Age of Colossi (knightofthesun)(semi-closed, PM to join)

[Ashton]

The jet-ski came to a top, still a long distance from the ocean as orchid let out a growl, slowly turning her head back towards him "I dont know what kind of a sick f--- you are, but you pull one more stunt like that and so help me I'm PUSHING you into the dark sea, so help me Luna! Maybe you think it's just a joke, but I dont like knowing that if I hit a bump I'm likely to lose my head!" it was clear orchid was getting tired of Morgan's antics and felt like, at best, this was some kind of sick joke, and at worst he was purposefully trying to kill her "You touch one more da---d weapon and you will learn a new meaning for the word torture! got it?!" 

 

She slowly started the machine back up and it was several tense moments before she answered his question and still with gritted teeth and some anger in her voice "No. Not more than an introduction. Mid and Star talked to her, and Luna a little bit. I barely met her."

[KnightoftheSun]

Morgan sort of stays silent for a couple of seconds as she talks,standing very still before letting out a burst of laughter that would make even rainbow dash blush...he was just threatened and told to stop and he's laughing here and now?! "HOHOHAHAHAHA OHAHAHOHO haha...aheehee..." he calms down and sits "Ah-ahm sorry ah just...sometimes ah act before ah think" he still giggles a bit..

he may need some sass. He definitely seemed the type that would put matches and explosives in close proximity...if he was that stupid. Maybe that was why he had no tail,perhaps? Who knows with earth ponies like him. Morgan was definitely one to court with danger...and not being very serious sometimes helped with nervousness.

[Ashton]

She turned her head slowly towards him, and no doubt behind that black visor was giving him a terrifying death glare. But she kept the craft moving forward, not even responding to his lunacy, though it seemed she wasn't joking, more than likely if he did something dangerous and crazy, he would indeed get shoved into the water and learn first-hoof if indeed the water did drag you down and kill you over and over and over like orchid had warned...

[KnightoftheSun]

Morgan would decide to try and no to do something completely dangerous this time....instead,he would pull out what appeared to be a small wooden trinket. He would hold and fidget with it while somehow holding his legs firmly on the boat as to not fall (don't skip leg day)....it looked like one of those small trinkets that's someponies have in a pair...this one seemed to be a sort of reddish orange color...it had part of a word:"ings". Morgan would start to quietly sing a small dirge as they would go through the dark sea...it sounded like a folk song of sorts. The weirdest thing was the fact that even with his rough accent,he managed to sing it smoothly.

 

Sing me a song of a lass that is gone
Say, could that lass be I?
Merry of soul she sailed on a day
Over the sea to Skye

Mull was astem, Rum on the port
Eigg on the starboard bow:
Glory of youth glowed in her soul:
Where is that glory now?

Sing me a song of the lass that is gone
Say, could that lass be I?
Merry of soul she sailed on a day
Over the sea to Skye.

Give me again all that was there
Give me the sun that shone
Give me the eyes, give me the soul
Give me the lass that's gone.

Sing me a song of the lass that is gone
Say, could that lass be I?
Merry of soul she sailed on a day
Over the sea to Skye.

Billow and breeze, islands and seas
Mountains of rain and sun
All that was good, all that was fair
All that was me is gone.
Sing me a song of the lass that is gone
Say, could that lass be I?
Merry of soul she sailed on a day
Over the sea to Skye.

[Ashton]

This seemed to have a calming effect on orchid as the began to near the land.

 

"...was there sompony you left behind?" she asked tentatively, in a somewhat quiet voice that once again would remind morgan of fluttershy

 

As they neared the land, morgan could see the buildings were exactly as they had appeared from the distance, very angular and gothic, dangerous looking. The occasional bright glowing lines on some of the buildings (retrofitted on the old, built into the new) gave a huge contrast. The city seemed to be built half in the gothic style and half in a mor modern techno-punk inspired style. Not too suprising given the direction the world had taken. It was still too far to see any of hte inhabitants clearly, but at the beach ahead of them morgan would see many camp fires and makeshift shelters.

