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dragonofruin

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Everything posted by dragonofruin

  1. The king chose to be careful, considering the crowd of ponies that was steadily beginning to thin as they ran away from the stage just ahead of him. He wasn't quite sure how to handle the shadowy felines otherwise, but at least he could manage something to rid himself of their presence. His tail lashed behind him as he looked around, scouring the area for any sign of Hou or what sort of disguise that she might choose to take to elude him. This was likely all just a big distraction to get her further away from him, to hold him and Tongue Twister up for a little while.. Even in his disguise, the use of this magic would have given him away to her if she was still around to observe him. Overhead came the metallic creak of something moving, and Sombra got a glimpse of it before it fell his way: it was one of the stage lights, and he threw himself out of the way of it as it came crashing down. He deftly landed on his hooves, his eyes already up and searching the stage by the time that white blade came whizzing by, slashing a cut into his shoulder. Sombra hissed at the sting and started off again to keep himself moving just in case any more came; he only considered a quick, momentary thought about what could have possibly been on the blade. He at least knew it had come from somewhere from the stage itself- somewhere up high, perhaps, judging by how the stage light had toppled. It could have simply been a result of the mayhem, but Sombra wasn't willing to consider it coincidence. The shadows cast by the upper part of the stage's supports began to writhe when he focused his magic upon them, and exerted power to start trying to tear it apart. He wanted to draw out Hou one way or another- either her or her meddling lackey.
  2. It felt like it was about time that they finally caught up to where Hou Shuren must be, if not close to it. It looked to be a busy day when they'd arrived, with something going on further on. A stage, perhaps some sort of performance. Sombra had little idea of what it was and he hadn't had a chance to really investigate further before Tongue Twister had simply.. frozen up. Without much of an idea of what was happening, beyond traces of Hou's magic upon something- perhaps the darkness that she unleashed upon Tongue Twister back at their fateful reunion- Sombra tried to see what he could do about it, dark magic curling around his disguise's horn under the hood of his white garb before his attention was pulled away by the mayhem that erupted. Dark, feline shapes, and the screams and hoof-beats of fleeing ponies. He sucked in a breath through his teeth in a hiss and shifted his focus onto those nearest him, intent on trying to blast away any that might have tried to threaten him and Tongue Twister- who seemed to finally come to her senses, if not just simply released now that whatever damage was done, already off to help somepony in need. It figured that Hou would pull something like this, to slow them down a little more. His tail lashed and he moved ahead towards the stage, where most of them seemed to have originated from, keeping any magical retaliations against the shadowy beasts to simple shots of magic. He didn't want to alarm anypony by pulling off anything else than he already was- they were already panicked enough. Somewhere ahead, he thought he could hear a mare screaming in the mayhem.
  3. I think if or when the only thread I'm in wraps up or dries out, I'm just going to quit this website. I can't seem to get anywhere with anything and I've just not been feeling like trying to get any rp here anymore. I'm moving next month anyway so I doubt I'd be around much to bother.

    1. Ashton

      Ashton

      Sorry to see you go, but in any case, best of luck in the future!

    2. Cubbage

      Cubbage

      Godspeed to you <3

  4. Its kind of hard to figure out exactly how far behind they're meant to be, but if you want to go ahead and say they're in Saddlon already or whatever that's fine lmao. I haven't exactly been given any exact structure or passage of time to work with and no one's told me this so. I've also not been pm'd or had the last one I sent to you answered anyway.
