um, hello?" He stammered once he stopped screaming weakly, seeing that he isn't the only pony here. Wherever "here" is.

"I'm Marble White, but everypony calls me Marbles."

It wasn't long before he noticed that everything appeared slightly further. It was then that he realized that his glasses were gone.
But he didn't need to search very far, because his square rimmed glasses landed on the skull of a serpent skeleton one of the ponies was holding. It happened to land so it looked like the skeleton was wearing his glasses.

"Um, has anybody seen my glasses by any chance?"

[Derjuin]

Bassline's House

As soon as Bassline cross the threshold of the portal, it winks out of existence. The voice cries out once more - "Save my-" - before being silenced. Suddenly, Bassline finds himself falling in a new direction - straight down.

Under the Huge Tree

Spoiler: Trump Card

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From his height, Trump can see a huge plain of grey-green grass extending in all directions outward from the tree, terminating in a distant forest that encircles the area entirely. Along the edge of one of the slopes of the depression is a road, worn in some places and overcome by the grasses of the plains in others. Following the road's meandering in one direction, it appears to lead toward a hill, on which a walled city of some kind is positioned. From where you are, you can reasonably guess that it is a rather large city. Unlike everything else you can see, however, a bright light shines down directly onto it. In the other direction, it leads toward a cliff, and some kind of settlement at the base of the cliff. It's difficult to tell exactly how large the settlement is, though it appears it is smaller than the city at least. Other than that, you can see a troupe of five ponies approaching the depression on the road. Though it's relatively quiet, Trump can easily make out the clip-clop of their hooves on the road. Four of the ponies are surrounding the fifth, whose attire is glinting in what little light there is.

As the others are introducing themselves and scouting the area, a fifth pony pops into existence just beside them - this one, a bat pony - and receives the same careless drop that each of the others has.

Even removed from its ancient resting spot on the ground, the skull's eyesocket glimmers again, though fainter this time. Between all the sound in the depression, the soft echo of hoofsteps can be heard from above; it sounds like several ponies are approaching at a walking pace. The walls of dirt in the same general direction as the sound are not quite as high as the others, and its slope looks like it can be ascended with a little effort.

Spoiler: Bassline

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Almost immediately after landing, a loud and gravely voice greets Bassline. No one else seems to hear it, though.

THE THIEF... HAS ARRIVED...

SAVE... THE SUN...

Spoiler: Muse Bloom

Show

As if in response to Muse's thoughts, the voice returns.

THE THIEF... HAS ARRIVED...

GUIDE HIM... WELL... SEER...

She gets the feeling the skull and the voice might be related.

[cavalieredraghi]

Here you go Marble. The Changling says as he gives the Unircorn her glasses.

[DigoDragon]

-Splat-

Bassline hit the ground, spread out like a throw-rug, though one wing is up in the air twitching. "Oww... thief... what...?" He slowly gets up and brushes himself off.

"Uh, where am I?" he asked everyone.

[cavalieredraghi]

Stamps jumps up into the air, and floats there, as he says with unknown Enthusiasm.
WE HAVE NO IDEA!


He then floats above Bass, and tries helping him up.
I am stamps by the way who are you?

[DigoDragon]

I am stamps by the way who are you?

The batpony tilts his head at the unusual little critter. "I'm Bass... and I think you're the first changeling I've met. You from this game?" He looks at the others for introductions.

[Drakeburn]

"Thank you." Marbles says as he puts his glasses back on.
Ah, much better.

"Wait..." Marbles said, suddenly realizing something.
"Stamps is a changeling?"

[Dudeons]

Completing his observations, Trump Card jumps down.

"If you're all done with the how-do-you-do's, we've got some new ponies coming in," Trump says, alighting on the ground, "And unlike us, these ones aren't dropping in from the sky."

Trump turns towards the slope, watching for the new ponies and getting ready to make for the branches if they didn't seem friendly.

[cavalieredraghi]

Ya I am a Changling so what? I mean you are a Unicorn, you are a Bat pony, he is a Pegasus, and that there is a Earth Pony. Soooo? Anyways I am not from the game you joker, I am from Vanhoover. He then flies up into the Serpent's Skeleton to hide.

[DigoDragon]

"Okay, so... you said ponies are coming?" Bass asked the yellow pegasus. "How many? Are they carrying any weapons?"

[igordragonian]

Ooc: I'm posting from the phone, so please forgive me...

Ic:
Muse Bloom blinked.
Mentaly speaking to Skull(?)
[spoiler]
A thief? And I'm seer? Oh. I see! Its actually making sense! [spoiler/]
She found her glasses, and looked around her. If she was surprised to see a Changling~ she haven't showed it. She took a deep breath. "Well, we need to be prepared! Thief~" She calling Stamp. "Hide somewhere close, where you could do a sneak attack if the encounter will demand it!"
She saying as if she used to fall into other dimensions, with talking skulls and with total stranger ponies. And a changling.
"Hero." She calls Bassline. "Hide behind the tree and be prepared to rush attack~ if needed."
She raising her head as she was a commander.
"All the others~ find safe place and be ready. I'll face the strangers and SEE, what is all about!"
Her glasses almost sliding off her muzzle as she throw commands with enthusiasm.

[DigoDragon]

"Rush attack?" Bass questioned. "I'm more about dropping beats than beatings. Though hiding might be not be a bad idea for now." He scurried behind the big tree here in the clearing.


