MLP:FIM: Grand Castilia

[exranio]

"A goddess huh? Well I'm not to sure about my belief in the devine, but they do usually have some sort of treasure. So Uh, this Celestia and Luna still around here? Not that I have any intention of robbing them or anything." Locke floated over Navy "Just a curios outsider with a dangerous and illegal hobby. No need to worry about why I would be interest in the homes of 'gods' or whatever. But really if she was banished she must be real so that other one must be real?"

[RandomGeekNamedBrent]

Shin turned around to find that he seemed to be talking to nopony. OK, that's the second pony that seems to have disappeared. It's starting to worry me.

He began to look around the kitchen to see if he could find what happened to Clyde, and also if he could find some way to defend himself from whatever was happening in this house.

[Penwrite]

Before Shin could find much, an orange light began to fill the kitchen, along with an odd crackling noise, like wood burning in a fire.

"Who...are you? Penwrite staggered into the kitchen, his orange eyes focused on Shin."I came here with some others...have to find them and...stop the thieves...are you a thief?

[RandomGeekNamedBrent]

Shin blinked a bit at the light and was startled by the other pony.

"I swear I'm not a thief. And I have no idea what happened to those other two ponies." he smiled nervously and flew a few inches further away from Penwrite.

[RockstarRaccoon]

(( OK OK! HERE'S ME POSTING! SORRY! I'll try and get this running again for real now... ))

"A goddess huh? Well I'm not to sure about my belief in the devine, but they do usually have some sort of treasure. So Uh, this Celestia and Luna still around here? Not that I have any intention of robbing them or anything." Locke floated over Navy "Just a curios outsider with a dangerous and illegal hobby. No need to worry about why I would be interest in the homes of 'gods' or whatever. But really if she was banished she must be real so that other one must be real?"

"Real?" Navy looked up and blinked at Locke, a bit perplexed, "What? Are you seriously asking if..." she shook her head in astonishment, "Locke, they raise the SUN and the MOON. They RULE EQUESTRIA. The history books have them going back over a THOUSAND YEARS. OF COURSE they're real! Locke, how could you NOT know about them? I mean, the dragons and griffons have living gods too, haven't you ever seen any of them??"

[Penwrite]

Shin blinked a bit at the light and was startled by the other pony.

"I swear I'm not a thief. And I have no idea what happened to those other two ponies." he smiled nervously and flew a few inches further away from Penwrite.

Penwrite tilted his head as he stared at the pegasus a moment longer. "Well then...if you're not a thief...then it is a pleasure to meet you. It'd be more of a pleasure, but there'e this really loud voice in my head yelling at me to stop the thieves. Been there ever since I looked into this weird fire. Anyway, my name is Penwrite, yours?"

[RandomGeekNamedBrent]

Penwrite tilted his head as he stared at the pegasus a moment longer. "Well then...if you're not a thief...then it is a pleasure to meet you. It'd be more of a pleasure, but there'e this really loud voice in my head yelling at me to stop the thieves. Been there ever since I looked into this weird fire. Anyway, my name is Penwrite, yours?"

"I'm Shinobi Umakage, but my friends just call me Shin. I just moved here from Hiroshuma. It's a pleasure to meet you, Penwrite... Did you just say you're hearing voices?" he asked, tilting his head and giving an inquisitive look to Pen.

[RockstarRaccoon]

Outside of the manor, a dark cloud seemed to float towards the front walkway. Someone had tripped an alarm at the house, it could still sense this place's security-system after the centuries... Whoever it was had made this particular cloud of smoke quite annoyed, and had better be ready to get out, because this particular Shade was created long before the idea of killing all trespassers had become "barbaric" in the eyes of the common pony...

The cloud materialized into a vaguely pony-like shape and looked at the house through dimly lit red eyes. 'The defenses on the front of the house have gone off...' it thought, 'That means that something destroyed the front wall...' It looked around in annoyance, 'Looks like those groundskeepers failed their so called "obligation". I guess it's about time I killed again...' The form dematerialized again, now floating ominously towards the house, this time with deadly purpose...

