After the Fall

by **Syron** Thu Jan 03, 2013 11:41 am

November 12, about noon

(( Takes place directly after "Figuring out this mess". Shade and Scrappy follow Scintillance into the hole, after they both have shown some serious psychological problems. ))

It would be a lie to say the fall was longer than Shade had expected, for she hadn't spent a single thought on that. She had simply grabbed Scrapper and thrown them into the hole Scintillance had taken not long before, and now she found them rushing into darkness, the ground not to be seen before reaching it. This certainly had been a stupid action, but in her rage it was surprising that Shade had even decided on running away, another attack head on would have been more likely, apparently some sense was coming back to her.
But right now, her anger also gave her the determination to survive this. Her hood was being pulled back by the air rushing by, the madness and hatred in her eyes was clearly visible in the blue glow of her horn as she took Scrapper's hoof claws for herself, one at her free front hoof - the other one was holding the earth pony - and one at one of her hind hooves. The vertical tunnel was narrow enough for the unicorn to stem her hooves into either side of it, a somewhat straining and painful action, but in her current state she didn't care about that, and with the claws it worked to slow their fall, not much but enough to make the impact not as deadly as it would have been otherwise.

The air was pressed out of her lungs when Shade hit the ground and basically every single bone hurt, and yet she was up in an instant, her crazed look darting around wildly to find anything she could let her anger out on, but nothing was there, or at least not visible in the spare light her horn produced. This was the first time for Scrapper that he could actually see her face, but what he could see certainly wasn't the collected mare she had been when they first met.

by Scrapper Thu Jan 03, 2013 3:19 pm

Scrapper felt himself hit the ground. But couldn't tell if his body hurt more than his head did. He couldn't get up right away either, his vision continued to pulse red and he could only see the blood red haze which has haunted him for years. Even before the war.

He could sense Shade's anger through everything. He concentrated on seeing through the haze that blurred his vision and stood up, Still in pain from the fall and from his head. Although his headache and vision were improving, slowly. But it was still hard for him to see anything. He forced the words out of his own mouth and said, Lassie, calm down. Are you alright? He could tell that this wasn't the same mare he met before. Something bothered her far more than his memories bothered him. He just learned to ignore them, which wasn't hard since he couldn't remember them anyway. Except when they wanted to be remembered.

by **Syron** Thu Jan 03, 2013 5:19 pm

Shade's breath was heavy, her body trembling, her face a grimace of hatred as she turned to Scrapper when he spoke to her. Did she understand him? Impossible to tell, at least she didn't calm down. She took a slow step towards him, then another one, her eyes now fixed on the earth pony, not searching anymore. But even if she had decided on him as target for her rage, something was working against it. On the surface her movement had been quick. Aggressive and not well planned, but incredibly quick. Now an inner conflict caused the trembling as contradictory commands were given to her body. Still, her hoof reached back to strike at Scrapper, who could easily have thought he was looking at a demon right now. But the blow didn't come, not at him. Suddenly Shade turned left and an ear-splitting scream left her lungs as she slammed her hoof into the wall. There she stood for a few moments, her expression not changed a single bit. Her hoof reached back and was slammed into the wall again. Again and again, and slowly her expression softened. The anger and hatred retreated, tears filled her eyes as sorrow took hold. The force of the blows decreased until they finally completely stopped. For her hoof it came a little late, the harsh treatment had taken its toll on it, but Shade still had other things on her mind. She simply stared at the wall of the tunnel, more into nothing, as silent sobs escaped her.

by Scrapper Thu Jan 03, 2013 6:03 pm

Despite the visions he tried to fight back, He knew It was Shade. And he also knew that she was enraged enough to throw a hit at him. He was in no condition to react, drastic movements made his headache comeback, He would just have to take the hit. But Shade hesitated, then started hitting the wall to his right. Anger turned to Sorrow. It's easy for him to tell from just hearing how often she hit the wall.

He stood next to her and placed a hoof on her, in a dim hope of comforting her. Las.. This isn't like you. I know I've only recently met you but It ain't hard to figure out that this isn't normal for you. Normally, he never cared how others felt. He never stayed near many others anyhow. He guessed that she was having troubles with her past, Like him. Is there something bothering you Las? You can-... His visions surged again, painfully cutting out his sentance and forcing him to stay silent. Grunting at the pain it was giving him.

by **Syron** Thu Jan 03, 2013 7:21 pm

Shade was concentrated on her own struggles so that she almost didn't notice how Scrapper had another attack. There wasn't anything she could do and so she just waited and continued to get her emotions back in check. She regarded her hoof, chipped, bloody and hurting more than the rest of her body which still complained about the impact. She tried to put weight on it, and got the expected result of even more pain.
She noticed that she still had one of her cloth sandals on her left hind hoof, the other ones she had lost in the fight just a short time ago. It would do as basic bandage for now, but she would need fresh water to wash out the dirt. Her saddlebags of course had been left on the surface as well, her hole equipment was gone apart from what she had stored under her cloak, which was hardly anything since she didn't want to have her movement hindered in any way. Scrappers hoof claws were already lying on the ground, Shade had striped them off when first standing up.