  5. The king rumbled softly at how much closer that they were getting to Hou Shuren. Just a day or so away.. If she was kept busy in such a vast library like what Tongue Twister hinted to, then they might be able to catch up sooner. Might even get to be nipping at Hou Shuren's heels soon enough, if they weren't tripped up by whatever flimsy attempt at barriers that the sorceress was going to try to erect against him. His tail flicked and Sombra looked down at his long, grey legs as he walked. It would be best that he took a disguise, and it might even be smart enough to go with the form of a mare; the ones looking for him wouldn't be expecting that. A couple of colorful, pastel Equestrian mares breezing in through town wouldn't be as suspicious as any description of a mare and a stallion would be, the latter's height excluded. He would quietly work on a disguise during the remaining hour they had before they reached the next town, and by the time that they had he would be nothing more than an average-sized mare of pastel colors; pale blue coat and a mane with a gradient from pink to pale orange down a shoulder-length mane of curls. Teal eyes peered out from underneath the white hood of the clothes that were still kept in place, merely altered to match this mare's form. Sombra had spent the time quietly muttering to himself to test out a voice for his disguise, altering his spell until he had something he thought was fitting enough, but for the most part he was silent by the time they strode into town among the square, tan buildings. It was a dull little town, expected of something sitting out in a desert.
  6. Sombra fell into a brooding silence throughout a chunk of their journey, with a few wandering thoughts here and there about what Hou might actually be up to here. There wasn't much more he could wonder that he hadn't already asked others and himself, and it felt like too much of a continual, circular distraction to keep worrying away at it with questions. When Tongue Twister spoke up eventually to ask her own questions, he gave her some of his attention through turning an ear her way. Sombra doubted that there were other, connected items to the Remembrance Stone, but he couldn't entirely dismiss it as a possibility despite those abilities already being speculated on for the Stone itself. He chose not to say anything on the matter only because he didn't want to fall into a conversation involving more thoughts and speculations again. He let Tongue Twister mutter to herself while he surveyed the sandy desert around them up until her exclamation grabbed his attention, drawing it towards a sign he hadn't noticed while he was lost in his own thoughts. The king stopped and stepped back to stare at the wanted poster, which had not only a bounty on him, but a crude drawing of his appearance on it. No doubt taken from whatever descriptions existed of him from Equestria- he doubted they had any actual pictures of him. "It figures Hou would try something so petty as this," Sombra grumbled. "As if she thinks I'm incapable of just making a disguise for myself with magic." The umbrum rolled his eyes and shook his head in disdain. "I never bothered with one before since I usually kept away from ponies and hadn't had much of a need to, at least up until that nonsense with whatever Discord-made fake that he made to attack Canterlot." Sombra sighed softly through his nose, a flicker of his dark magic curling up around his horn in a thoughtful way. "How close are we to civilization if there's a sign here? I think I can make us some disguises if need be."
  7. Sombra became aware of a second presence of magic, and he knew it to be whoever Hou Shuren's companion was. He would definitely make a note of it, even as he dug his heels into the sand and pushed back against the combined resistance before.. the magic disappeared entirely, and that eerie feeling of being watched vanished. The king blinked, entirely caught by surprise. What had that been about? Maybe Hou's companion was making a foolish show of keeping their scry open, only for Hou to decide it was a waste of time now that he was aware of them, and ended it? He could think of no other possibility, because his magic certainly hadn't broken the link- that was something he would've felt. His magic roiled around his curved horn for a few minutes longer before he let it fade, his lips twisted in a frown that spoke much of his annoyance. And here he thought he could have had a chance to spite Hou. Maybe the next time they had to deal with this, he could especially tell her companion to stay out of it. His tail lashed behind him and he grunted, giving Tongue Twister a glance that conveyed how he felt about what just happened. "They've stopped for now. Let's move on, shall we?" Sombra gave himself a shake and started off, grumbling under his breath before he thought to return to the conversation he and Tongue Twister were having previously. "As far as I'm aware, I'm not a projection from some dimension. I was still very much present throughout my loss of body, and even during my banishment at that." He gestured with his head in an equivalent to a shrug while he walked, at ease for the moment. He'd fall silent, mulling over that vague encounter on their way deeper into the desert. He had a feeling he'd felt that other magic before.. but he couldn't be entirely sure of it yet. There had been Magnus, and then of course there had been Dox, and that particular meeting hadn't gone anywhere. Maybe the next time some creature came to him asking to learn magic, he would simply turn them down instead of giving away any sort of information.. especially when they were connected to Hou. He would remain in a sour silence, unless there were any other snippets of conversation to engage in with Tongue Twister.