[Penwrite]

"No, just the one voice. It was yelling at me to kill you just a moment ago, but when you said you weren't a thief it just up." Penwrite grinned then, apparently not realizing just how crazy he was beginning to sound. Then after a few seconds of just standing there he turned around and headed for the door out of the kitchen. "So anyways, let's go stop whatever thiefs ARE in the mansion. Then we could be like heroes or something! That'd be awesome, right? I mean, I've always written about heroes in my novels, but I haven't had the chance to be one in years! This is just like prom!"

[RandomGeekNamedBrent]

"No, just the one voice. It was yelling at me to kill you just a moment ago, but when you said you weren't a thief it just up." Penwrite grinned then, apparently not realizing just how crazy he was beginning to sound. Then after a few seconds of just standing there he turned around and headed for the door out of the kitchen. "So anyways, let's go stop whatever thiefs ARE in the mansion. Then we could be like heroes or something! That'd be awesome, right? I mean, I've always written about heroes in my novels, but I haven't had the chance to be one in years! This is just like prom!"

"I suppose being a hero could be a good source of inspiration for my work. Le's do it."
He began flying after Pen.

[BlueAnubis]

Clyde was surprised when he turned around as was no longer in the kitchen, but in a long narrow corridor. He looked back at the bookshelf he had touched a moment ago. "Hmm... 'Ye Enchantments of Cooking' I think it was..." he said aloud as he tapped the book's cover again, spinning the bookshelf around and placing him, once again, in the kitchen. "Ha! A secret passageway! Shin, this cou- Aw Cud!" he exclaimed when he turned to see Shin had vanished as well. Okay, calm down, think. What would Dairing Do? He thought, recalling his favorite series. Secret passageways are usually what the builders would use to get through places like this, so they're usually safe... or at least, that's what she said in the fourth book. He took a napkin from his saddlebag, tore a strip from it, and secured it to the shelf just below the book. Hopefully, should Shin, or anyone else for that matter, come by, they may notice the trail he had taken. He spun the shelf to the passageway, then spun it back as he stepped back, leaving himself in the passage. "Well, let's see where this leads to then." he said as he walked throught the darkness.

[Penwrite]

As the unicorn and pegasus walked down the winding hallways and decrepit halls of the mansion, Penwrite kept both eyes open for signs of anypony else. So far he hadn't seen either the ponies he had come there to stop OR the ponies who had come with him.

"Hey, did you come with anyone?

[RandomGeekNamedBrent]

"yeah, I met up with two other ponies outside. one of them disappeared before we came inside, and Clyde disappeared right before you showed up."

[RockstarRaccoon]

"A goddess huh? Well I'm not to sure about my belief in the devine, but they do usually have some sort of treasure. So Uh, this Celestia and Luna still around here? Not that I have any intention of robbing them or anything." Locke floated over Navy "Just a curios outsider with a dangerous and illegal hobby. No need to worry about why I would be interest in the homes of 'gods' or whatever. But really if she was banished she must be real so that other one must be real?"

"Real?" Navy looked up and blinked at Locke, a bit perplexed, "What? Are you seriously asking if..." she shook her head in astonishment, "Locke, they raise the SUN and the MOON. They RULE EQUESTRIA. The history books have them going back over a THOUSAND YEARS. OF COURSE they're real! Locke, how could you NOT know about them? I mean, the dragons and griffons have living gods too, haven't you ever seen any of them??"

Navy was just staring at Locke like he was some sort of idiot. A sudden noise, like the rushing of air, came from somewhere else in the vicinity of the house. She glanced over, furrowing her brow, "Did... You hear that?"

==== Secret Passages ====

He took a napkin from his saddlebag, tore a strip from it, and secured it to the shelf just below the book. Hopefully, should Shin, or anyone else for that matter, come by, they may notice the trail he had taken. He spun the shelf to the passageway, then spun it back as he stepped back, leaving himself in the passage. "Well, let's see where this leads to then." he said as he walked throught the darkness.