When Scrapper's seizure ended, Shade returned the earlier question, her voice as strong as she could manage, but it sounded clearly forced and her eyes still revealed the grief inside. Are you alright?

by Scrapper Thu Jan 03, 2013 7:43 pm

He was still hesitant in telling Shade about it. But It has become far to obvious to keep hiding. Once he was able, he replied to Shade, No Las, no. I'm ain't ok. Infact, at times, I'm definitely far from "Ok"

He picked up his Hoof-Claws and put them in his bag. It'll take a bloody great time to explain. As he spoke, the effects were beginning to fade away. Allowing him to think more freely. He didn't care that Shade was close to hitting him across the head. Normally he would, but for some reason, he just couldn't hold it against her.

by **Syron** Fri Jan 04, 2013 5:03 am

He hadn't been supposed to see this. This hadn't been supposed to happen at all, for years she hadn't fallen into rage! And the last time it happened, she had almost killed a friend...
Shade definitely had to start her old training again, get this under control while nothing she would regret had happened yet. Scrapper however would be no part of it, she didn't know him well enough to let him in on her troubles. As a result, she couldn't demand of him to tell her about his problems. You don't have to explain if you don't want to. Let's just move on, she said, in the same forcedly calm voice as before.

This was the first time the unicorn really took a look around, but there wasn't much to see. They were in a level, slightly curved tunnel, ending in darkness into both directions. Temporarily Shade increased the glow of her horn a bit, but at least in this sense she simply wasn't the brightest, blue wasn't the best color to light the way. But it was better this way, the darkness usually was Shade's friend, and she knew she could trust her ears to warn her should anything get near.
But, in which direction to go? That wasn't hard to decide: Simply follow the hoofprints! In fact, there were several, but most of them led downwards, while only one single set led upwards. Scintillance had been alone, and probably had intended to reach the surface again, and so Shade followed the tunnel upwards. With the first steps, her hood was pulled up again, hiding from Scrapper how long she really would need to completely recollect herself.

by Scrapper Fri Jan 04, 2013 10:05 am

Scrapper followed Shade upwards through the tunnel. Waiting for his head to stop hurting at the least.

I think I should at least give you a quick summary of it Las, It better not get bloody worse from it. After a few seconds he continued. It is something to do with my past but... I can't remember it. It was before the war as well. Something happened and.. Hell, I don't know. After it though, I was alone. I couldn't remember who my family was, I couldn't remember where I lived. I couldn't remember anything since it happened. He took another second to recollect what he can remember. At first, whenever I tried to remember anything. My head only hurt a little. But It got bad, real bad. It's not like a seizure, Its pretty hard to explain. Maybe to hard for me at least.

He stayed silent after that. his headache drastically reduced after opening up to Shade like that. If it was just acceptance or.. If he just managed to ignore it this once. He didn't know. But he was thankful that it died down faster this time, regardless of the reason.

by **Syron** Sat Jan 05, 2013 12:57 pm

Shade hobbled, not much but still visibly. Her self inflicted injury hurt pretty bad when she put weight on her hoof, but most of it she simply ignored, leaving only a small irregularity in her step. What worried her more was the risk of infection, but she simply had no way of treating her wounds properly right now.

She silently listened to Scrapper's explanation, showing no reaction until he was finished, and even then it took time before she answered. She wasn't yet back to normal, and she seemed to make only little progress. Her struggle to keep emotions out of her voice was obvious, especially sadness could be heard. In times like these, the past often seems to be uncomfortable. Be it because it makes you realize what you have lost or because it's so cruel in itself that thinking about it lets you experience the same horror again. I suppose it's the latter in your case. I'd be happy if I could forget what has happened, but the cost you pay for that seems rather high.
What she said wasn't entirely true. Completely forgetting about Skylight? No, this wouldn't be right. But she didn't want to remember how she...
Suddenly she stopped and just stood there with lowered head and closed eyes, her breathing deep and controlled.

by Scrapper Sat Jan 05, 2013 7:22 pm

Scrapper walked next to Shade, still taking notice of Shade's injury. After she made a comment about what he had told her, he immediately replied.

No, Lassie. Be happy that you at least remember something. If you lost something dear to you, like family, They can at least live on in your memory. I'd be far happier knowing what happened that day... He stopped. Not wanting to risk getting more visions.
Shade had stopped and had her head down low. He had watched Shade walk on her injured hoof for long enough. He still had his bag, he never put it on unless it was secure. He took out a small container filled with clean water and offered it to her. Here, take it. You can make better use of it on that limp you have Las. I'm no doctor, but the last thing we need is that getting infected. And for what It's worth, I understand how you feel.

by **Syron** Sun Jan 06, 2013 11:34 am

Thanks.
She used as little of the water as possible, for a simple reason: They were in some underground cave system they didn't know, and they had no clue how to get out. They might be down here for hours and could need the water otherwise. But in the end she still had used half of the content to get her hoof somewhere near "clean". Meanwhile she said nothing, only a muttered Great escaped her upon closing the container and levitated it back to Scrapper. At least her sandal which served as makeshift bandage didn't need to be cleaned: It simply was a folded piece of cloth with a strap to fix it on the hoof, now she unfolded it and turned the still clean inner side to the outside, before putting it on again. Pain still shot through her hoof when she put weight on it, but at least no dirt would be rubbed into the wounds when taking a step now. When Shade continued the way, she suddenly answered to Scrappers comment from earlier, in the same voice as before, with not successfully suppressed sadness.
Of course I don't want to forget her, but I wish I could forget how I've lost her.
The moment she had said this she stopped in her step again, though only for a moment now.
Bad subject. Let's change to something else please.
The tunnel they where walking now continued straight forward, but Shade's horn still only allowed to see a few meters in advance, but the ground they were walking on began to be more rock than earth, and soon enough the hoofprints they have been following weren't visible anymore. With the next junction, if there was one, they would have to take a guess.

by Scrapper Sun Jan 06, 2013 1:33 pm

He took the container and put it back in his bag. He respected why she wanted to change the topic. Just because he can't remember his past doesn't mean others particularly want to remember theirs. I'm not sure If you've noticed Las but, talking isn't my strong point.

