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Post by Red Charge on Feb 13, 2012 23:01:08 GMT -5
"No, no, no!" Hind Sight said, shoving the alchemist pony out of the way. "This is an archaeological site you buffoon!" He said, "The door isn't locked, it's just heavy." He explained, "If you'll help me, we could..." He was cut off by the sound of the wood dragging against the floor as Horizon began to push against it, opening it slowly.
"No prob doc, strength is my specialty." He said, pushing the door open widely. "There." He said, suddenly looking quite appalled.
Instead of being in an office, they were in what appeared to be a massive hall, with a large dilapidated table in the middle surrounded by rotten cushions. To the left of the entrance was another, smaller door, perhaps leading to the office itself.
"What is this?" Hind Sight said, "This is not the commander's office, this is a war room." He seemed to be thinking quickly about this, "But that would mean... that the Equites invaded Equestria..." The meaning of this was not lost on Horizon, who then said, "Wait, if they invaded us, why isn't there anything about this in the history books?"
"I don't know... I really don't know." Hind Sight charged into the room, excited, inspecting everything closely, "Simply unbelievable."
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Post by Mortar Retort on Feb 14, 2012 4:38:49 GMT -5
Retort stumbled over his hooves as he was shoved away, juggling the bombs in his fore-hooves till he fell flat on his face, but fortunately, with his fore-hooves held high and the bombs neatly nestled in them. He looked up, beneath his fez and let out a little sigh of relief. Retort’s monochrome aura came alive as he wrapped the two sphere’s around it and gingerly returned them back to his saddlebag. He stood, adjusted his fez and returned to the door. Stepping through, he gawked at what lay beyond. He quickly moved to the dilapidated table and perused over what was left to rot under a fine blanket of dust.
Old maps, dried and decayed to the point that they were either a breath away from distorting into nothing or have now become part of the old table. There was a scattering of carved pieces littered about, toppled over and otherwise strune about all helter-skelter. Least as far as Retort could tell, he wasn’t a military strategist nor feign as one.
”Forgotten lore and erased history, sounds so very intriguingly conspiratorial!” Retort spoke and looked to Horizon, “Perchance Equestria never knew? Certainly doesn’t strike me that it would be something we’d forget to mention in light of a great victory on our part – or theirs.” Then the pony’s eyes lit up. ”Oh, oh! They could of attempted subversion, yes, maybe attempted to put ponies in the Canterlot Court. May of fizzled or got squelched and kept hush-hush. Something like that wouldn’t look good for Equestria if we were nearly conquered without a fight.” He looked around, then shrugged as he lightly kicked a rotten cushion. It nearly exploded into dust at the impact. ”This isn’t my field of expertise, though, just theories. Let’s check the commander’s office, might be more in there.”
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Post by clouddreamer on Feb 16, 2012 22:19:36 GMT -5
Cloudy's eyes widened at the crazy unicorn's comment after her question. "Oh no please-" The unicorn was cut off by Hind Sight and, frankly, glad she was. Her leader's words reassured her. It was insane to attempt to use bombs to blast open just one door.
Stepping inside the room, Cloudy was as surprised as the next pony was about this being a war room, though she was quickly scanning the room looking for anything that could be salvaged. Spotting the carved pieces, she picked one that looked less destroyed than the others and used her telekenises to put it into her bag.
"I highly doubt they won, otherwise Equestria might have not exsisted today. Besides, look at those pieces." Cloudy motioned to the pieces all around knocked over. "I'm pretty sure those mean defeat. That's what it is in some books I've read."
She herself broke into a theory. "Maybe it was something that Equestria did something in that the ponies weren't proud of, like changing the past and pretending it didn't happen. Or-wait, what if it really was changed, like a different story for the same event? Like a lie." Though she couldn't think of any reason that would of happened, or any story that sounded like the outcome of a war but wasn't.
"I don't know why, I don't know any more about wars than what's in some books of legends from the Prism and Dragon wars, as well as a few fantasy books." Cloudy shrugged, walking over to the table and beginning to see if she could reconize anything on the maps. Maybe that would lead to something.
