The Accursed Journey [Crossover RP] [OPEN]

[MarchingHammers]

The human watched the bomb go off, as it wasn't doing it's job to completion. Frustrated, He hopped out of the bushes with the tubed weapon drawn. "Okay kliene ponys, Don't make any schudden moves, we don't need to make any problems. Now, scwhy are you in my little corner of the forest. It really ischin't safe hier. There are those dwellers all over, I have to deal with them daily." The human saw some snow falling, which was unnatural in the Everfree, and let out a happy high pitched "OH!!!. how faschinating! I must know, how have you mad it schnow hier? It is schomthing I have failed to do with alchemy."

[NeilWacaster]

Newsworthy slowly stepped forward slowly toward the masked human. "I was guiding the noble messenger Partheus through the forest on his royal mission from Princess Celestia herself. Now he has been captured by the Dwellers, and I must make haste to save him."

The snow began to blanket his fur, and he shook it off in disgust. The last thing he needed was to catch a cold out here.

[Partheus]

Meanwhile, in the Mistress' Throne Room...

Partheus picked himself up off the ground, nursing his broken arm. Ross stood a few feet away, smiling with malicious intent, sporting brass horseshoes on his front hooves. He clopped them together in an intimidating manner, and went to strike Partheus down. "That's enough. I think he's learnt not to try and escape." The Mistress waved her arm at Ross, who immediately stood down. Partheus sighed with relief. The Mistress rubbed her left cheek, which was sore. "Of course, now we'll teach him never to strike a woman!"

Ross lunged at Partheus, and scored a direct hit to his jaw, knocking Partheus out cold for a couple of seconds. Once Partheus came to, Ross was standing over him, still smiling. He kicked Partheus in the stomach, sending him flying through the air and landing a few feet away from Ross. Partheus was in complete agony by this point. He could not find the strength to move any of his muscles, nor could he cry for help. All he could do was lay there limply as Ross walked over to him. "I'll... get... you... for this... you... son of a..." Ross then kicked Partheus so hard, he landed back on his feet, and smashed the back of his head with his hooves clasped together, sending Partheus face-first into the white floor. He didn't move.

"I think you've knocked the misogyny right out of him, Ross. Good work. I'll take it from here, you can leave." Ross walked out of the throne room, leaving the now incapacitated Partheus and the Mistress alone. The Mistress walked over to Partheus, bent down to meet him at eye level, and drew a ceremonial dagger from her robes. "You probably aren't conscious to hear this, but I'll proceed anyway." She placed the dagger by Partheus' neck. "I shall give you one final chance to redeem yourself. Join my ranks, or die." After a moment of silence, Partheus began to sputter and coughed a mouthful of blood onto the Mistress' robes. "You... beat me... to a pulp... and... you... expect me to... join you...?" He laughed slowly and painfully. "Worst... marketing... ever..."

The Mistress placed the dagger closer to Partheus' throat. "What... will... killing me... accomplish...? You... do know... that I'm... here... on... royal command... don't you...?" The Mistress lifted the dagger from Partheus' neck. "Yes..." He coughed up more blood. "Celestia... sent me here... to train... my mind... for Fluttershy..." The Mistress backed away from Partheus. "It c-can't b-be. You can't be talking about the same Fluttershy, can you?" Partheus rolled his head to face the Mistress. "All I know... is that... she loves animals..."

The Mistress went pale, and dropped the dagger in fear. "No, it can't be! Of all the people to be in cahoots with the Princess, the last person I wanted it to be was her! She's constantly in the Everfree Forest, talking amongst the animals, avoiding our every trap and defeating our toughest warriors. Ross, for example, has had the great misfortune of fighting three bears, two lions, and even a manticore one-on-one. But the worst part is, she acts as if she doesn't know we are there! She just strolls around our forest and does whatever she pleases, like she's taunting us! We used to own the whole Everfree to ourselves at one point. But now..."

