The Great Gray Gallery (Private)

[waxworks]

(( A reminder for this particular RP, there is a strict posting order (which will begin once everyone makes their first post), but everyone posting has access to a common pool of 'Fodderponies', nameless background ponies who are accompanying the group. Their main purpose is so that we can have characters get dragged off, vanished, captured, and so on, without anyone losing their character and the RP dwindling down to just one RPer posting by themself. ))

An effortless gray sky hung over the mountain pass, casting an uncaring pallor over the small, haphazard trail snaking through it. Located neatly halfway between Canterlot and the capitol of the Griffin Kingdoms, the Pisa Pass looked like at some point a tremendous effort had been made to carpet the land, and then been torn up in a sudden frenzy. Scrabbled, gnarled black trees jockeyed for space on either side of the road liked popped stitchwork, and the mountain walls on either side of the path were oppressively undetailed. A veritable blank canvas, an unfinished image, the appropriate nature of this path couldn't have been any better if it had been planned that way.

Moving through this narrow pathway with a destination clearly in mind was a small herd of ponies of various size and shape and leading them, backwards, with a series of enthusiastic pronks, was a waxy white pony with a flaming cowlick and blazing eyes.

"It was down this very path that artists and the pony elite used to trot," she cooed eagerly, the mountains echoing her voice like a loudspeaker. "Anypony who was anypony wanted their work featured here, and the most well-to-do ponies would gather from all across Equestria to view each piece and bid on it. We're walking on a path pounded down by the hooves and wagon wheels of thousands who came before us!"

In the crowd that was following, various heads peered down at the pathway curiously and with some wonderment. Among these, a blazing red body with a face in a glittering orange mask curiously studied the trail and looked up at their guide questioningly. "Eh... how long ago did chu say it was? Some of these look... nuevo."

"OH!" Waxworks smiled brightly at the comment, unaltered, "that was from the tour that came this way a week ago."

Mezcal nodded, fair enough.

"They vanished without a trace," said the waxy pony to all those assembled, leading the way without a hint of a difference in her pronk.

The blazing red cow grimaced at the comment. She had decided to go on this 'tour' after encountering a flyer in Ponyville's town square, the same flyer she imagined most everypony present had seen. She recalled seeing it fluttering loose through the street, and several more of them haphazardly stapled to various boards and poles throughout the town. They were colorful, eye-catching, and filled with as much intrigue as a single piece of paper could possibly hold. Promises of thrills and chills, spine-tingling adventure, and even something for those with a love of the arts.

When she saw it, a thought had rang out through her head. A test of spirit, a test of her mettle. Since coming to Ponyville she'd engaged in a few light-hearted matches, nothing too strenuous or challenging, and had been feeling overly confident in herself. This, she knew, was a hazard. If she was going to forge herself into a primed and powerful luchadora, she couldn't allow herself to get complacent in easy victory or comfortable wins. She had to get nervous. She had to get scared. She had to stick her head into a dark, unknown place and still come out of it intact to prove to herself that she was ready to take on unknown challengers.

She shook herself, glancing around the crowd warily as they all followed their bouncing ball of a tour guide. Mezcal had to wonder, was everypony else that was following along testing themselves in the same way?

[ForgottenExistance]

There were those in Equestria and it's bordering countries who placed their skills and indeed their entire lives in certain things. There were those who enveloped themselves with combat, entertained themselves with comedy, valued commerce and business, bobbed their heads to music, or found the most absolute joy in doing anything in between. Yes, there were ponies of all shapes and sizes in all walks of life who did just about anything. However, to a particular mare who walked in the middle of the crowd of ponies that gray afternoon, everything in the world was about art, and there was nothing that she couldn't find artistic potential in. Even in a gray afternoon in the middle of a mountainous path, there was artistic potential everywhere, and she couldn't help but wish that she had a canvas and some paint with her, or had more time to stop and make sketches.

But that was far beside the point, this particular mare had the chance to see something far more interesting then just a mountainous path that day. She had been wrapping up an art show in Ponyville when she had seen the fliers for the journey, and her curiosity had been peaked. Most of her days were spent painting or drawing, and her chances to go out and do something lively were few and far between. And while there was the promise of some sort of spine chilling adventure, she was far more interested by the mention of those with a love of the arts. This mare was quite curious as to what sort of thing the flier could have been talking about, and so had taken the bait to go along on this adventure with other ponies from all walks of life, with the utmost of optimism and unchecked glee.

In a crowd of ponies, this particular orange mare should have stood out, with her patches of faded pelt and slight limp. But the crowd was mercifully quite varied, and she didn't stand out any more then the pony to her right. In fact, a red cow in an orange mask was likely more of a sight to most ponies then an old limping artist. Speaking of which, she had found that they moved slow enough as it was that her slight limp wouldn't burden anyone, and was quite grateful that there was other ponies around her who were slower, so she wasn't holding anyone back.

And as it was, most were too busy looking around to be bothered with trying to be fast, which was a pleasant change from the hundreds of ponies who were too busy with their lives to be able to slow down and enjoy the natural art that graced their world. There was no need to be fast on the path that they were on, and the old mare was quite happy to just trail along and enjoy the sights and sounds until they arrived at their final destination; wherever that may happen to be.