The secret passageway went on for a little ways, and seemed to have had a bit more intention than builder access, especially since there seemed to be some sort of dim light source which lit the ground where Clyde walked, and there was enough room for two ponies to squeeze through. At some point, Clyde came to a decision point: there was what looked like another secret door exit, or he could turn right and continue up a set of stairs.

Somewhere down one of the halls, there came the sound a distant rush of air...

==== Not too far away... ====
The lights continued to come on as the two passed, while the lights behind them turned off, keeping the area they were in lit. It wasn't far before the hall ended in the brick walled kitchen, which was somewhat large and archaic, and had a window looking out into the dark night beside the house. This kitchen was much larger than the other, and seemed to be more suited to preparing large quantities of food, for servants or parties.

From the front, there seemed to come a sound of a gust of wind...

==== Outside the Front ====
The black cloud hovered in front of the house briefly, turning once again into the vaguely pony-shape, and examined the collapsed wall where the door had been. Looks like some rogue broke through the lock, it was suppo'sed to be quite advanced... Whoever broke in here must be a talented unicorn... I look forward to rending the flesh from their bones when we duel... The creature floated from the porch to look at the hole which Penwrite had made right after that. Battering Ram. Perhaps there is a warrior here as well... His martial talents will be useless against the incorporeal form, his death shall be swift... The creature, having made its initial analysis of the invading force, hovered back towards the front door, where the wooden shards began to pull themselves back into place...

"You there!"
The creature stopped, unsure of the voice behind him.
"Stop right there!"
The creature turned to see the group of groundskeepers, which had donned light armor, and had lanced aimed at it. "...Guards?" it hissed quietly, its red eyes glowing.
The leader of the group staggered back a bit, having expected to see a pony, "You... You're not supposed to be here! What did you do to our guard?" Onion hadn't woken up since he'd been drugged, and the other guards hadn't been able to revive him immediately.
"You have failed to protect your charge. As you speak, invading forces pillage the manor." the creature's "hooves" touched the ground and it began to take on a more solid appearance, a pair of massive half-spread wings forming on its back, "Go now: with the return of its true Guardian, the Manor needs you no more."
"Er... I..." The guard regained his composure, re-steadying his lance, "Who are you!? What makes you think you can give us orders?!"
"I..." the creature began, its wings spreading, "am the TRUE GUARDIAN of this Manor, and I told you... TO LEAVE!" The creatures wings pushed forward, sending a massive blast of air and magic towards the guards and sending them flying at near-breakneck speeds all the way back into the woods. The guards wouldn't be a problem again anytime soon...

[BlueAnubis]

Clyde made his way throught the hallway with cautious haste Nngh! Buck this claustrophobia of mine all the way to Canterlot! He thought, detesting the small space confining him. Being a pegasus, Clyde was, naturally, more at home with a clear sky above his head. Being far larger than most other poines only worsened his position, since he would often get stuck in tight spaces. At this very moment, it was taking every ounce of his restraint to keep himself from bucking his way straight through the walls to the outdoors. At least I can see where I'm going. He thought, trying to keep his mind off of his surroundings, I wonder what kind of magic is creating this light? It's... hmm? He paused as he came to, what looked like, a door of some kind. He was about to open it when he heard, what sounded like, wind comming from down the hall, up a flight of stairs. He quickened his pace as he ascended the stairs, Oh, please, Dear Celestia. I don't care if it's a window or a small hole in the wall, please let that be at least some form of fresh air!

[RockstarRaccoon]

The noise, of course, stopped: it was only a brief one, and it had come from the front of the house. It was gone by the time he got to the top of the stairs. This passageway was sealed from drafts, and so there wasn't a breeze. On the way up, there was a brick protrusion (from a chimney), which cut into the side of the hallway, and Clyde had to squeeze through with his large size. As he passed, there appeared to be a mark where something metal had scraped against it a few times as well. But anyway, Clyde was now in a secret passage on the second floor...

(( By the way guys, it'd make it easier for me to run this if you threw down some ideas as to what you might be looking for or find, or maybe how you're looking around and checking the walls and stuff. Otherwise I can only give vague descriptions of generalized hallways... ))

[exranio]

"Hear what? The wind? Yeah sure what's so special the wind? Are you getting nervous about stealing? Who's a scared little filly, who's a scared little filly? You are!" he mocked. "This should be over for the books pretty sonn anyway, my bag is already pretty much full. The other one is for the shinies."