The Mistress sat down and began to weep. "For the last few years, that monster has invaded our privacy, claimed the land for her own, and taken the lives of our finest men. Now, we must fight back, and take down all of Equestria for turning their backs on us!" Partheus leant onto his stomach, which was still very bruised. "But, I don't... understand... How did you... end up here in... Equestria?" The Mistress stopped crying and sat up. "I started life like the rest of these poor souls. Abandoned by society for things outside of my control. Hominopolis didn't want me, and I couldn't join the Human League like you because I was female. So, one night, I packed all of my things and ran away, into the forests of Taiga, and never looked back."

"I ran into Equestria purely by chance. I wasn't following any roads, just running as the crow flies through thick woodland. I came across Ross, who was also running away from his home, and we've been inseparable since. We founded the Forest Dwellers, to provide a family to those who were abandoned by theirs. We gained many members over the thirty years we have been around. We claimed the Everfree Forest for our own. And now, we plan on claiming Equestria for our own too."

Partheus looked sorrowfully at the Mistress. If I didn't join the Human League, he thought, that could have been me. No one wanted me in Hominopolis either, but the difference between me and her is that I didn't want them. I realised from a young age that it isn't worth crying over being rejected if the alternative meant living among monsters like them, so I became a messenger to distance myself as far away as humanly possible from them. But she didn't get that chance. She was forced by our laughably outdated cultural norms to be housebound and jobless, all because she is female. What kind of society could call itself just, yet dictate the fates of others based on things they themselves cannot control, let alone anyone else?

The Mistress picked herself up, walked over to her throne, and sat down in it, looking at Partheus with saddened eyes. "That is why you must go. People like you made me the person I am today, and I hate what I have become."

[SilverSwirl]

Slade, a slender, tall human wearing black ninja clothes and tabi with a thin katana strapped to his back and his belt of other ninja tools around his waist was up in the trees, observing the exchange between the masked human and ponies below him. He smiled as he silently dropped out of the tree, performing a roll as he hit the ground, at the mention of the Forest Dwellers.

Creeping up behind the masked human who had thrown the canister of gas, he tossed a scroll from his belt into the circle of ponies and the human before throwing a smoke pellet and saying, "If you wish to find your human friend alive, you'll need someone with stealth. Come to the ruins of the old Harmony Castle and I will reveal myself to you. The scroll at your feet has directions that will lead you to the meeting point. Farewell.". Having said this, he leaped into the air and grabbed a tree branch and swung himself into the trees and began his silent journey to the ruined castle.

When the smoke cleared, the source of the voice was nowhere to be seen.

[Partheus]

Meanwhile, in the Mistress' throne room...

Partheus slowly and painfully picked himself up, his arms barely able to lift his torso high enough for his legs to slide under. After a few failed attempts, he managed to successfully get on his feet, and jerked his spine upwards, making a dissonant clicking sound. Most would simply lay there and die from such horrific injuries. But Partheus was made of sterner stuff; he never gave up, no matter how grim things looked. He shuffled in an awkward gait towards the Mistress, who was watching him suffer with a cold, passionless look on her face.

"Why do you persist? If you try to attack me again, I'll just call for Ross to provide... 'extra tuition'..." The Mistress cackled, echoing throughout the chamber. Partheus raised his head to the Mistress. "There's an old saying in the Human League. 'Death only welcomes those who welcome it'. As long as I keep going, you aren't going to kill me any time soon." As he came closer and closer to the Mistress, he clenched his fists, and gritted his teeth together. "Now, you will suffer for what you've done to me and my friends!" The ground began to shake, and the Mistress was thrown off her throne. The shaking intensified, causing the ground where Partheus was walking to crack and splinter with each step he took. He was walking fully upright by this point, seemingly refusing to acknowledge the pain coursing through his body.

The Mistress ran to the back of the chamber screaming. "ROSS! Help me! This fool is trying to kill me again!" Partheus slowly edged towards the Mistress, who was backed up in a corner. He had developed a red aura around his person, with red lightning streaming around his body, occasionally striking the ground in front of him. Suddenly, Ross appeared behind Partheus, and struck him on the back of the head. Partheus flinched, and fell forwards from the impact, but remained on his feet. He turned to face Ross, who had his hoof cocked back for another punch. He went to strike Partheus again, but Partheus caught his hoof in his hand, and grasped it tightly.

