TheInvisiblePony

Endless stairs < Endless slide

Interesting. Unicorn magic CAN be blocked, it seems.

IT HAS BEGUN Also, yay. Luna

Fantasy followed close behind, looking around the hall they had now wandered into. It was quite odd, how similar it looked to the other one, but something about this one in particular seemed... off. She couldn't place her hoof on anything in particular, but the entire hall was giving off an unsettling feeling. Her smile slowly vanished, as she began looking around with a much more serious and much more interested eye, but she couldn't find any one thing. Maybe it was quieter or maybe it was darker, or maybe it was both. Regardless, it was a change of pace. [colour=#800080]"Excellent choice, assuming there was some option. I like the atmosphere. Very quaint."[/colour] She tried to keep a polite facade going, reasoning that any fear that could arise would crack through. It's served her in the past, quite nicely. She looked to her left, and over shoulder, when something caught her eye. [colour=#800080]"Hello..." [/colour]she mumbled, as she walked over to a small shiny thing stuck in between the stones making up the floor. It was a small silver crescent moon, keeping in theme with the rest of the ruin. Strangely enough, it was rather out of place in the eerie little corridor, so it was apparent it wasn't meant to be there.

Fantasy looked around, as several things happened at once, and a few more things happened pretty much in near sequence. She both heard the new voice, not like the whispers at all, as well as being slightly surprised when Page jumped up. She turned around to see where exactly this new addition to the act was, only to see a small glimmer of light not too far off, but not that close either. Her ears perked up when she heard its- no, sounded like a his- inquiry. Deciding that running over there to explain things would be too time consuming, but shouting out RUN from a distance would serve to cause nothing but panic, Fantasy fairly calmly answered back. Well, calm considering the situation, but there was a hint of concern in her voice. [colour=#800080]"Yes, somepony is there. And another one, and about several dozen or so shadowy... things. The seem pretty evil, so if I might make a suggestion, you may very well want to run. As in, now."[/colour] A thought struck her, as she realized that this new pony could very well be a blessing. [colour=#800080]"Oh! Do keep your light on, if you would. It would be easy to follow."[/colour]

[colour=#800080]"I can see how that could get annoying... I tell you what. When we run into something, I'll have to act twice as surprised. You know, for you as well"[/colour] She smiled back, as well as gestured out a hoof as if to say 'lead the way'. She started to wonder if she had that talent herself, before realizing about half of her adventures ended up with her getting lost regardless. Somehow the idea of knowing the immediate layout of the area avoided her imagination. She then wondered if Darkness was just as unable to conjure up the mental image of being lost. She gave a mental shrug, as she realized he probably did. After all, that's how he got his cutie mark in the first place. [colour=#800080]"Oh, and about that unable-to-adventure thing, I'm sure I'll think of something to keep things interesting for you. Maybe I'll stumble into a trap or some such thing."[/colour] She chuckled at the thought.

With Darkness behind, Fantasy started walking down the corridor herself, nodding at his statement. [colour=#800080]"I suppose I can see your point."[/colour] She continued with a slight chuckle, as she recalled some past misfortunes [colour=#800080]"Of course, the forest is a lot less serene when you get caught in a rain fall. That was the last time I didn't pay attention to the weather schedules!" [/colour] Somehow, the hall was a lot shorter than she recalled, but she didn't dwell on it that much. Mainly because they were back in the room with the gear filled hill. She looked around, grinning. It was a pretty neat room, practically begging itself to be navigated around. In fact, the way the spinning gears were intertwined with the hill probably had them serve that exact purpose. As she looked around, and even up at the Mare on the Moon statue, she spoke to Darkness [colour=#800080]"Well, we've already been here, so perhaps we should carry on past here?"[/colour]

Force people to wear weird facial expressions. If I can do it remotely, imagine the fun you could have with live television! The ability to turn into any animal, or the ability to turn into any form of water. So essentially, which one of the wonder twins would you want to be?

Well, I think it would be more accurate to say they're about even on the power scales. I mean to say, good old Nightmare Moon fought Celestia to a stand still. Its implied that without the elements, Celestia might not have even defeated her sister (teh evul version, anyways) in the first place. Besides, Luna has mastered the Royal Canterlot Voice. I'm sure Celestia has forgotten that sometime over her thousand year rule, so the mare-formerly-known-as-the-mare-on-the-moon could probably just shout everything to death. And back. Somehow. Unless the Mane six got the elements back again. Ok, scratch that one of the boards.

