Everfree Forest Castle Chaos (Open)

[Lux]

Lore Weaver stood at the gaping entrance to the Everfree Forest, both excitement and nervousness running through his mind. That stallion had a task for him to retrieve certain items from the mysterious Castle of the Royal Pony Sisters, a place of both light and dark history. Normally a courier would make this trip with a list of books written by Lore Weaver and signed by Twilight. But after a certain... incident involving a missing book of dark magic, the librarian of the Royal Ponyville Library decided that it was best if it was left in his own hooves to make any future trips. He knew the danger but it was better than another incident.

The purple unicorn though knew he couldn't do it alone, and venturing into the woods by himself was asking for danger. And so he set up a series of posters both in the library and around Ponyville for those to help.

"I hope that others come," Lore Weaver said as he alternated his gaze between the forest and Ponyville, waiting for the first to arrive.

Welcome to my thread! This thread will consist of four parts: The Meet Up, The Trek to the Castle, The Castle, and The Journey Home. I'll be looking for the first five ponies to join and then close the thread to others. This will be an adventure based thread so prepare for history, mystery and danger.

[PyroBlaze]

Pyro Blaze walked calmly through the streets of Ponyville, enjoying his little walk. He liked it in Ponyville, it was nice. He was seriously considering moving here once he was done with his schooling. Of course, that was a matter for another time. For now, he just had to enjoy his walk. He had already accomplished what he had come here from Canterlot for already, and now he had time to kill. He was wearing his typical sunglasses as he continued on his way down the street, smiling as he took in the atmosphere of the town.

The white unicorn came to a stop when a poster caught his eye. It asked for ponies to help with a trip into the Everfree Forest. It wasn't exactly a good idea to head in there alone, so he commended however put the poster up for thinking about that. There was a certain safety in numbers. Two ponies could generally handle more than one could by themselves.

"Alright, guess I know what I'm doing now." Pyro said to himself, trotting off to the meeting place for the group. When he arrived at the meeting spot, the only other pony he could see was a purple unicorn stallion. Figuring this unicorn was part of the group as well, Pyro trotted up to him and gave him a friendly smile.

"Hey, I saw the posters, and I thought I would help. My name's Pyro Blaze, by the way." Pyro said, sticking out a hoof to shake.

[Lux]

Lore Weaver's spirits brightened seeing another pony coming up the path. Like the librarian, this one was a unicorn with a fiery looking mane and tail. Well he seemed friendly enough and eager to help out.

"Hi there, I'm Lore Weaver," he said returning the hoof shake, "Nice to meet you Pyro Blaze. I take it that you read one of my posters. I'm the head librarian of the Royal Ponyville Library. I haven't seen you in town though. Are you from Ponyville or somewhere else?"

[PyroBlaze]

Pyro nodded at the introduction, then tilted his head at the words about the poster. He had just said he had read one, hadn't he? No matter, Lore was still talking, saying he worked at the Royal Ponyville Library.

"I actually live in Canterlot, though I do want to move here after I'm done with school. So, Lore, why are we going into the Everfree exactly? I don't remember seeing that part on the poster." Pyro said, keeping his gaze on Lore.

[Hawkeye12]

Hawkeye wandered aimlessly through Ponyville, slightly bored. The griffon had a competition yesterday, and the train back to Aquellia didn't leave for a few days, so he had some time to himself. He looked around at the small town. It was nice. A lot of happy ponies here. He smiled a little to himself.

He kept walking until Hawk noticed something out of the corner of his eye. Curious, he stopped and looked. It was a poster about ponies going to the Everfree. Interesting. Hawk had never been to the forest to himself, but recalled many ledgeds of it himself. Why would someone be asking ponies to go in there? Hawk looked, but the poster didn't say.

"Maybe I should go check it out," he said to himself. Hawk thought about it for a moment. It would give him something interesting to do, plus a chance to see the Everfree firstclaw. Plus, he was already carrying his bow. Sure, why not. He spread his wings and flew above the city, finding the forest outside the town below. Hawk flew down finding two ponies standing just outside the enterance.

"Hey there," Hawk said as he landed. "Name's Hawkeye. I saw about some posters just now about a trip to the Everfree, came to offer some help," he said with a smile.

[Lux]

It was kind of silly to assume that Pyro read the poster. Otherwise how would he know to meet the purple unicorn? Pyro mentioned how he was from Canterlot but pondered moving to Ponyville.

"You know, that's the same thing I did actually. I lived in Canterlot until a few years ago when I moved here to open my bookstore. Ponyville is a nice place and practically all the ponies here are nice too. As for the reason, I could have sworn I put that on the poster. Well, no matter, I'll explain that in a little while. I want to see if other are coming first."

