Connected (Closed RP)

[RazorWind]

Awareness

You aren't where you're supposed to be

This isn't your room, your bed, your -world-

This is... different... and yet familiar at the same time.

Its clear now, as you look around yourself

You are sleeping. You are in a dream.

A new sensation... to be aware of your slumbering, aware of your displacement.

However there is something else, a voice in the back of your mind

A soft, angelic whisper...

"Welcome."

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As Razor's hooves carried him across the jungle floors, the grasses crunching with every step, his mind was a flutter with fascination. A natural explorer at heart, this sensation of being awakened in a new realm was all too exciting for the dark blue pegasus to contain; his trots soon gained an energetic bounce as he traveled the shrouds of vegetation. He could feel his heart pounding rapidly as every adventurer instinct within him was screaming out, "Explore, Find, Discover!" over and over and over again, though he struggled to keep his focus on one thing; a bright, glowing light in the distance. Through the trees and branches he could see the glow, a luminescent wall that drew noticeably closer; Razor's pointed ears gave a flick as he could hear a soft, humming noise emanating from this light.

Soon, his form pushed past the final line of brush and before him the wall of lights stood. It was almost like a barrier that curved the higher up it went, like a dome. Raz's eyes followed the path of this wall until he saw that it bent over the great trees above him.. could it be that this wall was the end of the world he'd woken up in? That flickering, sparking curiosity was burning brighter and brighter and the winged equine directed his gaze back at the veil of radiance; he had to try something. Lifting a hoof from the ground, the blue pegasus slowly moved it closer... and a short, gasp of surprise left him as he felt his hoof pass through it.

The spark of curiosity erupted into an inferno, and without even thinking the pegasus charged his way through the lights; fading into it and leaving his ethereal, dream-like realm. What he saw upon passing through caused that inferno within him to freeze, and his eyes to widen as his jaw hung low; motionless overtaking him as he stared...

A vast, beautiful, endless sky surrounded him; domes of light suspended hung motionless in the air, some with clear structures visible within, and others glowing so brightly that nothing inside was visible. The pegasus's eyes drifted about him; slow, gently moving clouds encircled the skies in a strange pattern.. that seemed to shorten the further up they went. Up and up Razor's head craned until his eyes had to snap shut, before opening slowly to peer at the great orb of light that nearly blinded him. As his eyes adjusted to this realm of radiance he could see the orb clearly, and see also that the clouds all circled the are around it tighter then the rest of the realm.

It wasn't until his gaze drifted back down that Razor saw before him a great, winding, stone road laid out before him.. a road that stretched on into the horizon, seemingly without end. His body remained motionless still.. until finally he forced himself to move; that reginited curiosity and instinct driving him down the presented path. His stride slowed considerably from his happy prance from before, yet that burning desire to explore this realm still resided within him. His wings stayed folded to his side; the idea of flying escaping his thoroughly entranced mind.

He simply walked, on and on.. going wherever this realm wished for him to end up.

[PyroBlaze]

Fire. There was fire everywhere Pyro looked, and it was strangely calming. The fire formed familiar shapes, but he couldn't quite put his hoof on why they seemed that way. The white unicorn trotted down a street, avoiding running into the suits of armor while trying to figure out what made this place so familiar. Then it hit him, this was Ponyville, made of fire. He continued walking, spotting a light that wasn't from the flames.

He was supremely glad that he had his sunglasses, because otherwise all this light would be unbearable. Upon reaching the edge of town, he came upon a wall of light. Following this wall with his eyes, Pyro found that it curved the farther up it went, like a dome. With a glance back at the flame town, he decided to check this wall out more. He carefully pushed his hoof towards the wall, hesitating for a second before making contact and seeing his hoof go right through it. He stood there for a minute with part of his hoof through this wall, trying to decide what to do. With a final glance back at the flames, the white unicorn walked the rest of the way through the wall.

The sight that greeted him made him freeze in his tracks. There was a road he couldn't see the end of, domes of light at different brightnesses, and clouds circling an... extremely bright sun thing. Even with sunglasses, he had been forced to squint when he looked up at the orb. Eventually, Pyro started moving again, walking down the road while he cast his gaze around at his surroundings.

He couldn't teleport, he had no idea where he was going, so he simply stayed on the path and kept walking towards wherever this realm was leading him.