The artist's thoughts were interrupted when their guide spoke in front of them, drawing her attention and curious gaze. She thought that maybe the whole thing was a sort of Nightmare Night-esque attempt at a horror trail, or something along those lines, which would explain why their guide claimed that the previous tour disappeared without a trace. Or perhaps it wasn't a ruse, and they had actually disappeared. Regardless of the possibilities, they were a large group, and Aurora thought that it was very likely that their entire group would disappear. Actually, she was more concerned about the group getting separated and then getting lost in the mountainous terrain. It wasn't entirely uncommon for ponies to get lost in the mountains when they didn't have guides, which is what she assumed happened to the other group if they had indeed disappeared. At least, she logically assumed that was what happened.

Aurora knew that everyone there was there for different reasons; some were there for the adventure and the possibility of excitement, others were there as scholars, and some were there for the artistic side like her. She wondered though, how many of them were there for each reason? How many were there under the pursuit of knowledge? How many were there for a fright or to get their hearts racing? How many were there for the same reason as her? It was interesting to think about what everyone was there for, and to think about what everyone would get out of the experience, but she hoped that everyone would get something out of the adventure, and that they all had some sort of tale to tell at the end of the day. It wouldn't be unlikely to think that the ponies around her would also form bonds with each other.

After all, great minds were drawn together, and what better way to form a bond with another then go on some sort of adventure together? They may all have been there for their own different reasons, but they were all there, and more importantly; they were all in it together.

[CableZ]

The north was a cold place, granted nothing like the frozen wastes of the Crystal empires domain but it was no summer hot spot. The mountain pass was one that A'bek knew all too well, after all it was part of his blood. Now A'bek had been in the area for a day or so, having trekked up from the south on one long day. He wanted to take a look at the famous black trees that were in the area, the botanist in him was always a little curious. He was scaling the mountain in the traditional Goat manner, that is leaping from perch to tiny perch back and forth up the mountain. The wind was pretty strong up this high, that might explain why a piece of paper just slammed into his face at a very high speed.

He had to regain his balance after almost falling, leaning against the rock he got himself perched properly and ripped the paper from his face to inspect it. Looking around for a moment to see a possible source of..flyer? A'bek raised a scruffy furred eyebrow at the content, some kind of museum or gallery? Frankly A'bek had had enough of galleries since a fiasco in Manehatten but he was quite surprised to hear of one up this far north. He was more astounded to see that this flyer was from Ponyville which was at least a hundred miles away.

Taking another look around, he heard something echo within the the mountain pass. Just on the distant on the path behind him, he saw a multi coloured blob heading toward him, now accounting for distance and eyesight, he assumed this to be a group of ponies. Quite coincidental that they were heading down the path to (he assumed) this gallery, the flyer for which had just assaulted him in the facial region. Now normally, A'bek wouldn't have paid it much heed, but he was always one for a little bit of destiny, what with the flyer and the group of ponies and all. As they got closer, A'bek decided to skip the long arduous part of descending a mountain and have a little fun. Kicking his cloven hooves into the ground for a moment, he soon had a sporting part of rock shoes that his Druidic powers sustained. With this stone shoes he could stay connected to the mountain a lot easier, the reason he had done this was that now he cloud slide down the side of the cliff face without the annoyances and hassle of painful bone breakages.

He took up a readied stance and leant forward and began sliding down the cliff face. Now for a group of ponies it must have been an odd sight seeing a very large goat creature sliding down what neared to be a sheer cliff face but frankly with Equestria being what it was, It was hardly the strangest event any of them had seen. He came to a graceful yet dusty halt just in front of the group, bracing himself to stop from sliding clear across the path and face first into the opposite cliff. Brushing himself off slightly, he shook the dust out of his ears before the gulf of dust covered the area following in his wake, causing a majority of the crowd to start coughing. A'bek hadn't intended to create some kind of smoke screen, so with a dull glow of his large horns, the dust immediatly dropped to the ground with much more weight that it should have naturally done. Grinning sheepishly at the group, he waved a little nervous wave before clearing his throat.

"Excuse me, ponies. Are you heading to some kind of gallery, I got this flyer...quite literally, and I was wondering if I could take along, if you're going that is" He chuckled in his charismatic deep toned voice.

[20monkies]

Art and artefacts always drew the attention of Raven Feather. If there was one thing in the world she enjoyed, it was the beauty of the paint strokes, the effort placed behind the moulding of silver, metal, gold. Anything that dealt with fine craftsmanship, she was intrigued and fascinated by it. Always eager to learn, to gain more knowledge of the way ponies used to create pieces that were lost to civilizations for centuries. Buried away, lost in some closed off dungeons or vaults.

The flyer was tucked neatly away in her saddlebag, hidden beneath the large black cloak she adorned decorated neatly with shimmering silver and red thread in feather patterns along it's hemline. Her wings were folded, shapeless beneath the bulk of the bag she wore. They were her life, everything contained a precious piece of her history and memories. If she were to lose her bags… she wasn't exactly sure what she would do. So, she made it a point to keep close eye on her belongings. She didn't have a home, always wandering the world of Equestria with either a plan in her mind, or some task to complete, or simply because she wanted to explore and discover something she never knew existed.