  8. Sorry I was a little unclear and rambly. I think what you suggested sounds good for a start. I was just pondering if I should app other characters just because/in case lol.
  9. I think those sound pretty fun, aaa. I know I have a few other characters for w/e too that I haven't apped yet/just haven't found a purpose for them. So that's probably a good starting place as any.
  10. Sounds fun. I unfortunately lack any ideas for what to do, I just have characters to use. 😅
  11. I'd make a new thread but I honestly don't feel like it so uhh bumping this again.
  12. The king twitched an ear towards his companion as they headed out, leaving the scattered buildings and stalls of the little town for sprawling desert hills of sand and not a single tree in sight. Something was beginning to prickle up his spine, a feeling that he couldn't quite name while some of his focus was on what Tongue Twister had to say about immortality. "The Crystal Heart.. I thought it destroyed me, and yet here I am. Either it failed to do its job well enough, or.. it can't kill me. I'm not sure what could at this point if it couldn't," Sombra mused, tilting his head to fix Tongue Twister with one sharp red eye, the pupil a mere vertical slit against the sunlight here. "There's a lot I don't know about being umbrum." He turned away, his mouth set in a thoughtful line. "The river we'll be able to cross easily, and we won't necessarily need to find a bridge when I could simply make one. It would cut off some time searching for one or making a lengthy, unnecessary detour." Sombra flicked his tail, as if swatting at a fly that wasn't there- or perhaps it was, in a sense. The feeling was only stronger now, and it wasn't put into words until Tongue Twister spoke it aloud after he caught her staring at a peculiar crystal. His dark brows furrowed. "Figures," he grumbled, glancing up and around. His nostrils flared when he snorted, mildly annoyed, and a faint spark of dark magic started up around his horn, black fizzling in the depths of green and purple hues. "I bet I know exactly who is watching, and perhaps even listening in." His magic flared testily for a moment before he worked on focusing it. He knew a few things, even that which he came up himself, and he wondered if he could still manage to disrupt such magic. The princesses hadn't been able to spy on him, much less anypony else, while he ruled the Crystal Empire; he'd been unstable and quite paranoid then, with his curses, spells, and traps that made the castle such a hard thing to navigate for anypony that wasn't him unless he let them. He was going to try to now, just to spite her, and all without breaking his long stride. "If she's spying, then I'm sure she already knows I'm coming for her."
  13. "I remember her saying that," Sombra replied with a soft grumble in his voice. "She intends to live forever from the sound of it. Personally I don't think any mortal born creatures should live past their natural expiration. Who knows what madness she might fall to." The king heaved a soft sigh and left one ear tilted towards Tongue Twister as he looked around at their surroundings, his expression set in a thoughtful scowl while the mare talked. "I never believed in gods. The closest we might have to them would probably be the royal sisters, and even then they might still be able to be slain. Nothing has managed to do so, so far, so we'll never know until it happens." His eyes narrowed in thought. That was something he certainly tried when fighting them for the Crystal Empire, but they were alicorns, not ponies, and they were rather tough. Princess Luna was more of the skilled fighter of the two, while Celestia relied more on her magic; he recalled she'd somewhat kept her distance from him in the middle of it. Up until the end, anyway, when they combined their magic against him. Sombra glanced over at Tongue Twister and her map, pulling himself out his memories. "Due south?" he repeated. "Well, I think the only thing I have to say is 'lead the way.' I'd prefer to get going."
  14. "I never said that was its only purpose, just that that was one of its known functions. The others I mentioned are merely speculation, possibility. Nopony really knows what all the stone does. Hou might, if she's as old as she says." Sombra snorted softly. "I think she's gone too far just to avoid a few wrinkles," he mutters, loud enough for only Tongue Twister to hear him and the derision in his voice. As soon as Tongue Twister noticed they were at their destination, it didn't seem to take long for her to secure them the light, loose clothes that would help them in this hot climate. Sombra was quick to remove his cape and sweep on the new garb and reattach his pocket realm on the inner lining by his shoulder. His old cape disappeared into it, stored safely away for now. It felt strange without it and its subtle weight on his back, although he felt a lot better without in this climate. Give him icy cold and snow any day over this. Why hadn't Hou gone somewhere cold? Was she trying to annoy him further? "If we don't need anything else, we should go ahead and head to this Saddlelon if you think that's where she's going. It's as good a destination as any." As much as he hated having to rely on somepony to show him the way, he had to for now. This was an entirely different country and he was sure Tongue Twister was the one with the map between them.