[RockstarRaccoon]

"A goddess huh? Well I'm not to sure about my belief in the devine, but they do usually have some sort of treasure. So Uh, this Celestia and Luna still around here? Not that I have any intention of robbing them or anything." Locke floated over Navy "Just a curios outsider with a dangerous and illegal hobby. No need to worry about why I would be interest in the homes of 'gods' or whatever. But really if she was banished she must be real so that other one must be real?"

"Real?" Navy looked up and blinked at Locke, a bit perplexed, "What? Are you seriously asking if..." she shook her head in astonishment, "Locke, they raise the SUN and the MOON. They RULE EQUESTRIA. The history books have them going back over a THOUSAND YEARS. OF COURSE they're real! Locke, how could you NOT know about them? I mean, the dragons and griffons have living gods too, haven't you ever seen any of them??"

Navy was just staring at Locke like he was some sort of idiot. A sudden noise, like the rushing of air, came from somewhere else in the vicinity of the house. She glanced over, furrowing her brow, "Did... You hear that?"

"Hear what? The wind? Yeah sure what's so special the wind? Are you getting nervous about stealing? Who's a scared little filly, who's a scared little filly? You are!" he mocked.

At that point, Navy pretty much punched Locke in the face again, "Shut up you idiot! I'm worried about whatever crazy security system caused the house to eat us in the first place, and I'm worried about the idea that somepony apparently followed us here and is snooping around. You wanna deal with the house trying to kill us? You wanna deal with getting caught?" she stomped a hoof in annoyance, "Locke, take this seriously, I thought you'd been in these situations before!"

[exranio]

Locke rubbed the new bump on his skull. Chuckled in attempt to hide the single tear rolling from his eye. "Jeez, ya didn't have to hit me. So there was a sound, the door is locked, we didn't see anyone fallow us, that guy should be knocked out and the house hasn't messed with us for a while. From what I can tell as long as we're in this library we're good, but if you want me to check something..." Locke went back to the door and romoved the lock, "Then I'll go ahead and check, just to keep you from crying or something."

[RockstarRaccoon]

Navy sighed and rolled her eyes, "No, Locke, stay here: you're probably right about the library being safe. If there's anypony else in the house I don't want you running into them..." She glanced around and started over to another one of the bookcases, "Now come on, there's gotta be some more useful books in here..."

[Penwrite]

Penwrite found his experience of the mansion to be rather strange. For starters, the lights illuminating only a few feet around them at any given time made it hard to look ahead for traps, and just as hard to check behind himself and his new friend for any followers. As such, the author was relieved when they exited out of the hallway and into a big room, which lit up completely for them. Sure it was another kitchen, but that was fine. He was beginning to feel peckish.

"Hey, how long do you think it's been since anypony used these ovens and stuff? Oh hey, wait a minute! Maybe one of them hides a secret to...I don't know. Are we doing anything other than looking for another living pony? Emphasis on LIVING pony, of course."

[RockstarRaccoon]

Sure it was another kitchen, but that was fine. He was beginning to feel peckish.

Of course, because a house that's been empty for centuries is bound to have good food...


...The plot was thinking....

[RandomGeekNamedBrent]

Penwrite found his experience of the mansion to be rather strange. For starters, the lights illuminating only a few feet around them at any given time made it hard to look ahead for traps, and just as hard to check behind himself and his new friend for any followers. As such, the author was relieved when they exited out of the hallway and into a big room, which lit up completely for them. Sure it was another kitchen, but that was fine. He was beginning to feel peckish.

"Hey, how long do you think it's been since anypony used these ovens and stuff? Oh hey, wait a minute! Maybe one of them hides a secret to...I don't know. Are we doing anything other than looking for another living pony? Emphasis on LIVING pony, of course."

"I'm actually just following you. I came here for a quiet place to write, I didn't think anypony would disappear."