[SilverSwirl]

Silver's Dream Intro Theme

Diving and rolling in the sea of clouds above the boundless forests of this dream island, Silverbolt was in paradise. Hanging from his neck and strapped to his haunches were saddlebags filled with documents and packages. The route he flew was perilous and full of stormy dangers, but it paid him well. He took a moment to adjust his goggles as he flew towards the great floating city to drop off the load and saw this great wall of light just beyond the city. "Hmm? Never seen that before, might be worth checking out once I get these letters and packages offloaded.", he muttered to himself as he descended upon the bustling cloud metropolis.

He landed gracefully at the postal headquarters for this region, giving a wave to the Pegasus who would take over the next leg of the journey for those bound for other points in the world. As he walked away, free of his burdens, the slim and trim Pegasus smiled. Now he could check out that brilliant wall of light that seemed to arc over the top of the city towards some point that he couldn't see above him. "Now I wonder what this is?", he asked himself as he experimentally reached his hoof out to it and felt it pass right through.

Curiosity took hold as he decided to step through the wall of light. What he saw next nearly sent him over the moon in happiness. He saw a vast expanse of open sky surrounding this white stone bridge. His goggles turned almost completely matte black as he looked up at the bright orb hanging in the sky, and he still had to squint at it to recognize it as a sun of sorts. This made his next few steps along the path difficult as the polarized lenses were still returning to normal, leaving him half blinded. He stumbled a little as he kept on walking along the seemingly endless white stone bridge. "Why didn't I see this before? I have a whole new landscape to admire and explore within...", he mused as he fluttered his wings and trotted on his own bridge. He did spare one last look back at where he came from and saw that it was a floating island domed in a bright wall of light. It wasn't as endless on the outside as it appeared while inside.

[DerpRavener]

Naj opened her eyes, staring up at the grey fog covering the sky and feeling the soft grass she was laying on. This was the most relaxed she'd felt for some time, and as such she wanted to savour it for a moment.

The changeling suddenly frowned, though more from curiosity than concern so far. She could have sworn she went to sleep inside her makeshift home, as she always did. How could she see the sky? Did something happen to the roof?

With a grunt she rolled over and stood up. There wasn't supposed to be any grass inside her house in the first place. Naj looked around in confusion. She couldn't find any trace of the ruined structure anywhere, which to her relief most likely meant it was still there it just...wasn't where she was now, wherever that was. Looking around, she couldn't even see any trace the Everfree Forest itself, which was the greater concern. She could see structures of some kind, large, twisting spires of stone jutting out of the ground, obscured by fog. The only definitive thing about them should could say however, was that she didn't recognize them.

She stepped closer to one of them, until she could see details even despite the fog. To her untrained eye the spire looked ancient, the large, moss-covered stones looking as though they'd been there since the beginning of time.

By contrast, the vines wrapping around them looking younger, with a dark green skin and periodic, colourful flowers at points. The vines seemed to be crushing the structure, as evident by the holes in the tower and its missing top. Though obscured by the fog, Naj imagined that the other nearby spires would exhibit similar damage.

Naj took a few steps away from the spire. Much as she might like to explore the place, she needed to keep her priorities in order, and the first step would be figuring out where she was. She picked a semi-random direction, and began walking.

It wasn't long before the fog gave away to something new: a translucent, glowing wall. Curious, the changeling pressed a holey hoof against it, only for the hoof to pass right through unharmed. She did this a few more times, it taking a few more times to fully convince herself it was safe, before finally she took a breath and jumped through.

On the other side was a world of seemingly endless sky, with clouds slowly drifting around in an apparently circular pattern and punctuated by a number of spheres containing...well, other worlds by the look of it. Forests, deserts, cities, mountains...she even thought she saw one made entirely of fire, though she couldn't make out any details yet. The spheres were linked by a series of stone walkways, and Naj idly wondered how the whole thing stood stationary, though it was a question she put aside for now. If the answer was needed, she was sure she could find it in time. The changeling was feeling oddly sedate about the whole experience.

Looking down, she noted that she had emerged onto a similar walkway, emerging from must have been 'her' bubble. Or at least that was how she'd think of it for the time being, seeing as she'd woken up there and seemed to be the only pony inside it. Unable to come up with a better course of action, she began walking along the path, hoping it lead somewhere recognizable.