I haven't had to talk this much for a decent chunk of time. And I don't know much about you so, I don't really know what you want to talk about. He pushed his goggles up. It helped him see a bit better but not by much. He was limited to the light that Shade was making. All it would take is for a Diamond Dog to find them, and they could be in trouble. Thinking on that note, he recalled the Diamond Dog he met when he first arrived here. It would be false hope to think they'd run into him in these tunnels, but It'd be far better than staying lost. This just feels like we're running around as headless chickens, to be honest about this situation.

by **Syron** Sun Jan 06, 2013 2:32 pm

I'm not much of a talker myself, seems we have a similarity there, Shade answered, then fell silent until Scrapper commented their not all glorious situation. It certainly could take a while until we find Scintillance. Or an exit, for that matter.
They had just reached the junction Shade had feared. Three ways to go, the right one leading upwards, two went slightly downwards. The unicorn didn't need long to decide; after hearing nothing from any of the tunnels, she turned right and hoped that it would bring them to the surface. Scinillance SHOULD have taken this path as well, but as she knew him, he could have done anything.
From now on, always the right path first, if we have no further clues, she simply said, from the sound of her voice she was slowly getting back to normal.

((If you have nothing interesting to do right now, I suggest a time skip))

by **Syron** Mon Jan 07, 2013 10:39 am

About two hours later

Wow, we've finally found more than just another tunnel, Shade said happily when they tunred a corner. Indeed, after what felt like an eternity of running around cluelessly, one of the tunnels opened up to what once had been part of the sewers. Her mood was back to normal by now, though it had taken her long enough.

Unfortunately the tunnel they had just found wasn't connected to the rest of the sewers anymore, or so it seemed: In one direction it simply always had been a dead end, a wall of concrete with a trellised hole to let the sewage in - which it luckily didn't do anymore -, and in the other direction it had collapsed. About 30 meters from one end to the other, a comfortable width and in a hidden location, Shade immediately liked this place. Though it certainly wasn't perfect.
Not really the best air down here, but if we get up there we might have a way out, and then this looks like a pretty good hideout. She had increased the glow of her horn and was pointing at another hole in the ceiling, featuring a ladder leading higher up, but the part that would have let to the hole itself was lying on the ground before the ponies. Can you do that?
A difficult task, the curved walls and ceilings didn't feature many possible grips, though time had at leased caused some cracks to appear. A rope would certainly help, and usually Shade would have had one, if she still had her saddlebags.

by Scrapper Mon Jan 07, 2013 3:11 pm

What he was basically being told to do, was climb up the hole in the roof. And make a way of using it later. He took out the last length of rope he had with him. He left the other one back at the factory where he first met Shade and Lance.

He put his Hoof-Claws back on and held the rope so that Shade could see it. Where would my manners be If I said no? He took a run towards the hole and when he got close to being under it he jumped. Despite the hole being too high to simply jump and grab, Scrapper still managed to grab onto it with his claws. He followed up his first grab and climbed up until he was properly on the ladder. He then quickly tied his rope to it and checked if it would hold. Despite the ladder being quite old, it was still very sturdy and could hold a bit of weight.

When he started climbing down, he slipped and fell off the ladder. His left-hind leg caught onto the two bottom bars on the ladder, which left him hanging visibly from the hole. Oh, well bugger... This is embarrassing. after hanging there for a bit. He leaned up and freed his leg. Forcing him to fall to the floor. I'm sick of falling over already. He quickly got up and brushed off some dust. All done Lassie, Yup. I'm just that good. He could tell his head was fine. He was back to making jokes again. This place was perfectly hidden, so surely he wouldn't get chewed off for making jokes this time around.

by **Syron** Mon Jan 07, 2013 6:32 pm

Could have had more elegance, but good work, Shade said grinningly and walked towards the rope, though she didn't come far. Let's see... that we hide, somepony's coming.
It was still faint, but it was there, voices coming out of the tunnel Shade and Scrapper had come in through. Quickly the unicorn ran to the collapsed end of the short tunnel and ducked behind one of the larger chunks of ceiling. The pain she caused herself with that was simply ignored. If Scrapper had followed her closely enough he could see a blue glow from beneath her cloak, and of course a similar glow of her horn under the hood, and maybe he had noticed it in several spots between rubble around the entrance.
It didn't take long until some of the words could be understood.
Before ... even ... dig ... to the surface.
It's not ... the ... wasn't strong ... carry us
But it was YOUR glorious plan to go into this STUPID TUNNEL!
SHUT UP! One more word and I'll decorate your heads with some bolts.
A heated argument brought to a sudden stop, now only their steps could be heard. Shade was closely listening to them, trying to find out how many they had to deal with.

by Scrapper Mon Jan 07, 2013 6:49 pm

Scrapper heard the voices get close, and he didn't see any good places to hide from view. He wanted to be at a different part of the room in-case either Him or Shade was seen. He looked around and saw a few cardboard boxes. Simply by looking at them he knew he could fit in one, and It certainly wasn't obvious. He quickly picked up a box and held it over him, he then knelt down and sat the box over himself. He now looked like any other piece of history that was left in this place.