Ross struggled to free himself from Partheus' grip, whimpering and yelping as he flailed his other hooves in a desperate attempt to escape Partheus' grasp. Partheus tightened his vice-like grip, shattering Ross' brass horseshoe while they were still on his hoof, and began to break the bones within Ross' hoof. With each increment of added pressure came another broken bone, another stomach-turning crunching sound, and another blood-curdling scream. "Let go, hooman! Please, I beg of y- AGHH!" Partheus finally loosened his grip, letting Ross step back and nurse the deformed shape that was once his hoof. Ross was in such agony, that he failed to notice Partheus' boot enter the front of his face, sending him flying ten feet away into a wall. He slumped to the floor, unconscious and broken.

Partheus turned his attention back to the Mistress, who had procured the ceremonial dagger from her robes. "I'm warning you, stay back!" Partheus walked towards the Mistress, who held out the ceremonial dagger, pointing it squarely at his heart. Partheus walked into the dagger, penetrating his clothes, but not his skin. He grabbed the blade of the dagger, pulled it from the Mistress' hands, and snapped it in half with one hand. He dropped the shards of the dagger by his feet, and picked up the Mistress by the scruff of her robes. "Care to send any more fools to their deaths to prolong your own?" The Mistress could see over Partheus' shoulder three hooded ponies coming to her aid. "N-no, of course not. You're right. I should face my death with dignity, like a proper warrior should." Partheus frowned. "You are undeserving of a warrior's death, you coward!" He went to strike the Mistress, but he was suddenly picked up and thrown by an unknown force into a wall. He got up, only to be surrounded by hooded ponies, all of whom were armed with swords and spears.

"You weaklings aren't going to stop me! Come on then, you sorry excuses for-" Partheus suddenly felt his mind become at ease, his current thoughts drifting away into nothingness as they were replaced by a warm, gentle feeling of purity and stillness. He began to feel sleepy, his vision becoming increasingly blurred and distorted. He last saw a hooded unicorn casting a spell directed to his head, before everything melted into a technicolour dreamscape...

[Greed]

'This is getting more and more interesting,' thought Greed as the smoke drifted away. Gluttony ran forward, "Come back! We need your help now!" She yelled, slightly annoyed. She kicked the ground, frustrated. Envy took the scroll that had rolled to her feet and opened it carefully, she walked upto Noteworthy and passed him the parchment. "...what do we do...?" She asked, as the snow departed and it began to slightly rain...

[NeilWacaster]

"I know nothing about this 'Harmony Castle.' If we don't go now, I'm concerned that we will lose the trail of the bandits. Also, I don't trust this mysterious message giver as far as I can throw him. What if it's one of the dwellers, trying to throw us off track?" Newsworthy shook his head. "My vote is to go ahead and follow Partheus' captors."

[SilverSwirl]

Slade stopped in his tracks and realized that they may not trust him as he heard one of them shout for him to come back. He returned with such agility that it seemed like he just materialized out of thin air. Removing his mask and lowering his hood, his brown hair blowing slightly in the breeze and rainfall. "My name is Slade and I am not affiliated with the Dwellers. In fact, my mission is to watch their movements in the forest and take them out if it is absolutely necessary.", he replied to Noteworthy's comment.

[Partheus]

Meanwhile, in an unknown location...

The mild sunshine of the autumn afternoon in Taiga rained down upon the rolling hills of wheat and grass that surrounded Partheus' house. It was a simple log cabin on the outside, with locally sourced trees acting as a natural outside shell. The interior was classic Hominopolis-style housing, with barren walls and cubic rooms, sparsely decorated with functional but bland furniture and various mementos and larger trinkets Partheus collected in his ten years service to the Human League as a messenger.

