MLP: Dawn of the Rebellion [IC/Started/Not Accepting]

[DL]

Storm nodded, with a relieved sigh. "That sounds great...especially since tommorow will probably be troublesome..."

He began following Honeypot, until they reached the cots. After Honeypot layed down on one, he didn't really think before simply plopping himself up on the one right next to her's. He was all ready to go travel down the land of dreams. That is, until he looked to his side and found himself looking straight at Honeypot. Their beds were no more than a foot or so apart. He quickly looked at the ceiling, slightly blushing.

"I wonder if we'll be okay..." he muttered. "If Shadow Wing finds out about us...we'll be marked as heathens or something...gosh, this is so troublesome..."

[Grunt Issun]

Wonder blushed again, "Silky and comfortable. Right" he muttered, feeling a bit odd about the prospect of his mane being described as comfortable, "But, yes, Sweet dreams, Blazer. He continued to the cots, where he saw about half of the group, who he acknowledged with the slightest head nod, being especially careful not to disrupt Blazer. He slowly climbed into one of the cots, lied down, and closed his eyes. He did not, however, actually go to sleep. There was still some things he had needed to think about. [i]'Why did I almost mention falling in love?' [/i]he asked himself. His mind shifted to the Mare currently sleeping in his mane for a moment, before he shook that thought away, [i]'No, no I shouldn't be thinking like that!' [/i]he scolded himself, [i]'Right? I mean... Ah, I can't even tell. I'm not used to these things!' [/i]he practically screamed inside his head. He forced his mind to shift to a happy young couple he had seen in Detrot two years ago, shortly after leaving the temple, trying to make himself think that they were the cause of his thoughts, but he always found himself thinking of Blazer again, and scolding himself. He began to use some of the techniques for meditating and clearing his mind he learned at the temple. He managed to calm himself, and lull himself to sleep.

Honeypot gave a small smile, reached over with one of her forehooves, and touched Storm on the shoulder, "Oh, don't worry, Storm. Look, we'll be fine, Shadow Wing doesn't even know who we are, I'd say, much less that we've teamed up with Starlight, or whatever. If we're lucky, he might not even know what Starlight himself looks like," she told him. "In any case, just don't worry, and let your dreams ease your mind" she said in a soothing voice, repeating something her mother had told her when she was a filly, whenever she was to worried or scared to sleep.

[DL]

Storm blinked. He let himself smile a bit. He wasn't one for smiling. Never was, as far as he remembered. But this pony...she was different from the others Storm had known. Not that he had known many ponies...but he knew one thing. Honeypot was the first pony he could call a 'friend'. If she wasn't there, he never would have signed up for this crazy mission, true, but he somehow didn't regret it. Which surprised him.

"Honeypot..." Storm muttered, still smiling. "Thank you. You're a great friend. And...I hope we make it out of this mess together."

He stuttered a bit. "I-I mean uh...you know, together as in...alive...in one piece...unharmed...or something. Uh...I think I'll just go to sleep now....goodnight."

He sighed. [i]How troublesome...I think...[/i]

[Grunt Issun]

Honeypot managed to refrain from giggling this time, albeit just barely, letting a tiny squeak escape before she could stop. He was almost kind of cute, she thought, when he got like this. She didn't note it though, she just smiled and placed her head back into her forelegs, and cast one last glance at him "Yes, I know. Goodnight, Storm, sweet dreams" she said, before closing her eyes and letting herself drift off into sleep. Even while she did so, she smiled. It was nice to hear that Storm considered her a great friend. It was also simply nice to see him smile. She liked to see anypony smile, especially her friends, and seeing Storm smile had the same, if not a greater effect on her as usual.

[Dementuo]

Morning stared at Starlight. "[i]You... You say you're having memories? What sorts of memories do you mean? And why are you asking me?[/i]" Morning said, taking the picture and glancing at it. She scanned over it for a few moments before returning her focus to Starlight. "[i]...Before I give you the answer you want, I'd like to know... Why are you coming to me with this? And... what exactly is your aim here? Coming to this temple, searching for these 'artifacts'... Tell me.[/i]"

[Tomiix]

"You say you have been around for awhile. So that means you might know her." Starlight points at the Rainbow Maned mare. "I have memories of her. She and I are apparently close."

"I have come to this temple with you to protect you all. I want to gather the Artifacts to make sure Shadow Wing can't use them, and give us the better chance at beating him." Starlight thought for a moment.

"I want revenge... now please give me my answer."