[KnightoftheSun]

Morgan seemed to zone out a bit before looking to orchid "Hmm?...oh aye,ah did....my wee sis. She may have been younger than me but she had more sense an smarts than ah could ever have...kept me out of trouble a lot" he gives a little chuckle before saying "Ye would've liked her:strong as an ox but could whip anypony at their wee tests...one could say she should have been a unicorn." He smiles,looking at the token. "Aye,but she always loved her older an younger siblings....although ah think she may have liked me the most" he gets all quiet as he seemed to reflect on the reactions of some of his family to him taking up adventuring...and the words that were shared with his little sis. She was barely coming up on becoming an adult by the time he had left for soldiering and had only seen her again by the time she was on the cusp of being in her prime when he visited. He seemed to stay quiet,putting away the trinket and holding on and being a goodpony without any problems...though he seemed to Be lost in his thoughts,staring into the void sea with golden eyes. Who knows if she would be here...did a version of his family even exist here? 

[Ashton]

Orchid was a bit quiet before speaking "I wish I could relate... I guess I kinda understand, with some of my closest friends, but I never had siblings" a notable change from the pony she seemed to resemble from morgan's world. "While I hope does does not get stuck here, I hope that you find somepony similar. I'm sure Dash gushed about her so-called sister Rad, who was really just another Dash from a different world; I understand a lot of different ponies get sucked through the gate, some are similar to the ones we know, some are very different. Mid said that during her travels with Rad she saw many different versions of ponies she had known, some radically different in one way or another, including their family." she seemed to be rambling a little, no doubt in thought "Keep in mind you may find a pony who 'is' your sister but is so changed you would despise her, dont let that soil your memories, more than once I've heard stories of these things..." clearly she had some experience with this that she would rather not go deep into.

 

As they neared the beach now he would get his first glimpses of these dark ponies. Their fur was mostly gray of varying shades and their tails black or white, making them looked like combinations of ghosts or shadows. No doubt NMM's intention. The ones on the beach looked lost and disheveled, as if they had just been thrown ashore from a shipwreck. He even got to see one pony slowly emerging from the black sea and collapsing on the sand, looking like she had just endured the worst experience of her life.

 

As they moved away from the beach, which was oddly enough fenced off, and towards the docks, he saw a different sight. These ponies looked a bit different. The word 'punk' might be used to describe them as they tended to wear a lot of black clothing with vicious looking spikes and studs, their manes and tails were styled in a harsh and often spiky design, and were often colors that were clearly not natural, given how they seemed to be fading or growing out on some (and the fact that the beach showed their colors were rather monochromatic) most also had at least a few visible tattoos, piercings, or both, sometimes en mass, even their makeup was less to enhance their appearance as it was to give them a more fierce and strange look. While this of course was on a scale and varied from one pony to another, it was no doubt another part of NMM's original plan to have her soldiers and invaders looking dangerous and different from mainland ponies.  Morgan would also notice their eyes - while the schlera was still white and the pupils black (though slitted), their irises were almost exclusively a pale silver, almost blending in and giving them a somewhat grim and ghastly appearance. Some, however seemed to have more normal eyes, though it wasn't common, and they seemed to be a little less menacing and more lively. Dash had spoken about luna trying to clean up her mess and perhaps these ponies had somehow been 'treated' to have some of the darkness removed from them.

[KnightoftheSun]

Morgan would nod as she spoke...though secretly dreaded meeting whatever member of his family was here...he dreaded that he might even meet himself. What twisted form would be unveiled. He would snap out of it and look at the beach...as he sort of nervously chuckles a bit,seeing as his own clothing stood out like an eye sore. His fur cloak. He would look at the sights before them,seeming to have a very firm grasp of what might have happened to those who lived here. He'd keep a firm grip over where the trinket was,that being near his own heart. He wouldn't set up from the boat until they would dock,wanting to stay a bit safe even in such unknown waters. He'd look about a small if he were looking at something strange and alien...this was definitely beyond even the punks of his realm.  "Poor lads....poor poor lads" he would say as he saw the ponies at the beach,seeming to take pity on them as he looks to orchid. "So,this wot Luna's been up to ere...honestly ah can say ah've seen worse messes to clean up from" he seemed to tr and understate the problem,seeming to play it of faith with a bit of humor "Wonder wot this place looks like when it's midnight" chuckling a bit as he pats orchid...though softly as he didn't want to harm the wee lass. He would however prep a spell of shocking grasp if they met trouble.