Partheus was sitting beside the fireplace in the lounge with a warm cup of coffee, and beside him was Twilight Sparkle, laying on her side reading a book on the culture of Hominopolis. "So, let me get this straight. You have a monarchy, but the monarchs are only temporary, until you find a stronger leader to take the monarch's place. Why not elect an immortal leader like Celestia?"

Partheus took a sip of his coffee and smiled. "I can think of two reasons off the top of my head. One, humans aren't as... morally refined as you Equestrians are, so there's a chance that our leader could turn out to be evil, which wouldn't be good if we bestowed immortality on him. Two, we can't figure out how to make someone immortal anyway. We can't cast magic, remember?" Twilight put down the book and stared into Partheus' eyes with admiration. "I could teach you, if you want. It's not that hard, it just requires a little..." She leaned closer to Partheus' face. "...practise..."

Partheus put down his coffee and leaned away from Twilight in confusion. "Err, sure, Twilight, I'll gladly let you teach me. Where do I start?" Twilight then placed her hoof on Partheus' hand. "First, we need to do a little... trust exercise..." Partheus stood up and backed away from Twilight. "Look, I don't know what you are after, but it certainly isn't simply a desire to teach me. What do you really want from me?" Twilight stood up and walked towards Partheus. "Oh please. I think we both know what I'm after..." Partheus went to open the door and leave, but Twilight cast a spell on the hatch, locking Partheus inside. He tried kicking down the door and frantically tried unlocking the door with everything from his house keys to a spare lockpick he had on him, but to no avail. He felt a presence behind him. He slowly and frightfully wheeled around to see Twilight, with diluted pupils and a sadistic grin on her face, standing right behind him. "You ever wondered why they are called 'cram sessions'?" She laughed manically as she lunged at Partheus horn first.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!"

* * *

Partheus sat up, sweating and panting, trembling in fear. After looking at where he was, he sighed with relief and laid his head back, onto a cold stone surface. He was laid out on a stone altar, in a candlelit room with various crude medical tools surrounding him. He was wearing an equally crudely made surgical gown, made from tattered cloths and a dirty rope tying it all together at the middle. He checked his body for the wounds inflicted by Ross; surprisingly, they had been treated well considering the crude tools they were using, and he could move about to a certain degree without hurting himself. He attempted to stand on his feet, but a sudden and painful tugging sensation on the back of his left thigh discouraged him from moving about the room.

As he lay there on the cold stone altar, a hooded unicorn approached him, leaned over his face and said in a callous tone, "Why must you courageous types always end up in my theatre one foot in the grave? Do you have any idea how hard I worked just to make sure you lived, let alone be able to walk again?" The hooded unicorn paced around the altar, checking and cleaning the crude tools as she rambled. "Tch. If you were all as tough as you say you are, you wouldn't need healing, would you?" She lifted Partheus' left leg up with a spell, holding a pair of what appeared to be a bottle of some strange solution in one hoof, and a cleaning cloth in the other. "Now, I will warn you, this will hurt a little. But I'm sure such a brave man such as yourself can cope with it, hmm?" She chuckled to herself as she carefully poured a cupful of the solution on to the cloth, and dabbed the cloth on an open wound on Partheus' thigh.

Partheus winced, a couple of tears streaming down his face as he tried to prevent himself from screaming in pain. After a moment that seemed like an eternity for Partheus, the hooded unicorn lifted the cloth from his thigh and placed the cloth and the bottle on the table of tools. She then grabbed a roll of white cloth from the table and carefully wrapped it around Partheus' leg, cutting off the excess material with a pair of rusty scissors. After putting away the scissors, the hooded unicorn leaned over Partheus' face again, looking coldly into his eyes. "Now, you rest here. That stuff is darn strong, so you should be able to limp with some enthusiasm within the hour." The hooded unicorn walked away, leaving Partheus alone in the theatre with only the sound of silence and the random flickering of the candles to spark his imagination as he lay there uselessly on the altar.

[NeilWacaster]

"Well met, Slade. We must hurry if we are to rescue Partheus before it is too late, so let us proceed, and we can become more acquainted on the way." Newsworthy turned to Envy with a questioning gaze. "Do you have some type of magic that will aid us in tracking where they took him?"