He had only finished his explanation when a griffon named Hawkeye approached. Lore had met some griffons in Ponyville so thankfully the nervousness was all but gone when meeting one.

"Hello Hawkeye. Yes, I set up those posters to go into the Everfree forest. My name is Lore Weaver by the way."

[PyroBlaze]

Lore used to live in Canterlot too? Huh, Pyro didn't remember seeing him around. Then again, Canterlot wasn't exactly small, it was quite easy to never see some of the ponies living there, despite his frequent walks around the city. Bookstore? He thought Lore was working at the town's library... Maybe he was doing both, but that seemed like a lot of time spent around books. Oh well, to each their own.

Pyro looked over as a griffon approached, introducing himself as Hawkeye. Well, he had a bow, so it wasn't hard to imagine why he was called that. Pyro waited until Lore was finished before speaking up himself.

"My name is Pyro Blaze. I take it you're good with that bow of yours?" Pyro asked, gesturing towards the bow the griffon was carrying with one of his hooves. He had seen griffons at some of the shows he had worked in the past, so he was kinda used to how they looked and such.

[Hawkeye12]

Hawk nodded to each of the ponies as they introduced himselves. Judging by the name and the cutie mark, Lore seemed to be more of an inside type. Yet he was the one who put up the posters advertising to go to the forest. Weird. Come to think of it, Hawkeye couldn't remember the poster saying anything about why other ponies... or griffons, were needed.

But just as he was about to ask this, he heard Pyro asked about his bow. The griffon couldn't help but smirk a little at the mention of it.

"Good? Yeah, you could say that," but shook his cocky side away quickly. He could show off later.

[Lux]

Lore didn't happen to notice the bow until the griffon approached closer to the pair standing at the edge of the forest.

"Well I'm glad that you have some skills with using that bow. We might need it once we cross into the forest. I suppose that we should get going, but let me explain what is going to happen. As I said I am the head librarian of the Royal Ponyville Library. I have a list of books that I need to retrieve from the Castle of the Royal Pony Sisters in the heart of the Everfree Forest. These are no ordinary books as many of them are rare tomes and some of them even contain powerful magic spells. Normally there is a courier that would handle going to the forest and retrieving these books but due to a past... incident I felt it was best to transport this load. Now this trip it going to be tricky as the forest is untamed with all sorts of strange and dangerous creatures. So are you two ready to go in?"

[PyroBlaze]

Well, Hawkeye sure sounded confident in his archery skills. Considering what they were about to head into, Pyro supposed that was a good thing. Especially since that meant he wasn't the only one who could defend themselves. At the very least, Hawkeye and him could. He wasn't sure what kind of magic Lore could use, and he wasn't sure if any of it would be useful in a fight.

Pyro listened as Lore spoke, saying they were going to the forest to retrieve some books from a castle. He had never been to this castle, but then again he had never actually gone that far into the forest in comparison to it's actual size.

"Yeah, I'm ready to go." Pyro said in response to Lore's question, putting on a slight smile.

[Hawkeye12]

Hawkeye listened to Lore carefully. A mission into the heart of an enchanted forest filled with dangerous creatures to get some powerful magic books? Cool!

He couldn't help but wonder what the past 'incident' Lore spoke of was. The griffon had never really understood how magic worked due to obvious reasons, but it had always fascinated him a little. It must have involved something from the forest though.

But he snapped out of his thoughts as Pyro spoke. There wasn't really much else to do now, so it was time to go. "Yep, I'm ready," he said, smiling as well.

[Lux]

Lore Weaver held his breath after explaining the mission to them. To the unaware of the dangers in the Everfree Forest or the Castle of the Royal Pony Sisters it sounded like a simple errand run that anypony could do. But Lore knew that it weren't the books that was the issue but getting there and back. Still the two agreed to go, and having them was better that the unicorn going alone.

"Alright, we'll be heading out there. Couple of things first. One, there is a path that leads from here to the Castle. It's still treacherous but at least is the best route. We need to stick to the path or else we'll get lost or worse. Be careful interacting with any creatures in the forest including plants. There is a blue flower called Poison Joke that does strange things to ponies and griffons so don't touch them. And of course it goes without saying we need to stay together. Now we should also know each other's skills and talents so we can get through this easily. My talent is in gathering research and having a photographic memory, so I'm basically a walking library. As for combat skills, I suppose I can use my telekinesis to fight if necessary. What are your skills my fellow traveling companions?"

[PyroBlaze]

Pyro listened as Lore spoke of a path they would be following to their destination, warning them against straying from the path. He listened as Lore talked about some of the dangers of the forest, even though he knew about those specific dangers already. It was then revealed that Lore had next to no combat abilities, though he did have a photographic memory and a talent in researching things.

