Ursa Den

Wild Card stopped shuffling the cards in hand as the tremors started, causing his ears to perk up and swivel around a little before the stallion himself looked out the window. 'Okay, this is somewhat unnerving.' He thought to himself, picking himself up from his relaxed seating position and moving to a more upright one just in case he needed to get anywhere quickly.

This was something he had learned to do and was now second nature to him. Prepare to run away from something if it's dangerous. 'Maybe this is a test? The bus driver did tell us to stay in here until he returned.' 'Oh yeah, never thought of it like that. I thought it was tremors of impending doom or something with the mountain.' Wild chuckled to himself quietly. 'Maybe one of the guild members in there got a spell wrong?' He thought, going back to shuffling the cards in hand.

Blade groaned at the armored pony before getting up. "If this was an attack they wouldn't-" The colt was cut off by a strong jerk on the bus that would have made him fall back down into his sit if he hadn't grabbed onto a seat. The bus continued to shake numerous times, with no sign of what was causing it. Nothing had done anything outside of shaking since the tremors started outside of the bus and the clouds that drifted in the wind.

So, what inside of the cave was causing such large tremors? The two blue answers soon flew past both sides of the bus. Trees were heard being crushed behind the two giant objects slamming into them. Soon, the pegasus from earlier walked into out of the cave. "Not now!" He yelled before doubling over for a moment. The stallion was covered in sweat and giant thuds were felt, getting stronger as they got closer. A small pitiful whine was heard in the behind the bus along with sound of trees being further crushed. The windows gave a limited view of the blue furred creature and their large paws. Outside of the bus a certain pegasus could see the slightly bruised bear cubs walk back into the cave. Their heads were hung low and seemed more like little ones that been scolded by their parents. "You guys can come out!" The dark stallion called out.

Once everyone got out they might have caught a glimpse of the stallion pet star covered bears a little, seeming to simply say, "I still love you" without actually doing so. The bears seemed fine though there had been a good mix of dirt, leaves, and branches in starred bears' fur. They would also notice the stallion's clothes had covered in sweat and dirt.

Aerv was surprised as two blue bears flew by the bus into the forest behind. He quickly jumped up, trying to not sit lazily in his chair and to get a better view. When they were coming back, he got a good look at them. 'Well, this is getting better and better.. and interesting.' he thought as he walked out, glancing at the sweat and dirt covered pegasus that came out of the cave and possibly threw the ursas out, as he seemingly apologized to them on their way back. Xereth managed to take all his stuff before turning back at the pegasus who seemed to be in charge, without saying a word. 'Don't wanna make a bad impression on the first day...'

Garland-having not reacted to the previous tremors, seeing them as just a random occurrence- immediately jumped to his feet when the two bears flew beside the bus. He grabbed his axe and, at the voice of the stallion, walked out of the bus; somewhat hurriedly, and by extension impatiently.

He looked to the stallion petting the bears, and assumed he was the reason they had flown by. 'Alright. Consider me interested.' He thought to himself as he silently sized up the stallion, wondering how strong he was, and his own chances of taking the stallion down, if the need arised.

Zen just hovered where he was, watching the two bears go flying overhead and crashing into the woods behind him. Zen didn't even look over his shoulder as the two got back onto their paws and wandered back over to the stallion that'd likely thrown them. "Well, that's interesting," he said to himself as he flew over towards the pony.

Inside the bus, Krix was watching as well, with that still calm expression on his face. His ears however displayed a bit more emotion as they hiked up when the bears were sent flying, laid flat as they crashed, and once more swiveled around curiously as the bears got back up and wandered over to the stallion. Hearing the go ahead to depart the bus, Krix stood up, collected his satchel and proceeded off and over towards the bus. The large dog wasn't fast, but it did move at a decent speed simply because of the length of his stride. The regular jingle of his chainmail could be heard with every step.