This trek through the cold northern land, winding up the mountain side with a group of anonymous ponies was one of her latest adventures. She had seen the flyer floating around somewhere in Ponyville, and with no other job to worry about, she had figured this was a great change of pace. No face was familiar to her, but that was okay. She had her pet cat, Black, to keep her company.

Raven's pet was nestled between her shoulders on her back, tucked up against her head. Although Raven herself had her hood up, tendrils of glossy hair sweeping over her icy blue eyes and slipped beneath the fabric, her pale silver white face stood out against the drab dark colours of her own self. Even her crimson red hooves were leaving tracks between the mess of other prints created by her companions.

Their leader was a strange waxy looking pony, and was describing the path they walked upon.

"Strange…" she murmured, mostly speaking towards her feline friend, "Is that even possible?" Her cat meowed in response, nudging her head from behind. It was odd, and very strange for a gallery to be this far up in the mountains. It was unheard of. And an entire group disappearing without a trace? "Impossible." She spoke a little too loudly, perhaps more than necessary. Still, she was there to see some art, and whatever 'adventures' the flyer itself had claimed.

Her gaze switched between a couple of ponies that were just in front of her - one that appeared to be wearing a mask… perhaps, not even a pony? She noticed the tail, much different from the rest of the pack, and different in physique. To her right was another, an orange mare with a limp. As slow as the group was going, she appeared to be falling back just a little.

"Would you like some help?" She asked her, not sure what she could do to assist her but offered regardless. It would be a pity if she was left behind as the travel had been quite long and tedious. Raven hadn't exactly paid much attention to who was around her until now, and maybe it was because they were nearing their destination. The need to get to know those who were in the group gripping her in a strange curious manner.

But it was at that moment she spoke, that another came swooping in from the mountain side, and the dust picked up had her tugging the corner of her hood to her face, eyes narrowing as their visibility was clouded. No sooner was it, that the dust settled immediately to the ground that a large goatish figure stood fairly tall amongst the rest of the group. He was quite intimidating with his two large horns,not unseen of from her own journeys, but fairly different from the average goat that lived in Equestria and beyond.

"How odd..." She commented quietly, to no one in particular, but perhaps the two that were around her. "I have never seen such a creature before in my life." Raven was curious, and this one had a flyer in his hand, and she wondered - where had this newcomer gotten a hold of the tour information? Surely, a creature such as himself didn't go into small towns such as Ponyville all too casually without the notice of residents documenting it. Still, she was awed and even more intrigued by him than anything else. If he wanted to join the group, who was there to stop him? He seemed like a polite creature, albeit quite dramatic with his entrance.

This tour was getting more and more interesting, with the varied personalities amongst their group.

[waxworks]

A large ibex suddenly coming into existence on a mostly isolated mountain path was unexpected and rather a shocking event. Of course most of the ponies gathered were surprised, but the one that had been walking down the path backwards was significantly more startled. Waxworks let out a shriek and shot into the crowd like a bullet, vanishing amongst those gathered for a moment before peering back out with a sort of manic, giggling enthusiasm.

"Ooooh, that was a GOOD one! I totally didn't see it coming! At all!" Her bubbling eagerness was temporarily corked at the query, to which she happily responded, "and of course you can come along with us! The more the scarier!"

The crowd was still recovering from the unexpected new guest, but Mezcal was staring in some amazement at A'Bek. She overheard a dark pony near her comment about never seeing such a thing before in her entire life, and Mezcal had to agree for the most part. The cow leaned towards the pony and whispered, so as not to be rude.

"I think it is a goat... but iy yi yi... that is the tallest goat I've ever laid my eyes on!"

"He sure is!"

A hissing additional whisper from the other side of Raven and Mezcal made the cow jump with a start. Waxworks was still moving through the crowd, taking the time to eagerly look over her guests while she was amongst them. She snuck at high speed amongst the group while waiting for the ibex to get settled in with the group, when she suddenly spotted a particularly interesting Cutie Mark amongst them all.

"A paintbrush? OOOOOOOoooooooo." Waxy's coo was that of wind blowing through a dead tree, "are you an artist? This is JUST the place for an artist!"

She backed out of the crowd to resume her place leading them, grinning. "Most of you are probably wondering about the gallery we're heading towards. Bet you're thinking, 'what's so scary about a painting?' or 'I bet it's just a bunch of drawings of kooky looking ponies.' But that's not it, nope nope not at all!"

Her reverse gait resumed, as she returned to her place in her narrative, hungrily looking at everypony following her.

"You see, there are all sorts of artists in this world. Some work with paint, some work with clay, some work with wax. But there are some... who work with magic. And not just simple magic, nononono. For a time, there was a movement in enchanted painting implements. Enchanted easels, charmed palettes, spellbound paint, cursed canvases, mystical brushes. It was an entire revolution of preternatural paintings from all over Equestria, and there was none more prolific than one particular artist, called Mesmer Van Grip. He was a unicorn that worked in every medium you could imagine. Statues, paintings, installations, busts, ceramics, you name it, Van Grip worked it in magic."

