Breaking Quarantine

It was a simple quick setup tent the 3 ponies found themselves in, just 50 meters from the purple dome shaped barrier. Aside from a simple table, there was a plain cushion for each pony as well as one that was slightly more elegant done in purples, silvers, and golds that was currently unoccupied. A pair of guards waited just within sight from the inside of the tent, standing guard at it's entrance, though they were far from the only ones. These were but two out of at least 50 who were stationed in the area leading from this tent to where the barrier would temporarily be opened in a short matter of time. Anxiety flooded the space as nothing was said until a new figure drew into sight. The guards threw a salute to the approaching princess before returning to their stoic nature.

"First off, I want to thank you three for volunteering for this mission," the princess of magic, Twilight Sparkle, said as she entered the room. "I  know it probably wasn't a simple decision given the history of this city and the rumors surrounding it, but with your help hopefully we can finally shed light on this tragic situation, give some of the affected families closure, and possibly even re-open the city." Twilight said as she took her seat on the slightly more regal cushion on the other side of the table than the three ponies in front of her.

"Now here's what we know and what we can tell you," Twilight continued levitating some stuff onto the table. One unfolded into a large map of the city and the surrounding area, another showed itself to be a picture of massive tower right next to a blueprint design of the same tower. Lastly, there was a few photos of ponies and some notes about them that floated out of a simple folder. "You'll be entering from the east side of the city, here," Twilight said as a pointer levitated up and pointed to a spot near the edge of the map. "Your mission is to reach the old Magi-tech building here," she continued moving the pointer until it was aimed at a spot almost at the center of town, roughly 7 miles according to the maps scale. "And find out what caused the scientist there to activate the emergency quarantine protocol."

"First and foremost, you'll be looking for a researcher by the name of Statistic. He was at the head of the research project scheduled to launch that day and it's likely that he'd have the greatest amount of information on it." She continued levitating up a photo of an elderly tan stallion with a thick bushy white beard and thick glasses. "You'll also be expected to make note of any other survivors or members of the prior recon teams that were sent in." She went on while levitating out several more photographs of various ponies.

"Unfortunately, the amount of data on what threats may be within the quarantine zone is sorely lacking. Whatever it is though was enough to take out 5 prior recon teams, the last of which was heavily armed with members from each of the royal guards. It's because of this that the other princesses and I believe that a smaller team may have better chances at managing to slip in and out without drawing too much attention, but because of the high mortality rate and the number of ponies that have already met an unfortunate we could not bring ourselves to demand ponies once more venture into the city. Once again, I thank you three for volunteering despite the dangers."

"Now one final warning, once you three are inside, the barrier will be shut again and because of it's strength there won't be any communication with the outside world. The only opportunity you'll have to leave is in two weeks when we'll be here to open the barrier again, after all, it took all three of us princesses several weeks to get everything on this barrier setup. It is by far the strongest seal in the universe, a force that would rival the very elements in terms of power, even teleportation won't get you out. Are their any questions?" Twilight asked at the end of the ponies debriefing. Despite the happy, calm, and well mannered demenour she usually possessed, Twilight was being exceptionally serious at the moment, her eyes unflinching in the severity of the situation.

((Sorry about the delay, storm knocked out the internet over here))
Rules:
1) One OC per players
2) The game will switch between open RP and turn based. Typically this change will occur when going into and out of combat, or more intense action scenes. When it's really important on who does what and when they do it, it'll likely be turn based, when everyone is just chillin in a relatively safe place, it'll be open RP. I'll make this distinction clear with each of my posts.
3) You can die, and there is also the chance that your character can mutate within this game.
4)No auto hitting
Current Players
1) Bookworm Guardian
2) Ician
3) Star Sentinel

Distortion, resting comfortably on his cushion, raised his right forehoof and shook it around eagerly in a childish manner. "Ooh, ooh, me! I have a question!" He cleared his throat. "We need food and water, right? Do we have enough ready? I don't want to go and there and survive for two weeks on one loaf of bread and half a glass of water."

Taken slightly aback by the almost childish outburst from Distortion, Twilight was quick to regain her composure before answering. "Yes, you three will each be given a special set of saddlebags of my own design that can easily hold an adequate amount of food and water for this time. There is however a limit to these bags so rationing the food is highly advised unless you manage to find something edible within the quarantine."

"In additional, each set of bags holds some basic water purification tablets, a knife, an ambient magic detector, some quills, ink and paper for notes on anything noteworthy inside, a magic communication devise so you'll be able to keep contact with each other if you get separated, and a small assortment of pre-drawn runes with charged magic crystals." Twilight said as she levitated in one of the bags to show. While it appeared to be a normal bag on the outside, gazing inward once the flap was open showed the distorted space filled with far more things than should have been able to fit were sitting nicely inside.

"Ooh, advanced magic." Distortion peered into the bag, scrutinising its contents. "This is a passive enchantment, right? Making it look bigger on the inside?"