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Post by stardust on Feb 18, 2012 0:54:23 GMT -5
Watching Horizon open the door, the hall they were in giving way to the large dusted corridor that contained rotted table with papers yellowed by time and cushions softened into piles of dust. Her silvery eyes caught the sight of the room entrance off to the left side and she immediately trotted over.
The door was the same material as the rest of the hold, but had much more ornateness to it that would only specify this room was special and housed something equally appropriate. It must've been the commander's office. Reaching into her saddlebags she withdrew the notebook and pencil and jotted down the notes needed about the particular structure of the door. She did want to go in, but she wasn't strong enough nor did she want to rush anyone else into going in without exploring the rest of the large hall first.
Turning back she did just that, glancing at all the carvings that hadn't been taken up by the other ponies and carefully inspecting the maps that had dyed themselves into the old and decayed wood of the table. Stardust held her breath as she did, not wanting to destroy any sort of important clue as to what this room help a purpose to. The maps held the barely recognizable images of the old Equestian lands, pencil and pen indentations hardly legible in the ancient paper. Setting her notebook next to them, she did the best she could to copy down what was there of the map before moving on.
She didn't have anything to say as far as theories went, since she has only read and seen what she knew from the stars and various books in the Cantorlot libraries. There had definitely been the intention of invasion within this hold, since the maps really held no other clue to anything else. Stardust hoped her notes would be enough for Hind Sight to be able to decipher this once this quest was all over.
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Post by Selenia on Feb 20, 2012 8:49:19 GMT -5
Selenia smiled happily as her theory of the unlocked door was proved to be true. Nice and quiet, just the way she liked it. Once the door opened, she took in the room, and noticed Hind Sight doing the exact same. Her eyes fell on the old table in the center when Hind Sight noticed it out loud.
She followed closely behind the rest of the group as they circled around the table, and as Hind Sight explained what it was and what it meant. The sound of a secret war piqued her interest. Through her reading of Equestrian history in the library, she indeed hadn't seen a single page on an Equite invasion. Surely it must have been a small rebellion that was crushed, unimportant in the grand scheme of things, but this strategy table said otherwise.
"Perhaps this was never recorded as to keep the Equites in legends." She offered, following up on Mortar's conspiracy theory. "It may be because of their form of infantry... An army made of the dead, soldiers who have been slain in battle and deserve peace and rest that are being called back to fight, could be considered a near-abomonation, Celestia may have wanted to eradicate them altogether, from any and all records, too terrible for anyone to know about."
She tapped a hoof to her chin and looked to the smaller door on the wall. She nodded in agreement with Mortar's decision to check the Commander's quarters. "Even if this was all a conspiracy or something like that, we should take records and notes of what we find, then report the location to the Canterlot National Museum. They have no affiliation with the government, all their funding comes from generous donations and museum admissions. They also have the best historians, archeologists, and geologists in all of Equestria. They would be able to get some answers, and the museum board would be more than happy to part with a hefty sum for the location of this place, given we show them a few artifacts to prove it's not a scam." Selenia shrugged openly, expecting either full agreement with her idea, or complete opposition to it.
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Post by tunnelnexus on Feb 21, 2012 18:05:20 GMT -5
The gray pony pouted as the door swung open. She had been so pumped to try out a door-blasting spell. Maybe another time, she told herself.
The ornate entrance opened up into some kind of war room. At least, that's what Hind Sight said. And it did kind of look like that; a table with little figures surrounded by nasty-looking cushions occupied the center of the hall. Tunnel was more interested in the rest of the room; maybe there would be something exciting.
It occurred to Nexus that this probably would be exciting, if she would just engage the other ponies. She pursed her lips, considering getting involved in the historical invasion question.
I suppose it's worth a shot.
She thought about what the room held, and what the others had said. Through it all, there was one common theme.
