The Beginning of the End [Closed]

Kes nodded a bit and began to move in the specified direction, towards the road. He did not wait up for the others though, instead forging his own way forward without much care about them.

"M' going to scout ahead." he said curtly, not really speaking to anyone in particular.

He wanted to get a bit closer to the town you see. Do a bit of recon with his rifle just in case the town was inhabited by things, or individuals that meant him, and thus the group, harm.

Shutter would have been listening in on the conversation after he had headed back after Starry. Time Travel? That seemed...pretty farfetched...was that even possible?!

"...Are you...sure this is time travel? There isn't any other explanation?"

He asked, before turning to look at Sky when they said there was a town.

"Civilization? Perfect! Maybe we can learn more there...or if this IS time-travel, maybe we can at least learn what year it is and whats going on..."

"Good! We're not in the middle of absolute nowhere then!" Scrap said "Well then, we should get moving then, standing around ddoing nothing isn't gonna get us anywhere!"

Kes was already gone by the time the group had started talking about moving along. Apparently he was stealthier than he thought, they hadn't seemed to notice him leaving.

Good, less chatter that way.

On up the road a ways, Kes began to see the outline of the town. He veered off the beaten path now, taking a walk though the trees next to the road instead. No need to announce his presence more than was necessary.

Judging by the appearance of the buildings and such Kes guessed he was about three hundred yards out. Nothing the scope on his new sniper rifle could not deal with. He had taken up a position on a hill, the elevation offering a very nice overview of town from in between the branches of the rather large trees that seemed to blanket the ground.

He aimed down his rifle, using the scope as a makeshift telescope. Time to see what he could see.

(will edit if necessary)

"Come on everypony, let's go see what town we're next to! If this really is the result of time travel, I want to find out what time we're in, and if we can find Malachite or that old fart." Starry took off galloping toward the road, where she would start running toward the town.

Cross simply sighed, Starry was charging in again, although he couldn't say he was surprised, he followed her, at least he could stick with the familiar but somehow deep down he new somepony would do something stupid...

Then Cross remembered something, and he immediately took off his hood and handed it over to Zestari

"Zestari, put this on and cover your face, and try to stay between the rest of us"

The town Kestrel was spying on, well, seemed like how all the books and posters depicted pre-war towns. It was a peaceful looking, small town community with ponies everywhere chatting and working. Pristine houses, flowers everywhere, foals playing, honestly, to someone who’s been living in the wastes all their life, the scene may be seen as rather bizarre.

Luckily, nopony seemed to have noticed Kestrel yet. He’d probably have a few more minutes to observe the town before the others caught up.

Kes did not take any time to enjoy his luck, he kept himself glued to the scope, doing his best to memorize faces, streets layouts, and other such things before the group caught up to him.

If they could find him that is.

The town was a strange sight indeed for Kes, a gryphon far to used to the sights and sounds of the wastes. So much Color...not that dull lifeless grey/brown that liked to haunt everything else in the Wastes.

Where the hell were they?

Scrap followed the group towards the town after Starry had enthusiastically charged down the road that led to the town. He also noticed Cross giving the hood to Zestari.

"Good thinking Cross. Ponies at this time hated Zebras-they were also quite paranoid, so we should probably not go around asking stupid questions like where are we? or what year is it? We should look for a newspaper or a sign, it would give us the same info and it won't arouse more suspicion then our arrival already will."

Sky hovered among the group, She saw cross give zestari his hood. Sky shrugged it off as to Scrap already commented on it, Sky looked onto the road that headed to the town. "So we all just walk into town, with our armor and weapons and expect to look like normal ponies." Sky Said to no one in particular, as she hovered above them with her arms crossed.

Techno walked with the group on the road to the town, staying silent and taking in the sights. For a pony who had spent his life in a wasteland of brown and grey, this was... new. He paid slight attention to the conversation going on around him, and, not having anything to add to it, kept it at that. He shook his head to clear it and decided to respond to the most recent problem.

"Yeah, we won't exactly look normal, but that's what excuses are for. Say we're from a ways away, where dangerous creatures lurk and we use these for protection." he suggested, hoping to be some kind of help. "Or we could just walk in there and say none o' your business to whoever asks."

(go terrible phone post)

Zestari looked momentarily confused when Cross gave her his cloak, before realising that for all the group knew the war may still have been fought at the moment, all that was clear was that this was pre-balefire bombs.

She donned the cloak and followed Cross' advice to try stay in the middle of the group.

"Well I don't think we're going to take our chances and enter the town unarmed, so it might be wise to come up with - at the least - a vague reason for carrying such weaponry."

Shutter look over at the group...Sky had a good point, carrying Armour and Weapons around was NOT a good plan...

"...Or instead of hoping they buy whatever excuse we have for having such things...we could hide them? I mean, some of what we have is okay, but...I don't think we'll ever be able to find a good excuse as to why we're carrying guns...especially if we really are in the past..."

Shutter stated, as he removed the clip from his pistol and concealed it in his bags, keeping it ready just in case.

"...There's also the fact that we do look a little charred...either we need to clean ourselves up and stash this stuff, or think of an amazing cover story..."

"You guys wait here, you all have too much weaponry, I'll go scout the town first" Cross's coat was mostly clear of the scorch marks due to his hood, but his face was still a bit charred around his forehead, so he grabbed the length of his hood and wiped his face down, luckily his mask was still operating on passive mode and so he'd at least be able to defend himself.

"If I'm not back in 10 minutes.... send Scraps after me, if hes not back in 10 minutes.....then just save yourselves" Thus Cross began trotting down the road into the town.

