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Post by zipfyre on Dec 1, 2011 20:55:13 GMT -5
ZipFyre hesitated, not wanting to leave her parents without light, but Tunnel and Rose were right. They'd need the light if they were going to be any help to whoever made that scream. Slipping the rope around her neck she jerked her head towards where the sound had come from to beckon Tunnel to follow her. "Aight, Rose. You go'n scout ahead, but be careful! We don' know what's in thar." Zip adjusted the thick ribbon wrapped around her mouth and, with a final, worried glance at her parents, still working hard at building the tornado, set off deeper into the storm. Now we're really askin' fer it. What kinda job did yeh git yerself into, Zippy ol' girl?
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Post by tunnelnexus on Dec 2, 2011 19:55:16 GMT -5
Tunnel spent all of her spare concentration following the pull of the rope through the sandstorm, so it never even occurred to her how vulnerable she was. Something could so easily just sneak up on her... if there was something to do the sneaking.
The spelunker could feel sweat beginning to bead up on her hide; she was getting tired from her unusually high, sustained magical output. Hopefully she'd be able to last long enough to accomplish the task at hoof...
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Post by applecider on Dec 3, 2011 12:14:55 GMT -5
Apple Cider led the ponies to her mill and down into the cider cellar. "Alright y'all. This cider will kep ya safe from the storm. Please don't leave here until I or some other pony comes back and lets you know everythin's ok." With that she headed out of the safety of the mill and into the town again. The town, once busy, was now a ghost town. "Ah got mah group ta safety. I hope that Lime lightning pony was able ta find the rest."
She then sat the black pelted unicorn in the distance, calling out to any missed pony. "They ya are Lime Lightning. I'm glad ta see yer safe. I trust ya got the rest of the ponies ta safety. We have to head to where the other ponies are in case they need our help. I know it'll be dangerous but once we get this storm out of the area, we'll be done. Are ya ready?"
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Post by danielalaverne on Dec 3, 2011 23:27:26 GMT -5
There they were, three mares to get deeper into a sand storm endangering an entire city, ready to safe the life of somepony - or whoever else - lost inside the wall of flying sand grains. Morrow gulped silently, as anything but for pretty loud yelling was silenced now and pulled her paper pony hat deeper into her face. It almost covered her eyes now, yet still the wind kept pulling at it. She made sure to put it away into her purse, before it could fly away and get lost - her hat she got from her grandfather!
"I'm on it, Zip! I'll be as careful as I can-", she yelled before taking off to her search inside the storm. Where has that voice been again? Vaguely, at least! The delivery Pegasus had an intuitive idea, but she knew she could be way off. All that noise and sand blurred vision made it had to pay attention. She knew Tunnel's light behind her, but the further she flew the less illumination made it to her.
Trying to fly rather close to the ground, she could at least memorize the one or other bigger rock as orientation. Still she didn't want to fly to far and after a while made it back to her following friends, she she got the feeling she spotted something, but she wasn't sure at all!
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Post by 11qwe123 on Dec 3, 2011 23:52:41 GMT -5
Lime was now pretty sure everypony was safe inside the cellers now. Minuets later she saw Apple Cider not to far away and trotted up to her. The once peaceful town of hard-working ponies was now deserted-like. Lime hoped the ponies battling that sand storm were doing ok and sucessfull keep that thing from hitting the town. Hey there Apple Cider, I've gotten all tha' ponys I could find ta saftey! Head out to help the others, sure sounded a bit dangerous but Lime was up to it!"Sure am ready! I'll do anythin' to keep Appleoosa safe! The black unicorn was a bit worried about the storm but tried to stay calm. Worry wouldn't do any good right now.
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Post by ragglefraggle on Dec 4, 2011 12:58:06 GMT -5
Only seconds after Morrow Rose had taken off her hat, something in the sand-filled air rushed towards her, and fast. One second it wasn't more than a barely perceivable yellowish gleam in the dust ahead of her, the next it darted over her head, missing her by mere inches and drawing a massive gust of wind in its wake. Another, louder scream echoed through the Sandstorm, this time coming from straight above the two mares, just like the wind that now seemed to push the spelunker and the courier to the ground. It was unlike any sound a pony could make, rather resembling an angry animal's screech than a shout for help. The frightening sound was followed by a hail of small objects being flung to the ground near the two ponies, glimmering like gold in the sparse light of Tunnel Nexus' spell. They were unrecognizable stuck like that in the sand, but maybe, if they were able to get one of them closer to a light source, they'd get an idea of what exactly was in the heart of this storm.
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Post by zipfyre on Dec 5, 2011 23:25:32 GMT -5
ZipFyre froze at the screech, looking about for whatever had made it. She looked to Rose. "Are yeh alright thar, Morrow Rose?" Something in the sand distracted her. "What in tarnation? Hey Tunnel, git yer light over'ere. There be somethin' in th' sand!" Trying to stay low so the wind wasn't so hard on her face, Zip approached the object, trying to decipher what it was. "It be yeller an' shiny. Looks like somethin' a spee-lunker ood knows about. Any thoughts, Nexus?"