[Penwrite]

"Oh, okay then, fair enough." Penwrite looked left and then right, scanning the kitchen interior. Five seconds passed...then 10 seconds...until finally, at 20 seconds after he started looking, the unicorn shrugged. "Right, well I don't see anypony else here. I guess we should just turn around and try another hallway. Unless something happens soon."

He looked over at his companion in his search and frowned. "You know, besides this weird voice in my head talking to me and making my words feel orange to me, the mansion's defenses have been kind of lacking. Whoever built this place should come back to life and get their money back, because I think they were ripped off."

[exranio]

"Fine fine, just keep on changing your mind." Locke flew back up to the high shelves and started collecting books with his hooves. "Are you sure most of these are even readable anymore, I mean I steal thousand year old trasure not writing. Doesn't old parchment like, wear out or something real dumb like that? Just wondering, nothing else to talk about, unless you want to talk about the weather." He dropped the books he had in the bag an flew over to the window. He stared at the moon in the sky for just a bit.

(there is a window in this room right? I forgot)

[RandomGeekNamedBrent]

"Oh, okay then, fair enough." Penwrite looked left and then right, scanning the kitchen interior. Five seconds passed...then 10 seconds...until finally, at 20 seconds after he started looking, the unicorn shrugged. "Right, well I don't see anypony else here. I guess we should just turn around and try another hallway. Unless something happens soon."

He looked over at his companion in his search and frowned. "You know, besides this weird voice in my head talking to me and making my words feel orange to me, the mansion's defenses have been kind of lacking. Whoever built this place should come back to life and get their money back, because I think they were ripped off."

"Perhaps years of disuse have made them fail. But I think we shouldn't get too relaxed. There are two ponies currently unnaccounted for, perhaps they fell into traps."

[RockstarRaccoon]

==== Main Foyer ====
The front door opened, and the vaguely pony-like shape came through. It closed the door behind it, which seemed to relock itself, trapping everypony inside. As soon as the door was shut, it dematerialized again and began hovering about as an amorphous cloud, inspecting the room. It could clearly see where the warrior had crashed through the wall, which was reforming at a rate that it now seemed like it had never been damaged. The dust and debris left a trail into the house, where it had clearly walked off on the first floor. Hmm... I suppose the warrior might be the first to die.... A soft, red light began emanating from the smoke: a spark of magic, which shone on the hoofsteps of Penwrite, illuminating red hoofprints on the ground. The smoke quickly flew off after them, the hallways lighting themselves for its passage...

==== The Library ====

Navy sighed and rolled her eyes, "No, Locke, stay here: you're probably right about the library being safe. If there's anypony else in the house I don't want you running into them..." She glanced around and started over to another one of the bookcases, "Now come on, there's gotta be some more useful books in here..."

"Fine fine, just keep on changing your mind." Locke flew back up to the high shelves and started collecting books with his hooves. "Are you sure most of these are even readable anymore, I mean I steal thousand year old trasure not writing. Doesn't old parchment like, wear out or something real dumb like that? Just wondering, nothing else to talk about, unless you want to talk about the weather." He dropped the books he had in the bag an flew over to the window. He stared at the moon in the sky for just a bit.

The moon seemed strangely larger and clearer through the crystalline glass of the window, as if it was being in some way magnified. The beams of light seemed to wrap around the objects they it in an unnatural manner, as if they were more like water coming through this window.

"They should be fine..." Navy answered, "The library was built with a set of spells to prevent the books from decaying. They shouldn't be much more aged than the day they were written, as long as they were left on the shelves..." She opened one of the cases which Locke had unlocked, looking over the books inside for any she found particularly interesting. Ooh, that writing looks pre-Equestrian... she pulled another one out and started looking it over...

[Penwrite]

"Right, right, of course. Good thinking there. Penwrite looked around the kitchen a moment longer, checking the windows to see if any were unlocked and the cupboards for anything out of place. Yet there was nothing, or at least nothing that he could find. "Well, I guess this room's a bust. Let's go check some-"

A strange noise drew the unicorn's attention to the long hall they had come down a few minutes ago. He could make out the lights along it rapidly switching on and off, as if something incredibly fast was rushing down the corridor...right toward them. "What...is that..."