[Dementuo]

"[i]Revenge...[/i]" Morning muttered, eyes turned away from Starlight. "[i]...You sound just like him.[/i]" she said. Sighing, she looked at the picture once more. "[i]...Yes, yes I do recognize the group. I never knew them personally, but we did cross paths from time to time.[/i]" Morning answered finally, turning away from Starlight. "[i]...If that's all you need from me, I think I'll be going then. My head hurts a bit...[/i]" she said, starting to walk away. A few steps away, and another flash of white light later, and Morning had vanished.

[DL]

Storm turned to his side, then to another, in his sleep. His eyes shut tightly, as sweat slid down his forehead. His breathing was slightly accelerated.

______________________________________________________________


[i]A young colt staring up into the sky. Alone. Shivering. The light of the sun had long since left him, and with it, it took everything from him. He was left with nothing. Nothing but himself. That is how he lived. That is all he knew. Until the day he met 'them'...and they took him in. [/i]

[i]Blood.

Sound of crashing glass. A whip.[/i]

[i]A scream, dead into the night, unheard.

__________________________________________________[/i]


Storm shot up from his bed, panting. He looked around wildly, until his eyes adjusted to the darkness. He looked beside him, and saw Honeypot. He calmed down a bit, and layed back down.

"What...was that?" he murmured.

[Grunt Issun]

Starlight nodded, "Thanks anyway" he muttered. Putting the picture away, he returned to the cots, and allowed himself to fall into a slumber.

Wonder felt his face getting warmer, and slowly blinked his eyes open to see the golden light of the sun shining on him. It took him a moment to remember where he was. That he was at some sort of temple, with a makeshift rebellion, and that they were going to get something from the north. And also that there was a tiny mare sleeping in his mane. He carefully got out of the cot he was in, and looked up towards his mane. "Hey, Blazer, wake up, it's morning" he said in a soft, low voice, hoping that she'd hear it, then trotted over to the main part of the courtyard.

Honeypot woke up with a long yawn, and smiled. She turned her head to the side, "Good morning, Storm" she called to the stallion next to her cheerfully, then hopped out of her cot, and waited for Storm.

Starlight slid out of his cot, and went over to the courtyard where Wonder was. [i]'Now where is Morning so we can go get this... thing, of hers?'[/i]

[DL]

Storm dazily opened his eyes. The sunlight beamed into his field of vision, and he shut them, cuddling back up.

"What is it? Why did you wake me up?" he asked, as he rolled away from the sun. "Its too early...seriously go uh...bother that rock over there. It'll...uh...it'll enjoy being bothered. I'll just lay here...and sleep...until tommorow or something...ya know, since we worked so hard yesterday. I'm uh...tired. Yeah, tired."

And thus, he pretended to be snoring.

[Dementuo]

Once more, a flash of white light snapped through the temple, Morning Sun standing where it had appeared. Her red markings had returned, and her eyes had become the usual solid-black color they had once been, hiding their natural green color from sight. She glanced around at the temple, giving a small, nearly unnoticeable sigh. "[i]Alright, everypony. As soon as you're all ready to leave, just let me know.[/i]" Morning said to nopony in particular.
A headache struck through her for a moment seconds later. She winced, rubbing her forehead with one hoof. "[i]Foreboding feelings again...?[/i]" She thought, putting her hoof down again as the headache passed. "[i]Regardless, no time to worry about it now.[/i]"

[CMRenji]

Blazer awoke with a yawn, having gotten a good night's rest. "Good morning to you, Wonder. Mmm, I feel marvelous after a night's sleep on your comfortably silky mane." Blazer sat on top of Wonder's mane as he walked to the courtyard. She looked over to see her satchel several yards away. "Ooo" Blazer exclaimed.

She jumped from atop Wonder's head and landed on the ground on all four hooves. She swiftly sprinted over to her satchel, jumped on top of it and managed to drag the zipper to open it. She grabbed a small piece of an apple, ran back to Wonder and climbed back on to his mane. "Breakfast[i] is[/i] the most important meal of the day." Blazer said as she took a bite of the apple chunk.

[Grunt Issun]

Wonder smiled, "Right" he agreed, then opened his own satchel with his magic. There was a faint violet glow, then he got an apple for himself out of it, and quickly ate it. He then turned to Morning, who had just appeared, "Uh, yeah, we should be ready," he told her, then shifted his eyes upwards, "Right, Blazer?" he asked.