Sophie slinks out of the bus, paying little heed to the giant bears. Instead, she calls out to the spirit world, hoping to meet some new spirits. The griffon shade guards her, wary of any malign ghosts. Sophie, hearing several spirits begin the stir from their sleep, smiles happily in the knowledge she won't be alone during her stay. She begins reorganizing her saddlebags, checking to see if anything was disturbed while in transit.

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(OOC: Not sure how many spirits or what personalities they'd have with regards to the Ursa's Den. They would help Sophie though.)

Wild Card caught a glimpse of blue out of the corner of his eye, and turned his head towards the speeding objects, hearing the cracking of trees as, he could only assume, the objects hit them. 'Now that is odd.' He thought quietly to himself, carrying on with shuffling the cards in hand until he looked out of the window and saw the pegasus from earlier calling them out.

Wild waited for some of the others to pass, the diamond dog causing his ears to flick with the sound of jingling metal. 'Money!' 'I doubt it. More likely the chain-mail.' 'Come on, we best be moving.' 'Yay, we get to stretch our legs!' The pegasus continued on thinking, standing up and wandering out the bus at a casual pace, taking in the surrounding area and the people with him. 'Why has one got an axe?' 'Probably because he'll suck at spells so much he'll have to rely on a lump of metal instead.' He mentally chuckled to himself, while the other part of himself merely rolled his eyes at this. Wild soon stopped in front of the stallion petting the bears, which he knew from his travels as Ursa, most likely minors from their size. This simply made Wild chuckle to himself at the sight as he carried on shuffling the faceless cards.

Lancea glanced outside as the bus as it shook, seeing the Ursas pass by. He chuckled and resumed his calm demeanor. "Ursas? Tamed ones no less. I hast not seen such a sight in years. It reminds me of the corky days, when I had mine knights at mine side, the glorious light to mine back and mine foes in front of me. But anon is not the time f'r reminiscing of the past. Master Blade, shall we be stepping off? It seems safe enough that you may go ahead of me." He helped Blade up and gestured for his master to go forward.

Carbin glanced on either side of the bus to watch for any more flying bears, but for the time being, he looked to be in the clear.  He stepped off the bus, one after another. He wasn't talking much, at the moment. It seemed to be more or less the thing to do.

The stallion watched in awe as the slowly made their why back into the cave. He had returned to the little colt that he was and smiled happily at the show of power. It was amazing to see the strength of one of the members of the guild and confirming that he had chosen the right place to go to. He quickly grabbed his bag and grabbed before his smile faded away. He had to become stronger and be able to defeat the stallion before him.
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Meanwhile, Sophie would notice two ghosts sitting in the seat directly behind Blade and Lancea. One was a female unicorn, the other was a male earth pony. The mare seemed to have a striking resemblance to the colt with their face’s being similar to one another. As for the earth pony, it seemed to be none. They had been on the bus the entire time though they followed the young colt. Once, the call came out for them, they only turned their heads and gave a small wave before following the colt off the bus, the colt’s stride was almost a copy of the ghostly stallion’s.

A few faint voices came from the cave as well. After they heard the call, they immediately hushed themselves. The reason not being explained.
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While everyone reached the black pegasus that would be greeted with a small smile. “Sorry about that, they just get excited when the smell new people.” He looked back at the entrance of the cave for a brief moment before focusing on the group in front of him. “You all are probably wondering about the whole entrance thing, right?” He didn’t wait for a response, obviously assuming that they did. “It cast by numerous runes to keep in the heat in or out during unfavorable weather. This also is for when we are trying to hide something.” The stallion hopped into the pitch black entrance while everyone took in the piece of information.

Zen didn't even bat an eye at the impressively looming cave, and without hesitation flew right in. He was hear, and he was ready, eager to get into the building and find out what was in store for him. Maybe even find some others who'd want to go on a couple missions right off the bat, or possibly get to know those on the bus better and see if they wanted to. Granted it didn't seem like all that many wanted to talk THAT much to anyone else, but Zen was up for ignoring that fact for the moment.

Krix neight sped up or slowed down, he simply kept his steady pace towards the cave, though there was a little surprise when even his eye couldn't pierce the dark recesses of the cave. The explanation from the black pegasi though explained it well enough and well before he had any need to ask.