[Greed]

Envy shied away at Noteworth's gaze, and it began to snow again. Greed stepped forward. "I don't have the means to track, however i believe that Envy's lightning victim is coming round, maybe she'd be so kind as to guide us through this forest?" Greed gave a nod that indicated a pleased smile, as Gluttony brought up the hooded pony who had threatened Noteworthy. "She's all yours, have fun!" Gluttony winked at Noteworthy...

[DustyCharm]

Xeno was the only one of the trio whom actively explored around Everfree above ground while he, Dusty, and Tomes would often pass under it in one of Dusty's many tunnels. He was fast enough to avoid most animals and smart enough to only adventure about at night and cautious enough to avoid any Forest Dwellers in his passes. A feat in of itself when, and most times, he can't copy their form thanks to flawed magic and recurring migraines.

Tonight was particularly interesting with the advent of a human and pony cautiously wandering into the forest. Only to be jumped by Forest Dwellers in a rather interesting confrontation leading to the human being hauled off and the pony left with 'trick-see'. For a moment at least as a group of what he'd call 'sinful' ponies rescued him. Too many.

Xeno buzzed along the tree line in flight. His wings mimicking the sounds, best he could, of other insects within the forest. Moving with the tree's shadows as he followed the colt. His curiosity brimming once they came to a cave barred by wooden doors. Entering in moments after. Curse... He thought. Settling on a tree branch looming above and near the cave door. Almost shaken off by the tremors and pressuring magic that came from in it. He had to get in there. His curiosity was almost over flowing, but he didn't see how he could.

Not easily; remembering the other Forest Dwellers. Xeno perched on his branch and shut his eyes. Straining silently as he tried to take the form of a hooded Forest pony. He wasn't sure if it'd work. If it did, then maybe he'd be able to get into the cave and curb his curiosity.

[NeilWacaster]

"It's Newsworthy ..." the pegasus muttered, walking over to Trixie's prone form. He looked down at the magician with not a little apprehension. "She's no Twilight Sparkle, but Trixie's magic is quite potent." The unicorn began to stir, awakening from her 'shocking' little nap. "We must use the utmost caution. Anypony who can use magic, please, be ready to counter if she attacks."

Trixie's eyes flew open, and she looked from side to side, panicked. "Stay back! The Great and Powerful Trixie will not allow you to take her alive!"

Putting on an air of confidence, he pointed a hoof threateningly at the magician. "Trixie, where have your 'friends' taken Partheus? Tell us, or be prepared to suffer the consequences!"

"What 'consequences' could possibly harm the Great and Powerful Trixie?" she scoffed. "Your piddling magicks stand no chance at disarming her now. In fact, it is you who should be afraid for his life. Insignificant as it is." Her horn began to glow, portending a powerful spell.

There was no time to react. Newsworthy braced himself for impact, hoping that one of the others could stop the crazed magician.

[SilverSwirl]

Slade scoffed at Trixie's threat and smiled, "The Great and Powerful Trixie? I've heard about you, mostly about you being run out of Ponyville.", he said as he threw a smoke pellet at Newsworthy's hooves. "RUN! I'll handle this!", he shouted as he used the smokescreen to get behind Trixie and held his wakizashi against her throat. "Checkmate.", he whispered in Trixie's ear.

[NeilWacaster]

Losing no time, Newsworthy leapt into the air and with one powerful flap of his wings was speeding through the trees in the direction the bandits had gone. "Come on!" he called to the others.

---

Trixie's concentration was broken by the bite of the steel at her throat. The spell fizzled, and she looked back at her attacker with a fierce glare. "You dare threaten the Great and Powerful Trixie? Be forewarned, she never forgives those who get in her way. Now, barbarian, what would you have with Trixie?"

[DustyCharm]

Success! Xeno had done it; standing on his branch now as one of the hooded Forest Dwellers. Well, mostly; his head was throbbing already at the onset of a migraine. So he had to act fast, but how would he get in there? He didn't know if they had a password, and he didn't hear any of the dweller's voices other than that leader type. Ah ha!