Honeypot frowned at Storm. Forming an idea, she turned around, then, after a moment, bucked the underside of his cot, bouncing him out of it. She trotted over to where he now was, and looked down at him with a sweet smile, "I said rise and shine, Sleepyhead" she said, with a hint of teasing in her tone. She turned her head to the courtyard, and called "We'll be ready in a minute, just hold on!" then turned back to Storm, "Won't we, Storm?"

Starlight nodded, "Yeah, I'm ready to go too. We want to get this thing as soon as possible. By the way, how do you propose we get all the way to wherever it is we're going? Are we walking?"

[DL]

Storm yelped as he hit the floor. He quickly stood up, panting.

"T-that was...are you trying to kill me of a heart attack?!"

he sighed. "Jeez...how troublesome...but I guess there's no helping it...let's get to it. I guess."

He nodded, and began walking toward the group. As he passed Honeypot, he said "Oh, good morning, by the way," with a small smile.

[i]Just kinda wish I was still in bed...then it'd be a better morning...[/i]

[CMRenji]

Blazer tossed the rest of the apple chunk above her head, quickly caught it in her mouth and ate it. Afterwards, she let out a small burp. [i]"Oh.. my goodness. I pray he didn't hear that."[/i] Blazer thought while blushing. "Ahem." She shook off the embarrassment and walked close to Wonder's forehead. Blazer looked down at Wonder. "Yes indeedy, Wonder! I'm ready to head off on this adventure whenever you are!" She said with glee.

[i]"Strange that I'm not the least bit scared of this journey. But then again, why would I need to be? After all, I have some really great ponies by my side."[/i] Blazer continued to look at Wonder. [i]"Some great ponies indeed."[/i]

[Dementuo]

Morning chuckled to herself. "[i]Oh, of course not. We're headed hundreds of miles north, walking would take far too long. I'll be taking us there.[/i]" Morning said, lifting up a hoof and holding it high above her head. "[i]Alright, everypony. Close your eyes if you feel motion-sick at all, and try not to move too much![/i]" She announced cheerfully, as a small orb of light appeared hovering just above her raised hoof. The marks on her body began glowing as they had before, and the orb flashed. It grew and enveloped the entire group in a blinding light. A few moments later, the light flashed again, and vanished.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
The group were now moving rapidly in one direction, through a sea of light. In the distance was a small dark speck, standing out among the waves of light. They were drawing closer to it.
It was only moments before the black spot had come close enough that any of them could make out the edge between it and the light. Slowly, it crept its way around them, pulling them from the world of light, and plunging them all into a pit of darkness, the only light coming from Morning's body markings. Just like before, Morning's eyes were squeezed shut, and a few beads of sweat were trickling down the side of her face.
And then, suddenly, the whole group seemed suspended in motion. Everything stopped moving. Everything was silent. And then... A beam of light pierced through the darkness, shining over the group. A second beam followed it, then a third, and then a fourth. Beam after beam broke through the black walls of this space, slowly corroding it. When the last of that darkness had been blotted out, everything turned to white.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
The light faded. The group was now standing in the middle of a somewhat small hut, snow covering the ground. There was a small bonfire, unlit, in the center of the hut. A tarp draped over one side of it provided a door outside. Morning stood by that doorway, panting slightly. Her marks had faded again, her green eyes sparkling as they had before. She turned to each pony at a time, saying "Welcome to my homeland."

[Grunt Issun]

Honeypot followed Storm over to the rest of the group, and just had time to notice the miniature-sized Blazer in Wonder's mane, "Blazer, is that y-" she began to ask, before Morning's teleportation-thingy whisked the whole group away. When they came out on the other side, Honeypot stood still for a moment, taking in what had just happened, then looked at Morning, and gasped. "Morning! You look, well, normal now!" she exclaimed, then realized what she had said, "I mean, not to say that what you looked like before was bad, or anything, I mean to say just that you look... different than before, I guess" she said quickly, trying to make her last statement not seem insulting.

After Wonder, along with the rest, reappeared in the hut, he instantly started taking in the surroundings, the hut that he was in. Then his gaze drifted to Morning, and he noticed her panting. "Um, are you alright Morning?" he asked, "That must've taken a lot out of you, I imagine" he went on, with genuine concern.

Starlight nodded after they reappeared, "Oh yeah, that. Sure is useful" he muttered. "So this is your homeland then?" he asked, and then "So then, from here, where's this instrument thing you were talking about?"