[Kirby Krackle]

After his first few glances about in the darkness, Tinker Tailor curses his streak of rotten luck. His experiments with the triple chili enchilada and strawberry banana pudding before bedtime had, like the last seven mix-and-match culinary adventures, been a resounding failure. The toymaker resigned himself to another dreamless sleep this night and another brain busting artists block the next day. This was a shame, too. The deadline for a prototype sneeze-gun was due by week's end and he hadn't even settled on a name yet! Gesund-glock? Super-snotter? He had no solid ideas for days and it was driving him batty. But hold on just a minute here, he thought. This did not feel like the pile of bean bag chairs he called bed. It felt all stiff. Plasticy, even. Which could only mean...

“Sweet Celestia! I'm in the Ducky car! IT WORKED!”

Sure enough, he bought himself a ticket to Dreamland with only crippling morning indigestion as a fee. Totally worth it. The pink and blue Earth Pony found himself smack dab in the center of his Toytown, sitting in his absolute favorite seat on his absolute favorite Ferris Wheel in his absolute favorite alternate reality! “LIGHTS”, he commanded and Toytown obeyed. In an instant, the subtle illuminations that defined the dreamscape were set ablaze with his own lights and sounds and colors.

“Oh, McBean!” The next order of business was summoning his trusty sidekick and adviser. “Oh Mayor McBean!”, he cried, speaking into the intercom system he felt no Ferris Wheel should be without. “Can you come out and play?”

“I would relish the opportunity, sir.” The voice of McBean, mayor of this fiar city, was a dry one with hints of a Trottingham accent and absolutely dripping with his complete lack of enthusiasm. Meanwhile, the rest of Mayor McBean was a walking teddy bear in a tuxedo. “And might I say, it is good to have you back, sir. Is this a pleasure visit or...”

“Nope! All business, baby! Starting now! Well, not now now. I can't think with all this quiet. Can we get the orchestras up and running first? Maybe some Entry of the Gladiators or something? Merry-go-Round Broke Down? Come on, McBean! Let's boogie!”

“Unusual choices for a subtle and subdued pony such as yourself.” Tinker Tailor's response to such wit was to leap from his car, which happened to be hundreds of feet in the air. Parachuting was quicker than letting the ride take its course.

“You are absolutely right. Baby Elephant Walk it is! McBean, what would I ever do without you?”

“I don't know, sir. I'm merely a figment of your unconscious mind made tangible by the surrealism of this environment and your deranged inner workings.”

“Do you want to ride the thimble or the top hat?”

McBean sighed. The fool never listens. “The top hat. Sir.”

Moving of their own accord, the two giant silver game tokens carried their passengers down the streets of Toytown. Tinker Tailor was unusually quiet but no less happy to see the happiest place not on Earth again. He was all smiles as he took in the sights. There were houses and hotels from here down to the Boardwalk. Luna Logs were being milled in the nearby forest. Flocks of Balloonbirds were adrift in the breeze. And judging from the smiling face on City Hall's grand clock, the 1:1 scale model of the Friendship Express was right on time.

“Now, while I'm gone, I want all synapses firing. No limiters. Have the Bio department bring up the great noses of history! From Chemical, I need a mucus analog. Something a little sticky, maybe the consistency of chunky mustard and as for color... Hmm. Perhaps a lovely shade of chartreuse. The boys down in weapons need to completely rehash the water-pistol design for this one. I'll need, well, a sneeze. No pump and spray. One shot. Fluids traveling at 4.5 meters per second in all directions! Just one big PPPBBBBTTT and then reload! Got all that?”

“You're disgusting, sir.”

“Awwwww! I love you too!” He gave the glowering grisly a tender kiss on the cheek before making sure his bowtie was straight, his toy box was securely on his back and a cream colored Panama with upturned brim and hatband with matching plaid was planted firmly upon his head. “Welp, I'm off. I want fresh ideas in my brain by breakfast!” He skipped through the giant doors with 'See You Next Time' painted in rainbow bubble letters, ready to wander about the Infinite Earths for new ideas and new experiences. If he had a pebble handy, he would be playing hopscotch on the road as it formed under his hooves.