  15. Sombra's stride slowed and he tilted his head to peer at her with one, questioning eye when that growl rolled out of a throat that shouldn't have been able to make that noise. After what he'd seen Hou do and how she might have altered Tongue Twister, he couldn't be too surprised. Her apology only earned the lift of a brow and he continued on down the street, sticking close enough to his current companion that he'd be able to hear what she was saying without too much trouble. "I don't really know what it's capable of, beyond what they said it can do: see the memories of who it once belonged to. I don't really know who that would be, or what reason Hou would have for coming here." He paused, turning his head towards Tongue Twister a little, though he still kept his eyes ahead on the road and the ponies mingling at the marketplace. "Saddlelon?" His dark brows furrowed. "A unicorn stallion.." he mused. He met a 'colleague' of Hou Shuren before named Dox, but he was a kirin as far as Sombra knew; that meeting hadn't gotten very far. The only unicorn he could think of in relation to Hou, even though Sombra wasn't sure if those two had ever spoken, was Magnus, who showed up after his fight with Hou. Tongue Twister would have mentioned him by name if that was the case. "Whoever they are, I'm sure we'll figure out how to deal with them when it comes to it. For now.. the matter of the clothes?" Sombra gestured to the stall.
  16. Sombra's lip curled briefly, displeased by the mention of a steep exchange rate. It figured that they would want to gouge foreigners a little, though if Tongue Twister had Saddle Arabian currency on her then it shouldn't be too much of a bother to get what they need and finally head out. If Tongue Twister knew where Hou had gone, anyway. His tail flicked and he glanced over at the mare, a small frown on his face. He'd noticed the 'we' in the place of any 'I'. "We did, at least we hoped. I went to the princesses and that purple one seemed to have an idea of what was taken. Something called the Remembrance Stone. I found out as much as I could about it through her and what little I could find in STAR's library with Ice Storm," he replied quietly, dipping his head towards her so that he could keep the answer between them. There was enough noise from the market crowd that they didn't have too much of a chance of being overheard by any nosy ponies. "Whoever holds the stone can see the memories of whoever it belonged to, and I believe something about how it can store, implant, or alter memories too. They don't know what all it can do for certain. I don't know why Hou has it or where she's going, and for what purpose, but that's why I'm here. Do you have any idea where she might have gone?" He glanced over at Tongue Twister, questioning.
  17. The former tyrant made his way down the little town's streets, ignoring the growing discomfort of the heat as he looked over the stalls of what looked like the market, all presenting various wares. Pottery, food, strange knickknacks, rugs.. Some of them were things he might like to look at just to see the products of an entirely different culture if he'd had the time, but as it was, he did not. He needed to pick up Hou Shuren's trail and find something to help him stand the heat before he could even think of venturing outside of the town. Maybe even a map would be useful. Sombra asked a few of the stall owners his questions, targeting those that seemed to speak Equestrian to some extent because he didn't know the native language required to speak to some of the others. So far, there were a few dead ends; only one question bore him any fruit and that was on the matter of desert-friendly wear. Before Sombra could take another step, a familiar voice caught his attention and drew those inequine eyes around to the face he was hoping to find sooner or later: Tongue Twister. "It was. It took a few days by airship, but I'm here now," Sombra gestured at the market with a small sweep of his hoof, a disgruntled tone in his deep voice. "I've managed to get an answer on that particular issue, though I wonder.. will they take Equestrian bits? It's the only money I've got on me." He frowned as he started off down the street, heading towards the vendor that seemed to be the one selling the pale robes he would need.