------------------

Snowfire made his way around the palace, a letter lodged in between feathers of his wing. He came to the room where his five stallions were normally lodged, and opened the door without a moments hesitation. Nopony noticed his entrance, it seemed, because as he made his way into the room, four pegasi were sitting down and laughing, watching a fifth, who was talking. The fifth one, who was sky blue, with a short, spiky dark-blue mane, was saying "So a Pony, an Ibex, and a Zebra all trot into a bar, and the Ibex says-" when Snowfire was just within earshot, "Sigma!" he shouted, and the Sky Blue Pegasus jumped, startled. He turned around, looking slightly embarrased, "Captain, what are you doing here?" he asked, "I've come to give Delta a mission" Snowfire replied. At this, a Maroon Pegasus with a long, brown mane jumped forward, one hoof to his head, "Sir!" he said. Snowfire brought the letter in his wing forward, giving it to him, Delta. "These are instructions to your mission. You are to survey the area directly around Ponyville for any ponies that match the descriptions, understood?" Snowfire explained, to which Delta replied "Yes, sir!", then went galloping off.

[CMRenji]

As Morning raised her hoof, Blazer was thinking about Morning and her brother. [i]"Wow.. these ponies really are something extraordinary. Their powers.. they almost feel overwhelming."[/i] She looked over to see Honeypot looking at her. Blazer began to wave her hoof at Honeypot just as an incredibly bright flash of light surrounded the entire group of ponies.

She opened her eyes after the bright flash to see nothing but light all around her and the others. She couldn't quite form words to describe what was happening.

After a moment, the group appeared in a small hut located in a snowy area. "Well, that was an interesting experience." Blazer said while in somewhat of a daze. She let out a bit of a chuckle. "That was actually kind of fun."

[Dementuo]

Morning's head nodded a little and her eyes flickered for a moment. She was tired, and felt the fatigue beginning to take effect. She looked up at Wonder and put on a smile. "[i]I-I'm alright, really. It's just been so long since I last came to this place...[/i]" Morning said. "[i]...R-Really, I'll be alright.[/i]" She added quickly, turning to Starlight. "[i]Um, the temple is just this way. Follow me, a-and stay as warm as possible.[/i]" Morning headed past the rest of the group and outside the hut.
The outside air was clear and crisp, with a cold breeze flowing through the air. Snow was sprinkling down from the sky lightly. There was a small path leading off to either side of the hut, with other huts lining the side of it. All the other huts, however, were in serious disrepair. Many of them looked half-burnt down, others were flat-out demolished, with only a few looking even remotely habitable.
Morning looked at the scene, a somewhat sad look crossing her face. She gave a sigh, walking off down the left side of the path. "[i]I never thought I'd have to come back here... But if that's what it'll take...[/i]" She muttered, shaking her head.

[DL]

Storm sighed.[i] This is so troublesome...[/i]

He ran towards the group and reached out his hoof, watching as everypony prepared for 'lift-off', as Morning activated her magic powers of teleportation. He felt his body become numb, as it traveled through the precipice of the spiritual medium through which they traversed. Once he opened his eyes again, he stood with the group again, but they were in a totally different place. He looked to his side, and saw Honeypot there. he shook his head a bit. "Is everyone uh...alright? No missing limbs?"

[Grunt Issun]

Wonder nodded, then walked out towards Morning, contracting his limbs together, in an attempt to keep himself warm. "So, we go to this place, get this... Divine Instrument, was it? Yeah, that. Um, what exactly is it, again?" Wonder asked, to get confirmation.

Honeypot instinctively brought herself close to Storm, bringing their bodies to be touching. Before he could protest, she shushed him by saying "Morning said we should try and stay warm, right?", then, after a moment, "And yes, no missing limbs, no worries" she added with a smile. "Now, ah, let's follow her, shall we?"

Starlight slowly followed Morning outside, but didn't say anything. Wonder had already asked about the artifact anyways.