“...haven't got a lot. I don't need a lot. Coffee's only a dime. Living in the sunlight. Loving in the moonlight. Having a wonderful time! HELLO, DREAMLAND! DADDY'S HOME!”

[RazorWind]

The road across the airborn paradise was long and winding, ever shifting underneath the hooves of the travelers that strode upon it (Well, in Tinker's case, hopping and singing along it with a merry tune practically playing all around him) and it seemed that no matter how long they traveled they never made progress.. the stretch of stone extending further and further into the horizon. The strange realm continued to lead them along the road, further and further toward nothing until finally a new sensation overcame them; a light-headedness that gradually progressed into that same, soft whisper as before..

"We're all so happy to have you; please, enjoy yourselves."

And with that, a bright flash of light overcame the young ponies, and as their vision returned they stood on the precipice of something amazing...

Immense, towering buildings of white and silver extended into the skies, bridges connected between roofs, and below the hooves of the four dreamers the roads between the great structures were wide and accomodating. Ponies of all races, gryphon and even changeling creatures trotted along peacefully in commute, their faces plastered with content, joyous smiles... and eyes of luminous, glowing radiance that seemed to match everything else in this world. From the entrance of this grand city they stood in the small group of ponies find their gazes attracted to something else; a huge, lordly spire that stood tall at the center of the great city.

"Welcome to the Nexus, little dreamers."

It was only at this point that one of the travelers, Razor Wind, took notice of the four standing next to him and yelped in surprise, leaping back a bit and staring at the unknown figures; Silverbolt, Pyroblaze, Naj, and Tinker Tailor (whose happy trot may have been sadly cut short during the transport) were somehow brought to the same point he was. "Who the- ... hello?" he spoke to them, still half wondering if they were real too. Heck, he was wondering if any of this wasn't some eerily realistic feeling dream and that he'd be waking up any moment.

[PyroBlaze]

Pyro walked along the path, looking around at all the domes floating around. It seemed that no matter how far he walked that he wasn't getting anywhere. With a sigh, he steeled himself and kept walking, determined to find where this path was leading him. Then came a lightheadedness that forced him to slow down, and a whisper in his head. They were happy to have him? What-

Then he was teleported, and he now stood looking at an amazing city that was all white. He looked around at the buildings and the large variety of species walking the bridges. Most of the ones he could see seemed obliviously happy. They looked way too content to be in control of themselves completely. He kept looking around in awe, not yet noticing the others near him. Then the voice returned, welcoming them to the Nexus, which must have been the city he was gazing upon. Then he heard a voice nearby, and turned towards the source. That's when he noticed the four others and almost fell over from surprise as he leaned away.

"Hi." Pyro said lamely as he gained control of himself again. "I'm Pyro Blaze." He added, introducing himself to the group.

[SilverSwirl]

He kept walking and walking, the road seemed to never end. He began to wonder if he had made a mistake and should turn back, but he couldn't even see his own dome any longer. It was at this point that the same voice whispered in his ear accompanied by the lightheaded sensation. "Ooooh...", he groaned softly as he was blinded by light once more.

As his vision cleared, he saw that he was overlooking an amazing white metropolis with four others. So they were happy to have him here? Well he wouldn't disappoint them! It seemed that at least two of his new companions weren't just mental projections of his own mind as they waved and greeted him. "Oh hey there, Pyro and others. I'm Silverbolt. Seems we are among the many visiting this place they call Nexus...", he said in a soft voice, still shocked by all he was seeing.

[DerpRavener]

Naj put a hoof in front of her eyes, in an effort to shield them from a sudden burst of light, but it proved ineffectual. When the light faded and her vision finally returned, she found herself at the gate of a great, gleaming city with a large spire at its centre towering over the rest of it. It reminded her of Canterlot, though she couldn't quite tell if that was a good thing or not.

It's denizens did not however. They were a mix of several races, some of which she'd never imagined coexisting like that. Further, they all had glowing white eyes. Naj wasn't quite sure if they were genuinely that content of if there was something affecting them which caused the grin, though she wrote off the question as something she could find out later, she had other priorities at the moment. Such as where she was. She'd heard the voice, the same one from before, welcoming her to the Nexus and saying 'they' were happy to have her, but without any knowledge of what the Nexus was that only brought more questions.