  18. It'd taken a few days by the airship Ice Storm gave him, piloted by its small crew, to finally reach Saddle Arabia at what looked like a small port town. The trip itself had started off nice, and Sombra was fascinated with the airship and how it functioned, a little of which was explained to him by one of the crewponies, though the rest of the trip quickly lost its luster. Sombra was glad just to finally disembark and have his hooves on solid ground again- at least while he had it. There looked like there was expanses of sandy desert in this part of the world, and it became clear rather quickly how dry and warm the climate was, something that made wearing his usual cape uncomfortable; if he didn't find something else soon, it would probably make him start to sweat. Sombra would venture further into the town to find himself a temporary replacement that would be more ideal for the climate, and stash his cape in his pocket realm, and then see if he couldn't find any hint of Tongue Twister or information from anypony that might have seen somepony with Hou Shuren's description so he could pick up the trail. He already knew he was days behind, which he despised, and he really needed to cover all that ground that he lost. Hopefully if and when he found Tongue Twister, he would do so; if not, he'd go it alone.
  19. Luna paid attention to the longma on the way towards the city, intrigued by the information that they were given concerning the architecture. With Ice having noticed the shape of the roofs too and voiced her curiosity out loud, Luna now had an answer for their shape: the local climate, and how it changed in the seasons. She made a soft sound of interest in her throat in response and lapsed back into her usual silence. Behind her, she could still hear Feather excitedly informing Mythic about their surroundings, which were drifting away from the docks and towards the busy markets. The overlapping smells of various foods soon drifted by Luna's nose, and among them she could pick up the less savory ones of seared flesh. To an herbivore like her, she found it entirely unpleasant and had to keep her composure so she wouldn't be seen wrinkling her snout at it. When the pair behind her spoke, Luna glanced back to spy Mythic's apparent confusion. "Longma aren't herbivores like we are, and there are likely other carnivores and omnivores living here that I am not aware of. As for the longma themselves, I suppose it is apt to describe themselves as such, though I'm sure they are their own species the way griffins did not spawn from birds and lions, although they have that hybrid look to them as we might view it."
  20. To see the longma with the slack-jawed expression on her face left Luna feel slightly uncomfortable behind the calm facade she put up around these ponies, and creatures, respectively. To know that she was no longer a princess of the country she had always sworn to defend ever since she and Celestia took the crown was something that would haunt her for quite a while, when there was so much more she wanted to do to catch up on all the years she missed because of her banishment. She understood why Celestia wanted to retire, because her sister had that time and did nothing but work it all alone. Luna didn't. To be talked into retiring by her stubborn sister.. it was like something was being stolen from her. Luna heaved the quietest sighs as she followed the longma and the small group, who she idly glanced over. Raven and Ice still walked together at its head, and she noticed that while the blind one was no longer gawking in her direction, the pegasus was zipping around in a manner befitting a hummingbird. Luna could overhear snippets of the details Feather relayed to Myth in excited tones, and she wished she could feel some of that excitement now. Neighpon was certainly a lovely sight, that was something she was sure of, and even from afar Luna could admire the different shapes to the roofs, the way they- especially the corners- curved up.
  21. The former princess's tendency to be silent and blend in with the background while everything went on its way was both a habit and a skill of hers; between herself and Celestia, Luna considered herself the more observant of the two. It came to little surprise to her that nopony was startled by her presence when nopony but Ice Storm and Raven seemed to notice her, at least for the time being when everypony's attention was on the airship coming down to dock. She filed out of the bridge and off of the ship with the others, sticking somewhat close to Ice Storm and her marefriend. Once they were out on the docks, Luna was momentarily caught off guard when the approaching longma addressed her as the leader of their small group, which suggested that news of her 'retirement' hadn't spread to other kingdoms as of yet. Luna managed to keep much of her composure other than an uncertain glance towards Ice Storm, and noticed during her look that the blind mare (whose name she hadn't learned as of yet) seemed to be gawking as if she'd just realized Luna was there. The other mare, the pegasus, seemed perfectly at ease with this, enough to make Luna think that it was just the habit of ponies to look to her first. "I am not the one of rank you have to address here. That would be Commander Ice Storm, but we would be grateful if you would escort us to the palace," Luna replied smoothly. Hopefully with that, it would easily transfer attention onto Ice Storm to take charge.