"It's full spacial distortion as a passive enchantment, but as I said that has it's limits given the size of the bag and the power of the enchantment and it's already pushing the boundaries of magical capabilities in it's stability. Though it doesn't just look bigger, as far as the universe is considered, it is bigger on the inside than it's normal dimensions would allow. The other benefit is that despite the number of supplies held, the bag itself should only weigh about 5 pounds," Twilight continued while levitating the bag over for Ician to see, and then letting it go so it's relatively light weight would be on his hooves.

"... I'll expand it if I ever need to." Distortion whispered quietly to himself as he slung the bag over his back. "So, we also get a map, right? The map of the place? Otherwise we'll probably end up going in circles."

((OOC: Ician?))

"Yes, each of you will be given a map of the city, though this is from when it was at it's prime. It's been almost 2 decades without proper maintenance so do expect some of the roadways and such to be damaged or destroyed," Twilight warned. "The map however is already inside you bags, along with photos of the various members of the prior teams and a hoofful of the research staff that were at the tower during the cataclysm."

((OOc: Name of the player, not their character))

Distortion winced. "Cataclysm. Sounds really... bad. Geez. I hope everything turns out okay in the end." He opened the bag and searched around a little further, then turned to his teammates. "So, what do you guys think? Any questions to ask?"

((Ah, I see.))

Star Sentinel, a gray thestral who had a black mane and teal eyes, stayed stoic like any guard. He was a lunar guard and was trained to stay stoic when around the princesses no matter which princess. He had almost wanted to facehoof hard when Distortion had a foalish outburst. He, himself, was foalish, sure, but he still knew when not to be foalish in front of a princess. He just let out a small sigh and listened to Twilight as she explained the bags they would be carrying. His ears perked up at the mention of a knife in the bag. He just adored knifes because he can throw them and almost always hit his target.

Star thought about it for a moment, not really having any questions to ask, but there was something. "Princess, what do you think happened to the last recon teams? Also, mind giving my one of those bags?" He asked with a stern, but kind tone of voice. He knew he might not make it back alive, but no one would miss him. He didn't have any family members and didn't have a special somepony. His only friends were fellow guards, who were complete assholes to him and wondered why he considered them friends, and the other ponies that he grew up with for eight years of his life in the orphanage.

"I'll do it!" Distortion's horn glowed, and one of he saddlebags floated their way over to Star and deposited itself at his hooves. "And loosen up a bit," he said, prodding Star's side, "we'll get enough seriousness on the mission proper."

Twilight was about to protest, but didn't see the harm in it given that Ician was just levitating over a pair of saddlebags, though she levitated over the last pair to the third member. "Of course Star, I've made sure there was enough packed for everypony for this trip. You three are of course allowed to bring whatever personal equipment you have on yourself as well," Twilight continued happily as the scene became a little less intense. Then the gravity fell back into place and Twilight resigned herself to answer Star's first question.

Twilight lowered her head some before replying, not even bothering to hide the shame, guilt, and sorrow over the previous teams lost to the city that was quarantined by her company. "No, unfortunately because of the nature of the barrier, all contact with the prior teams was ended once they entered the barrier and none of them appeared for extraction. There wasn't even a trace of them at the extraction point, which only leaves us to assume that they never made it back to the barrier," she replied solemnly.

Star growled at Distortion as he prodded his side. He slapped his hoof away, looking back at Twilight. "Tis a shame then. It would have been better to know what happened to those poor ponies. But that is what we're her for princess. We will into the barrier and find out what happened." He puffed out his chest a little bit before opening the saddlebags and taking out the knife. He twirled it around in his hooves a little bit, strapping on the bags to his back.

Star turned towards Distortion, still twirling the knife. "You," He pointed a hoof and him. "Need to keep focus. As a royal guard, I know when to keep focus. This is a serious matter we are talking about. It is nothing to joke around." He said to the far older stallion. He was slightly put off by the fact that he was the youngest out of everyone.

Distortion's grin widened. "See, this is exactly why we need comic relief. It's too serious. It's gonna get all of us in a sad mood if we let it get to us, so we can't." He twirled his hoof. "Know what we need to, but don't dwell on it. Then we get out... Or in, in this case."

Star growled at Distortion, putting his knife back in the bag. He checked to make sure his sword was tightly strapped to his left side and fixed his lunar armor for a moment. He looked over at the third pony who'd be inside the barrier with him and Distortion. He wondered why he was quiet and when they would be able to go into the barrier.

((Alright, three days is long enough. Bookworm Guardian, if you wish to still play, I will work to incorporate you in, but for now the story is going on.))

Twilight let out a sigh as the third member simply got up and walked out of the makeshift tent. While he didn't say anything, the intent that he wasn't going to go was all to clear and Twilight couldn't blame him. Instead she turned her steadfast eyes onto the two that remained. "Are you two ready to go, or is there anything else you wished to discuss?" she asked and awaited an answer. Though as the sun had already nearly reached it's high point in the day, Twilight stood up and turned towards the flaps of the tent. "If not, then we'd best start soon, the day almost half gone and I think you'd be better off if you could reach the city before nightfall," she said while looking at the barrier The daunting task of opening it making the princess let out another sigh.