Wild Card raised an eyebrow at the explanation to why the Ursa Minors were eager to greet them. So eager in fact, that they flew at the bus. Thinking about this made the blue pegasus chuckle to himself about the idea of flying bears. Then when the stallion asked them if they wondered about the cave entrance Wild slowly raised a hand, still shuffling his cards with one hand, but then he lowered it as the stallion continued talking.

After seeing Zen fly straight into the cave, along with Krix making his way towards it, Wild Card shrugged and pocketed his cards for the time being. With them out the way, he jumped upwards and flapped his wings to keep himself off the ground, hovering with his feet around head-height, before speeding off after Zen with a grin, eager to see what Ursa Den looked like on the inside.

Carbon Copy nodded at the bus driver's explanations.  It made sense, he supposed.  Though he also wasn't sure if it would be dark within the caves as well.  Better safe than sorry.  He reached into Carbon's backpack, pulling out a small blue crystal covered in runes.  Once they were out of the sunlight, it would start glowing.  Useful little thing.  He closed his backpack back up and he both headed into the cave.

Aerv slightly chuckled at the stallion's explanation as to why two blue bears flew at the bus rather than run., and later returned to the cave with a sad expression. "Riiiight..." he said to himself before watching as others from the bus excitedly flew into the cave. "Well, someone is rather impatient, I see.." he whispered to himself before he too slowly made his way into the dark cave to see what's it like inside.

Sophie glances curiously at the ghosts in the bus. Those would bear looking into, for they had not answered the call. She calls out again  to the spirits in the cave, as she steps into it. Her griffon spirit follows warily, watching for traps. She turns to it, rolling her eyes. "You can calm down a little bit. Should anything mean us ill, I believe we will have ample warning and protection." The griffon glances at her worriedly. After a few more sad puppy looks, she relents. "Oh fine, you can keep checking for traps." The griffon nods, and returns to its vigil.

Lancea stepped off the bus after Blade, finally able to stop slouching and stand at his full 9 foot tall height. As he stepped off the bus, something hit him, just a light tap, but something was calling his spirit none the less. I will need to depart from myself for a tad bit. I must see who calls me. His spirit stepped away from his body, leaving it to follow Blade until the colt stopped. 

Lancea stepped onto the spiritual plain. He slowly made his way towards the source, seeing a mare and a griffon. "Who are you? Why did you contact me?" His spirit gave off a golden light, as if it were as radiant as the sun itself.

Once Zen flew inside of the cave, he would only see darkness. There would be complete silence for a few moments of eerie silence as everyone started to walk in. Everything was unnaturally silent for a few moments. It would be even stranger if one could sense the vast number of ghosts inside of the cave.

"WELCOME!!!" A feminine voice called out to them. A small dot of about ten feet away formed underneath the announcer and at first only gave a dark silhouette of a unicorn mare with what seemed to be a staff. More and more of her being revealed as it slowly expanded outwards. Now, the mare's parlor magician like look was shown to the small group assembled with the magic wand accessory. "To my Den." Her voice now lacking its previous volume before snapping her fingers. A small streak of lightning crashed down straight down from the ceiling and right in front of them to temporarily blind them. "Minor." A giant light forming from underneath one of the cubs, this time more stern and focused. The large creature was not alone either. A white unicorn stood at its feet with a paw prints over his eye and wearing a simple blue t-shirt and a pair of blank polyester pants before a small fog blew in behind the giant bear and gently flowed towards the group, making a small circle around them.

The unicorn would have his horn light up as fog circled the group, He slammed his palm onto the ground as small ice sculptures of pony sized ursas, seven in total, formed mere inches away from the group. Soon, the wind started to pick up with a orange fireball coming at them while a blue one rushed came from the other side. They changed directions to spin around the small number of magic users and moved at blinding speeds around them. The flames growing larger and larger. Yet they only went upwards and started to blend in between themselves, forming a tornado of burning color.

The orbs would leave once the reached a high enough distance, but no one would get a chance to wonder why.