There was a strange, somewhat clammy wind starting to eek through the mountain pathway, and their collective journey seemed to be drawing them closer towards it.

"Que... what is... that?" Mezcal pointed into the distance.

The path seemed to have finally reached some sort of destination, as a building that could best be described as an art deco rubix cube with windows that had been left unsolved and still somewhat unaligned. It looked to be three stories worth of building, crafted and sculpted to be some sort of glittering monolith to all things artistic. But all of the years of wear and tear it should've had layered upon it seemed... hesitant. Instead of looking clean or dirty, the building had the odd distinction of looking as though there was a sensation of eager grime and dirt just waiting to leap onto the walls and windows when nopony was looking.

"That," said Waxy with some blazing gravity, "is the Great Gray Gallery."

[ForgottenExistance]

Their collection of ponies was a strange group to begin with; ponies of every color and race, cows, and she was sure that there were a few goats among them. It was a big procession to be assured, and she was very curious as to what sort of ponies they all were. She hadn't been bothered by any of them trying to give her help when she didn't ask for it, but when the pony next to her asked if she needed some assistance, she was happy to know that there was help if she actually did need it. After long journeys, sometimes her legs got a bit stiff, which made it difficult to walk. But she was managing at the moment, so giving the pony a light smile, she shook her head, "No, but thank you darling, I appreciate it," she said gratefully before looking over to the newcomer.

Aurora blinked a few times in curiosity when the goat-like creature appeared. It was strange; tall and different from most goats in appearance, but similar in other ways. She would be bound and determined to draw it, if it didn't seem to be be determined to join them to their final destination. Though, the wave of dust irritated her already strained lungs, causing her to cough heavily for a few moments before the smoke screen had been cleared. Clearing her throat with a hoof at her mouth, she regained her stature and returned her curious gaze to the goat being. Noting his awkward wave, she was among the few to give him a small wave back, though she was more hesitant due to curiosity then anything. He was a strange creature, but the sudden appearance of strange creatures wasn't unheard of in Equestria, so she had no problem with him going along with them. She wasn't going to complain if there was another scholar who wanted to come along on their expedition to the Gallery, and especially when it was a chance for her to meet such a fascinating creature. Maybe if she was lucky she could even draw him.

Though, her curiosity was shattered after a moment by their strange guide who seemed to suddenly appear near her and comment on her cutie mark, causing her to jump in surprise. Whipping her head about to see their host with wide eyes of surprise, she gave a light laugh in response to the jump-scare, nodding at the comment before the host seemed to disappear from the crowd again. Let what there was to be said about their host be said, she was a strange sort of pony, but Aurora had to figure that nothing would ever be boring with her.

An eyebrow raising in response to their host's commentary about the magical nature of the artwork within the gallery. She of course had heard about other artists doing their work with magic, she had seen her fair share of artistic comrades doing their work with enchanted tools or with certain curses or charms in their work. But she had never seen anything that was to the significance of what their host was talking about.

Though her studies in the Artistic Conservatory though, she went through a stage of fascination with the magical revolution within the artistic scenery. It was interesting to read about and study copies of, but she had never seen the actual original works. She had only ever seen copies on flat pieces of paper done in ink and laminated, or done in mock clay and light paint. Aurora could honestly feel her enthusiasm bolstering in a hundredfold.

Stopping in mid-stride when the building came into view, Aurora's head perked up, the sight interrupting her thought process and glorious images of what could be inside the gallery. Tilting her head as she examined the building, she had to admit; it was an incredibly artistic building that seemed to have influences from either artistically genius ponies or potentially insane ponies. Though, was there really a difference between artistic geniuses and insane ponies? Well, Aurora didn't really think so, but as it was, the building could have easily been the result of a plagued mind or a gifted one.

Speaking softly to no one in particular, Aurora's eyes never came off the building, "Interesting... seems reminiscent of art styles from pre-Harmony, with modern touches. Like a veritable smorgasbord of organized chaos and aesthetic creativity. But yet, still incredibly organized... I wonder what the inside is like, and if the architect had the same idea internally as they did externally," she mused to herself excitedly as she wandered forward, keeping her orbs on the building in a mix of marvel and hopeful expectation. She was like a foal in a candy store at that point; except an artist in a long-forgotten-gallery.

[CableZ]

A'bek had merged into the tour group as it were, albeit near the back. He didn't want to obscure any pony's view so he stuck near the back of the group. Having let them walk past him before he began walking himself, he didn't really have any sort of companion or new pony to talk to. Frankly he had been in the area for a reason far removed from artwork but he vowed to experience more of Equestria and he knew how friendly these ponies were, as such he was trying to join in with things more. He walked up the dry dirt path with a happy smile, ignoring some of the amazed stares he was getting. This climate was more what he was used to, cold but not snowy. A'bek had never liked snow, it clumped in his fur and just got annoying. Quite odd for a goat but he prefer to keep his fur dry as it was a pain when it got wet as it had a chance of matting and he'd have to cut it off.