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Post by tunnelnexus on Dec 11, 2011 12:30:23 GMT -5
Diverting some of her attention from the light spell, which dimmed a bit, the gray mare looked at the shiny objects lying around on the ground. She made to walk towards one, but the toll of the spell on her stamina was taking a noticable effect. She had to push her way through with much more effort than normal, the wind and sand only adding to her fatigue. She stopped and sat down, trying to rest and regain some strength in case the... thing decided to chase after them.
"Well, it looks a lot like gold," shouted Nexus through clenched teeth. "If I could get one, I'd be able to say with more certainty what it is."
In all honesty, the mare was reluctant to find out just what was in this sandstorm with them.
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Post by applecider on Dec 11, 2011 16:10:45 GMT -5
Apple Cider ran as fast as she could with Lime Lightning as she could to get to the storm. Something strange was with this storm. There was a strange light in the center and there were these objects on the ground, although in the darkened skies of the storm she didn't know what they were.
"I'm glad ta see y'all safe still. LimeLightning and I got the ponies ta safety an' now I'm here ta help. Has the storm got any smaller? An' what are those things lyin' on the ground?"
She didn't want to pepper the ponies with questions as they were still busy trying to tame the storm. She just wanted to know the basics so she could try things that weren't attempted before. There would be time for conversation, but not until this was done.
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Post by danielalaverne on Dec 13, 2011 15:51:28 GMT -5
"Huh?! What in all things sandy and dusty was that!", The delivery Pegasus shouted, rather surprised as she didn't await anything to fly inside the storm, but ZipFyre, her parents, and herself, and of course very much sand and dust. For a moment she got the impression a great animal, like a raptor had passed her and she got an uneasy feeling about what may be happenin-
A scream? Again?! Getting the impression it came from where she last knew her friends, the short grown Pegasus dashed, or rather tried to fly fast, in the very same direction. This didn't sound like a pony in need of help anymore, not at all, that was more a wild animal, or was it? Maybe even an entire pack!
Morrow dived in to find ZipFyre and Tunnel close to where she expected them, "I'm alright, but there's something in there, some animal or monster of some sort? Definitely not another pony!", and wasn't there even Apple Cider joining them? Morrow noticed her old friend not being accompanied by Singasong, or she just could not see her pet bird in the storm, yet she was fairly certain the black bird was safe and hiding with ponies somewhere. At least she had that worry off her head, as a little bird as Singasong wouldn't fly far in a storm that strong.
Actually, she was surprised she was not blown away herself, yet.
"It sure looks golden, but we'll have time for that later", she said upon landing near the other mares, looking over the Golden appearing things on the ground. Hm, they sure looked valuable, but gold was a color that just gave that impression. "We're not alone-"
As if to put emphasis on Morrow's words, something passed by the spelunker and the courier, very fast. There was a blur, something vaguely yellow, but then again all around the ponies was sandy and as far eyes could see in soft yellow brown tones of dust and sand. And whoosh!, a massive gust of wind passed by AC and Morrow. There was some quick impression like the flapping of wings, but it was gone as soon as it came.
And then again... this time two gusts of wind and blurry images gave away two - what was that?! - somethings dashing right over the ponies from opposing directions. Screams echoed through the storm where they would have met and a sudden chaotic wind, ignoring the direction of the storm, nearly blew over Morrow, the Pegasus instead of just ended up on her haunches and leaning at another pony, AC, who involuntarily had caught her fall.
She got up and shook herself, "We are not alone!"
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Post by 11qwe123 on Dec 14, 2011 1:00:55 GMT -5
Lime galloped along with Apple Cider as they headed to the sandstorm. Using her magic Lime created a bit of light from her horn attempting to make it easier to see. The storm sure was a big one giving Appleoosa a challenge to try and stop the massive thing. The strong wind grew as they neared the storm. Lime also took a notice at the strange objects lying on the ground which were barely visible with all the sand flying around.
" Yep, all the ponies back in town er safe. I'm here ta help with anythin' els too!" The massive storm sure was intimidating to the younger pony but it needed to go. Whatever it took to keep Appleoosa safe was what everypony was willing to do. A sandstorm no matter what size wouldn't be able to crush the strong and hard-working Appaloosa ponys.
