Gateway to Elseworld (KDS2, Ashti and Lou)

[KDS2]

It was an adequate day, a semi-cloudy sky with a bright sun, comfortable temperature, and nice ambient sounds of life. However, this went unnoticed by most citizens of Canterlot, who were used to this kind of setting, and so went on with their daily business. Whether it'd be buying food, going to a library, a meeting, a date, or any other kind of activity. Most of Canterlot's ponies seem to have taken these beautiful conditions for granted, and so paid no mind to anything other than what mattered to them. This climate was noticed by a beige pegasus by the name of Ejaz Ferron, who of which, was an excellent mechanic. But, at the moment the stallion was too busy being aggravated by the hostility of those he worked with and assisted to really appreciate the day.

Ejaz made a sound of frustration, the stallion watching as a pony walked away from his shop after giving him payment for his services. Ejaz only continued to glared at the back of that civilian's head before letting out the breath he didn't even know he was holding, closing down his shop to take a much needed break. Ever since he arrived at Canterlot (which was approximately half-a-month ago) he has been trying his best to help as many ponies as he could, but most either denied him, or reluctantly took his services and payed him much less then what he worked for. Ejaz guessed he was just in the wrong side of the city, but so far he hasn't enjoyed the Canterlot experience.

"I guess not all places are nice and fair..." The pegasus thought with a sigh as he decided to head to a restaurant to have some lunch; it was the constant looks, the judging stares, and the sarcasm laced tones that were either almost completely hidden or barely subtle at all that got to him. Ejaz knew it was all because of his appearance and lifestyle, and that is what frustrated him the most, after all, there are only a few things that really grinds his gears other than judging a book by it's cover.

Entering the restaurant, Ejaz took a look at his surroundings; the restaurant was a beautiful brown color so dark it looks black at first glance, everything was made clean and smooth, even the furniture being a nice smooth wood with the same almost black colored leather cushioning sitting on top for the enjoyment of the customers.

"This place looks really high class.." Ejaz thought as he continued glancing about, before his attention was taken by a waiter, who took him to a seat and gave him a menu. Upon looking at the available choices, the beige stallion's eyes widened in surprise, not only was the food incredibly varied and all looked delicious, but the prices were way lower than one would think coming in here.

"Maybe this place isn't all that bad..." Ejaz thought as he smiles and continues reading the fairly large menu for anything he might enjoy.

[Lou]

Solar Burst was not the kind of pony to take nice weather for granted.

He touched down on the cobblestone streets of Canterlot and folded his wings, standing there a moment longer to enjoy the sunlight on his back. Many Canterlot ponies were decidedly "too good" for anypony else, a philosophy he adamantly disagreed with.

Canterlot was a fairly short flight from Cambridle where he lived, so he visited often. If he was going to work as an attorney someday he needed to get a feel for the city he'd be living and working in.

With a light ruffle of his feathers the tall red pegasus continued on his way, his hooves clicking on the stones as he walked. He prefered not to fly if he wasn't traveling or in Cloudsdale, he saw that as perhaps flaunting his flying abilities.

He was heading for his favorite restaurant in town, one often overlooked by tourists because it wasn't quite "the Canterlot experience". Even so, it had a nice atmosphere, good service, and cheap but still quality food.

Solar pushed open the front door of the place with his wingtip and walked inside. He nodded to the host pony, who led him to a table near a beige pegasus and passed him a menu. He looked over at the other stallion for a moment, curiously, then went back to his menu.

Solar was a pony with a certain air about him, like he knew exactly what he was doing all the time. His near-constant glare, unfortunately his resting face, made him out to be more imtimidating than he would be without it. Not that he particularly mindedd, though, it would make his job in court easier.

When the waiter came back for his order he ordered a coffee and a simple sandwich. He wasn't all that hungry, just tired.

[Ashti Sandburst]

Sat on a table, a tea next to him, wearing a nice pea coat with a shemagh style keffiyeh scarf around his neck, off-white shirt, a band for eyepatch and for once : no headgear. Ashti looked around like if he was waiting for someone. In the Saddlebag putted on a chair there were a book and this book was the reason of his presence here.