Fantasy smiled, as she nodded in union with Darkness' agreement. That worked out reasonable well, so without much wait she began trotting back to the corridor. She paused for a second, waiting for him to start following, only as she turned around she noticed his eyes were closed. Fantasy wondered for a brief second what he was thinking about. She also gave one last glance about the library, feeling both another twinge of leftover guilt, and another bolster of courage to prevent the same situation from happening again. She had already slipped up once, another time might be too much. "Well, no pressure at least." She mused, somewhat sarcastically. Feeling like breaking the silence, a curious thought struck Fantasy. [colour=#800080]"So, Darkness, I already know you spend a lot of time in the wilderness and such, but you mentioned earlier you don't actually spend much time in Canterlot itself. Do you just spend your days here and sleep back in the city, or do you actually spend nights out here?"[/colour]

Fantasy blinked, listening to the pegasus' scramble for words. She didn't quite know what to make of that one, but regardless she found herself blushing slightly herself. She thought of the question itself for a few moments, before responding back to the word fumble. [colour=#800080]"I think I can catch the gist of what you meant, but I digress."[/colour] She diverted her gaze for a second, hoping that didn't sound odd, but in that event, she picked up her sentence fairly quickly. "In any event, I would suggest a bit more adventure. Neither of us earned our marks for sitting still, so it seems like a bit of a waste just sitting around." Well. That may have sounded better in her head. Fantasy felt the need to elaborate on that one, trying desperately not to dig herself into any holes.[colour=#800080] "Of course, there's nothing wrong with sitting around. Especially with, well, you."[/colour] Mentally, she faced hooved. She had planned at least a few different ways that could have gone. None of them were quite like that one, but she couldn't think of anything else to say, or even ramble on. So, instead of nervously turning away, she kept the same posture, with the slightly askew glance.

Fantasy was almost having a bit of fun with herself, despite the situation. The whispers were still too far off to warrant any panic, so she paid them little heed. Rather, she was more intent on locating Page, but she had a few musings that she kept her morale up with. Namely, she was happy to be amidst so many books. Sure, most of them dealt with more... odd topics, to say the least, and sure it was too dark to read. But, they were still there! She continued along the hallway, whispering to herself and imagining what some of the books would say if she could see them, until she saw a bright flash of light ahead of her, along with several dark shapes that were briefly illuminated. Well. That was bad. First of all, she'd been to preoccupied with her thoughts to notice the increasing volume of whispers, and secondly, that bright flash was probably Page. That wouldn't seem so bad, if only he wasn't kind of in the middle of the dark shapes. That flash did look a bit like teleportation. No matter, now was the time for an intrepid plan to get in, find Page, then get out! She paused for a second, thinking of a plan. Fantasy smiled as one came to her, and she stuck out a hoof to grab a book. She mentally apologized to it in advance, then threw it in the highest arc she could have at the moment. That is too say, rather high and fairly far. It seemed to have attracted the shapes' attention, if for a brief moment only. Not daring to speak loudly, she hissed out [colour=#800080]"Page! Are you around here? If so, I recommend running as a plan now!"[/colour]

Well, this Miss Shore was certainly the talkative sort. It probably helped her line of work. Anyways, she had said something. It would probably be wise to answer any questions directed towards him, so he listened rather intently, with a focused straight face. [colour=#696969]"My name? Yes, I suppose that's perfectly reasonable to ask... My name's Enos. That is to say, Enos Gray."[/colour] He looked at Shores for a brief second or two before he registered she was offering a hoof as well. He glanced down at it, and rather diligently shook it. This transaction was interrupted by the haberdasher, who seemed to be interested in doing business. Maybe just not as much business as the pop star seemed to have planned out. Enos smirked as he listened to Shore's list of hats she wanted. Did she plan this out at all, or was she just rattling off various designs she thought would look nice? Regardless, at least she was nice about it. Wait, what was that she said about hitting the stalls? Enos blinked as Shores was back to facing him, and asking him another question. Well, two questions back to back, both of which Enos responded too. [colour=#696969]"I was just coming to listen to the crowds"[/colour] He gestured towards one of the larger groups of ponies before continuing [colour=#696969]"On some of the busier days, all of the voices meld together quite nicely. But in response to your other question, I would be happy to do some shopping!"[/colour] Enos might have been a bit absent-minded from time to time, but what type of pony passes up an opportunity to meet an ideal like Miss Shores? Well, okay, so there might be a few ponies who would pass the event up, but Enos wasn't one of them.