Xeno strained in concentration a moment longer. Satisfied when he saw the large blood stain as well as a rather nasty claw wound on his side. Perfect; fluttering down to the ground and making his wings dissappear. He carefully stepped up to the door; banging his hoof twice, slowly at it. The third just scraping down as he fainted at the door. This should get him in for sure! He hoped.

[Greed]

Greed, Envy and Gluttony sped after Newsworthy, leaving Slade and Trixie behind. Gluttony was interested in how the smoke pellets that Slade had used worked, but for now there was no time to stop and ask him. Greed's notepad was scribbling away, recording the rescue would allow him to write it up properly later, as well as any new information about the Everfree Forest. Envy kept herself to herself, although she wasn't so scared any more, just determined to do her part, hence it had stopped snowing and now was beginning to get quite warm, as if a heatwave was arriving...

[SilverSwirl]

Losing no time, Newsworthy leapt into the air and with one powerful flap of his wings was speeding through the trees in the direction the bandits had gone. "Come on!" he called to the others.

---

Trixie's concentration was broken by the bite of the steel at her throat. The spell fizzled, and she looked back at her attacker with a fierce glare. "You dare threaten the Great and Powerful Trixie? Be forewarned, she never forgives those who get in her way. Now, barbarian, what would you have with Trixie?"

"All I want from The Great and Powerful Trixie, is for you to take me to your supposed "Mistress" that I have heard so much about from the Dwellers I have captured as she has captured my interest. Also, you will be leading them as well."; pointing towards the fleeing group of ponies. He whispered that response, his mouth turned into a sadistic smile as he released her from his grip. "I have released my grip on you, but one false move and I will not be so forgiving, I could have just killed you where you stood without a second thought. Remember that.", he said in a very serious manner as he put away his wakizashi and instead unsheathed the Guisarme, his custom-made katana that was a 5 body blade.

[NeilWacaster]

Should Trixie kill them now? She thought to herself. It would take less than a second for the spell to suck their life away. Just imagine: all these pitiful little bodies, lost in the Everfree. Never to be found, except by a hungry manticore. Their blood staining the forest leaves ... but ... no. Trixie would much rather see the Mistress deal with them. Alive. A handsome reward will be received by her. Yes. This pleases Trixie.

Screwing up her face into a pout, she pined dramatically, "You dashing, valiant human! Trixie is no match for your cunning." Smiling sadistically, "She will take you to the Mistress, and she is sure that you will meet the same fate as the other human. Yes, she is certain of it."

---

Safely out of Trixie's range, Newsworthy alighted on the ground a ways ahead of the others, looking for any clue as to where the bandits had gone. The dwellers were known for being able to melt into the shadows, and thus it would be difficult to find any trail. He sniffed the ground, smelling nothing but leaves.

[Partheus]

Meanwhile, in the Forest Dweller Sanctuary...

The candlelit theatre Partheus had found himself in was not without its charms. The random flickering of the candles made an alcove momentarily look like there was a monstrous beast hiding in the shadows, and made the crude tools shimmer with a dull lustre. Partheus leaned over to the table, and began to play around with the tools, picking up a bloody hacksaw. He tried reaching for the tools on the far end of the table, but couldn't quite reach them. Without thinking, he tried to stand up from the altar, and to his surprise, could walk... to an extent. It pained him to lean on his afflicted thigh, but he could briskly walk at best. He hobbled towards where the hooded unicorn had left him an hour earlier, only to hear hoofsteps coming down the hallway ahead of him.

Partheus hobbled as fast as he could back to the altar, propped himself back onto it, and stared at the ceiling, pretending to be still crippled. The hooded unicorn from earlier walked into the theatre, and looked at Partheus laying there, crossing his arms and sighing in tedium. "I didn't realise the altar was so comfortable. No wonder everypony's dying to get in here, hahaha!" Partheus looked at the hooded unicorn, rolled his eyes, and sighed again. The hooded unicorn looked at Partheus' bandage. "You do realise it's been three hours, right? You can get up and walk around, if you really want to." Partheus slapped his forehead in shame, and sheepishly got up from the altar. "Where am I? I assume I'm still in the Forest Dweller Sanctuary?"