A huge roar blew away the fiery tornado with its breath alone, which was surprisingly minty fresh. "Major." The mare from the beginning said while standing on the shout of the gigantic purple creature. She hoped of the large beast before it stood upright, small crystals lighting up the cave to reveal a few ponies that had taken part of the whole showcase.

"Sorry, if we scared you guys, but here at the Den we like giving you guys a good show before you take the tour and all." Two pegasi landed next to the magician, both of their wings covered in some type of gold armor that didn't seem to weigh all that much. A few would recognize it as wing armor, which had a few runes running over it. They both wore fairly casual clothes, a flame t-shirt and a pair of shorts. The ponies were both mares were nearly identical if not for the major difference in the color of their furs, red and blue. "These two lovely ladies are Fire Emblem and Azure Blaze."

The stallion that had created the ice met with the group. "This is Fullbuster." A orange mare in a leather jacket and a pair of dark blue jeans came into view and landed as well. "This is Storm Blower, also a warning. Don't make the innuendo  about her name. Everyone else need up in healer room because of what she did to them. As for myself, I am Lunar Myth and it's a pleasure to meet you all. What did you think of the performance?"
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While the light came on, the ghosts were finally seen. They came in various shapes and sizes, a few being a ursa. None of them seemed hostile and were actually clapping when the show ended though their hands didn't even make a sound. It would be easy to spot Sophie due to her griffon spirt and Lancea's hovering around her though they did give Blade a few odd looks because of the two following him, which a certain armor clad pony might notice in his spirit form. Now, they stayed silent and smiled down at the group. Their presence gave off no harsh feelings or regrets, but only happiness.

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As for the cave itself, it might as well been a medieval building. Large, magnificent pillars reaching up a roof painted in beautiful painting of certain people and ursas, a few even riding them, which was something that only a member of the Den could even possibly do. The walls and floor had been smooth to look like marble. The opening was large and expansive, but yet nopony outside of those mentioned were seen though a faint cheer was heard further into the cave.

As Zen had flown in, he didn't stop or slow despite the hazard of flying blind. Though he did make sure he was flying straight towards the mare in the spotlight when it appeared so as to avoid crashing into anything. As the light show began though, Zen reacted on old instinct before full thought came to form and in the next instant he was watching the swirling tornado of lights from the outside of it via a couple of portals that had been opened and closed in seconds and moving a hoof to cover a cough. An act that left the limb with a small splatter of blood on it. As the performance came to an end though, the foolishness he'd just displayed compounded by the self inflicted injury was hastily hidden by the same grin that had been so reluctant to leave so far.

"It was impressive, and I'm Zen Gale by the way" Zen replied when the question came, though he'd been applauding lightly with the others at the show's finale in the first place and spoke loudly enough that anyone in the cave could have heard him. Though as he spoke, Zen's eyes lingered well away from the mare asking the question and towards the impressive looking building behind her. "Nice place," he mentioned then before beginning to fly towards the medieval styled structure.

Meanwhile, Krix hadn't reacted so suddenly to the swirling lights, though he did raise the massive shield when they started when being so close to the back made it seem as if one of the balls might have hit him. Though of course it didn't, and the light show had commenced as it had without interference from the large dog. When it was over, Krix neglected to clap but did nod positively to the question when it was asked, choosing to remain silent for the moment rather than voice an opinion. He didn't follow Zen, at least not immediately and instead moved with the group albeit a bit behind due to the fact that he wasn't in any form of a rush, and Krix just didn't move all that fast as a default.

Wild Card stopped rather suddenly behind Zen as he stopped, lowering himself to the ground to stand in the darkness while looking at the figure in front of them. Then came the light show, causing Wild to turn around to gaze at the Ursas and fog, the orange and blue fireballs, and the resulting tornado they created, leaving the odd minty freshness behind. All of this made Wild "ooh" and "ah" in amazement, thinking to himself how cool it would be to learn how to set up a magic show with the cards. 'Already, without even seeing the place, we've got a goal to achieve.' 'Yeah, yeah. But as a side project. Main thing is the magic that'll help us defend ourselves out in the world.' He thought to himself, lightly applauding the magical spectacle and smiling at the mare who seemed to be leading it.