"Well, somepony, or ponies, had to have erased it from the history books. Who would have had the power to do that? Only some very high-ups in the system. Maybe we could go back and look to see if any ponies may have had a clear motive for wanting to erase something like this."
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Post by Red Charge on Feb 23, 2012 8:32:49 GMT -5
"Brilliant!" Hind Sight called out suddenly, as he surveyed the maps now practically a part of the ancient table. Of course, none of the places there was identifiable at all. None of these could have been maps of Equestria, similar though they may be. They lacked several of the most defining features of the land such as Everfree Forest, Froggy Bottom Bog, or Dragon Mountain. Either way they were almost entirely unreadable, with no wind compass to direct the viewer to any directions and far too many tears and wears to be discernible as a real location. With the exception of one. The one Hind Sight was reading, "Black Talon," He recited from the dilapidated Equiterian. "Black Talon is a mountain ridge straight off the border of the Griffin Kingdom... but... it shows the marking of a city here?" He stuck a hoof to his chin and motioned for Stardust.
"Copy this map as accurately as you can dear, we'll have to conduct some more research when we get back to Canterlot, you've never been to the Griffin Kingdom by chance, have you? That seems to be our next stop. If it was a city, it had a magistrate, we'd want to check the magistrate's estate there if we could find it." He explained, now inspecting the many tattered banners around him. All bearing the bladed sun and various legion insignias, now impossible to detail due to wear, except of course for one, the cosmic scorpion - the Praetorian insignia.
Horizon looked around excitedly, this war room must have been the meeting place of ancient generals. Though puzzled about the mystery of why the Equestrian records show nothing about this supposed invasion, he did not let that take away from his enthusiasm. "Brilliant place isn't it?" He asked Tunnel, beaming.
As Stardust finished copying what Hind Sight instructed, and he himself finished sketching the room and its layout in his own notebook, they approached the door to the commander's office. It was simple and had no apparent locking mechanism, but Hind Sight took his time examining it, not offering any explanation as to why. He had not spent this much time on any of the other doors.
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Post by tunnelnexus on Feb 24, 2012 23:27:38 GMT -5
"Eh, I guess it was pretty cool. Needed a bit more action, though," said Nexus. "Maybe a hydra or something," she added as something of a joke.
At least Hind Sight had mentioned the prospect of another adventure. More adventure was always a plus.
Is that all I can think about? The thought struck her, almost physically. Seriously, I'm in the middle of a bucking ancient ruin, with a team of explorers, uncovering lost history unknown to ponykind for centuries. And I still only care about adventure?[/i]
Tunnel looked at the other ponies around her. She felt like they should be more than just ponies, they should be family after an experience like this. But there was no special connection, not that she could see. Well, except for Horizon. And Selenia. And Cloudy. And Retort, and Star Dust, and even Hind Sight.
The gray mare cocked her head curiously to one side. It was odd, feeling actual attachment to ponies. Maybe her old 'friends' hadn't really been worthy of the title.
As the rest of the ponies went about, Nexus was strangely silent and inverted.
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Post by clouddreamer on Mar 1, 2012 23:41:38 GMT -5
Cloudy listened to the other theories closely, making mental notes of what she might be able to use for future stories. One pony's theory could be another's plotline. She did want to eventually do somemore storytelling, but maybe once she had stories of her own. After all, she was in a ruins! What was stopping her from touring other parts of Equestria?
As Hint Sight began looking at a map she had just looked over, she noticed him pick out a lot more from it than she did. How was she supposed to know anything about the Griffin Kingdom? She knew only the legends and myths of such a place, not the geographical features.
When Hind Sight mentioned going to the Griffin Kingdom Cloudy's ears perked up. "Traveling to a whole other country?! That would be so cool... I've never been outside of Equestria! Not to say I wouldn't like to." It was true the blue unicorn had never left the boarder in her life, but after this why not? Maybe not to Griffin Kingdom, there were other countries outside of Equestria.
Cloudy followed to the door of the commander's office, looking over the door a little bit. She waited for somepony to say something, looking around at the other ponies of the team. Was there something special about this door? The blue unicorn looked over the door a couple more times, trying to memorize a few features for the fun of it.