Fantasy tried to resist appearing awkward. That would certainly ruin the moment, but they were standing fairly close together. She noticed the stallion blush, and act about as nervous as she felt. It helped, somehow, knowing he looked about as uncertain as she was trying hard not to look. [colour=#800080]"Well, yes really."[/colour] She dared not step backwards, so she just looked at Darkness for a few seconds, before continuing on talking. this time, she had a twinge of guilt in her voice [colour=#800080]"I shouldn't have left in the first place. I'd understand if you don't accept an apology, but at least I was hoping we could start over."[/colour] Fantasy adjusted her hat, then smiled again, this time happily. [colour=#800080]"You know, I have no idea how you manage to be so wonderful, but I'm determined to figure it out."[/colour] This was going a lot better, the second time around, but she still paused for a thought. "Okay, less corny. Let's see if we can't keep it so. That will probably lead less to him doubting you"

Fantasy practically cried out in joy. The initial question she had, of just what Darkness would first say, was resolved, and it was a lot better than what she had anticipated. It was an honest question! No venom behind it or anything! Reinforced in her attempts, she responded. [colour=#800080]"I guess I did. To be honest, I don't think I could have brought myself to leave..."[/colour] She trailed off. Should she tell him? Fantasy was already aware of the pegasus' feelings, but could she bring herself to do it? As it turned out, yes, she could. Well, she could at least hint at it. She picked up the sentence. [colour=#800080]"After all, if I left I'd never see you again."[/colour] her smile turned somewhat sheepish. Mentally, she frowned "That sounded a lot more corny than what I wanted that to sound like." She shuffled her hoof, as her bravado vanished. Well, that was pretty much all she had planned out. Fantasy had a few more elaborate plans for different situations, but this left her relying a bit more on improv. Again. Well, improv was acting, so despite her nervousness, Fantasy kept a much straighter posture. She certainly didn't want to appear uncertain, so she tried her best not too.

Fantasy was quite enjoying wandering around in the dark. It deprived one of the most basic sense they could possess, and without that, it gave power to the other senses. Well, usually. In Fantasy's case it just distracted her mentally a lot more. As she (or so she thought) followed Page, she was thinking quite fondly of the time she tried reading a Daring Do novel while exploring a ruin. That one didn't work out quite as well as she would have liked, but it made for a good story. She chuckled, then realized she should probably be following the wall a bit more intently. She stuck her hoof out and felt a turn that she would have missed, so she took a left. Then another left, then a right, then another... left, she thought? Or was it straight? [colour=#800080]"Oh dear me, I hope you've been keeping better track of where we're going than I am."[/colour] She waited for Page's response, only to have it not arrive. [colour=#800080]"You know, that wasn't really rhetorical. You can speak up about how we've got here. I mean, was a left, right, then left; or a left, right, then two rights."[/colour] Still, no response. It dawned on Fantasy why exactly her questions were met with silence. [colour=#800080]"I guess you can't answer my questions, can you? No, that implies we'd have to have not been separated from each other."[/colour] Fantasy audible sighed in the darkness, which strangely enough, was met with a reply. In this case, another quiet bout of whispering. Very faint, in fact more so than what she had first heard, but it was undoubtedly there. "Okay, no need to fail me now, Ms. Brain. Let's see, last time those dreadful shapes were probably attracted to the light to find us, but luckily I don't have any. Sooo... given that they seem to be communicating with the whispers, and that I don't want to stick out, maybe I could give improv disguises a go." Not wanting to found in the slightest, especially with her guard down in the shadows and her lack of partner, presumably still somewhere in this wonderfully twisted library, Fantasy started whispering various gibberish as she restarted the whole wander-around-next-to-aimlessly bit again. With any luck, those presumably hostile shapes would mistake her as just another shape now. Well, that was the plan anyway. It seemed like a better plan to avoid the whispers for as long as possible, so she figured she'd do that as well. She paused for a moment. How in Equestria would she find Page if she was whispering? He'd probably just avoid her, not knowing she would be her. She smirked in the darkness, realizing it probably didn't matter what she whispered, so she just started quietly chanted Page over and over. That would probably get his attention, if she ran into him.