"Brilliant. I wonder if I'll ever be able to manage something like that in the future." Wild responded when asked if he enjoyed it. "Oh, and Wild Card's the name." 'That one's called Storm Blower... pfft.' 'You heard what Lunar Myth said.' He then thought, trying to get himself to move onto other thoughts. Then as soon as the lights came on, the blue pegasus stallion gazed at the interior of the mountain, his jaw slightly open at the sight of it all. "Wow..." Wild said in awe of the place, now incredibly eager for the tour - because if this was just the entrance area, he wondered what the other places were like, especially what they had as a library as he would probably spend a lot of time there studying.

However, stuck behind and staring at Sophie and the spirit of Lancea, was a pegasus only slightly taller than Wild Card, wearing a full set of exquisite armour, but without a helmet, along with what looked like a basic halberd held in one hand. Obviously the lack of helmet showed his face and showed that this stallion's coat colour was a faded out purple-ish grey, and his mane was at a moderate length and swept back as if ready to become the plume on a Royal Guard's helmet if worn, but for now it was more shaped along the top rather than having the plume's flatness. It was also a deep, majestic purple, just like his eyes which stared directly at Lancea. "Divinus Lancea..." The pegasus spoke, walking towards the other spirit and Sophie. "What an unexpected surprise to see you here, and after how many years?" He said kindly, as a friend would to another, before chuckling lightly. "Ah, I remember your assistance for many a battle. T'is a shame it ended so badly... Still, we succeeded on the Earth Pony front nonetheless, and to see a legend is always an honour." The stallion held a hand up to his chest in a fist, extended his wings outwards and then folded them back again with a nod of his head. "And who is this young unicorn who stares at us so?" He then asked, looking towards Sophie with mild distaste.

Sophie looks up at the spirit at the same time her bodyguard does. He was Iron Talon, Warchief of the Summer's Wrath griffons, and he would not allow- "Who are you, Spirit?" Sophie asks Lancea. Iron grumbles, glancing at his charge. One day, that innocence would get her into some serious trouble.
Sophie begins pelting Lancea with questions as she walks into the cave. "Your aura is interesting, why does it give off that light?" Her questions stop as she walks into the presentation. She looks around at all the spirits excitedly. So mcuh history could be learned from them, so many new friends!
She looks up at Alu. "You- You're both from pegastopolis?" Her note pad slides out. "Which battles did you fight in? What were your ranks, and what did they mean?" Next to her, the escort trues not to faceclaw as he stands guard against to potentially dangerous spirits. He had been summoned by Sophie, and bound as her guardian for the next two years. In return, she would act as his escort to the next plane. IT was a good deal, but the eccentric unicorns obession with History and naive trust in spirits sometimes wore of the chieftain. Still, there were worse things. If he could endure raising hatchlings despite a lance through the wing, he could guard a unicorn spirit speaker for two years. He hoped.

Garland jumped a bit in suprise at the loudness of the voice. Once magic started being cast and a show was being put on, however, he rolled his eyes and tuned out somewhat. He cared little for magical feats like the ones that were being shown. He did marvel at the beasts when they were illuminated, however, and how they seemed to be tamed.

Halfway through the show,he turned his attention away from the Ursa's and looked up to who seemed to be the ringleader, and gave a slight frown under the mask. Though he knew magic, and did use it occasionally, he wasn't fond of magic users. Especially those who use it nearly exclusively. He also thought the mare didn't look like she was suited for combat, but despite that and his previous gripes, he wasn't about to underestimate her; she was a part of the Ursa's, after all.

Aside from her, none of the others introduced caught his attention, sans Storm Blower, and that only amounted to a immature chuckle at her name.

He didn't respond to the ringleader, who'd now introduced herself, when she asked his opinion about the show. Instead, he opted to just look around at the roof of the cave and it's paintings, silently envying those who were painted riding Ursa's.