---

A hooded figure approached the old, abandoned "Temple of the Two Sisters". She noticed signs of ponies having been here recently. Cots were set up, as well as other supplies. She approached the cots, and saw a few traces of hair. Purple, orange, white, blue, green, brown, yellow, and black, she primarily noticed. "Ponies invading my forest, I see? What idiots would even think to enter Everfree?" she pondered aloud. "Well, if those ponies ever think to come back, perhaps I'll have no choice but to attack" she continued, still aloud. She saw something flying above, a pegasus. Instinctively, she raised her right foreleg, and with a swift motion, sent five needles flying in the Pegasus's direction. The pegasus, Delta, swooped in after evading the needles. "Hey, watch it you coot!" he shouted at the cloaked figure. The cloaked figure looked him over. His hair did not match those that she found. "Were you not here the day past? Answer wisely, pegasus, if you want your life to last!" she barked. Delta stepped back, "Look lady, I don't know what you're talking about! I've never been here before in my life!" he snapped back, "Though... if you're talking about ponies that were here yesterday... I'm looking for some ponies just outside Ponyville. If you have something against these ponies, perhaps you could help me find them" he offered. The cloaked figure pondered that for a moment, "I would help find them for you, if you would do me a favor too" she replied, "I do not like those of the other race, so I ask only that you leave this place" she told him. Delta nodded, "Sure, if you help me find them, I'll leave, I promise, no coming back ever. Oh, and, by the way... Who are you?" Delta asked. The cloaked figure responded by removing her hood, revealing herself to be a Zebra, with clear signs of old age. "My name is Decora, the Zebra of Everfree. I am alone here, in this forest, as you can plainly see" she replied simply. Delta nodded, "Well, Miss Decora, just contact me if you find anypony by these descriptions. I'll be just outside this place, if that's fine" he said, offering the descriptions of the ponies Snowfire had given him. Decora gave a reluctant grunt, then turned away, and walked off.

[DL]

Storm blinked when he felt Honeypot's body heat, as her body made contact with his. "I-...right, to keep warm..."

"Glad you're okay, too," he said, looking away. A moment passed, he took a breath, and he extended his wing, then wrapped it gently around Honeypot. "Wouldn't want you to catch a cold..."

[i]Though thinking about it...if she caught a cold she wouldn't be able to drag me around to these crazy places...but whatever, it's too much trouble to think about. [/i]

he then took a glance at Honeypot, and looked away again, as they began following Morning. [i]Then again...this is kinda cozy...I guess...[/i]

[Dementuo]

"[i]Hmm?[/i]" Morning's eyes shifted in Wonder's direction. "[i]Ah, yes, yes. The Instrument...[/i]" she began, taking a moment to think. "[i]...The Instrument is a divine tool from long, long ago. I'm not sure how it was made, who made it, or why, but it has always served us well in the past. It's kept in the main temple here, where Ae-[/i]" She stopped herself, almost freezing in place for a moment before continuing forward. "[i]...where he used to live.[/i]" her voice rang with that same sad tone again. She sighed. "[i]Well, it isn't too long a walk, so we should be there in just a few minutes.[/i]"

[CMRenji]

The group had left the cot to enter a cold and unknown land. Blazer looked around to see mostly nothing, save for a few old cots. "This land... it's so desolate." She said as she looked off into the distance. After a moment, the sensation hit her. "C-C-Cold!" She shouted. Blazer retreated back into Wonder's mane to keep warm. [i]"Mmm."[/i]

Blazer pondered for a minute. [i]"No.. I don't need to hide. I can face the cold."[/i] She trotted out of Wonder's mane and next to his horn. She nuzzled his horn. Blazer did it ever so gently as to not irritate his sensitive horn. She then jump from atop his head and fell onto the white, snowy ground. She shook off the snow and followed the group. [i]"This is going to be difficult.. since at this size, I'll have to gallop to keep up. Hmmph, my middle name might as well be difficult!"[/i]

Blazer galloped alongside Wonder and looked up towards him. "Please don't pick me up, Wonder, if that's what you were thinking. I need to get stronger..." Then she said in a barely audible voice. "...for you."

[Grunt Issun]

"Alright then" Wonder said in response to Morning, and kept on walking. Until, of course, Blazer jumped off his head. He started to say something, but couldn't think of any words. When Blazer explained herself, Wonder sighed sadly. "If you say so, Blazer..." he said hesitantly. Looking down at her, he couldn't help but feel worried, [i]'She could get buried in all the snow! Or she could freeze to death in her tiny body! Or somepony might accidentally step on her!' [/i]he thought, [i]'But... No. If she insists... I guess I'll have to let her do this'[/i]

A contented smile touched Honeypot's face when Storm's wing wrapped around her. "Thank you, Storm" she thanked him in a quiet voice. Being close to Storm like this made her feel safe, as well as warm. She couldn't help but feel like what she had said earlier was true. That everything would be fine, and that there was nothing to worry about. Being around Storm made her feel like that. With this in mind, she continued following Morning.