The box had a small hole that he could see out of. It was originally meant to aid whoever was mean't to carry it. Now It was helping Scrapper see what was outside. He whispered to himself, Huh.. This feels like deja vu. He made sure that the box was motionless. A perfect hiding spot with the other old cardboard boxes near him. Unless they were scavengers or he moved or attracted attention. It is unlikely that he'd be found.

by Red Shirt Thu Jan 10, 2013 12:33 pm

A large, white, muscly unicorn with a crew-cut blonde mane trotted into the room with heavy hoof steps. he eyed both ends of it, and then slammed his hoof into the wall, ANOTHER dead end. A smaller, more slender Pegasus trotted in after this burly unicorn. his coat was riddled with dirt, and his messy orange mane stood out against his olive green fur. uh... Boss? he pointed to the rope, obviously standing out compared to the ruined surroundings; any pony could tell that it was a new addition to the room. what? WHAT!? well, any pony with some intelligence could tell that it was a new addition to the room. th-the rope. The unicorn finally took notice of the rope, and grinned as he realized that it lead to an area above them. if it lead up, it must have lead towards the surface. He grinned, as two more Stallions entered the room, one cyan, one a shade of maroon, both musclebound and had large hammers strapped to their backs. looks like some pony's been here already. Look around and see if they've left any... 'gifts,' for us... and YOU, you check if that hole leads anywhere.

At that, the Olive Pegasus took a short trot forward before gliding up the hole, and the cyan earth pony started trotting towards the pile of carboard boxes; if there'd be any hidden treasures, that would've been the first spot to check. Lacking other options that would be worth searching, the other earth pony followed after his brighter coated counterpart. the white unicorn, apparently their "boss," made his way closer to the rope, and gave it a closer look, testing its strength all the while.

by **Syron** Thu Jan 10, 2013 2:04 pm

The hoofsteps agreed with the number of voices and said there were four ponies coming. And from the conversation Shade knew that at least one of them had a crossbow, and he probably was of the more aggressive kind.
Scrappers location was known to Shade, she had taken a look back when the earth pony hadn't followed her, though she didn't know the exact cardboard box he had chosen. He couldn't be seen, in this sense he had hidden well, but he would hardly be able to move without being noticed. But Shade didn't know if he had any ranged weapons, possibly he had to show himself anyway to help in a fight, if one was necessary.
With Lance a good distance away, she activated her spell and the shadows around her grew even darker than they already were, though slowly and not enough to be noticable without searching for it. But it helped to make her vanish in the darkness, even when she was in line of sight.

The group entered, and Shade eyed them closely, her cold expression unseen in the darkness. Those ponies didn't have a good chance of doing nothing that would mean their certain death, one false decision would seal their fate. Said false decision was to search for 'gifts'. As the olive pegasus took of, so did a shuriken a few meters to his left. It had been only a short magical flick, but the star already had enough energy to quickly pass the distance, and it was aimed accurately. This pegasus had been chosen as first target because he could get away easily once he was up there. But Shade was perfectly capable of multitasking with her little weapons, and so another star was flying towards the maroon earth pony to spare Scrapper from in CQC with two enemies at once. The glow Shade's horn emitted was covered by her hood and her shadow spell.

by Scrapper Thu Jan 10, 2013 2:42 pm

They were in the room now. There could have been no less than 4, from all the orders being barked at them. Scrapper raised his goggles to help his sight adjust to the darkness and let him see better. He looked out the small hole of the box and saw a pony coming towards the boxes. He had guessed right, in a way. They were looters, or maybe thieves, and that put him in a spot of trouble.

He still had his Hoof-Claws on. He wouldn't have much choice if he was found. If the box he was in got lifted up, He'd quickly grab the one that did it and either keep them silent or... Well, that was the only real idea he had. At-least he had help this time around.

by Red Shirt Sat Jan 12, 2013 5:40 pm

the olive green pegasus had his neck cut quite deep, quite quickly, only barely after the pony had only gotten some distance up the rope-way before the shurikens' blade found its mark, and he went down in silence; his head knocked into the edge of the hole before his whole body slid down to the floor.

the stallion closest to Scrapper's box, however, yelped in pain. An impressive cut appeared on his neck, but his thick skin (or fat. fatty skin) had protected his arteries from permanent devastation. he lived. very painfully, but he lived. the Cyan earth pony held both hooves over his cut, toppling forward, and crushing some cardboard boxes near Ferrous.

The maroon earth pony pulled his hammer out, and turned to the entrance, hoping to see what just got his fellow mercenary, while the white unicorn had a maroon glow emanating from his horn. it shone over a crossbow that he pulled from his side, and rushed to find cover. he noticed, a part of the ceiling had fallen off to the floor, and its' rubble may have made a decent cover. he leaped over, and positioned himself defensively, aiming towards the entrance with his crossbow.

He quickly realized that his right pale white hoof had been... darkened, somehow. more than his left hoof. he turned his head right and found a hooded figure, almost an embodiment of darkness, with a faint blue glow coming from where a face should've been... more out of fear than tactical decision, the stallion swung his crossbow toward the demonic figure with all his might. If Shade would dodge, she'd gain the advantage of combating an incredibly frightened opponent. if she doesn't... well, this stallion's called "Hammer Toss" for a reason...

by **Syron** Sun Jan 13, 2013 6:14 pm

Shade would have completed her work with the cyan earth pony, if the boss weren't placing himself right next to her. Right next to the pony who was controlling the deadly weapons. And she always kept one of them with her. Bad chances for the muscular unicorn. Shade rolled to the side, feeling the rush of the crossbow passing above her. She allowed her opponent to follow her movement and had reduced the power of her spell. The shuriken got left behind and would now be in a flanking position, perfect for a lethal strike. Unfortunately the glow when she was magically flicking it at the target could be seen, and then a quick reaction could save him. The moment Shade came out of the role, the weapon was on its way.

by Scrapper Sun Jan 13, 2013 6:44 pm

Shade had been found by pure chance from what Scrapper could see. But she was found nonetheless. The pony that landed on the boxes next to him would be a problem. Logical solution is to try knock him out and deal with another pony. His presence wasn't known yet, he could wait for a better opportunity.