"Of course you're still in the Sanctuary! What, do you think we'd drag your snoring flank to Celestia knows where just to heal you?" The hooded unicorn lifted up a rusty pair of forceps with a spell and examined it carefully. "You're lucky we didn't capture you in the Everfree Forest, or else, we would have left you for dead." Partheus was about to leave the theatre, but turned around and frowned in confusion. "Aren't I supposed to be a captive here? Where's the security?" The hooded unicorn put down the forceps, conjured a blade similar to what Trixie wielded out of thin air with another spell, and pointed it at Partheus' face. "I am your security. Now, keep moving, and nopony has to get hurt..." The hooded unicorn laughed. "Who am I kidding? If anypony gets hurt, I get paid! Go on, run. I dare you..." Partheus remained silent, and slowly walked out of the theatre with the hooded unicorn following closely behind him, still brandishing the conjured blade.

[DustyCharm]

Well that went swimmingly. Not only did Xeno's ruse fool the door guard but it managed to cause a small commotion when the patient they were carrying vanished from their backs. Xeno wondered if he'd ever be able to actually pull off a stunt like that; he'd have to twiddle his mustache in victory if he ever grew one. While hurrying about in search of himself with other dwellers, now though he didn't have a gruesome gash on his side.

It was wearing on him though; having to break from the small search party as a migraine set in. Sitting back in a shaded nook of the cave; rubbing his temples to stave off the head ache. His luck payed off though! Made the migraine well worth it too as he saw that human walk from a theatre, medical in nature by the smell coming from it, with an armed guard that is. Interesting... He thought, shaking his head and following the human and his guard, just behind every turn in his casual and silent walk. Hopefully his inconspicuous hooded form wouldn't fail on him.

[Greed]

"Is something wrong Sir Newsworthy?" Greed asked when he came upon Newsworthy, who looked to be alittle stumped as to the location of the Forest Dwellers. "Slade seems have brought this Trixie to...'our side'. She will lead us i am sure of it."...

[NeilWacaster]

"Thank Celestia," Newsworthy looked relieved. "These blasted Dwellers move through the forest leaving naught a trace. We would be hopelessly lost without her help." After a minute or two, Trixie appeared, looking as cocky as ever. Her mane and robe looked a bit burnt from the electric shock.

"Well, come along then. The Great and Powerful Trixie does not have all day." She began lead them rapidly through the forest, occasionally consulting a worn map which she drew from her saddlebag.

[Partheus]

Meanwhile, in the Forest Dweller's Sanctuary...

The statue of the Mistress looked down upon the rest of the Sanctuary with a sullen and distant expression. As he was being escorted around the sanctuary, Partheus couldn't help but notice that, unlike the other hooded ponies that were patrolling the hallways, there was one hooded pony that appeared to be following behind the hooded unicorn holding him at swordpoint. No need to worry about him, he thought. He's probably some hapless soul who is admiring my captor from afar. I can't blame him, though. It must be awfully lonely in this place, what with the endless patrolling and... No, I need to stop thinking about that nightmare!

Partheus was escorted into a narrow hallway by the hooded unicorn. Because it was designed for Equestrians, not humans, it was hard to navigate for Partheus, forcing him to duck and crouch his way through what was only a simple lowering of the head for his captor. At the end of the hallway, Partheus saw a candlelit room, similar to the theatre he had just been in, with a chair fitted with straps in the middle. Partheus was forced inside the room, onto the chair, and the hooded unicorn began to fasten the straps around his arms and legs.