[exranio]

"Do those unicorns make spells for everything? I swear almost every time I try to steal something I find out they have some new spell that does this, that, and the other thing. Honestly they need new hobbies." Locke chuckled a bit "So, uh mentioning unicorn magic, what do you think of it. Being an earth pony and all. It'd make carrying stuff a lot easier, like you."

[RandomGeekNamedBrent]

"Right, right, of course. Good thinking there. Penwrite looked around the kitchen a moment longer, checking the windows to see if any were unlocked and the cupboards for anything out of place. Yet there was nothing, or at least nothing that he could find. "Well, I guess this room's a bust. Let's go check some-"

A strange noise drew the unicorn's attention to the long hall they had come down a few minutes ago. He could make out the lights along it rapidly switching on and off, as if something incredibly fast was rushing down the corridor...right toward them. "What...is that..."

Shin turned to where Pen was looking. "I don't know, but it seems we're about to find out."

[RockstarRaccoon]

The black smoke rushed in on them, getting a good look at their movements and reactions. Odd... These two do not seem to be particularly equipped... Perhaps further investigation is advisable... The creature stopped just before it collided with them, condensing back into the vaguely pony-shaped mass and hovering a few inches from the floor. "Trespassers. Thou trample upon the ancient estate of the royal Shade Family of Equestria, a trespass for which you may be put to death." its eyes began to glow a faint red, "Why are you here?"

==== The Library ====

"Do those unicorns make spells for everything? I swear almost every time I try to steal something I find out they have some new spell that does this, that, and the other thing. Honestly they need new hobbies." Locke chuckled a bit "So, uh mentioning unicorn magic, what do you think of it. Being an earth pony and all. It'd make carrying stuff a lot easier, like you."

Navy rolled her eyes a bit, "Locke, you gotta remember: some of these ponies were among the most powerful unicorns and history, monetarily, politically, and magically. And they operated out of this house for over a thousand years: it's understandable that they had a few things in here which seem a bit extravagant, not only for their own pleasure, but to protect their secrets and treasures. There's probably a bunch of things in here that even I don't know about: I had to cross reference old receipts and public records to find out about some of this stuff..." She flipped a few pages in the book she was reading, "As for the Unicorn magic, not really. I mean, it might be nice, and I'd probably be able to learn quite a few spells, but you realize that Unicorns aren't the only ponies with magical abilities, right?" she flipped about in the book, finally appraising it, "Clover the Clever, got it." she put it in her bag and kept looking.

(( Oh Navy, you're so oblivious... :D ))

[Penwrite]

Penwrite meeped and hastily backed away from the strange dark force, magically pulling Shin to behind him. If he had followed the convoluted chain of events correctly, it was mostly his fault most of the other ponies were there anyway. He kept his eyes on the pony-shaped thing, listening as it spoke. When it finished the utterly out of his depth unicorn gulped and nodded. "We're here because...well, I'm here at least because a friend of mine fell in with a bad pony, and they came to steal from this place. I came to stop her and make her see the error of her ways. This is a friend of mine behind me, he doesn't mean any harm, please don't hurt him."

Pen paused and thought for a second. "Also, why am I talking and seeing in orange?"

[RandomGeekNamedBrent]

Shin was hovering in a shock-like state until he felt himself being pulled to behind Pen. "I was just looking for a quiet place to write."
at this point it seems like the forest would have been the quieter choice.

[RockstarRaccoon]

Penwrite meeped and hastily backed away from the strange dark force, magically pulling Shin to behind him. If he had followed the convoluted chain of events correctly, it was mostly his fault most of the other ponies were there anyway. He kept his eyes on the pony-shaped thing, listening as it spoke. When it finished the utterly out of his depth unicorn gulped and nodded. "We're here because...well, I'm here at least because a friend of mine fell in with a bad pony, and they came to steal from this place. I came to stop her and make her see the error of her ways. This is a friend of mine behind me, he doesn't mean any harm, please don't hurt him."

Pen paused and thought for a second. "Also, why am I talking and seeing in orange?"