As he trod down his cloven hooves down, he kept quiet for the most part. He was walking fairly close to some of the most noticeable ponies in the crowd, he noted one that wasn't even a pony. A small cow was fairly visible, nice to know he wasn't the only non pony there, not counting the cat of course. The crowd seemed the usual flare of colourful and friendly characters that he had come to know as what made up the majority of Equestria, of course some just drew the eye more than others. Firstly there was that excitable white pony who had greeted him and had been leading the group, she was certainly...well energetic might be the word. Then there was the pony with the cat, the reddish wings were certainly an attention grabber. Then there was kind of artistic pony, she was close enough that he could actually hear here talking to herself which is what made her stand out. What she was saying brought a smirk to his face, she'd love to get a chance to see his home town.

There was no more time to think to himself however as his attention was brought to what it was the artist was actually talking to herself about, the gallery itself. He raised an eyebrow at the building, it certainly was a very strange design. This is the sort of thing he might have expected to see back in Manehatten, out here it was a little odd to say the least.

"Quite the...spectacle" He mumbled to himself, within earshot of Aurora at least.

Truly he wasn't sure what to expect in such a building, a building that was in itself was a piece of art was meant to house art. He still found it more than a little suspicious that it was so far in the middle of nowhere, he had found in this land of magic that something was always suspect with buildings like this, then again there was no reason to be paranoid and these ponies were a creative race. As they made their toward this great gallery as its known, A'bek was unsure as to what to expect, but he was looking forward to whatever it was.

[20monkies]

Raven’s gaze was still locked on the large Ibex, eyeing him all the more curiously. The goat had drifted to the back of the group, and it was no wonder. He was large, and his horns could prove a bit dangerous to innocent bystanders if they weren’t watching where they turned their heads. Not that the Ibex himself was dangerous – such natural wonders of the different species living amongst them tended to be unrealized for their own potential.

As her gaze locked with his, she raised a brow high up into her hood but nodded her acknowledgement to him.

“Indeed, he is a rather tall one.” She spoke back in reply to the cow beside her. Shifting her attention now, she smiled kindly at the masked fellow. “And you, yourself, stand out quite a bit with your outfit if I do say so myself. I am Raven Feather. It is a pleasure to meet you.” Raven’s voice was soft and gentle. She wanted to know who she was with, and wanted to introduce herself to those around her.

She was astonished by the variety drifting upwards and towards their fates – towards the Gray Gallery.

As the waxen pony continued her thrilling narrative and insight to the history of art, Raven shook her head. It could be true, for the most part, of enchanted arts and paintings. Unicorns had that ability, to magic life into their work if they had that strength and power.

“Mesmer Van Grip? An unfamiliar name…” she was now looking at the art pony that she had offered her assistance to earlier. The awe in her face as the building loomed ahead of them had Raven captured as well.

A rather strangely built building, appearing as though it was ready to topple over in a moments notice. The structure seemed safe enough, though, if the wax pony had said she’d taken a tour or two here before. What wonders lay ahead, she could only imagine the precious art waiting to be discovered.

“You are quite knowledgeable in the different art styles.” Raven commented again, a bit of excitement gathering in the pit of her stomach. Where there was knowledge to be shared, Raven was willing to learn and consume the information. “It’s true, though. It does look… chaotic in a manner, but organized strangely enough. As though a feather could knock it over, if it landed wrongly. I do hope it is sturdy and safe.”

The Ibex had spoken up from behind them, and Raven couldn’t help turning to smile at the other. He had been quiet the entire time and was now only speaking.

It was true – the spectacle of the building was remarkable. Many of the ponies surrounding them were giddy with excitement – some murmuring agreement, some nervous and ready to run away at the sight.

The knowledge of magical art and artefacts had them all on edge, in wonder at what was to come.

“I don’t believe anyone has seen anything like it before.” She just wanted to get going inside, after the cool wind was whipping their faces sharply. The warmth of the interior would be ever so welcoming.

Black, Raven’s cat, jumped off of her back and bounded through the crowd, disappearing to the front of the group. She wound herself around the waxen pony and padded most courageously towards the entrance, rubbing up against the structure. Raven took in a breath, hoping her pet didn’t do anything she wasn’t supposed to.

[waxworks]

"I am Mezcal," said the cow absently to Raven, staring in wonderment at the building, "la... vaca lucha..." She was so distracted that it came out sounding more like "I am Mezcal lava cow chow" but it seemed everyone else was so distracted that it didn't really matter. The building was a jarring contrast with the nearly featureless mountain-pass landscape surrounding it, and seeing something so colorful looming up in the middle of nowhere gave everything a surreal, dream-like quality.

Hearing Aurora's dazzling analysis of the artwork was the second strike of the one-two punch that was making the cow reel on her hooves. Everything was just happening so fast, but she was determined to stay afloat and keep up with everypony else. While she wasn't nearly as well educated as Aurora, she figured she could bluff well enough. She picked up on Raven's question and chimed up.

"So this Van Grip, he was the chunicorn that owned this place?"

"Oh, no no no," said Waxworks, looking up from a furiously cheerful nuzzling of a black cat that had wandered up to her. She had a particular fondness for stealthy black creatures. "Mesmer Van Grip came and went loooong before the Great Gray Gallery came into being. If he's still around, it's only... in spirit."