He decided that Shade was in the most need of help. There was another pony in there as well, He'd go for the Maroon pony and take some heat off of Shade. He threw the cardboard box off of himself and made sure it landed on the Cyan pony that was near him so he couldn't see. He then reached into his bag and took out a small blade he made a few days earlier, a simple combination of a metal shard and some leather wrap as a grip. He approached the Maroon pony under the cover of the darkness. He was still spot-able, but hopefully the attention wasn't on him at this point.

by Red Shirt Mon Jan 14, 2013 7:28 am

The white stallion had certainly felt that shuriken at his neck, but he was far too jumpy, too shaky for a "clean cut." once again, Shade had left a non-fatal cut, only this time much messier. the shuriken flying back towards Shade carried a small gush of blood behind it, which may splash onto her if she was close enough. The pony shouted in pain and rage. he tried to move his crossbow to aim at Shade, but tensely misfired long before it was facing in Shade's direction. he was far out of options, and all he could think of in the moment it to toss his Crossbow at the shaded pony with his Maroon, telekinetic grip.

by **Syron** Mon Jan 14, 2013 2:42 pm

By the time the crossbow came at her again, the darkness around Shade was at a all time high. When it was forced away by the glow around the weapon, it revealed nothing, especially no pony. The unicorn had shown no reaction to the bood spilling over the front of her cloak, she could be annoyed over that later when she was finished with the big white annoyance in front of her. And indeed, no more complimenting word could describe him, a large threat he definitely wasn't, but he seemed to know quite well who was. Unfortunately his fear made his attack rather easy to avoid, especially when Shade's movement was so well hidden. She had only moved a meter to the side, and reduced the power of her spell again, her shuriken floating next to her, clearly visible thanks to magic's glow. Only a distraction, from behind three times the danger of a single star approached quickly, constantly guided by telekinesis.

by Scrapper Mon Jan 14, 2013 6:17 pm

Scrapper had sneaked behind the Maroon pony. The cyan pony was down for now, and the other one was pretty dead from what Scrapper could see. The only threats right now were the White stallion and the pony he was about to go for.

Oi, toss-pot. Watch your back. Scrapper flipped his blade into the air and caught it again. He then quickly thrust the knife into the Maroon pony's back, then twisted it to the right and ripped it out again. I'm right here, come get me you spanner! Sneaking done. Fighting now. It's what he usually thought of these situations. He backed up a bit from his target and waited for his move.

by Red Shirt Thu Jan 17, 2013 1:04 am

if these ponies didn't have such thick skin, they would've all been dead by now. unfortunately, they do have thick skin.

the cyan stallion yelped in pain, but he was still standing, and apparently still dangerous. He swung his hammer to his right somewhat lazily, but still in a full 180 degree strike, which would hit scrapper if he wouldn't avoid the low swipe.

meanwhile, the white Stallion had received a number of more wounds from Shade's deadly weapons. his skin continued to save him from one star, gliding over his neck, another cut a long length down his side, but the third, had pierced into his neck, cutting deeper than the previous strikes, lodging itself over into an artery in the neck, splitting it in two. the unicorn collapsed onto the floor, a freighting, painful, bloody mess.

by **Syron** Mon Jan 21, 2013 6:08 pm

Shade saw that she had inflictad a lethal wound, and her shurikens were already flying off. Except for one, which took its place under her cloak again. The mess she had made didn't bother her for the moment, her attention immediately shifted towards Scrapper and the two thugs he had to deal with. This was a good chance to see how well he could fight, and so she wouldn't interfere unless Scrapper appeared in need of help.

by Scrapper Mon Jan 21, 2013 7:31 pm

Scrapper back-stepped the hammer swipe. He quickly rolled to the his opponents left side and took very rapid slashes at him with his blade. The hits cut well into his opponents skin despite how thick it was.

He back-stepped away again and started playing with the blade. Uhh, mate. That hammer of your's won't do much good if you can't hit bugger all with it! He caught the blade and slid it lightly across his own throat, in a dim chance of intimidating him with the simple message, "Your dead." whilst taunting him at the same time.

by Red Shirt Sat Jan 26, 2013 10:18 am

The pale earth pony growled in pain; he had long lost his temper, and grew tired of this pony. he half hardheartedly raised his hammer from behind-strained, at first-and held it over his head for a few moments, before bringing it down over where Ferrous is (or at least was) with another groan.

by Scrapper Sat Jan 26, 2013 12:07 pm

Scrapper quickly stopped taunting his opponent once the hammer was raised again, rolling out the way just before the hammer made contact with him. As he regained a good stance, he planned on throwing his blade at his opponent, hopefully hitting somewhere that would do some damage. Time felt like it slowed down as he readied the blade to throw. Scrapper threw the blade at the pale pony, If he didn't move Very quickly it would go right into his throat.

by Red Shirt Sat Jan 26, 2013 4:05 pm

the stallion seemed to struggle with lifting his hammer once more. it was as if he was trying to remove it from invisible quick sand, or pulling it through water. basically, it was moving slowly. he turned his attention to his assailant and noticed a dagger flying at him... in slow-mo? that's just plain weird. really weird. the Stallion turned his head to the side, before the dagger would hit him, and *BOOM* his hammer swung over his head and broke through into the wall behind him, though it was still loose. luckily, the dagger flew past him, and pinged harmlessly off the wall. But the snow white pony was still dazed as to what he just witnessed.

by Scrapper Sat Jan 26, 2013 4:22 pm

Scrapper shook his head, both at the fact he missed the throw, and the thought as to what made him miss.