Not long ago he returned from a relic tracking… with empty hooves, well, somewhat. If he hadn’t find this artefact he did find a book leading to it. But the topic of this book wasn’t a subject the Sandlander was really familiar with. Piracy isn’t a big thing in Deerham, his homeland. They does have royal privateer –albeit acting as coastguards and sea escort right now- but Deerham’s water was really rarely facing pirates, or have an history about piracy.

So, for this subject he contacted an historian specialised in pirate history. Ashti quietly waited without paying much attention to the ponies around him, the ones entering or leaving… but also didn’t paid attention to the book who was slightly shining. Well, he did noticed it… but too late, and without any warning a flash of light fulfilled the room and Ashti vanished, as well as his items.

When the flash ended, two ponies, Solar Burst and Ejaz Ferron, standing next to each other, find themselves on a café of different sort : It was an wood inn. And not a very classy one. All around them there were ponies (and some other species) wearing good old 17-18th century outfits. If they were familiar with literature types, they could easily recognize that their new surrounding… was full of pirates. Well, maybe in the bunch there were decent peoples, like merchants or adventurers, some locals as well.

After-all, in the background there were classy-clothed individual, some wearing Prench or Spaneigh style of noble outfit with frilled shirt, waistcoat, justaucorp coat and tricorn hat, rapier at their belt, other wearing old-fashioned jackets, even a pony, probably from Sire Lanka or Neigh Dali, or maybe from Mareocco or Istanhoof, wearing an frilled shirt with a jabot, an waistcoat, and an Hindian coat/jacket, feathered turban, and with an curved saber tied at the scarf he wore around the waist.

This pony who was sitting behind a table was playing some kind of mandolin, an oud, in the background. But he wasn’t the only one to make noises, actually he was rather discreet, while most of the peoples here speak aloud or the noise of drinks and glasses resounding.

The good thing is, despite all of this, none of the peoples around seemed to pay attention to Solar Burst and Ejaz, and beside a couple of ponies speaking in Prench, most of them speak Equestrian, from the bits of chats that can be heard here and there.
A name was often dropped “Mirlande”. Whoever it was, it must be someone that is (in)famous. This detail aside, it was still the afternoon outside. A sunny day, apparently.

Suddenly, a voice resounded behind them, the one of a middle-aged mare in a old-fashioned waitress garb. She advanced to them and started.

Ah, newcomers huh ? I don't remember havin' see you two here, before. Ha well, welcome in Elsewhere, gentlecolts. The more profitable haven for Merchants and Pirates of the Southern Isles. We got drink, and songs, and fun.

The mare, who seemed to be a rather warm individual, paused as she pointed her hooves to the customers and the Indian musicisian, before concluding on a joke (?) tone.

Just make sure to keep your purses well hidden, eheh.

On those words, the Mare moved to the desk and discarded her plate full of empty glasses, taking care to other customers. The question was now…

Will the two ponies inquire to the people around to get Intel of their new surrounding ? or will they go outside and see where they are ? Will they take a seat and chat ?

(O-Rp : hope there is enough content for you to reply/react, if not just tell me on PM, and we can sort this out ^^)

[KDS2]

(You hope there is enough?! Jeez Ashti I would say the better statement would be "I hope it isn't too much" XD! I'm honestly amazed by how much detail you put in a moderately sized post)

Ejaz jumped in surprise when the white flash had gone off in front of his eyes, he had guessed it had came from the unicorn in the back with the glowing book. Maybe he had gotten a spell wrong? Ejaz didn't have time to contemplate the possible cause however, because as soon as his mind could process the ending of the blinding flash, it completely stopped processing period. The mechanic looked around but still unable to believe what he was seeing and hearing, especially considering where he just was a couple of seconds ago. Ejaz continued to glance around waiting for his mind to catch up and figure out how he got here, before he noticed Solar Burst, Ejaz had recognized him as the fellow pegasus that entered the resturant after he did. The beige stallion could then feel worry creep into his mind concerning the unicorn that was right next to the book when it went off.

