A Dark Journey

[Windwright]

Windwright felt the patter and frowned up at the sky, then sighed and added his wet and cold weather gear to his saddlebags, as well as the general supplies he'd need and his medicinal kits.

 

"Keep an eye on that journal, it's my traveling formula book and personal notes, and it's been a while since I transcribed those notes back into my main notebooks. And the other is a catalogue of rare plants and fungi we might run into. Which ones are edible, which ones are medicinal, which are magical, and which are dangerous, that sort of thing." he explained cheerily, tossing Muziki a spare set of flight goggles and a waterproof apron that would be just about the right size for her to use as a cape if she didn't tie the lower straps. "My ink is waterproof, but the binding and covers might get damaged if they get wet and aren't dried properly. Plus it wouldn't do for you to get soaked if it started raining." he said with a wink. That would do until they could get proper wet weather gear, if DC hadn't thought to include any.

 

He settled his bags, buckled them down, and locked his cart back up, then turned to the filly and gestured back up to his back again to indicate he was ready when she was.

[SteelEagle]

Muziki made a mental note of how important the book was. Such tomes were important to the traveling tribes of the south, of equal treasure to the oral histories and fables that empowered those scraps of paper and leather with the vestiges of intelligence that her folks believed all written works had. Knowledge lived as truly as any flesh and blood being and she would make sure it was guarded well during the trip. "I will do good job guarding it! Very good, very safe with me," she said proudly as she prepared herself.

 

With the rain starting to peak above them, she got into her travel gear a bit earlier. Light half-leaf angled coverings that allowed rain to roll off and more modern hoofwear for the mud. She wasn't too put off by poor weather. You could only walk through a few storms before you lost your concern for it, though she was well drilled by her parents to respect the weather regardless. "Ready to go, Mr. Windy!" She said as she hopped in and held on, her eyes now firmly planted in the bottom of the cart as she pretended again to not be scared.

 

It took not long at all for the pair to make their way to Dark's very spooky and scary lair. "This is, umm, very spook!" She said cheerily as she hopped out to join the group. "Hello Disco! Hello Dark! Hello Twister! We, umm, I have big book and we have all good supply now. Is it time to adventure?"

[RexDraco]

 

"Oh but have you tried candles that never go out?" He reached into his pack and pulled out a hoofful. "Great at parties, until they aren't!" Sometimes a pony passing out mid breathe was not as amusing as one would think.

He dumped the candles in Dark Core's arms before hoofing it along to the next sight. Snacks were the next target. Dizzy sat down on his rump and would drop open his pack in front of him before sliding his forelimb out and dragging all the snacks into his saddlebag. The pack never seemed to get bigger, so there was probably plenty of room in there for all sorts of treats. He would stick a carrot in his muzzle before regarding the plant. Once Dark Core and Twisted were busy with their chatter and no longer looking at the plant, the youthful 'colt' would pull a watering can out from his bag and drench the thirsty rose. A little growth should help it not fit in that pot any longer, but instant growth formula was not something in his repertoire so it would take time for the plant to get bigger. Probably while on their trip.

 

Oh ho ho ho, did somepony say adventure?

 

"I'd say it's about time we start! I've got plenty of snacks!" He stayed sitting on his haunches, munching on the carrot, stuffing the mostly empty watercan back into his bag.

 

 

[Dubstep]

"Dabbling with plants and potions has been a hobby of mine since I was little." the colt went rambling on, clearly taking the lingering silence from Twister as awe and amazement at his brilliance. What else could it be! "I was in an advance class before I left home but..." Dark trailed off waving a hoof. "They never truly served my needs. So nowadays I just steee... Borrow. What I need from Ponyville or Canterlot. It's a simple matter of crossbreeding them with the right plants. The same way one takes the punchline out of Poison Joke, or how you ca-"

 

The unicorn's train of thought was derailed by Windwright and Muziki's arrival, and thanks to the sudden offloading of candles that Dizzy distracted him with. Furrowing his brow he'd set them aside, something to worry about later. They could add a bit of ambiance! It also the colt distracted from Dizzy's 'tending' to his plant. "Ah! There you two are, excellent." Dark glanced out the door as it closed behind the duo, clicking his tongue. Rain? They hadn't called for rain! If he'd have known that he wouldn't have wasted his time watering the outdoor plants this morning! Bah. No matt-Where'd he get that carrot from? Glancing over at Disconnected Cord for a moment he shook his head before turning once again to the group at large. "Yes, we're just about ready to set off. All present and accounted for, supplies gathered and good to go." he'd motion to the standard adventuring packs that he had gathered, enough for each present.

 

"All that remains is to finalize our route. The vote sounded mostly in favour of the route through the Everfree directly, but I'll go briefly over the options one last time in case anyone has a change of plan. Option one is through the Everfree, to Breakbeak City, through the Dragon Peaks, Great Leota, the Webwing Mountains, then through the Tenochtilan Basin to the Sea of Ruin. Option two is a bit longer, through the Velvet Strand, stopping at Rainbow Falls or Sveltahorse, then to the Crystal Empire, to the Sea of Ruin." Dark motioned at his unfurled map as he rattled off the routes. "The last option is my least favourite but it would take us through the Strand, to Stalliongrad where we could catch an airship to Talonopolis or the Empire, then to the Sea of Ruin. And before cost is brought up, I have an airship pass that covers up to six guests, don't ask."

 

Rolling the vellum map up with a flick of his horn he'd glance between the group. "So, what will it be?"