"Well, I know a variety of spells that are useful in and out of combat, including but not limited to; shields, teleportation, and levitation. I know how to create and control fire with my magic, and I'm training to become a guard. Well, it's self-training, but it's still training." Pyro said, listing off some things that he felt would be useful on the upcoming trip.

[Hawkeye12]

Hawkeye nodded as Lore explained the dangers of the forest. Poison joke? That stuff sounded... strangely funny. Of course, it wouldn't be if he happened to step in some. Better stay away from that.

The other ponies then started talking about their combat skills. He knew Lore's walking library-ness as he called it, and Pyro's magic would definitely come in handy. In fact, Hawk was pretty impressed by Pyro's skills. To him, magic seemed like a pretty complicated thing to learn.

The griffon then remembered he had to explain his own skills. "Well, for one there's my bow," he said, feeling his slight smile return. "And also if I happen to get in a close range attack, these claws can be pretty useful," he said.

[Lux]

As they spoke Lore Weaver's horn glowed slightly as his talent to magically gather knowledge automatically activated. It was like he mentally made a list of the pony and griffon's abilities. Lucky for him and others the two companions had some combat skills, Pyro's being magical and Hawkeye's being archery and close combat. The unicorn felt a little weak in front of the others not having much combat skills. Maybe learning some martial arts or some offensive spells would help him. That was something to file for later.

"Alright so looks like you're ready in case something might happen. One more thing, we're going to need this."

He pointed to a cart sitting at the edge of the forest. It looked like a strong cart with high walls capable of holding lots of items.

"This will be needed to transport the books for the return trip. So getting there will be kind of easy since the cart is lightweight, but on the return this is going to be filled so whoever is pulling it will be needing to take their time. So if there are no questions, let's get going!"

[PyroBlaze]

Pyro listened to Hawkeye's list of skills, which mostly seemed to just be archery and close-quarters fighting. Still though, every little bit could make the difference. He then looked back to Lore as the unicorn pointed out the cart that they would be transporting the books back in. It was apparently light-weight now, but it was obvious that it would become heavier once they loaded it up with books.

"Yeah, let's go." Pyro said, pulling the cart up behind him with his magic and hooking himself in. "Ready whenever you guys are."

[Hawkeye12]

Hawkeye noticed out of the corner of his eye that Lore's horn glowed a little after he spoke. Was he storing information or something? Interesting. He then noticed the cart sitting at the edge of the forest that the unicorn pointed out. Wait, when did that get there? He had never noticed it. Leave it to the griffon to notice the smallest details but not the things right in front of him.

The cart obviously was made for ponies, he would have no wing room with that thing on. It seemed to work for Pyro though. After the white unicorn strapped himself in, Hawk nodded to lore. "Let's go," he said.

[Lux]

With no objections or questions, Lore nodded to his adventuring companions. He then watched as Pyro strapped himself into the wagon, making sure everything felt comfortable for the journey.

"Alright then, let's head out. We should try to get to the castle and back by sundown. I heard the creatures in the forest are more active at night, so if for some reason we don't think we can make it we can always use the castle as a place to stay overnight."

Lore then trotted up to the entrance, pausing to collect his thoughts and steel his nerves he crossed the threshold into the woods. Looking around at the area for the first time, he was surprised that although wild looking was not threatening. That all could change in an instant.

"So, what brought you two to Ponyville?"

[PyroBlaze]

(You are aware that Pyro's already hooked in, right? If you missed it, it's not really a problem, but it was mentioned in both mine and Hawkeye's post. Just thought I should tell you.)

[RedCedar]

It was a sight not often seen in Ponyville. There, standing like an immovable colossus, towering over other ponies running to and fro in their daily routines, was the ponderous form of Bulk Biceps, studying the poster he had encountered on his errands. There was no indicated reason why somepony wanted to venture into the Everfree Forest, but as they were wise enough to ask for help Bulk reasoned that it must have been for something important.

One thing was certain. Whoever ventured into the Everfree was going to be in dire need of some muscle.

Quickly trotting back to his gym, he packed light with a few bare essentials. A first aid kit, two canteens of water and protein bars - lots of protein bars - were what he stashed into a small saddlebag and then cinched to his back around his pectorals. His physical preparations complete, he trotted out in front of his favourite mirror in his gym, the one in front of the weightpress bench. He looked himself directly in the eyes, almost as if daring himself to get out there and into the forest. Did he look ready. Oh, yeah, he always looked ready when he was this big. Did he feel ready? Yeah... so ready... ready to take it all on. So ready he started to shake as his muscles flexed, blood vessels bulged, wanting to take on the world.

So. Was. He. Ready?

Bursting from the front door of his gym, he scared more than a few ponies as he answered his own question with a loud, bellowing "YEAH!" before leaping from the street and flapping hard into the sky, flying, however slowly, straight in the direction of the path into the Everfree Forest.