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Post by stardust on Mar 3, 2012 18:43:44 GMT -5
She nodded at the command from Hind Sight, sketching the map and doodling in the little details as accurately as she could. The young mare glanced up at the unicorn with a smile as he mentioned the Griffon Kingdom. It seemed she might be sticking with this exploration group a bit longer as the thought of traveling to new lands other than Equestria came to her mind.
Putting away the notepad she trotted over to the door that she had been examining before, the door to what could be the commander's office. Silence seemed to fall over each pony that approached it, mainly to study the architecture. She too gave it another look over, wondering if it was locked or left open like the other doors had been. There was only one way to find out, but she didn't want to be the one to touch it first. Nope, no telling if any active traps could be connected to the most important door of the outpost, let alone all the dust that could fall on her.
Oh, what was she thinking about being or getting dirty of all times. They had gone too far into the ruins for her to have a little mental breakdown about the dust and dirt she's probably collected on her coat with no hope of a bath soon. Instead she took a step back and shook out her mane. That would have to do for now.
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Post by Selenia on Mar 4, 2012 8:51:18 GMT -5
Selenia looked at Hind Sight quizzically when he asked about the Griffin Kingdom. There were very few ponies who were allowed past the borders, and even fewer who lived there part or full-time. "I have in fact not been to the Griffin Kingdom. Last time I heard, they really didn't like Equestrians all that much." She let her question trail to an end, half expecting an answer and half expecting a nod of approval for her statement. "You're not implying that we actually go to the Griffin Kingdom, are you?" She answered her own question after a few seconds while Hind Sight listed the steps they would need to take. Selenia, as she had said, had never been to the Griffin Kingdom. She actually had never been outside the borders of her own country, which was a bit of a shame considering the wealth of cultures and knowedge that could be found outside Equesria's boundaries. She was nervous about the prospect of going to the Griffin Kingdom, however. But wether her fears were realized would remain to be seen.
Selenia gave a light laugh at Tunnel's sarcastic comment about the hydra. A small joke such as that could go a long way to lightening the mood in a creepy place like this. Unless of course the joke was born of anxiety.
Selenia took notice of the hanging banners when Hind Sight began observing the room. They were torn and tattered, but still intact. She didn't know what the scorpion symbol on them stood for. Probably something to do with the Equiterians, given they were snooping around inside an Equiterian ruin. "Quite magnificent indeed. The fact that they are still hanging proudly is a testament to the Equiterians' legacy and how incredibly old this place is. When we get back to Canterlot, we really should report this place to the museum board."
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Post by Mortar Retort on Mar 6, 2012 16:48:31 GMT -5
”Griffin kingdoms?” Retorted mused to himself, then circled around the table to get a look at the maps from another angle. ”Oh! Now I see it… sort-of, not really.” The maps were just too damaged for him to make heads or tails of, he’d just assume Hind Sight was dead on the mark. Now, with nothing left to add on about the maps, he let Stardust record the maps uninterrupted as that Commander’s door caught his attention. He approached beside Cloud Dreamer and gave the door a once over with his eyes.
”Well just don’t stand there, let’s see what’s beyond it.” He stated, stepping forward and placing his hoof on the door. He pushed, and pushed, door was locked. Retort let out a little sigh. His horn lit up then, enveloping it and the door’s lock in a soft glowing aura and snap, the rusted mechanism gave way and sloughed off in bits if metal and dust – wasn’t entirely what he had intended, but least it was unlocked. The door swung partially open from its own weight. He glanced to Cloudy, then to Stardust, then back at the door. ”Who wants the honors of crossing the threshold first?”