[Ashton]

"If you mean the beach, dont worry, most of them will be fine. I guess Dash didn't explain to you about us... remember I told you about the water drowning you over and over for a week... after that week of torment your spit back out, transformed into one of us. The water steals your soul so death rejects you, and the seas heal your body. Becides the torture you go through for a week though, you also have to pay the fee - it costs five souls to be brought back, and I'm sad to say most of the ponies here steal souls of the mainland ponies, again changing them into us, so they can be sure death wont be permanent. Some ponies are even known as Soul Brokers who buy, sell, trade, and collect souls for that specific reason.  Once you wash up on the shore its just a matter of reclaiming your identity -and hoping nopony else stole it while you were in the sea, which is rare but can happen- and getting back to your normal life." she paused to let that sink in "Luna has been working on curing us from this though. She can only cure one or two dark ponies a day, but the cured ones can no longer steal souls, and if they die, the light of the moon will bring them back... of course this means if you die someplace the moon cant reach and nopony drags you out into the open or at least under a window, your dead forever, but its better than stealing souls" As they reached hte docks and Orchid tied up the jetski she  paused again "oh and as a warning... uncured dark ponies cannot feel pain, so some of them are pretty... unpleasant to look at... its also why so many have body modifications" 

 

They began walking through the city, it was a strange place as it felt dirty and grimey, though there was almost no dirt or litter to be seen - it seemed as clean as any other large city morgan would have seen, but the atmosphere was different with the imposing buildings and looming darkness of alleys and shadows. There were, of course, places that were different, as the city did seem to slowly be moving away from the older darker motif and becoming more modern, but it was a long process and only slow and incremental changes.

 

"At night its actually both much worse and much better" explained orchid, answering morgan's question after a short time "bright neon signs and lights that seem to give the city a whole new life, but the shadows are deeper and darker around every corner so its also a lot scarier"

 

They were headed towards the massive spire in the center of the island, a bizarre hybrid of castle and skyscraper, which appeared to have originally been built from stone, but many new additions were steel, as well as many of the repairs, giving it an almost patchwork appearance. 

[KnightoftheSun]

The tall earth pone would follow along,seeming to look around at his surroundings as he followed. His figure would definitely intimidating in some factors,though not in a way like the dark ponies...he'd keep to himself for now,walking along till he saw the large skyscraper/castle hybrid. He seemed to chuckle a bit as he would say "Figures that ah'd ahve te go to a patchwork land te patch up the problems of this realm..but in all seriousness,this place has a strange beauty to it" He'd walk on three holes as he went along,the fourth hoof gripping what appeared to be the light Lance handle,as if he were holding a saber in its stowed position. As he followed closer to the tower,he'd fluff up his cloak in case it was folded over. He looked very much the part of a knight even with his futuristic equipment.

[Ashton]

Orchid was a little surprised that morgan didn't comment on the immortality, but just assumed Dash had indeed explained it to him so he just glossed over it.

 

As he waled the locals did indeed look his way, some of them with a look of hunger in their eyes, clearly knowing he was from the mainland and wanting to steal his soul, but they also saw who he was with and knew better than to take any chances - they would be lucky if they just ended up in the ocean again, Orchid might not be so kind to them... arguably the were more fearful or perhaps more accurately, more cautious of her than they were of him....

 

If morgan could look past the city's unique architecture and fashion, he would see that it was not unlike any other city with ponies going about their normal lives and jobs. Perhaps these ponies were a little more aggressive than the ones he was used to, but the city was at its heart just like every other city he had visited.

 

Entering the castle though would be quite a shock from the outside, the floors were polished marble tiles with carpets down the centers and leading to every door. There was a receptionist behind a large oaken desk looking over appointments who barely even glanced up at them, mostly to just nod at Orchid, having been expecting them.

 

"This way" said orchid as she lead him towards a large set of doors like one would expect from an elevator, inside though was instead an inactive magic circle. Orchid pulled a card from a previously unseen pocket of the skintight soul and tapped it on a corresponding symbol on the wall, which caused the circle to start glowing "After you" she said quietly and politely.

[KnightoftheSun]

Morgan would indeed go in,stepping in the center of the circle and sitting down,waiting for her to come in."Ah'll this new fancy magic tech ish given ponies a lot of bloody convenience...perhaps a bit too much" he chuckles a bit,waiting for the elevator to go up as he would seem to take in his surroundings. 

[Ashton]

The moment he touched the circle, though, there was a flash and he was facing two new doors, same as the previous ones, which opened before him.