The strange Dark Force latched onto one thing in that statement, "If they are thieves, then they will die." it's eyes glowed a bit brighter now. "As for you... You must leave, or else join them in their fate."

Shin was hovering in a shock-like state until he felt himself being pulled to behind Pen. "I was just looking for a quiet place to write."
at this point it seems like the forest would have been the quieter choice.

Meanwhile, out in the above mentioned forest, the groundskeepers moaned and rolled twitched where they had landed...

[RandomGeekNamedBrent]

The strange Dark Force latched onto one thing in that statement, "If they are thieves, then they will die." it's eyes glowed a bit brighter now. "As for you... You must leave, or else join them in their fate."

at this, Shin stopped hovering and planted his feet on the floor. He stared at the dark figure. "I don't know about Penwrite, but I can't leave knowing somepony is about to die, even if I don't know them."

[Penwrite]

Penwrite frowned, his eyes taking on an orange glow as he stepped forward toward the dark shape. Though in all honesty he was scared out of his gourd, the unicorn writer couldn't let something like this happen. "No. I won't let you hurt those other two ponies, and I certainly won't let you hurt me and my friend here. I came here to stop the thieves, and that's what I'll do. Just give me two hours, just TWO, and I'll get them out of here and make sure that nothing is stolen. Just please give me some time."

[exranio]

"Well you think pretty highly of yourself for a pony that just reads all the timeand apperantly ships things on the black market. How much do you know then with all your 'cross refrencing' and 'research'. Also are you going to be done anytime soon? This place got pretty boring for a living house." The ever arrogant pegasus fluttered about the room restlessly. He almost thought of reading one of these old books, but then remembered he can't. Oh forget what you can and can't read he could try, definatly better than the most boring hiest ever that he was a part of. Locke looked through his bag for that book on Hate something something.

[RockstarRaccoon]

He found it. He hadn't opened it yet to know this, but it was full of hand-written old-equestrian entries. The first of which was something along the lines of "Good tidings to you new journal! Henceforth, I shall take down a record of my days in your pages! :D"

"Well I'm sorry Locke, did you expect us to be dodging arrows and setting explosives? This is ARCHAEOLOGY, not some crazy Daring Do novel!" Navy was getting impatient with Locke's impatience, "And I'll have you know it took me alot of hard work to get where I am! I've spent my entire life learning the ways of the book, no matter how hard its been! Do you think I was just born as the librarian of one of Equestria's biggest libraries? My information might not be Encyclopedia-Celestia complete, but I can cite every last note!" She stomped her hoof, "Now it will take as long as it does for me to check everything: we have quite a few more hours before sunrise to get back to the library..." she did a hips-around turn to go back to what she was doing. She glanced over her shoulder for one last note, "And I told you, the house isn't alive, just enchanted."

(( Yeah, I know it's tedious. Don't worry, they'll be horribly maimed by the monster as soon as it's done horribly maiming the others. That's fun! Right? ))

======== Back Downstairs, where everyone was about to die ========

The strange Dark Force latched onto one thing in that statement, "If they are thieves, then they will die." it's eyes glowed a bit brighter now. "As for you... You must leave, or else join them in their fate."

at this, Shin stopped hovering and planted his feet on the floor. He stared at the dark figure. "I don't know about Penwrite, but I can't leave knowing somepony is about to die, even if I don't know them."

Penwrite frowned, his eyes taking on an orange glow as he stepped forward toward the dark shape. Though in all honesty he was scared out of his gourd, the unicorn writer couldn't let something like this happen. "No. I won't let you hurt those other two ponies, and I certainly won't let you hurt me and my friend here. I came here to stop the thieves, and that's what I'll do. Just give me two hours, just TWO, and I'll get them out of here and make sure that nothing is stolen. Just please give me some time."

The monster stared at Penwrite for a few very long seconds, as if to punctuate the next, very simple statement: "No."

[RandomGeekNamedBrent]

buck, why do I always leave my kunai at home.
Shin continues to stare at the monster, narrowing his eyes. "Well, We aren't leaving."

[RockstarRaccoon]

The Monster turned its glare on him, "I am quite sure you are."