Fantasy gently walked down the corridor, every step increasing her nervousness. As the hallway became shorter and shorter, each step brought more negative possibilities and overall lengthened the distance Fantasy thought she had left. What if Darkness was bitter? What if he didn't want anything to do with her? What if he had already left? She paused about halfway down the corridor, and considered every possible option that would even be slightly bad. As she paused, for the first time for a tremendous amount of time, she felt like crying. She was already trembling with butterflies in her stomach. "No! Everything is going to work out. It has too!" She strengthened any resolve she had lying around, and then Fantasy gave a slight smile, just for a brief moment. She had forgotten who she was, that is too say, a naive adventurer. Well, she could use a little optimism, and what was she doing but exploring something a little less tangible? She continued down the hallway, and it went much faster. Sure there were still doubts, but every step now brought a more ideal hypothetical moment into view. Fantasy kept the pattern going until she reached the library. There he was, just staring at the bookcase. Getting the feeling he had just had a bit of a monologue, Fantasy wondered why he was so terribly fascinated by the books, then realized that was kind of the pot calling the kettle black. As she stood there, perhaps unnoticed by the pegasus, a million things she could say whizzed around her head. Without much hesitation, she picked one and spoke up, staring at Darkness. [colour=#800080]"Hello."[/colour]

((Again, no problems!)) Fantasy winced at the flicker of light, after quite assuredly becoming worried at Page's comment. She looked around, in the last few brief moments of light they very well might have had. In a slight desperation, she tried looking for anything that would serve as even a slight guide back, but no, that would be too easy. As it grew darker, she was reminded even magic had limits, and despite all of the growing tension... she smiled a little. [colour=#800080]"No worries, friend. This is adventure at its purest, isn't it? We'll be fine!"[/colour] Remembering that it was still connected to the library, she came up with a fairly basic idea. [colour=#800080]"I wonder... If we just walk until we hit a wall, then walk along the wall, we're bound to get somewhere, wouldn't we?"[/colour] She reasoned that would either work quite nicely, or horrible backfire if they ended up going the wrong way. Fantasy would be lying if she said she didn't like those odds.

I'd say this one pretty much sums me up nicely, right down to the cheerful tone, with the somewhat depressing afterthought. Or at least, the slightly depressing afterthought that I tend to see from this song. Oh, and because this only version that didn't have 5-10 seconds of silence in the beginning on a quick YouTube search, I present to you: Sherlock. That show makes everything better. If I could pick one because of how cool it sounds though, I'd pick this one: I should think it would make a good theme song

Fantasy tried to not choke up as she dashed down the hallway. She didn't come to a stop until she came to the room that was filled with gears, the same one she had cut her hoof on earlier. She glanced down at her hoof, realizing that it still kind of stung. She must have forgotten it during the... Fantasy didn't want to transition into that thought. Everything she had done, even asking a few simple questions, had upset Darkness. And now, well, now it was just her. If she was in a better mood, she would have chuckled, however grimly, at how she dealt with situations. Start to feel restrained with Canterlot life? Run off into unknown ruins! Mess up a conversation with a wonderful stallion? Run off into unknown ruins! She glanced back over her shoulder, realizing that even, no, especially running off probably didn't help at all. But could she go back? After just running off? She was starting to think Darkness was becoming very disillusioned with her. Or at least, he couldn't think highly of her now. And yet, she couldn't just stay put. She practically shouted (or spoke in a normal tone, given her regular voice was fairly quiet) in frustration. [colour=#800080]"Why is this so difficult?!"[/colour] She sat down, somewhat promptly, and came to a realization. Everything she'd been attempting to do was to prevent the situation from worsening, aside from her last minute panic. But it was more for his sake then her own, she just wanted him to cheer up. Darkness was quite good company, and his revealed love had admittedly startled her, but she was starting to realize that, just perhaps, she felt the same way. After all, he had more or less went with her on this entire adventure, even when he started out barely speaking a word. That was a kind of friendliness one didn't find often. Fantasy sighed with a slight tremble. [colour=#800080]"I'm going to have to go back."[/colour] She said, not to anypony in particular. She turned back towards the corridor, and with the slight terror of her own actions, she began to walk back down the corridor. [colour=#800080]"I just hope this time I don't make a mess of things."[/colour]