Starting to look around at the entrance, she finally noticed that she had been standing next two four ponies this whole time. She wasn't even in disguise! She mentally kicked herself for being so attentive as she adopted a defensive stance, only to relax it some a moment later when they began to introduce themselves instead of attacking or fleeing. Communication was the precedent here she supposed, even with exposed changelings, and she wouldn't pass up a chance to avoid an unnecessary conflict.

There was still some uncertainty in her voice when she gave them her name however. “...Naj. My name's Naj.” She was just getting used to the idea of talking to ponies at all; this was the first time she'd ever done so in her natural form. “...So, I guess I'll ask the obvious question: What is the Nexus?”

[Kirby Krackle]

“My my my! Ponies come and go so quickly here! Oh, will wonders ever cease? Ha, silly question. Of course not. This place starts off at wonderful and builds from there. Oh, but it is wonderful, isn't it? This would all make an excellent action playset. Maybe a Buildo model! Come to think of it, I really should have brought a sketch pad with me. Not that I could find what I drew when I wake up later. Or maybe I will! Dreams are funny like that. It's all a matter of the mind, you know. On the one hoof, you've just traveled all the way to the kitchen, cracked open the ice box and completely forgot why you were there to begin with. On the other hoof, you've just traveled all the way to the kitchen, cracked open the ice box and suddenly POW that hidden moral in your favorite novel suddenly makes sense! So it isn't that the memories just left. No, that's crazy. That's not how the brain works at all. It's more like... oh, how do I put this...”

And Tinker Tailor just went on like this, free associating out loud as he tried to comprehend the absolute majesty of his surroundings. Genuinely he wished to recall this place in the morning and, with his eyes busy with other tasks, attempted to pull something to aid him from his toy box. Perhaps it would be a pad and crayons. Perhaps it would be a Sketch-n-Etch. Perhaps it would be something... y'know, useful. Instead, the Yo-Yo. Always with the Yo-yo. Oh well, he figured. It gave his hooves something to do. Specifically 'Rock the Cradle'.

“But enough business!” He finally realized there were other ponies here. Were they imaginary? He didn't care. Some of his 'client's best friends' were imaginary. “Tinker Tailor at your service! Toy maker. Foal sitter. Master of the various arts and sciences. Genius who just can't be beat.” With one hoof, he performed a remarkable 'Sleeper' with his Yo-yo. The other he shook with the newcomers, greeting each one warmly. Even the buggy one.

"And since we're all asking. Nexus: connection, link, center, focus. Assuming the real wo- Oh, that's not a fair word at all! Material. Yes, that's a better word. Assuming the material world and this one share a common language, I can assume... ahhhhhh..." He inhaled sharply through the teeth, eyes clenched shut, really working that mental muscle. Then he made a raspberry. "I got nothing. Maybe all life shares one big brain when it's asleep. That would be neat."

[RazorWind]

Razor Wind's bright yellow eyes surveyed the small group... Seemed they were real, or at least, were very convincing. The changeling was certainly a surprise but.. Well, Razor saw no reason to be on edge, especially since Naj there didn't seem to be up to anything given how she was just as confused as he was. Pyroblaze and Silverbolt seemed friendly enough, though were probably short on words due to the unusual circumstances and it wasn't like Razor could blame either of them.

...and then there was the one named Tinker Tailor; A very... eccentric pony from the sounds of it. The shorter pony seemed to have some familiarity with the world they were in, given how he was not the least bit unnerved and just kept talking...

And talking, and talking, and- dear Celestia was he ever going to stop?! This one alone seemed to strengthen Razor's belief that he was still in some large, realistic seeming dream.. That or he was hallucinating. What was in those daisy sandwiches last night?

With a shake of his head Raz warded off the tinker pony's silliness trance and spoke back to the group in question, "Ah, well.. Good to meet you all then. My name is Razor Wind, but you can just call me Raz. I don't suppose someone is willing to clue me in? I'm ah... A little out of the loop."

"I can help with that." came a disembodied voice.

From the skies a great ball of light descended upon the group of ponies (and one changeling!) accompanied by a heavenly array of chiming music, before expanding and dissipating, and standing within it was what appeared to be a pure-white alicorn. The being's mane was as nebulas as the Sisters' and its wings just slightly translucent; sprinkles of stars leaving their feathers as they flapped once reflexively.