Stealth
(2d6)[4][2](6)
+1 Body

Total: 7

[Dudeons]

"There's five ponies,"" Trump explains, "One of them is wearing some weird shiny clothes, but none of them had weapons. I think..."

As Trump turned back to the batpony, he saw that the batpony had run for cover at the order of the filly named Muse Bloom.

"You try to be helpful..." Trump says to himself. The filly named Muse Bloom had ordered him to hide as well, but Trump ignores her and continues watching the slope, waiting for somepony to come down. His wings are flared, and he's still ready to fly away if things get grim.

[Derjuin]

The hoofsteps grow louder and louder on the flagstone road above, until you notice an adult pony poking their head out over the slope, looking around.

"Like, I could have sworn I saw something," you hear her shout to somepony else.
"Heeey!" She notices Muse and Trump, and waves a hoof at them. Taking to the air with bat-like wings, she alights halfway down the slope. She has dark blue fur and a light green, wavy mane and bright gold eyes, bearing slits for irises.

"What are colts and fillies like you doing waaaay out here near this tree?" She cocks her head to the side with a gentle smile. Behind her, three more heads pop up over the edge, belonging to a unicorn and two others that might be earth pony, or pegasus. Another pony - this one in some kind of shimmering cloth wrap, or dress perhaps - stands just on the start of the decline. While the three ponies behind him-or-her are talking amongst themselves, sharing uneasy glances, the bat pony on the slope and the dressed pony above her mirror each others' smiles. The one in the dress appears to be the oldest, though it's hard to make out more details about them from here.

[DigoDragon]

Bass speaks up so the adult pony can hear him. "A very good question! I can only speak for myself, but I am a tinsy bit lost out here. Where is here anyway?"

[cavalieredraghi]

Stamps thinks to himself.

Thief what is that for?

He stays inside the skeleton and waits to see if these Adults are actually friendly or not.

[Drakeburn]

Thankfully, the new arrivals didn't notice Marbles. Not yet at least.
Without moving a muscle, Marbles attempts to cast one of the spells he had just studied before being dropped into..... wherever this place is.

Casting "Now You See Me, Now You Don't"

Spoiler: Now You See Me, Now You Don't

Show

Now You See Me, Now You Don't
Target: Individual
Range: Contact
Duration: Temporary
Effect: Deceive
Subject: Body
Spell Level: 8 (Simple, DC 5)
Description: This spell allows the caster to turn invisible so nopony or anything can see him.

Spellcasting:

(2d6)[11] (1d6)[5]
+2 Mind
-5 Willpower

[Derjuin]

The older pony, along with the three others - who prove to be a unicorn, pegasus, and earth pony - descend to stand next to the forward bat pony. "You're lost? Well, right now, you're at the Tree of Perendi..." She turns to face the eldest of the group, the dressed pony. She tries to hide her conversation, but even being 'quiet' seems to be difficult for her. "Mom, I - er, sorry. Madame Teller, do you think we should help them? Most foals their age know about the tree... and, you know..."

"Of course, dear. And it's perfectly fine to call me 'mom', Aurora. Just because Spotter made you an 'official' guard doesn't mean you have to use my title." The Madame Teller approaches the bottom of the slope, the others still hanging back, even the bat pony. From this distance it's obvious she is quite old - perhaps even a hundred years - though there's still spring to her step. Folded up at her sides are a pair of bat wings. Her face is contorted into a contemplative frown, as if trying to recall something. All at once, however, it clears up with a nod and a smile.

"Hello, children. You may all come out - we mean you no harm. I take it you are... new, to our land. I am Future Sight, fortune teller. Who might you be?"

[cavalieredraghi]

Stamps stays inside the skeleton, not fully trusting this woman yet. He was nervous, as he felt his hooves dig into the soft earth. His breath seemed to slow as he felt every Heartbeat. The adrenaline was pumping into his whole body. He taste the air to get a sense of their emotions.

[DigoDragon]

"Bassline ma'am," the bat pony replied in a friendly smile. He stepped out of hiding. "From a little place called Ponyville."

[Drakeburn]

Now hidden from the older ponies, Marbles isn't exactly sure if he should trust what Future Sight said.

On the one hoof, they know the land better than he does, along with the other little ponies that came here as well.
On the other hoof, Marbles doesn't know who these other ponies are.

For the moment, Marbles believes the best plan of action is to follow them if the others decide to, or run for it if things happen the other way around.

Until then, Marbles stays quiet, listening to what these older ponies have to say.

[Dudeons]

"Trump Card," the colt says curtly, "And who are your friends back there, Ms Sight?"

While Trump continues listening to the conversation, he still has his wings flared in case he needs to escape.

[Derjuin]

"Ponyville? Huh?"
"There's no Ponyville in Equinia... is there?"

The four ponies begin mumbling amongst themselves, while Future Sight gives a short bow of her head. "It's nice to meet you, Bassline and Trump Card. And these four -" she motions behind her "- are my escorts. Bright Bolt the unicorn, Diamond Dust the pegasus, Spring Harvest the earth pony, and my daughter, Aurora Drop." As each pony hears their name, they stop talking give an uneasy smile. Aurora Drop waves as her name is called. "We're on our way to Mareinev City to attend an event. Would you care to come with us?"

"If nothing else, you'll be in the city, where it'll be easier for you to learn more about our land." Aurora chimes in.

[DigoDragon]

"That sounds... nice of you actually." Bass looks at the others around to see if they want to join?

[Dudeons]

"Very well," Trump Card says with a grin, "It's not like I have anywhere else to be."