He quickly moved towards his opponent, who looked more dazed than he was. He kicked him hard enough for him to fall over and then grabbed the hammer. He then pulled it out of the wall. Scrapper observed the hammer for a second, then lifted it above his head for a moment to make sure he wasn't likely to miss, then brought it down to where his opponent currantly was. He wasn't letting this pony have chance to move, and if he landed the hammer strike, he would immediatly follow it up with repeated strikes. Better safe than sorry.

by Red Shirt Sat Jan 26, 2013 4:36 pm

having been knocked back by Ferrous' kick, the stallion lost his footing and landed onto the ground, having no time nor sense to retaliate. The first crushing blow came down on his stomach, absolutely winding him, before Ferrous brought his hammer down a second time and dealt the fatal blow to his head. With that, the pony had joined his mates in whatever awaits them, past the walls of life and death.

Only three ponies in the room remained alive: Shadowstrike, Scrapper, and the cyan earth pony from before. he lay unconscious, and had a shuriken sticking out of his neck, but his chest continued to rise and fall, suggesting that he wasn't quite dead. the pain he had suffered had forced him into fainting, perhaps. his near-corpse body lay over the crumbled pile of cardboard boxes.

((sorry, I was tired, and on the verge of passing out, and felt like a troll. don;t worry, I'd never do something like that and absolutely ruin an rp on purpose ^^ here's a more... appropriate, post...))

by Scrapper Sun Jan 27, 2013 1:20 pm

Scrapper dropped the bloodied hammer on the floor, it did its job. The pony was dealt with, using his own weapon. He went over and retrieved his blade and put it back in his bag.

His attention turned to the last living threat in the room, although it wasn't much of a threat any more. The cyan pony had a shuriken in his neck. No way to tell if removing it would kill him or not. Hm, Only one way to find out. He went over to the unconscious pony and took hold of the shuriken. This ain't yours mate. He lightly pulled the shuriken out of the pony's neck in such a way that didn't cause any more damage than had already been done and kept hold of the weapon.

He took a couple of steps back and turned to Shade. So Las, what do you wanna do with the last one? He looked back at the pony. It's your call. He isn't much of a problem anymore. He turned back to Shade, and waited for her response.

by **Syron** Thu Jan 31, 2013 10:29 am

Scrapper didn't need to wait for the response for long. The shuriken he had taken flew out of his hooves and finished its work with the cyan earth pony. A clean cut this time. Then all the shurikens faded into nothing. Except for the one under Shade's cloak. She pulled her hood back and provided some light again. Without the grimace of anger and hatred she actually was not bad to look at. In the blue light her usually ruby eyes seemed to be more a soft shade of purple, standing out of the perfect black of her fur.
Except for this missed throw, not bad, she said, then looked at the mess they had made. This time she wouldn't leave the bodies lying around just like that, though not so that nobody would find that, but because she planned on living here. Dead ponies lying in their blood weren't exactly the decoration she desired. They had to go. This place definitely needs a drain, she said while already walking to the colapsed end of the tunnel and inspecting it closer. With some luck water might still get through this. The only question is, where to get running water?
Another look around, and after a moment her eyes fixed on some pipes leading along the ceiling, passing the hole with the ladder in close distance. Possibly one of them carried fesh water...

by Scrapper Thu Jan 31, 2013 5:28 pm

Scrapper went over after a moment and retrieved the blade that missed, still a bit puzzled to that feeling he felt when he threw it. It didn't matter regardless of the fact that he missed anyway.

Whilst putting his blade away he noticed Shade observing the pipes above them, hoping one of them has water flowing through it by the sounds of it. There were 3 large pipes from what he could see, upon closer observation of the pipes, One was made of concrete. Another was made of a metal substance, most likely Steel from the look of it. And the third was made of a thick plastic, it was also the smallest of the three.

He jumped up and grabbed on to the pipes and pressed his ear against each of them, listening for the sound of running water. This metal pipe sounds like the one your looking for Las. It's the only one that remotely sounds like there's water running through it. He started tapping the pipe to see how thick it was. It sounded pretty thick. But maybe there was a valve in the room somewhere, it was a dead end after all. Try looking for a valve Las, if we can't find one then we'll have to break through that pipe somehow. Scrapper jumped down from the pipes and looked at Shade. She looked so much different than she did a while back and He only just noticed, it caught him by surprise and he stood in one spot for a good few seconds.

by **Syron** Sun Feb 10, 2013 4:44 pm

For some time, Shade walked around and searched for a valve they could use without risking to flood the place with... whatever the pipes with a valve were carrying. She could see relatively well in the dark, being used to it since early foalhood, but for this task a little more light than she could provide would have been helpful. I don't think we have much luck here, she finally said. But, you're a tinkerer, aren't you? For now we only need a possibility to close up a hole again, without the need of making it easily accessible. A valve is luxury we can get later.
An orb of blue light, about hoof-sized, appeared near the ladder in the ceiling, next to the pipe Scrapper had pointed out. The orb, a perfect sphere at first, seemed to be pressed together until it was only a thin disc that quickly formed six tips along its edge, and a hole in its center. For a moment the light intensified, then was reduced to the soft glow of levitation around one of Shade's shurikens. One of the tips pointed directly at the pipe, only millimeters away from it, as the weapon began rotating around the axis of this tip, like a drill waiting to dig into the metal.
If you think you can patch it up afterwards, I can provide the hole. I only hope the pressure isn't so high that the whole thing breaks when there's a damage.