Razor's gaze was instantly directed to the towering, celestial being standing before them, and stood staring in awe for a moment, before his mind finally switched back on and his words left his mouth, ”Ah! Uh, hello there! I don't suppose you may be the one that brought us here?” he spoke as politely as he could in his thoroughly confused state.

The great, winged being smiled gently, bowing its head to the five gathered before it; it spoke, its voice clearly feminine and echoing slightly through the air, “Indeed I am, little Razor Wind. I am very pleased to see more Aware join us,” she chuckled softly to the confused looks thrown at her,“Ah but forgive me, I should explain a bit more... well, to four of you at least,” she turned to Tinker Tailor, her luminescent eyes focusing on him for a moment before she nodded, “Tinker here is already quite familiar with this realm, or at least aware of its existence. Its been a while since his first Awakening; I do hope your inventions go well.” she smiled warmly; clearly already knowing quite a bit.

“Now then.. come with me, my little friends; you have much to learn.” and with that the shining alicorn-like figure turned and trotted off down the streets of the colossal city; the passersby stepping out of the way of the group as they moved along.

“For our newly Awakened guests, you stand in the world of Freedom; a realm that exists beyond the reality you know, a realm created from the subconscious of all living beings in every world across all universes. You see, little ones, your minds are all connected in some way or another, and this world is that connection made manifest,” a soft chuckle comes from the alicorn once again, “I realize that may not make the greatest of sense, but to explain this world in its entirety would leave no time for the rest of our tour. Let's just say for now that Freedom is a sort of heaven connected to your dreams.”

The road the alicorn led you down was taking you closer to a single, massive spire that seemed to be centered in the middle of the city, and a great stairway that ascended to the tower's entrance. Her shining form climbed the flight of stairs as she lead the group along, “The creatures you see here are the native residents of this world called “the Chime”, and I am known as “the Hymn”; a sort of acting figure head of the Chime people. Though, in actuality, we are all one collective being that takes the forms of several to ensure the visiting dreams do not feel so lonely walking this long streets. I have taken this form myself since it is the most familiar form of authority to your kind,” she nods.

“Now... to answer why I have brought you all here. To us, you all are special occurrences; lucid dreamers whom are able to become one with their subconscious and transcend into Freedom itself. We call you “Aware”, for obvious reasons. Tinker is one such Aware whom visits Freedom on a regular basis!” she stopped before the tower doors; two massive, frames that towered over the small group, “Now, within this tower lies a gift I have for you newly awoken; something that you will keep with you whenever you visit Freedom again in the future.”

The alicorn tapped a hoof upon the immense tower doors, and with a loud creaking they both slid open, revealing a great room with a spiraling staircase circling its walls, that seemed to up, and up, and up forever.. and at the center of the room was a single, grail-looking structure with still, clear waters within it. The Hymn lead the group toward the object, standing beside it with a bright smile on her face, “Within Freedom, you are able to cross over into other dreams as Aware, however, some can prove to be a bit more dangerous then others. While you cannot be harmed within this realm, any situation that would be... fatal will result in you being abruptly awoken in your own world. Should you need to defend yourself, this Goblet will grant you a powerful weapon, unique to you and you alone. Think of this as your initiation into Freedom, and a welcoming gift from us,” she waved her hoof to the grail, nodding once, “Now, approach the Goblet, one at a time, and peer into its waters... think of everything you know and experienced. Your passions, your expertise, your interests... all of these will go into the design of your weapon. Its functionality however will be up to your imagination, so long as they in some way represent your knowledge. It may seem confusing, little ones, but once you see into the waters your mind will do the rest,” and with that, the Hymn stood by and waited; watching the group prepare to gain their dream armaments.

[PyroBlaze]

Pyro looked around at the group as they introduced themselves. The changeling, Naj, was a little worrying, but she seemed peaceful for now, so he was okay with her. Then there was Silverbolt, and then Tinker. Tinker was talking too much, and it was frankly getting old by the end. Last was Raz. Not long after, there was a musical sound as a ball of light came down and faded to reveal a pure white alicorn. Pyro listened as the alicorn spoke, calling Raz by name and calling them all 'aware.' After the alicorn received confused looks, she started explaining things as they walked through the city. So they were in a dream world of sorts, and these inhabitants around them were the Chime. The Hymn started climbing some stairs, and Pyro followed her up them.