All his rampaging thoughts and feelings of confusion and worry were then forced down, bottled deep away as Ejaz took a deep breath, then began to closely analyze his surroundings. Judging from the fashion, and the slang that was used (as well as the accent) Ejaz could figure that he was possibly in a different country, but considering how powerful Unicorns have recorded to be, the mechanic didn't rule out the possibility that he could be in a different time period, or even a different dimension entirely. Ejaz just hoped there was a way to get back, and if there was a way to get anypony else who was also teleported here... Where ever here was.

The pegasus then suddenly jumped with a tiny squeak as he and Solar were addressed by an elder lady who welcomed them to Elsewhere, which (to his frustrstion) wasn't enough information to confirm any of Ejaz's suspiscions. The beige stallion sighed, deciding to not worry about where in the universe, and possibly when, he and Soalr were, and instead find a place to stay at in case they were going to end up staying longer. He had turned to ask the mare a few questions, only to see she had moved on, and suddenly, Ejaz felt incredibly awkward; he had no idea where he was, or possibly when, there was nopony here that he was familiar with (save for Solar Burst, but that was only superficial), and since the others seemed to be having a good time, Ejaz didn't want to disturb them just to ask some questions. So, the mechanic figured maybe flying off and taking a look at his surroundings might be a better idea. However, he had eventually decided against the idea, thinking that since he and Solar were the only ones from Equestria, it might be the best idea to stick together. The result from that thought was Ejaz looking at Solar Burst and waiting paitently for the fellow stallion's decision.

[Lou]

A flash of blinding light came from somewhere in the café, causing the pegasus to jump. It shocked him out of his thoughts. At first he thought it was perhaps the flash of a camera but then he recalled seeing a unicorn sitting a few tables back, a book open on the table in front of him. That was the only possible solution. Solar Burst instinctively squeezed his eyes shut against the light. When he opened them again and the stars cleared from his vision he found himself standing in an entirely different little café next to the beige pegasus from before. The red stallion looked quite stunned for a few moments, his wings splayed out on either side of him. His head spun a little, enough to make him close his eyes again.

He regained his composure, tucking his wings back at his sides. Puffing a lock of his mane out of his eyes, he cast his icy gaze around the room he was in to assess the situation. It was a wooden inn, bustling with creatures of all kinds and filled with ambient yet foreign music. Foreign to him, at least. Solar said nothing to his new companion as he peered around, his mind whirling. Obviously a spell of that unicorn's had backfired, or at least misfired. The two stallions appeared to be in an alternate timeline, or (hopefully) just a different country. The clothing looked old-fashioned. His history wasn't the best, but if he had to date it it would be around the 18th century. There were a few ponies speaking Prench that he could hear, although most spoke in Equestrian.

A mare's voice sounded behind them and he let out a snort of surprise, whirling around to face her. His brief look of surprise settled quickly back into an unhappy expression; he didn't like being startled. She appeared to be some kind of waitress. She welcomed them to Elsewhere, and there was mention of Pirates.

Solar spoke up, almost interrupting her when she made a vague comment about them getting robbed. "I beg your pardon?" he said, pawing at the wooden floor with one hoof. "You said there are thieves and pirates around? I don't think I understand why you think that's so amusing. You obviously work here, in this..." He paused, glancing around. "In this place. Do you not care that your customers supposedly break the law on a regular basis? I suppose money is money, but if I were you I'd much prefer receiving Bits from ponies -- and others -- that I can safely assume won't steal them right back from under my nose. But of course, it is not my place to tell you how to run your business. Thank you for welcoming us." Thus finished, he slid his wing protectively over the small saddlebag on his back that held his own Bits and turned to face Ejaz. He leaned in close and lowered his voice, staring seriously into the other's face.