This was delivered with such delicately practiced timing that it seemed unfortunate no sudden crack of lightning accompanied it. Waxworks made a mental note to keep a weatherpony on call for these sorts of things in the future.

"The Van Grip collection was in the hooves of private collectors all across Equestria. Nobility, connoisseurs, artists, schools, it used to be that you couldn't walk five steps in a marble hallway without tripping over a Van Grip. But that all changed, when they held the exhibition."

The waxy white pony leaned down to nuzzle the cat again, and used her snout to nudge her knowingly.

"See, the Great Gray Gallery had no permanent collection. They'd move traveling exhibitions in and out from all across Equestria. Since it was centrally located, it was a great chance to see things from half a world away without taking a year to do it. So one day, some collector suggested they exhibit some of his Van Grip collection. Well it just so happened another patron also had some, and they got to talking. 'Wouldn't it be great', they said, 'if we could display all of it? Every single piece, from all across Equestria, gathered together for the first time ever? Ponies would come from everywhere to see it! A once in a lifetime event, the entire Van Grip collection, together!'"

Mezcal shuddered a bit. She swore there wasn't any wind blowing, but there was differently a cold draft going down her back. The cow threw a glance over her shoulder towards the ibex, another towards the pony that knew so much about art, and a small sidelong glance at Raven. She subtly coughed a little while looking upwards, using it as an excuse to sidle slightly closer to the raven-maned pegasus.

"Magic," said Waxworks, surveying the entire group giddily, looking somewhat frightened yet eager herself, "is a lot like cheese. It gets stronger with age. And if you get a lot of it in an enclosed space, it can get overpowering. There's a reason the Van Grip exhibition was the final exhibition to ever grace the gallery."

[ForgottenExistance]

The sound of the new arrival speaking next to her broke Aurora out of her mumbling, turning her attention to the creature who had spoken. He was a strange creature, especially with how tall he stood over just about everyone else, but she thought there was some sort of asthetic creativity to him. She'd have to ask if she could paint him one day, maybe before they all parted and she likely never saw him again.

Nodding once, she turned her head to the building again, "Mhm... Quite," she agreed, fighting the urge to sink back into her analytic mood. If that happened, she was pretty sure that she'd tune out to the guide and start jotting things down on whatever she could find just so she could organize her thoughts and try to make sense of the building. It was a giant puzzle made out of metal and glass.

Thankfully, the pony who had offered to help her before spoke up again, making sure that she wouldn't lose herself in the artistic center of her mind. Smiling slightly without turning her head, she nodded, "Mmm... Well, it is my passion. I daresay, as much as it looks like it might fall over, it's stood for this long. I can't imagine it's that delicate if it's lasted this long," she responded, sharing a quick glance with Raven out of the corner of her good eye before returning her attention to the building.

She was tempted to say that the thought of the building terrified her, that it was the result of an insane mind and that the best idea would be to forget about going inside. But the building was unique, the contents even more so, and there was no way that she would ever turn down an opportunity to admire long-lost art. Regardless of how unstable the building looked, there was no sense of dread or the feeling that she shouldn't be there; the only thing on her mind was how much she wanted to go inside and admire every single aspect of this long-lost structure with all the rest.

Though, this was rudely interrupted by the guide pony making a comment about magic being like cheese. Making a face and raising a brow after a moment of stunned thought, she couldn't help but wonder what their host's qualifications were. She thought that the white pony was more of a stand-up comedian, or a prankster rather than an actual guidepony. However, she did seem to be knowledgeable about the place that they were going to, so that was better then going in blind.

Rather than going in completely blind with no idea what they were getting in to, they were only going in half blind; with someone who had an idea of what the gallery was and it's history, but with absolutely no knowledge of what was inside or what they might expect to find. The thought entertained Aurora, being literally half blind herself. The thought brought an odd chuckle to her lips, which seemed to not fit the situation as the host spoke and quite clearly tried to terrify them, or at least talk-up the building and its history.

Breaking her gaze from the building, she took the moment to look at their guide, eager to get started and into the building. Standing around outside on a mountain was beautiful and refreshing, but she was far more eager to get inside and admire everything. Or perhaps get inside where the cow next to her wouldn't be shuddering. Mezcal, if she heard correctly. Though she swore she heard something about cow chow. Aurora didn't feel any wind or really cold to begin with, but that didn't change the fact that Mezcal seemed to react to an unseen cold wind. Regardless of the reasoning behind it though, she couldn't help but feel that the sooner they got inside, the better.

[CableZ]

A'bek didn't have much of a interest in art, at least not as interested as to consider it a passion. He was a druid, while he might be a normal person he had devoted his life to nature and its ways so he was a little pigeon holed in terms of his interests. Still that didn't mean he couldn't enjoy art, that was why he had decided to tag along after all. As they made their way to the strange but undeniably interesting looking building, A'bek took a scan of the crowd of ponies around him. Not difficult considering his height over them.