They stopped in front of some kind of tower with huge doors, and Hymn mentioned something about gifts they were supposed to keep with them whenever they were in this world. After the doors opened, he saw a room with a cup-thing and stairs that seemed to go up forever. It seemed their destination for now was the cup. Alright, they can enter others' dreams, but they'll be awoken if they die. Apparently, this cup was supposed to give them each a weapon when they looked into the waters.

Pyro approached first and looked into the waters of the cup. His fire magic came to the forefront of his mind, and a pillar of fire appeared next to him, but he hadn't created it. As he watched the flames, they started coalescing into the shape of a longsword. Pretty soon, the flames shrunk into themselves, leaving a longsword behind that was designed to have images of fire on it. Remembering a word for fire he had heard somewhere, he named the blade Ignis. With his weapon with him, he stepped back to the group and allowed the next one to step up.

[SilverSwirl]

Silverbolt was frankly confounded by this Tinker fellow. He kept droning on and on and on about something that probably made sense to only him. It took a great deal of patience to listen to what he was saying, but he at least seemed to be a little familiar with this place. So Silver cut him a little slack mentally as he smiled and nodded to the others as they greeted each other. "Nice to meet you, Razor and Naj.", he replied as Tinker finally came to a stopping point in his rambling.

Even as Raz asked him if he knew anything about this place and before Silver could share in his befuddlement a disembodied voice called to them all. His goggles darkened slightly as the glowing ball of light descended upon them all. In its place stood a pure white alicorn with a nebulous mane and slightly translucent wings that shed little stars when flapped. By reflex, he had bowed to this being as it called them Aware before beginning to explain more in depth about their peculiar situation. "Ah, okay. I see, Miss Hymn..", he said softly as she explained yet more about the Chime and herself, The Hymn of this place called Freedom.

He followed closely behind Pyro Blaze as they were led on a sort of whirlwind tour of the city. Being called a lucid dreamer made him smile, as he had a few friends who were into this sort of thing. Even as they stood before the gates to the beautiful tower at the center of the city, he learned more about Tinker as well. "So he's a frequent visitor? I wonder what his gift is...", he thought to himself as the gates were opened to reveal the grail at the base of the spiraling staircase that seemed to go on into infinity. That was when he learned that if he were to die in a dream, he'd be cast out of Freedom and back into the waking world. This unsettled him a bit but he was reassured by the offer of a gift from the still waters of the grail.

He waited his turn as Pyro was the first to approach the Goblet and peer inside. This gave him a chance to search himself for a weapon that represented his ever growing knowledge of storms and inclement weather he had to face in his day to day duties. He smiled as Pyro looked up from the waters and returned to them with a longsword. Chuckling softly, he approached the cup next, giving a grateful nod to the Hymn before peering into the calm waters of the Goblet. "Hmm... Here goes nothing...", he muttered softly as he stared into the depths of the Goblet.

Within the Goblet's waters, visions of cyclones and lightning swirled into existence. Grinning, his brown eyes flashed behind his goggles as he relived every storm. How the wind threatened to tear his wings off and pulled at his mane. Precipitation coating his frame and how he dived and rolled about in the turbulent air. Even as his memories flooded by him in the waters, a weapon began to take shape. A short sword flew forth from a tornado as lightning flashed and struck it, being absorbed into the flawless steel blade. Hail pounded against it as it drew closer and closer to the foreground of the waters, it being consumed by the blade too. Even the swirling tornado was subsumed by the sword and became part of the engraving and filigree that ran along the side of the blade. The snow and rain became diamonds and sapphires that decorated the hilt of the blade as it emerged from the Goblet on currents of air. It floated and drifted into a sheath that had just appeared on his flank as he stepped away from the Goblet, it's name bursting forth like thunder from his muzzle. "Storm Sword! It isn't the best name but it is an apt one.", he said with a laugh, flapping his wings in excitement.

[DerpRavener]

Naj couldn't help but smile at Tinker Tailor, amused by the chatty earth pony. He seemed...oddly appropriate given the situation. It was almost like he belonged here. Between that and his overall friendliness, which she generally found both pleasant and practical, she took a liking to him.

It was still a little disappointing that he couldn't answer her question though, even if she couldn't really expect him to.