After a few minutes of walking, Cross eventually arrived in the town.

Walking into the town is an odd feeling, both parts wonder and unease. It almost felt like being out of place. Which, he was.

The town was like some of the old books described pre-war towns, maybe a bit bigger than usual, but not the size of a city. Otherwise, it was peaceful, colorful and with no signs of decay. Flowers and trees could be seen decorating the town, ponies everywhere were going about their business, most didn’t even notice him. It’s probable that the town gets visitors a lot.

Something odd Cross notices as he walks through the town, there’s not a sign of those old war-time anti-zebra posters anywhere. Or any signs of a war, for that matter.

"Ummm excuse me ma'am, whats the date today? and what town is this?" Cross went up to a shopkeeper and tried to see if he could extract any information, he was getting worried, it was bad they went back in time, but it'd be worse if they came back to a time that was this alien to the rest of his companions....

The mare Cross questioned look up from her book with a confused expression on her face.

“Uh...It’s Tuesday, May 19. And this is Springtown...”

The mare gave Cross an odd look as she cocked her head and raised an eyebrow.

“Are you ok? You didn’t hit your head or screw up a spell or something, did you?”

"Thank you ma'am" Cross turned in horror, Cross's eyes grew wide....then it dawned on him, Grey Mane....the Megaspell.....this peaceful town, it all slammed together like an anvil from the sky. Cross turned and ran, ...and ran,....and then he ran faster, he got back to we're he left the others

"Everpony follow me!!! don't ask any questions, I'll answer when we get there!!"
Cross only stopped to make sure they heard him and then began trotting north, towards their destination. Wind blowing past his mane, time was of essence, time and knowledge their only chance....

It was 12 noon.

They had less than 24 hours......and counting

Scrap checked his pipbuck clock, Cross's ten minutes were almost up. Scrap was about to head into the town when Cross galloped by him yelling for everypony to follow him.

Scrap started following Cross towards wherever he was leading the group. His mind was racing with questions but Scrap held off on them. While he was following Cross he levitated one of the last calming leaves that Zestari gave him and popped it into his mouth.

Scrap had a nasty feeling that things were about to get even worse.

Shutter had no idea what was going on when Cross suddenly came running back,yelling for the others to follow him and not ask questions.

Maybe he was just a bit frustrated at Cross's attitude since they had ended up here, but this 'Don't ask questions' did not sit well with him...and while he did chase after Cross, he was damned if he was gonna be silent!

"Hey! You can talk and run at the same time! What in Equestria is the big rush?! Did you go and piss off the village and get an angry mob after you or something?!"

Starry was about ready to head into town herself, she wanted to meet all of the pre-war ponies there, and it wasn't fair that Cross got to do all the socializing. But when he galloped back, with the concerned look on his face, telling everypony to follow him, Starry suddenly felt a chill down her spine.

They must be in serious danger, by the look on Cross's face, or at least they were about to be. Starry felt like she had been fooled by the lush green scenery and the blue sky, she had been so taken by it's beauty that she had forgotten how much danger they could be in, in what was practically a foreign land, possibly in a foreign time, and brought there by a miracle of science by a pony who had not prioritized their well-being.

Starry checked that her missile launcher was loaded, tightened her utility belt, and galloped after Cross. She didn't know what they were running to or from, but Starry wasn't going to feel safe until she was back in the comfort of her own home.

As they waited for Cross to investigate the town Zestari tried to relax and pass the time by enjoying the vibrant life around her, and paused to pick a few leaves from various trees and shrubs she didn't recognise with the intent of testing them for any herbal benefits when she had the chance. After that, she tapped her hooves together in boredom and nervousness as the group milled about waiting for Cross. She also took the opportunity to try and clean herself and see if she could better cover herself with Cross' hood.

When Cross sped past and with her leg still aching in protest she gave only a somewhat half-hearted chase with the others as he quickly took off heading north.

When Shutter asked whether the group was being chased, Zestari nearly tripped when she looked back in the direction Cross had come from, looking for the tell-tale signs of mob anger. She couldn't see anything, but then Cross was running pretty fast and perhaps he'd just got a good head start, she reasoned.

She turned back to face Cross’ direction, "I agree with Shutter. I'm sure you can tell us why you have us running across this unknown land."

Kes, who had remained glued to his scope for the duration of Cross's little mission, even setting the cross hairs on the familiar unicorn as he chatted with somepony before he sprinted away, packed up his rifle and began to move out towards the road.

Emerging from the forest fully clothed and fully armed he looked the others who had taken off northwards in pursuit of Cross. It was a trivial matter to catch up.

With how big he was, and even with all the gear he was packing, Kes was surprisingly quiet when he ran. Not silent mind you, but none the less quieter than usual.

As he moved along next to the group the older gryphon waited for an explanation as to what was going on. Cross had better have a damned good reason for having the whole group turn tail and run like this.

Sky had been looking around her environment, She noticed all the colors of this place. This was a strange place for her, but it still felt familiar to her. The only thing to catch her eyes was the sky, the clouds, and the sun. It was something most pegasi embraced, to fly out in the sky without a care a care in the world.

Sky's thoughts were derailed as Cross came in, He shouted that we all should follow him. So she just complied, and began to follow cross.

Techno was taking inventory and organizing his saddlebag when Cross came by yelling for everypony to follow. He put the stuff back in and started running after him. "Cross, what happened? What are we running from?" he called up, wondering what the hay they would be running from.

----
Footnote: Level up!

Level 6