by Scrapper Sun Feb 10, 2013 7:01 pm

Scrapper looked around the room for something he could use to patch up the hole. I can patch it up, sure. I can't see the pipe having enough pressure to blow up on us though. Scrapper eyed an older pipe, the bolts looked about 1cm thick when he looked at them closer. He then looked back at the hammer he used against it's owner a few moments before. If the bolt fit, he could use the hammer to make it stay in place. Ok, Las. I know how I'll fix it. He picked up one of the bolts and then the hammer. He showed them to Shade so that she knew what he was going to do, then he stood closer to the pipe. He turned to Shade and nodded to say he was ready just incase it did show signs of pressure.

by **Syron** Sun Feb 10, 2013 8:59 pm

Upon Scrappers signal, the shuriken sped up and connected with the pipe. It appeared so sink in quickly, but only for short time. The improvised drill wasn't a quick tool, but it did the job, mainly because of it's incredibly fast rotation. Tiny amounts of metal were scraped away by the blades with each passing, but the constant friction had another effect. After only a few seconds first signs of heat were visible, despite the constant cooling it received from the pipe's flowing content. Shade could have pushed harder, but then she would also have risked her shuriken digging itself in, and then she would have had to start again. After half a minute, water drops suddenly were thrown around by the revolving star, there was a break through. The amount of water splashing out grew bigger quickly, pushing the shuriken away and out of the hole, soon Shade had trouble providing enough pressure and rotation speed to extend the hole further. But at least the pipe seemed to hold. With a final push Shade got the hole to about the size of Scrappers bolts, as far as she could tell from the ground, and pulled the shuriken away. They now had a constant stream of water, enough to take a shower underneath it, and actually it was used as such at that moment, though only by the dead pegasus randomly lying right at the right spot.
Well, that worked just fine, Shade stated with satisfaction as her weapon faded away. This place definitely started to make up for the trouble she had had recently. She walked to the stream of water and a short check if it was really clean water, held her muzzle in to take some large gulps. Their water reserved had already been emptied and her throat already had been rather dry, it soon would have gotten really annoying. Alright, she said, wiping her mouth. Then let's start cleaning up. With that the pegasus - being the lightest - became target of her telekinesis and was dragged over the floor towards the exit. I'll see if I can find a spot to dispose of those. Please take care of the blood. She turned to follow the pegasus and noticed her mistake. You need a light source, I suppose, she sighed, starting to think of their possibilities.

by Scrapper Sun Feb 10, 2013 10:05 pm

Scrapper chuckled, Not up for mopping the floors are you? Grinning under his mask, he turned to Shade. Aye, no doubt I will need a light in here. My goggles make seeing a bit harder as it is. He tapped his goggles which weren't covering his eyes. Then he scanned the room for something he could use as a light. Don't suppose you have any bright ideas at the moment do you Las?

by **Syron** Mon Feb 11, 2013 1:07 pm

Shade looked at the goggles in thought, he had just reminded her of something she had noticed this morning. And luckily, this something now reminded her of a solution to their light problem. I think I got something, she said after a few seconds and closed her eyes as Scrapper's goggles shared the glow of her horn. She deeply concentrated while trying to reconstruct a spell from incomplete memory, but she knew what she wanted to achieve and though she hadn't exactly been the most stuidous filly, she had visited Princess Celestia's Schoof for Gifted Unicorns and knew some things about advanced magic. The only real trouble she saw were her reserves: Controlling her shurikens cost her almost nothing, and she was so used to the shadow spell that she was able to keep it active under her hood constantly without ever running out of magic. Directly after a fight however, and with the spell's structure breaking down twice during construction, causing two bursts of light, Shade felt first signs of mental fatigue. Finally she cut the connection and the goggles returned to their natural state, except for the color of the lenses, which now was a softly glowing purple instead of red. I haven't used that spell in ages, but I think I got it right. You should be able to see through your goggles better than without, she explained. His vision would be far from great, the colors would all be completely wrong, but seeing contrast should be no problem for the next two hours. Before Shade turned towards the exit and the waiting dead pegasus again, she asked a question she wasn't sure how Scrapper would react to, if she was telling him something new or if this was an old topic for him. By the way... Do you know that your eyes glow during those headaches of yours?

by Scrapper Mon Feb 11, 2013 2:39 pm

Scrapper tipped his goggles down to test them, Blimey, this is new. He looked around with them until Shade caught his attention with something he never heard before. His eye's "Glowed" when he started having a headache? He knew he saw things that blind him when they happen but he never knew of any outside effects. Hm, that's new. I haven't heard that one before.. I guess It's been happening since, as long as I can remember. Probably no major change in what I've been dealing with already. So don't worry about it. He said that in a very confident tone of voice, for one, he didn't see any need to worry about it for no reason. And two It could serve as a future warning to Shade next time he has an event like that.