"Don't worry, I'm not going to torture you. That pleasure has been reserved for Ross." The hooded unicorn chuckled to herself as she sat down on a second chair propped up against a wall. "For now, I've got to keep a very close eye on you." She conjured a sandwich, filled with tomatoes and olives, and took a bite out of it. "I can't believe you did that to Ross, though. You must have some serious power within you to break every bone in his hoof, and his brass horseshoe. The big baby was crying more than you were when I tended to his wounds. Honestly, you'd think he'd get used to it after, what, the twenty-seven times he's been in my theatre now?" She took another bite from her sandwich.

"No wonder the Mistress is scared stiff of you. If I was in her hooves, I would have died of fright. But, here we are, me eating a sandwich, and you strapped to a chair. No point in pondering what never was, eh?" She took another bite of her sandwich, leaving only the crusts left. "Here, want to finish this off for me? I'm so full, I don't think I could have another bite." The hooded unicorn threw the crusts of bread at Partheus' feet. He hadn't eaten since he set off for the Everfree earlier that day, and his stomach started to churn in anticipation.

The hooded unicorn walked over to the other side of the room, and opened a chest that was propped up against the wall. She pulled out Partheus' satchel, took it back to the chair, and rummaged about in it, trying to find anything to play around with. "NO! Don't go in my satchel! There's sensitive documents in there that are for High King Vividim V's eyes only!" The hooded unicorn looked at Partheus and smiled. "Ooh, there's nothing I love reading more than the letters of dead messengers. Lemme see if I can find it under all of this junk..." She dived back into Partheus' satchel, throwing out all of his equipment and other things of interest.

"NOOOOOO!!!" Partheus began to seethe with intense rage, the ground shaking and cracking beneath him. The bonds on the chair buckled and bulged as he grew more and more vehement. The hooded unicorn gazed upon the spectacle and laughed out loud. "Ah, so this is the power that the Mistress is so afraid of! Ross! Pull the lever!" There was a sudden and distant clank of metal, followed by metal coils raising from the ground around Partheus. As he became angrier and angrier, red lightning appeared around his person. The coils started to whirr, and soon they were conducting the red lightning from Partheus. The red lightning eventually subsided, the coils retracted, and the straps returned to their original shape. Partheus sat there, completely exhausted and at ease, no longer feeling angry.

"I... I can't believe the plan worked! It's a total success! It confirms my theory!" The hooded unicorn danced around Partheus merrily, cackling to herself. "What did you just do?" The hooded unicorn turned around to look Partheus dead in the eyes. "I theorised that your power stemmed from your anger. I observed in your encounter with Ross in the Mistress' chamber that you only unleash your hidden potential when someone gets you angry. So, I had my assistants set up a nice little system for you." She gestured to the chair Partheus was sitting in. "You sat in this chair here, and I got you angry by whatever means I could."

She laughed to herself again. "I tried pain-induced rage with the cleaning solution, I tried threatening you with a sword, I tried teasing you with the sandwich crusts, but I finally cracked it with the intrusion of your privacy." She picked up the satchel off the ground, put all of his belongings back into it, and put it back inside the chest. "We then absorbed the resulting energy with the coils, and channelled the energy directly into the Mistress, who was sitting in another chamber surrounded by similar coils. Now, she possesses enough power to take down Celestia and rule as the rightful queen of Equestria!"

The hooded unicorn walked out into the narrow hallway, leaving a powerless Partheus strapped to the chair with no food or hopes of escape.

[MarchingHammers]

The human that had the odd accent had broken off from the group and ran back to his laboratory, which was merely a glorified shack. He went to what looked like a weapons locker and grabbed what looked like a larger version of the tubelike defense tool he had and a few boxes that he stuck into them. He also got what looked like a very large knife and attached it to the front of the tubed longweapon. Working his way over to his alchemy station, he grabbed a bunch of bottles with blue plant extract in them... Poison Joke to be exact. He walked out of his shack and made his way to a cave he watched over constantly. He sat in a bush, observing the guards at the cave entrance. He threw two bottles of strangle-gas, causing the two guards to choke themselves out by breathing the gas in. He dragged the unconcious bodies of the guards and put them far away from the cave entrance. He then set to heading into the cave, brandishing his human made long weapon.