Aerv Xereth quite enjoyed the lightning show that the guildies put up. It was a majestic display of magical power, and some sort of trailer of what him and the rest that were on the bus will be able to do after some time. He did stiffle a slight snicker at Storm Blower's name, but it was quiet enough for nobody to hear. After the show was done, he started slowly clapping with his claws. After that, he would follow others from the bus.

Divinus Lancea was briefly distracted by the show of magic. Though the use of Ursas was very creative, he had seen better. He remembered a world where the earth pony who summoned him put on a magic show using the stars in the night sky. This paled in comparison. He turned to Sophie, and listened to her question. "I am Divinus Lancea. My spirit is that of a hero and a warrior of a sun. If thou misses me, thou must be blind" He said with a hearty chuckle. He then heard a familiar voice, and turned to see an old friend. "Lavender Gladiolus, thou art truly a sight for sore eyes. I am glad to hear the campaign against the earth ponies went well, it is a shame that our work was undone in only 3000 years time." He wrapped his arms around Gladiolus, pulling the centurion into an embrace, then let go and turned back to look at Sophie. "Well, she is either a necromancer or a spiritual medium. I can see no darkness within her, so I do not know." He listened to Sophie ask a multitude of questions, then put a hand on her shoulder. "Young one, history may be important, but Gladiolus and I have much catching up to do, and we nary have time for reminiscing, maybe we'll reminisce for you later on, when the others are resting." He smiled at the young mare, the warmth radiating off of him as if were of the sun itself.

The mare seemed to smile a bit at the positive criticism and those that liked the decor of the cave itself. “I am happy that you enjoyed yourself, but I wished that more of our majors could have been around to improve the quality of the show.” The mare sighed in dismay before turning around and climbing on the shout of the Major. “Follow me please though if you want to fly then you can.” The other non-unicorns of the group went to climb onto the backs of the minors. The distance from the entrance to what seemed to be the end of the gigantic hallway was at the very least a smile away. The momma Ursa went up in front and had its cub walk behind it.

Yet as to why anyone would ever would want such a hallway become apparent fairly quickly. The walls radiated a bright white light as they approached, which was either activated by their presence or a silent command. There was various images that played out from each section of the wall and showed numerous ponies that probably would not be remembered in most recent history, except one certain unicorn. The blue stallion was the first image to come up on the right side of the hallway and it showed him petting the large Ursa though it shifted to an image of violent battle with a dragon though the delightful outcome of it was clear with the next shift of the image, the Ursa with a bloodstained fur and with a giant bite mark out of the dragon’s throat.

"While our guild might not have started off with Starswirl, but the idea of riding these creatures did come from that." Lunar hadn't turned to face the others and seemed smirk at the connection. "As for the others. They are other Ursa Majors, if we had more time I'd show you all of the Majors as well, but as I said I do not have the time." Those looking at the images would realize that all the pictures showed the magic user on an Ursa at some point. The second to last image showed the image of the bus driver and the last showing a picture of a grey pegasi that would remind a few of the more attentive to a certain weather related pony.

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The spirits of the various Ursa Majors either bowed over waved to the group even though they had original thought they couldn't have been seen. Once, they noticed Sophie and the other spirits in the group their smiles grew and waved even though they didn't recognize them due to dying much sooner than the others, minus the two still floating around Blade.

Strangely, the pair didn't seem to do much outside of following the colt and with the resemblance being fairly strong it was obvious that they had been related to him. They were bound to him somehow and probably wouldn't leave until their spirits to rest. As to how might have been simple for Lancea to figure out, but for those that didn't know about the green unicorn it would require some asking around. It was simple, they wanted to make sure he was alright and wished to protect him though as ghosts it might be a little hard.

Zen simply continued flying with the others who joined him, though his eagerness might have put him a tad ahead. He set about gliding quickly through the massive hallway trying to reach the building as soon as he could.

Krix simply and plainly continued forward with the group, still without many words to be said to anyone, or replies since none had directly addressed him.