As he reached the edge of the forest, looking below he saw that he was just in time, as the ponies - and a griffon - assembled were only just starting into the woods. Before they had a chance to disappear under the canopy of trees, he dove down, landing heavily on his hooves to one side of the cart, and got to straight to the point in announcing his intentions. "I am ready," he said, brimming with confidence, "to go with you into the Everfree Forest!"

[PyroBlaze]

Pyro nodded at Lore's words. Of course it wasn't a good idea to stick around in the forest after dark. It wasn't really a good idea to hang out in the forest in the first place, let alone while it was dark. He began moving forward, pulling the cart with him as he went, though a large stallion landed next to the cart a second later, saying he wanted to come along as well. He was certainly well-muscled, that was for sure. The stallion's red eyes made Pyro raise an eyebrow, his own red eyes hidden behind his sunglasses.

"Well, I'm sure your strength will come in handy. I'm Pyro Blaze." Pyro said, giving the pegasus a nod before continuing on into the forest. He thought about Lore's question for a little bit before responding.

"Well, I came here to help out a friend with some stuff. After I finished with that, I took a walk around town, since he didn't have time to hang out." Pyro said, looking over at Lore momentarily as he answered.

[Hawkeye12]

Hawk looked into the forest. It looked creepy enough already, he couldn't imagine how it was after dark. Not like he was scared though. As long as there weren't any rats, he would be fine. Ugh... rats.

Just as he was about to answer Lore's question about why he ended up in Ponyville, a shout was heard from behind. The griffon spun around, half startled. Standing right behind him was another pony.

He was... very muscular, to say the least.

Hawkeye was surprised at the size of him, he had never seen a pony that large. Wait, were those wings? He was a pegasus? He almost chuckled out loud. The wings were tiny! Of course, that pony could beat him up if he wanted to.

Suddenly, the griffon realized that he had been starting at the newcomer. "Oh yeah, uh... hi. Name's Hawkeye," he said.

[Lux]

Lore Weaver actually started to like the Everfree Forest when he first crossed over. It wasn't scary at all. Sure it was more wild than say Whitetail Wood but there was nothing threatening about it. Maybe this trip was going to be easy with no surprises at all...

"I am ready," he said, brimming with confidence, "to go with you into the Everfree Forest!"

Lore jumped when he heard another much louder voice behind him. He wasn't shy or easily frightened, by sometimes those nerves got the best of him. Turning around he could see there standing next to the cart was Bulk Biceps, a resident in Ponyville. Well it was hard not to recognize the muscular pegasus as he flew or walked about town. Standing across from each other was like night and day with the two ponies, Bulk being very athletic looking and Lore... not so much.

"Oh, hello there Bulk Biceps. Glad you can join us. The more the merrier I say. We are going to the Castle of the Royal Pony Sisters to retrieve a few things for the castle in Ponyville."

Satisfied with the quick explanation, Lore listened as Pyro explained his traveling to Ponyville.

"Well I'm not sure if you expeceted adventure or not after meeting your friend, but I'm glad you're here. I'm glad all of you are here. So let's continue our journey and oh by the way if we do get injured in the forest there is somepony or actually a zebra named Zecora that lives here that can help. But we'll cross that bridge if we need to."

[RedCedar]

"Oh, hello there Bulk Biceps. Glad you can join us. The more the merrier I say. We are going to the Castle of the Royal Pony Sisters to retrieve a few things for the castle in Ponyville."

Bulk Biceps nodded and steadfastly began the hike into the woods with the party. Lore Weaver's explanation certainly made sense. As he understood it, there were still many things not removed from the castle after a thousand years. He'd often wondered why Princess Celestia hadn't taken more many ages ago, nor even why there hadn't been more attempts to retrieve things over that time by ponies brave and equipped enough to do so like they were trying to do, but still, it would make for an interesting day.

Nodding to both Pyro and Hawkeye, he smiled and boomed "I am Bulk Biceps." as though he were describing his most visible trait rather than giving his name. "Good to meet you."

[PyroBlaze]

Pyro gave a short laugh at Lore's words about expecting adventure. Not really, it had been a pretty mundane task, though it had still been kinda hard with the two of them. He then smiled as Lore continued, talking about how he was glad that they were all here and that there was a zebra in the woods that could help them if they needed it. Well, that was convenient. He hadn't really expected anypony, or zebra in this case, to actually be living in the Everfree Forest. Seemed like a strange choice of residence to him, but to each their own. If this zebra wanted to live by herself in the forest, he wasn't going to stop her.

The pegasus soon introduced himself as Bulk Biceps, and Pyro gave him a nod in response. The name certainly fit.

"Nice to meet you too, Bulk." Pyro replied, looking back ahead of him as he continued pulling the cart through the forest, keeping an eye out for any hostiles.