((He hasn't been online since 5 days ago. I doubt he'll be back for a while.))

Distortion shrugged. "No more questions, Your Highness. How about you?" he asks, nudging Star.

Star watched the third pony leave, a bit sad he'd be stuck with only Distortion to talk to. He looked at Distortion with a look as he nudged him, but shook his head at Twilight. "Nothing else I'd like to discus, your highness. I'm ready as can be for the task at hoof. Send us in." He puffed up his chest and sat up straight.

Twilight nodded and beckoned the two to follow her. "Then we will begin immediately," she said leading them out of the tent and the way to the barrier. The giant purple dome was even mover massive as one got close to it. Gently sloping as it reached well into the sky, surpassing even most clouds, the quarantine barrier was something truly impressive as a feat of pony kind. It'd stood for all these years without a single sign of weakening despite more than a few attempts by desperate ponies wanting to see lost loved ones or maybe reclaim a fragment of the city.

As they neared the almost solid wall of purple, several more figures became distinguished enough for recognition. Celestia, Luna, and Cadence were all present along with a score of unicorns in researchers garb. While the princesses stood primarily looking at the barrier, the scientist were frantically running about to try and work out last minute calculations and tests to make sure nothing would go wrong with what was about to be done. Amazingly enough though, as Twilight neared, they all seemed to simply finish whatever project they were on and stood at attention. There were also at least 2 scores of guards/soldiers around, a mix of combatants from all 4 of the different guard units.

"Everypony, if I could have your attention. We are going to begin the operation now so please get into position," Twilight said getting into her spot. The others got into their respective places and soon most of the unicorn researchers were charging up a variety of spells. Once theirs were going, the princesses did as well and before long a small arching opening appeared in the dome, along with a smell almost akin to burning ozone as was common with such high powered magic.

Beyond the opening was still green grass and what appeared to be closest were the scattered houses on the bare edge of a suburbs. Well off in the distance still, the buildings of the inner city stood looming over the land like a giant tombstone for the thousands lost those years ago. "Go now!" Twilight howled out suddenly, ripping attention back to her and her staggered state. Not only was she visibly straining under the use of so much magic, but all the others were as well. Celestia even staggered a little, her face twisted in effort and concentration.

"Gotcha, your highness." Distortion charged through the opening as fast as he could, using his innate powers to boost the speed-enhancing spell on his cloak as he dashed through, hoping there was nothing on the other side that would immediately try to kill him.

Star got up and strapped the saddle bags onto his back before following Twilight out of the tent. He stared in awe at the purple barrier, amazed at how it was still standing. He turned forwards and saw Princess Luna. He quickly stood up straight and in attention as he didn't want to disappoint his princess. He looked at the scientist while they ran around, taking a deep breath for what he was about to get himself into.

When Twilight had yelled for him and Distortion to go, he quickly dropped the guard act and ran after Distortion as fast as he could. He was ready to draw his sword if anything attacks him and Distortion.

As soon as the two were through the barrier, Twilight yelled after them. "Remember, be here in two weeks or you'll be trapped inside," she warned and was possibly going to continue, but at that point the barrier reasserted it's power and slammed shut with a booming crack. With it's closing, the two were sealed off from the outside world, only able to see purple with slight outlines of what lay just beyond the wall of physical magic.

Beyond however was a very different story. There were scattered buildings that dotted the area as well as a nice road leading forward, all of which were overgrown to some degree by nature that looked to reclaim what was no longer being cared for. Roughly ten meters to the forward left of where Star and Distortion stood was the first house, followed loosely by more that flanked the overgrown street. A few more stood off to the sides where the street split into additional roadways. A decent number of the houses were also reduced to nothing but rubble, with skeletal pieces of their frames and piles of wreckage being the only things to show they were once there at all.

Once such damaged building even had a sizable addition added to it in the form of a crashed airship. The once mighty vessel sat plunging nose first into the roof of the structure, with numerous holes dotting it's hull as well as several scorch marks. The engine that would have propelled the craft as well as kept it in the air was completely missing, looking to have been almost torn away with a sizable chunk of the back of the airship. Nothing living moved out here, nothing broke the almost tranquil or eerie peace that plagued the area.

((Open RP))

Star looked behind them and nodded but the barrier had already closed. He had to press his ears against the side of his head to muffle some of the noise the barrier had made when it closed. He looked around their immediately area for anything that might attack them. His ears stood up straight listening to see if there was any noise. "It's...quiet. Hey, do you think there are still ponies alive in here?" He asked Distortion, still keeping his eyes peeled.

"Mm. Can't say, really." Distortion looked out over the scene. "Don't think we can count on 'em being friendly, though. Where do you think we should go first?"

"Don't know. Head forward towards the house on the left, in front of us? It's better then just standing here." Star said, keeping his ears and eyes peeled for anything that moves or makes a sound. "Or, I can fly a bit higher as see if I can spot anything noteworthy." He suggested to Distortion.

"Good idea." Distortion nodded. "Best to know what's ahead. How am I going to twist it otherwise?"