 

He was now in a tiny hallway that still resembled the 5-star-hotel decor of the lobby, but was incredibly tiny and was facing a massive set of oaken doors with no visible handles, but with multiple panels, all carved to show scenes of equestria's ancient history.

 

From beyond the door she would hear a familiar booming voice "ENTER!"

 

and the doors would slowly swing open, revealing... Luna sitting regally on... a pile of cushions, in what would be described less as an office and more as a living room? complete with sunken couch (luna always was behind the times), a large TV screen behind her, and walls lined with small tapestries, paintings, and the entire room carpeted in a deep purple with white stars. This wasn't an office at all, This seemed to be luna's private quarters!

[KnightoftheSun]

Morgan would let out a bit of a startled noise as he would look about and would prep himself for what lie ahead "Aight,let's do this" as he would walk in.....and smirk a bit as he saw the scene before him. It kind of reminded him of something else but that wasn't important. Morgan would entered into the room,his footsteps muffled by the carpeting. He seemed...quite amused as the rooms look reminded one of a starry night sky "Well,ah see that the mare of the moon is in sky anywhere ere" he smiles, trotting in and bowing to her in respect. Even if she was not exactly the most clean in regards to the past,she was royalty and thus was owed proper respect. He would however,as soon as he was done bowing,would then say. "Ah assume Ye already know why ahm bloody ere

[Ashton]

Luna's eyes narrowed as he swore, clearly taking offence as his overly casual tone, but she said nothing about it, knowing her reputation was still rather in the gutter "Yes, Morgan of another world, I know why you are here. You were sent by Rainbow Dash to try and gather information, though the former element of Loyalty did not explain exactly what information you hoped to gleam from me"

[KnightoftheSun]

Morgan sort of chuckles a bit "Please please,call me Morgan" He seemed to realize his error as he would speak once more "A-apologies yer grace ah just....it's been a while since have spoken with royalty" He would then clear his threat as he would say "Aye,ahm here on dashes orders...though the information ah want is...well..." he scratches his head and then decides to just brace through it. "Ahm looking fer any signs of wot may have happened to her sis,Rad...ah was hopin Ye may know somethin bout it" He'd sit down and seem to try and act respectful around her...he seemed a bit nervous,knowing he had bucked up once and he was prone to these sort of mistakes. Luna would be able to sense that he had Power to be sure,so to speak. "Ah...well,if yer gonna ask why it's any of my business well...it's another story"

[Ashton]

Luna shook her head sadly "I am not surprised, though I am disappointed" she said, turning her head, the glow of her horn opening a drawer and pulling out a binder that could have passed as a phone book and setting it down in front of Morgan "This is the final report on what we're referring to as the 'waterworld' incident" she explained "its quite detailed, and of the seven parties involved, we only know of Midnight herself escaping alive. I have spoken with representatives of Storm as well, the one who sent them on this mission, and he is unable to trace their life-forces either." she paused "There are other forces at play, I will be the first to admit that I do not understand the strange form of magic that the Pegasus Rad possessed, and three of the creatures involved were either soulless or developed souls only after leaving our world. As such I cannot say with absolute certainty that they are dead... however... the chances are... almost unfathomably tiny... Midnight has accepted this, which its unfortunate, given the blow it has dealt to her mental health, while Rainbow Dash... she has not. As I said, not surprising, but disappointing and ultimately futile" explained Luna

[KnightoftheSun]

Morgan seemed to pick up the report and read it'thinking on posssble scenarios...he didn't know if sHe was dead or alive. What he did know however was the fact that someone or something knew the truth...question was who and why was it hidden. He'd look to Luna as he read,speaking "So it seems...though the question ahm gonna ask is whywas they sent in the first place?" He'd seem to have flow when talking,as if he had a few thoughts on what could have happened. "Perhaps things aren't as they bloody seem...things may not be as futile as they appear." He'd chuckle a bit,seeming to smile sheepishly "Of course,that's mah two cents so far...ah cannae say much more given that have not been directly involved in the incident...but it had to be bl-er well....important if there's was a definite risk of not makin it to hearth an home"

[Ashton]