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Post by zipfyre on Dec 14, 2011 10:32:28 GMT -5
ZipFyre stared at Apple Cider, then Lime Lightning as they approached. The baker and cider pony... Courage sure same from unexpected places. Zip opened her mouth to answer AC's questions, when Morrow hurtled from the storm back to the group, followed by an ear-splitting scream... more wild animal than distressed pony. Morrow was right. They certainly weren't alone. Zip glanced at Nexus, who looked as tuckered out as her little brother at the end of a day-long hike. "Lime! I need yeh ta take over from Nexus and keep our area lit! I have a feelin' we're 'bout ta be attacked 'n' I don't wanna be surprised, understand?" Zip knew she must sound bossy and snippish, but sometimes a situation was too urgent for diplomacy and tact. She tightened her ribbon around her face and locked herself into a solid stance, watching for the next movement from the potential threat.
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Post by tunnelnexus on Dec 15, 2011 21:26:19 GMT -5
Nexus heard Zip call out to Lime about lighting up the area, taking over from her. She knew that she was too tired to keep up such a bright light spell, but the suggestion to replace her felt like an accusatory jab at her pride.
"No! I can... handle it," grunted the spelunker, shakily holding the light spell at a close but slightly lower level of brightness.
Something whooshed past Tunnel's head, blowing out her dwindling light spell like a candle. She thought she heard the sound of wings flapping over the noise of the sandstorm, then again, but now there were more of them.
Nexus sighed, breathing heavily. As much as she hated to admit it, they were lucky that Lime had showed up when she did, otherwise they'd be in the dark. Not that she didn't mind the dark; she was a spelunker, after all, but there was a limit to how much any pony could see without light.
Even though Lime would be putting up her own light spell soon enough, Nexus lit up her horn weakly, just enough to see a meter or two in any direction. It made her feel a bit better about herself.
Zip had a point; Tunnel had a bad feeling about their safety, so she trotted next to the other ponies, especially Morrow, who'd been blown over, and stood protectively near the group.
"Whatever they are, if they come at us, let me take the brunt of it! I'm the fittest of all the ponies here, it's for the best," shouted the gray mare over the roaring winds; she was stretching things a bit, for sure, but that wasn't important right now... right?
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Post by applecider on Dec 17, 2011 12:19:06 GMT -5
Just when Apple Cider was about to investigate the gold objects on the ground something blew past her, knocking Morrow into her side. No time for having her questions answered. It was time for action. "There's somethin here. Good thing I brought this..." she then opened up her saddle bag and brought out a lasso. "Never know whe ya need this, so I keep it with me at all times. Now I can try to wrangle whatever this thing is, but I'm gonna need help." She looked at Lime Lightning and Nexus. "I'm gonna need one or both of you ta light up the area so I can see where this thing is and what it is. ZipFyre and Morrow, one of ya are gonna need to be a distraction to it . Once I have this thing lassoed, I'm gonna need everypony ta help pull with me ta bring it down. What do y'all say?'
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Post by danielalaverne on Dec 18, 2011 18:57:19 GMT -5
The more the merrier they said, and Morrow felt a good deal relieved as she, just back on her hooves, noticed they got even more support - and even more light as it was. They were not alone here, in the storm, but they were not alone either way, as they were a group of ponies, a team-
Another gust of wind grabbed her small body and only digging her hooves into the sandy ground helped her this time. Certainly they had to do something, soon- Really soon!
There was it again, something flying by - real close even! The delivery Pegasus nodded approvingly as her old friend Apple Cider started explaining her plan. That pony sure knew- Wait a moment? "Uh, AC, you mean were gonna be a decoy to whatever is... there..." She looked up and gulped, as of expecting the monster that must be there to show up right now. Although whatever it was, it was not doing her that favor.
No, she could not back out now, this was too important to her friends and now home and to herself, of course! "I better be a real good decoy then!" A bit enthusiastic again, she spread her wings and this time let the storm take her, but did her best to navigate with her feathery wings and not have this end up and uncontrolled tumbling around.
Her flight as decoy was lasting shortly only though as something passed by her that closely, it nearly knocked her out of the air. "Talking about rude-" The short Pegasus shook herself and quickly dived after whatever nearly hit her and thus back to where her friends were. She could not tell yet if they were still there, though all the dust in the air, or if Zip was playing decoy as well, but she would just have to find out. Just what did that monster want from the other ponies?
There! There were the ponies, still around the golden glittering objects in the sandy ground, and- "What in the name of everything apple-flavored-" As the storm calmed a bit for a moment - it varied in strength some times - Morrow could make out a giant bird-like shape heading towards her friends! It was just huge, much bigger than a few ponies together, as far as she could tell.
Just as it came closer to the ground, the storm grew in strength again with a strong gust of wind and another shape like the first rushing in, knocking the first right out of course and away from where it aimed at. Both golden yellow glittering shapes vanished within the dusty and sandy winds again, just to emerge again after a moment, again clashing into each other right above the ponies.
Still in mid-air, Morrow got hot by the tip of a wing, as if the monster it belonged to didn't even notice her. It wasn't even a direct attack but enough for the short grown pony to find herself atop of a sand hill next to her friends, with few bruises. Nothing major though and her wings were unharmed! "Does anypony of you know what those are and what they want?"
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