The sudden appearance of a pure white alicorn gave her a start, them being one of her potential greatest concerns back in the waking world, but much like everypony else she'd seen so far this alicorn seemed friendly to changelings as well. She even finally got some answers as the alicorn, who called herself The Hymn, explained the nature of the world while leading them on a tour of sorts through the city. Even if those answers themselves didn't make a whole lot of sense.

This place, 'Freedom', was some kind of...representation of ponies' minds? And they were all connected somehow? And all the glowing eyed beings were all actually the same being that the alicorn was somehow both a part of and the leader of-

Naj rubbed a hoof against her temple, feeling a slight headache as she tried to process everything-

The alicorn continued to explain, saying how the five of them were 'aware' which was a sort of lucid dreamer.

At this point the group arrived at the base of the massive spire, and The Hymn said that they would each receive a gift that they would carry with them throughout Freedom. The group was lead to a large, elevated basin of water, and that the gifts they were each to recieve were powerful weapons.

Wait what? The alicorn then described how in Freedom, if anything too adverse happened they would just wake up-

Naj found this...troubling, but held herself in check for the time being. Somehow, contradicting and potentially aggravating the godlike being who was furthermore going out of her way to be nice to them, seemed like a bad idea.

Pyroblaze stepped up to the basin first, and after staring into it for a moment retrieved a longsword with flame patterns all along it.

Next was Silverbolt, who stepped up to the basin in turn and peered in. After a moment, a jewel encrusted short sword emerged from the water, and floated into a sheath which had appeared at the pegasus' side.

Naj stepped forward next. She wasn't entirely sure how the process worked, but without any other ideas she followed The Hymn's instructions, and stared into the basin while thinking about her own history, her mind drawn to her life in recent months.

The water reflected snippets of the Canterlot invasion. The initial successes as the hive took the city, showing some pockets of strong resistance but not enough to turn the tide. Then suddenly, a burst of energy, changelings sailing through the air and-

Naj pulled her head away from the basin. She knew what came next, and frankly she never wanted to look at it again. When she looked back at the water, she saw only the ceiling.

The changeling sighed. Looks like she wouldn't get a weapon like the others. Just as well, she supposed, changeling soldiers typically were trained for fighting without weapons. Without realizing it she thought back to her guard posts in the hive. She idly dipped a hoof into the basin, curious what magic water felt like.

She was caught by surprise when her hoof caught on something. She tugged a bit, but it appeared to be stuck fast. She dipped her other hoof in, to try and identify what it was caught on and see if she could disentangle it, only for that hoof to get stuck as well. Her panic and frustration were just starting to rise when she threw herself backwards and with a loud crack sounding like breaking glass, she came free and tumbled onto the ground.

She stared at her forelegs as she lay there, looking intently at the objects which now resided there. Attached to her forelegs were a pair of large, angular bracers made of some sort of bright, glossy crystal. They were...

Perfect, actually. They could be used with all of her unarmed techniques. She also, almost instinctively knew how to use them, though she expected it would take her some time to use them to full effectiveness.

As she righted herself, and walked back over to the group she said “Well...that was unexpected.”

[Kirby Krackle]

Tinker Tailor, miraculously, fell silent in the presence of the Hymn. She was, in all senses of the word, divine, and yet she spoke so familiarly of him. Has she met him before? Has she told him the story of this world he so often found himself in? Has she guided him to this inner sanctum and to its sacred waters, for the very ceremony four newcomers are undergoing at this very moment? Probably. On a bad day, he can barely remember what happened five minutes prior. Heck, he'll probably forget all this wonderful nonsense when he wakes up. A shame, really. This whole scene was very 'Pomp and Circumstance' and absolutely needed a line of action figures.

Discretion dictated he step back a bit before digging through his toy box yet again for something to aid in record keeping. An 8.5x11 pad of newsprint and a box of sixty-four crayons was the result. Perfect! He was quick as a hiccup sketching out as much detail as he could without invading personal space, or without taking an abrupt lightning storm to the face. Both meister and weapon were included in his work and he managed to get a dozen references down each before the next recipient stepped up to the plate. Pretty good. He hoped he would remember it all.

“And isn't 'unexpected' the best part? It's like today's your birthday!”, he blurted out prematurely to Naj, before shoving a few extra crayons in his own mouth to keep quiet. Discretion.