Luna sighed "I wish it were so simple, Rad was even more immortal than myself, and Darkstar close to my own, being a healed Dark Pony, but none of us can locate either. As I said, perhaps they survived as Midnight did... the others... I fear they would not have been so lucky, being far more... susceptible... to death..." she paused, as if unsure whether to reveal the answer to the other question, finally saying "They were sent there by Storm himself, to retrieve an eldritch tome of knowledge that could have held the secret to saving our world" she finally admitted "If you want more details I suggest you speak with Midnight. Though I do not know how much help she will be to you, she has fallen into deep depression after the mission... she considered all of those on the mission to be family and I fear is suffering Survivors Guilt" she sighed "It only makes matters worse that she and Darkstar were mates, and Darkstar was the father of the Foal, from what I understand"

 

As Morgan looked through the report he would see strange incidents of pirates, underground cities, time anomalies, magic anomalies, all written in extreme detail using very technical wording as if the report had been made by a highly trained Scientist or Wizard

[KnightoftheSun]

Morgan would seem to take in all the information he would have "absorbed" from both Luna and this report. That would mean he had a few more goals in mind:have a discussion with storm,talk to midnight,and figure out what sort of problems were rampant. There was something that bothered him however:it looked like the report seemed to be OVERTLY complicated in language...as if a certain someone had written it. "Do'na worry bout that lassy...ah may not be from this place but this isn't mah first rodeo with the plague of sorrows" he'd sit down before deciding to change the subject "Now that ahm here have been meanin' te ask Ye...are Ye doin alright up 'ere? Ah saw the piece of work that was going on ere" Now look at Morgan,he's started to care for the people of this realm...he may not have no connection to this place nor did he have any psychological training but damnations sake,he was gonna try and see if he'd could hold this realm together!

[Ashton]

Luna looked taken back, in fact on the virge of showing shock, there was a moment of pause before she spoke "you... you are the first to actually ask me that in years" she admitted "I daresay centuries" she managed to regain her composure "I appologize, that was not very appropriate of me to say that" she admitted "but... thank you, Mr Morgan of Another Land, all things considered... I'd say Im doing alright. Better than some I fear..." she sighed, "I am working hard to try and restore this land and it's creatures, though even wiht my magic I am limited in how much I can do each day. I hope way day to cure them all and finally be able to put the curse of Nightmare Moon behind me forever"

[KnightoftheSun]

We all ah e our demons,lassy...whether they are on the outside or the in. However,their stain is never permanently on one...have seen it first hand meself what one can do when their sin are fergiven" He'd give a smile before saying "Perhaps one day,Ye will forgive yerself" He would say while approaching her so as to not be staying at the door and getting within a 6 ft of her as he would then ask. He'd then decide to ask something else "Ye wouldna happen to know anything about this storm fellow...from what have heard,they don't sound like the best of people...and ah'd like to know where midnight might be perhaps." He'd ask,as he would need info on those two before he could continue here. 

[Ashton]

Luna sighed "Storm... He's a confusing... being... I wouldn't even call him a pony anymore... Ponies used to thing my sister and I were mysterious, but we're wide open books compared to Storm. Some say he's got the best at heart for the world, others say he's going to run the world into the ground and couldn't care less" she paused "dont be fooled though if you meet him... what you'll meet is either an impersonator or some kind of shell, like a solid illusion... that's not storm - not the pony in the boardroom, not the pony in the street, and not the pony on TV... none of that is who -or what- storm really is" she paused "Midnight is in her room" luna opened another drawer and pulled out a keycard like the one Orchid had and tapped it against a nearby terminal a couple times, then floated it over to Morgan "that card will grant you access to my personal floor, midnight's floor, Orchid's floor -she's room 424-, and the lobby. try not to lose it, they're annoying to have to replace"

[KnightoftheSun]

The knight of the sun takes his key card,examining it before placing it back into his totally not an inventory. "Well do,lassy....an it sounds like this storm lad is nothin but a petty tyrant" he would bow before saying "Thank Ye fer Helpin out with this conundrum,lady Luna" he would take a bow before exiting the room to try and find midnights room. It probably would be close by,given how midnight was supposedly very important in this whole equation. This storm fellow would get a visit from Morgan late reply but for now he had this to deal with.

[Ashton]

As he left the room, he was again in the tiny hallway leading to the elevator.

 

This was the penthouse, luna had the entire floor all to herself.

 

no matter how much he was avoiding it, he would have to use the magical elevator.