Certainly a colourful selection of characters, quite literally with ponies. He noted that one in particular wasn't actually a point, it might have been easy to miss that given the range of colours in the crowd and her similar stature to the rest of them, no she was a cow! Interesting, he had perplexingly not seen a bovine living among ponies yet. She seemed to be in some kind of getup, although what the point of it was was lost upon A'bek. The guide for this group seemed a little giddy, the white one who seemed like she had been left out in the sun too long. There was the artist whom had over heard his muttering, she seemed quite enthralled currently. finally one last pony stood out, the one with the cat near the cow. Ponies were always reliable to be friendly sorts, A'bek was very amiable so he knew he'd get on with them all swimmingly.

As they walked forward, A'bek's steps were slow between each other. While all the ponies trotted along, A'bek's huge leg clearance meant he really didn't need to take as many steps to keep up with the Equines. His leisurely gait was even more leisurely and that was just dandy for the easy going goat, being as large as he was he might have had large energy reserves but using them meant a lot of eating getting them back up.

A'bek wanted to inquire about their destination and saw that the guide pony seemed to be the most knowledgeable on that subject. Moving his way forward, easing his way past a few ponies who weren't about to say no to the giant goat. He moved his way to beside the white pony and looked down at her with a smile for a moment before looking back at the path ahead.

"Tell me, how do you know of this place, it seems very remote, especially if you are mostly coming from Ponyville." A'bek had one more curiosity that was raised with what she had said just a few moments ago. "..Also, what is this..Von Grip..excuse me, VAN grip you speak of?"

(OOC: OMG guys I am so so so so sorry it took this long to reply, I've been super busy and I just had no time. I owe you all an apology and a special apology to you wax!)

[20monkies]

Raven had stretched her neck out to keep an eye upon her cat, who was making friends all on her own at the front of the group, especially with their tour guide. She wasn't really worried since the cat tended to have a mind of her own, disappearing and reappearing at her own will. The only thing that troubled her was that no harm came to her companion. Raven's eyes were forward, but her ears were listening attentively.

"Mezcal. What a lovely name." It was a very different name, one she knew was more foreign than common. If the cow's accent and outfit hadn't given her away, Raven was sure she could blend in seamlessly into the colourful group. "A lucha?" She asked, eyes shifting back towards the cow for but a moment until she was captured by the history of the structure. There was a bit of anxiety building in her, and it was all thanks to the guide's meticulous method of explanation and teasing of the artist Van Grip. The colourful history of the artwork and private collections that were once hidden away made for a fascinating topic of discussion, Raven just had to know more about it. She was no expert in terms of names of artists or the vast styles of art, but she was intrigued nevertheless in these areas of interests. The beauty of art always captured her attention.

When she looked back at the one who was an expert in art, the pony who's name Raven had yet to learn, she smiled.

"You will be quite helpful to us ponies who are less knowledgeable, if there are some truths missing from our guide's words. I don't know why, but I have a really strange feeling about this entire expedition." She gestured towards the front of the pack.

In that moment, a warm body seemed to casually press by her side and Raven was a little startled by the contact, unable to help herself. It was the cow, and she was shuddering.

… cheese. Magic was being compared to cheese, and this was a rather amusing comment to be made. In truth, magic was uncontrollable if not handled carefully. It could mean that there was some untamed aura hiding behind these stone walls.

"I am going to assume that the Van Grip collection is still gracing the interior of this structure? Because it seems that maybe it is not here anymore, but perhaps the effects of magic is still present… why else would we speak of magic at all?" Why else would this artist's name be mentioned and the focus of their discussion? It was boggling her mind, and making it all the more desirable to see it for herself.

A larger body was making it's way through the crowd, and by automatic instinct Raven Feather moved to the side to make way for the Ibex. She looked up, to get a better look at his face and features and his actual height. Raven was tall for a mare, but she was not any taller than a stallion. The massive presence of the Ibex himself made for intimidating, despite his easy going expression and words.

A'bek had a point, and in the same manner Raven Feather hoped that the uncertainties and questions they had running through their mind would soon be revealed.

Her cat had made a point to continue to linger at the front, attempting a leap onto the Ibex out of curiosity but failing because of his height.

[waxworks]

Mezcal nodded in eager agreement with Raven. "Si, chu are like an oasis of knowledge, lighting up the darkness. I am Mezcal," she said with a sweeping bow towards Aurora, feeling slightly more spirited now that their ghastly guide was distracted dealing with their elongated guest. "Greatest Lucha Libre wrestler in all of Equestria... in training. If any of chu ponitas feel scared, do not fear, La Vaca Lucha is here!"

This was undercut significantly by her catching sight of the black cat leaping towards the ibex, causing her to give a momentary start and a brief cry of surprise. She'd not noticed the cat before, and suddenly seeing a small black shape leaping up from the ground towards one of the tour members had quickly slapped the fright back into her. Mezcal cleared her throat and attempted to compose herself about as well as a chicken can straighten the edges of a stack of papers.

Waxworks, meanwhile, had slowly fixed her sights on A'bek's chin, after craning her neck up towards him in a decidedly unnatural but exceedingly practiced nature. "Oh it's super remote, and really hidden away here in the middle of nowhere. Why, I bet a pack of pegasi searching for months wouldn't be able to spot this place without some kind of map."

She pulled out a flyer from just behind her. It looked a lot like the ones everypony else in the crowd had, but there was something slightly more worn about it.