  22. This airship was the first airship that Luna ever had the opportunity to be upon, and she found it to be a fascinating machine. Throughout the trip she spent most of her time quietly exploring the ship until she'd gotten to know its layout, as well as spending time out on deck or flying alongside the ship to stretch her wings, or in her room reading. All of this, of course, was done at nighttime when most of the ponies onboard were asleep. This would be the first real adventure that she would get to have since her return, and that was excluding her vacation with Celestia, which had become something of a disaster. It was exciting, even though the purpose to this trip was to dig up information on the mysterious Hou Shuren so that they might be able to better deal with her, if they had to. There was also the possibility that Ice Storm was looking for information to send to Sombra, who from the sound of it had gone to Saddle Arabia after the sorceress herself, and Luna had little idea how well that might turn out. Luna was awoken from her sleep by something that wasn't immediately determinable to her. It might have been the sound of the engines changing, or perhaps they had slowed down a little.. Whatever it might be, Luna found herself awake regardless, and she could see that it was daytime from the thin glow coming from around the edges of the curtain that hung over the porthole window in her room. As much as she might like to go to sleep, she had a feeling that she'd awoken for a reason. The alicorn carefully stretched in her bed and slipped out from under the covers to go about her usual waking routine of grooming before she headed out into the halls. On bare and quiet hooves, she found her way to the bridge, and from the sound of it a few others were here already. One of them was Ice Storm, while the two others were ponies she hadn't officially met yet, nor had the opportunity to interact with onboard because of the nocturnal schedule she still kept. As was her way, Luna chose to quietly listen in to catch up on any conversation that had happened in her absence to gather what was going on first.
  23. "I haven't been anywhere outside of the Crystal Empire up until a year ago now when I came to Equestria. I only know bits and pieces about other kingdoms that exist outside of this continent, at least that I came across in any books I happened to be reading," Sombra gave his own answer to Feather's question with another, brief glance for the pegasus. As Ice Storm made her way down to the console that controlled the library's lighting, he gave the books a last, regretful look and chose to follow her. Maybe when Hou Shuren wasn't a current, pressing issue, he might be able to return to the base's data room to do some more reading if they happened to have anything that wasn't in a public library. He idly stood by and watched as Ice Storm fiddled with the buttons on the console, trying to figure out what exactly those buttons did. As much as he'd like to ask, Ice Storm looked to be busy writing a couple of letters and sending them away, with the first answer arriving quickly enough in a flash of familiar, magenta magic. The same shade as the purple princess's was when she used it to show him pictures of two different artifacts and the giving of what Sombra guessed was a reward: the staff. His ear turned towards the sound of an unfamiliar voice emanating from the crystal on the console, and Sombra was fascinated by the means of communication. "Well, then, I should be off on my way myself. I intend to get there as soon as possible," Sombra replied, heading off towards the door. __ Elsewhere, a certain moon princess was briefly startled by the arrival of a letter, one that she recognized from a pony who she hadn't spoken to in some time. With all that had gone on and the wrapping up of whatever she had left as princess, she'd been busy. Luna unrolled the scroll and read Ice Storm's familiar writing, her brow furrowing. It was unexpected that the next pony King Sombra went to about the Hou Shuren situation was Ice Storm.. Luna didn't really know what angle Sombra had with doing any of this, if there was any angle at all; she would remain wary of him, after what she knew of him and his past role as tyrant. It appeared that Ice Storm wanted her to join her to a trip to Neighpon, regarding Hou and the stolen Remembrance Stone. Luna remembered that particular little meeting in the throne room well enough. She was quick to grab a quill and parchment to write her own answer, which she sent on its way in a flash of moonlight.
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