"I don't know where we are but in a place like this, I think it best we don't separate. My name is Solar Burst, by the way." 

[Ashti Sandburst]

(To stay in the tabletop feel I'll act as as the "narrator" and maybe skip a few turn. to let the both of you interact a bit ('ll bring Ashti at the fitting moment, no worry). I'll post when you'll make your choices between going outside or when you'll speak to the main npcs : like the musician, the customers, etc... . I know, the choices are rather limited but hey, it's for narration's sake. Xp.

Also, feel free to PM if you have any questions on the background/surrounding.)

The sounds of a few chat went more discrete and that the exotic Musician stopped his music, intrigued. Some of the customers gave a back look to the two ponies. The words of Solar didn't fall on deaf ears, notably the waitress who, working on another table, gave a quick glances to the stallion, and gave them a knowing smile. She nonetheless didn't reply. Of course, this harbour was a still a pirate relay, albeit a safe one... most of the time. Here, if you don't trigger fight than you don't get much trouble. However, it wasn't a town under any jurisdiction... it was a place where you have to be able to defend yourself id need. Crimes like stealing happens on daily basis, and it's the victim' fault if they aren't prudent enough to prevent being pickpocketed.

Everyone here knew it. From the stop over merchants to the inhabitant. Pirates as mercenaries and smugglers are free to roams here, law enforcers were drove away when the piracy bloomed in this region and made this harbor to prosper. Paradoxically, the pirates did created some sort of police here to assure their activities and their customers' safety : The Swashbucklers, an official guild/company of mercenaries that anyone can hire to defend them or track the culprits. This did created a few problems... but overall the system was working well.

After serving a few glasses, the waitress returned to the ponies while the customers resumed their activity, notably the exotic Musician who had profited of this little silence to play another tune. ... with a few wrong note, but over-all doing the songs well. Not like any of the customers really noticed it - nor cared- with the loudness of their chats.

Oh my, huhu. I'd advise you to looks at the town, or speak to our faithful customers. Knowin' how Elseworld's workin' is the best cure... ^^

On this advice the mare vanished behind the desk, leaving the two stallions alone. Pirates town or not, it wasn't her job to importunate customers. For the two stallions, well they could either take a table to chat or if they have money : playing at some card game, or gamble at dice play. Listening to some musics, or even left the establishment.
Whatever they decide, at the horizon some frog were starting to form above the sea even if the sky was shining with not any clouds in sight. The two Ponies can see it trough the glasses of the ground-flour balcony of the inn that look out onto the azure waster, and the merchants ships minding their businesses.

[KDS2]

Ejaz watched Solar Burst curiously, wondering what course of action the fellow pegasus will take, and tilted his head when the red pony began talking to the waitress that introduced the two of them to Elseworld. Ejaz inwardly sighed at yhe mention of pirates and stealing, now, Ejaz had nothing to worry about, for he didn’t have many bits to begin with, but the pegasus couldn’t help but worry about Solar and the other civilians that might have stuff they don’t want stolen. The biege stallion paused as he noticed the other occupants of the inn where all giving their attention to the two males, something the mechanic didn’t like one bit. Ejaz by all means, didn’t want to suspect that any of the ponies currently present would steal. But even he knew that in an unknown location filled with unknown people, one can’t be too careful.

Ejaz then jumped as he heard Solar turn and adress him, the younger pegasus turning his ears to hear the older stallions words before giving a nod.

“Agreed. I’m Ejaz Ferron, pleasure to meet you.” Ejaz introduces with a small smile before glancing around, what should they do? Should they go outside and see what the general society looks like, or stay here and ask questions before going? Ejaz thought extensively on this decision as he wagered the pros and cons before adressing Solar again.

“I think we should head out and get a layout of the land... to get an idea of where we actually are on a map... Or where we are in the timeline...” Ejaz suggests, turning all the way to stand side by side with the fellow pegasus instead of back to back. His expression stating that although he’s made his decision, he doesn’t mind going with Solar’s if the stallion makes a different decision.