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Post by Red Charge on Mar 10, 2012 7:38:14 GMT -5
Hind Sight touched his hoof to the door and pushed slowly. Something like a minor explosion took place, there was no noise, and no shock-wave. In fact, the only reason the ponies could even tell something was wrong was because of the sudden pressure in their ears and their hair standing on edge. The small commander's office sported a large armor rack with a very old suit of armor. It was made of reinforced brass and carried the same design as the skeleton armor with one difference. It was huge. Not once did it come to Hind Sight's mind that the skeletons used in the Equiterian outposts were that of the Equites' enemies. But seeing the armor, it was clear. The Equites were massive, full sized horses. The armor itself was worn and too big to fit anyone anyway. Or even to carry out of there. But a look at the rest of the office disappointed them even further, as there was nothing salvageable in there. The room contained the ruins of an old bed and desk.
"Well that's disappointing." Hind Sight said, "A sketch of the armor if you will, Stardust, darling, and please measure it as well if you can." He requested, going back out to the war room, and then outside to the corridor. Horizon decided to follow him and see what his thoughts were.
"You alright?" He asked the unicorn, whose head was slumped and ears were flopped down miserably.
"I'll be fine. I was just hoping to finally catch a glimpse of Equiterian life. Anything about their culture, their thought processes. How they viewed the world. I do think the armor is an amazing discovery mind you. But... Nothing I guess..." While Hind Sight was talking, Horizon couldn't shake the feeling that something wasn't right about the corridor they were in. It looked different from when they entered the war room.
As the rest finished their business inside and grouped up outside, something odd happened. A very loud sound came from down the corridor in the dark. And then it hit Horizon what was wrong with the corridor.
"Where're all the suits of armor?"
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Post by tunnelnexus on Mar 10, 2012 18:47:10 GMT -5
Nexus was snapped out of her malaise when some kind of explosion- rather, a pressure spike in her ears- rattled the room. Glancing around quickly, the mare saw that the rest of the group had opened the door to the commander's room.
Foal, pay attention! You're in the wilderness, it's not exactly safe! Tunnel berated herself.
She tagged along behind the others as they looked around inside the room. The first thing that jumped out at her was the giant suit of armor; it had to have been designed for a full-sized horse. She let out an audible gulp as the idea of fighting one of those popped into her mind.
Temporary hesitation aside, the spelunker wandered about the rest of the room, checking out some of the items absently. Not finding much of interest, she trotted out after Hind Sight and Horizon into the hallway, where she sat against one of the walls with disinterest.
There was a clank from one end of the hallway, and Horizon pointed out what should have been blatantly obvious to her; the suits of armor were all gone!
"Well, I guess we'd better form up," said Tunnel, levitating her crowbar from her pack. "I have a feeling that we're about to have a fight on our hooves."
She took a low, ready stance just as Horizon had taught her. Now was the time to show her moves.
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Post by clouddreamer on Mar 11, 2012 13:49:07 GMT -5
Cloudy jumped slightly at the feeling of her hair standing up. "What... was that?" The question was presented in almost a whisper, as if she wasn't sure if someone was watching them or not. The unicorn glanced around at the other ponies, then contemplated whether to start her illusion magic or not. No, it didn't look like it was needed.
Looking inside, the armor was the first thing that caught her eye. Oh, so what she had probably wasn't the special armor. None of the cult members would fit in those big of suits, so it didn't matter. Opening her bag, Cloudy removed the armor from the armory with her telekinesis and put it down onto the floor. If it was unnecessary to present it to Red Charge, it was better not to take it.
Glancing over, Cloudy saw Hind Sight and Horizon leave. Curious, she followed them through the war room and back to the corridor. The unicorn saw the two in the corridor from the door to the war room, but froze there. She immediately saw that something was out of place. They weren't alone.
The other members of the group followed later grouping up. All the while the blue unicorn's eyes were frantically looking through the dark corridor, wanting to use her illusion magic to make a light. Then came the clank, and Cloudy visibly jumped
Seeing Nexus prepare for battle, Cloudy decided as well. This time she did use her illusion magic, but made all the illusion light come from her horn. Hopefully this would be mistaken as a normal light spell, even though her eyes were glowing too because of the use of illusion. "Hopefully it won't come to that Nexus, but regardless we to see them."
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