He looked at Shade and smugly said, Just picture me in a maid's outfit and let me get this floor clean, okay? Letting his personality get the better of him yet again.

by **Syron** Mon Feb 11, 2013 4:02 pm

You're lucky I can't create that outfit out of nothing, otherwise you'd be wearing it right now, Shade chuckled and finally left, her load dragged along behind her. I'll be back in twenty minutes at most. She wasn't back after twenty minutes. Not in thirty, and also not in fourty.

by Scrapper Mon Feb 11, 2013 4:53 pm

Scrapper had waited for nearly an hour, an hour. Normally he wouldn't worry about it that much but Shade only said 20 minutes, and it's been nearly an hour. Admittedly, he was getting worried.

He did his job cleaning the floor up, and that was still a while ago. He looked at the way Shade went with the bodies, and made the decision to go and look for her. I hope I haven't picked a terrible time to do this. She'll probably come back just as I leave but, better safe than to lose a friend. And with that, he followed in Shade's steps. Taking turns that he thought Shade would have taken.

by **Syron** Mon Feb 11, 2013 6:03 pm

Just as Scrapper had feared, a few minutes after he had left, Shade came back. Whatever had happened, it had left her a bit on the dirty side. Earth brown stains were all over her cloak, which wasn't really a new thing since they had been walking through those tunnels for hours, but now she looked like she had bathed in dirt. Hood pulled up, she took a short look around.
...
Great...
There was a serious lack of living earth ponies.

---------------------------

Scrapper would find himself in dead ends regularly at first, but after an actually not really long search, a hint towards what might have happened was right before him: A hole in the ground, but not an intended one like most of the passages in this underground network, but a shapeless result of uncontrolled collapsing. It wasn't deep enough to hide the ground in the darkness, at least not with Scrappers enchanted goggles, but it was deep enough to make a sudden fall dangerous and painful. A lot of loose dirt was lying down there, and among it, Scrapper might be able to make out the shape of a pony.

by Scrapper Mon Feb 11, 2013 6:36 pm

Scrapper approached a hole in the ground, quick observation told him the caves weren't as capable as they should have been. He looked further down and saw nothing at first, but his experience looking through red goggles let him see a somewhat familiar shape at the bottom. He can climb down, an back up easily, so he went to investigate.

He swiftly climbed down the collapsed hole. Once he got to the bottom, he checked the body. It was just one of the looters he encountered earlier, which probably means Shade is back at the hideout, Or still lost somewhere. He looked at the body for a second, Rest in peace mate, by far you could'ave done better with what you had. After saying that, he climbed back up the hole just as quickly as he descended it and made the decision to head back to the hideout and hopefully find Shade there.

by **Syron** Mon Feb 11, 2013 9:45 pm

When he came back, he found Shade taking a shower.
Sorry, got a stone on the head, she called over the rushing water, having noticed him instantly upon entering. Proof of her statement was clearly visible through her wet mane, a spot of red among the dark blue. Shade didn't really mind it, not anymore, and was simply enjoying the cold water on her head, holding her glowing horn right into the stream, causing the light to dance around wildly, being reflected all around the unicorn by the flowing water. Her cloak had been taken off, lying in dry distance. Her mane was a good bit longer than had been visible until now, always being tucked away under the cloak, now falling wildly over her shoulders as she sat there, eyes closed and hardly moving. She had a sleek, athletic build for a unicorn, but though trained muscles were visible, brute force definitely wasn't her style, hardly a surprise after what she had shown so far. But the most eyecatching feature probably was her coat. Normally so simple and monotonous pitch black that it was almost boring, when wet it had an elegant luster to it, especially in the constantly changing light.

Shade herself didn't really notice how she looked at first, and needed a moment to realize before she opened her eyes, having a thoughtful look on her face. I'm showing off, am I? Ment more as a statement than a question, she stood up and walked out of the stream. There were three more ponies to be moved away anyway, and they had to find Scintillance, there wasn't really time to relax now that both, she and Scrapper, were back here. As she walked to her cloak and put it on again - after mane and tail had been wringed out - she carefully made sure that Scrapper would see her from only one side, doing so as subtle as possible.

by Scrapper Tue Feb 12, 2013 9:56 am

If your objective was to look pretty all this time Las, you did it. He had to admit, Shade was a lot nicer to look at like this. But he was still wondering what took her so long, the hole he encountered wasn't that hard to find and It didn't take him nearly as long to get back.

What took you so long Las? I ended up goin' to look for you. Scrapper sat down beside the entrance to the cave. I walked into a hole with one of our recent friends in it aswell.

by **Syron** Tue Feb 12, 2013 1:51 pm

Looking pretty usually isn't on my agenda, Shade chuckled. No, it certainly hadn't been her goal, she hadn't even known when he'd come back, she simply had been enjoying a shower. Though, on second thought she really wouldn't have needed the light, why had she done that? Not really interested in figuring her own motivations regarding such a triviality she dismissed the thought.
I fell down that hole, got a hit on the head, and took an involuntary nap. I don't even know how long I've been gone, she explained as the cloak slid over her, not nearly as dirty as it had been when she had come back, but she hadn't used water on it. Not yet anyways, and now she wasn't planning on spending any more time here. There was some slight jingling as she moved, bevore several straps could be heard being tightened, and her step was completely silent again. Not to mention that climbing with a dizzy head isn't really the quickest thing to do. With a slight frown she noticed that the dizzyness was still there as she took the white unicorn into telekinetic grip and dragged him over the floor, more as a test at first. She had planned on taking all three at once, but now that didn't seem like a good idea. Could you help me with those, please? She pointed to the two dead earth ponies. We've lost already enough time here, time to get done with it.
She took the unicorn's tail into her mouth and pulled him mostly physical, most of her magic was concentrated on the lighter of the earth ponies as she started to make her way to the hole again, which luckily wasn't far.

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