"I wouldn't have known about this place either if I hadn't found this last week! Professor Clear Coating's Art History Tour of the Legendary Lost Great Gray Gallery!"

Waxworks pouted slightly, looking at the flyer, trying to unkrinkle the edges a bit before she decided that it looked decidedly more eerie when properly krinkled, and set about trying to rekrinkle the edges. "I wish I would've found this before Professor Clear Coating's group had left, but it got even better when they never came back like they were supposed to! So I went to the Ponyville Library and read up on everything about the gallery I could, and then I organized my own tour. I figured it'd be super scary to find out what happened to them and see the gallery! Just think, we might be following their fateful last hoofprints towards some unknown nightmare of inexplicable fear!"

She was bouncing as eagerly as a three-year-old who knew the cookies were almost done, and beaming like a lighthouse. Some of the members of the crowd seemed incredulous, other seemed confused. The blazing red cow was one of the second group.

"Que? Eh... ponita... is this what actually happened or is it part of the tour?"

The waxy white pony flashed a smile towards the cow and various other group members that gave off a distinct air of unease. The smile was swallowed up by an expression of surprise at sudden remembrance.

"OH! Oh oh, as for what Mesmer Van Grip was, he was a unicorn artist! Prolific! Powerful! Painstaking! But why just talk about his memory, when we can be surrounded by his very essence?"

With a swift and neatly placed kick towards the front of the building, there was a sudden, unexpected sound. It was stock and trade for ominous, foreboding places to open with a symphony of slow squeaks, but the Great Gray Gallery opened with the distinct sound of a champagne cork popping. The doors shuddered for a brief moment before swinging widely from the kick, and the air in the valley seemed to briefly flow towards the building to fill an apparent vacuum. It was as though the whole of the Great Gray Gallery was yawning as its entryway opened, Waxy's mane fluttering in the unnatural breeze.

She gestured towards the dim gallery within with a stretched smile, "first floor, paintings and sculptures, everypony in!"

[ForgottenExistance]

Giving a soft smile at the compliments, Aurora nodded her humble thanks to the two ponies before giving a soft response, "You flatter me dear Mezcal, I know only what I know. But I am more then happy to share what I know with all those who ask. And if you'd like anything filled in, you only need to ask me Raven. If there's anything I can ramble on about, it's certainly art," she said with a light hearted chuckle, turning her head towards the building again.

This act was really her doing her best to overlook the fact that the cow had jumped at the sight of the cat, allowing Mezcal to have at least some iota of confidence that she looked tough. Besides, who was she to laugh at the cow's fright after such a bold statement? Aurora wouldn't stand up for very long in a fight on her own, so she'd differ to the expertise of the cow, despite her apparent fright.

The prospect of an entire gallery of artwork that hadn't been seen in years was something that truly intrigued the older mare, and got her itching to adventure forth. She hadn't been that excited to see something since she had last visited Neighpon during the grand Festival of Fire. Of course, there was a stark difference between seeing a city lit up in candlelight and fireworks and seeing a whole collection of an artist who had never had more then a hooful of paintings in one place at once.

She wasn't sure which one she'd place more value on, but there was one thing that she couldn't deny; she was buzzing with excitement. Shifting the weight on her hooves, she hardly contained the energy that had her wanting to run up to the building and sprint inside. But, luckily, common sense held her in place while the guide pony talked to herself and the group about finding the flyer and doing her research.

However, this common sense seemed to fly out the window with the sturdy kick that their guide gave to the building, which resulted in the doors opening and the building all but breathing inwards. Regardless of the fact that the building seemed to be a vacuum, any sense of true fear was dispersed after realizing that the building was now in fact, open. This meant that they were going to go inside, and that meant that they were going to see artwork that few others in the wide world of Equestria had ever seen.

This meant that Aurora was now grinning like a child who had just earned her cutie mark.

Looking to the cow and the pegasus at her side, she tilted her head in the direction of the building, "I'm going to try to get to the front! Are you coming?" she asked excitedly, though in her usual gentle voice. While she wasn't going to specifically wait for the two friends she had just met, she felt like she should at least extend the invitation to them to go forward with her. It wasn't like she could just bolt through the crowd either, but at least letting them know would allow them to either maneuver forward with her, or stay back.

Turning her head to the building, Aurora began making her way through the crowd, not waiting for them to get moving towards the building. Some of the ponies she passed were already making their way forwards, others were still frozen in spot from the initial fright of the building opening and breathing in the air that had previously occupied the valley. Offering gentle excuse me or pardon me's to the ponies she squeezed past, Aurora eagerly made her way towards the front of the cluster, and by extension, closer to the enticing building's entrance. The childish grin never left Aurora's face as she made her way through the crowd.

[CableZ]

A'bek immediately looked back as he felt something trying to hop oon his back, obviously a little surprised and with a healthy kick of natural instincts that made his react very quickly.. However he instantly dropped his shocked expression when he saw a cute tiny cat, smiling happily he was content to let the cat investigate what it wished. Obviously being a druid, he had a natural affinity for animals, plus cats were pretty cute so there was that.

He turned back to Waxworks with a rather annoyed luck, he could understand enjoying the thrill of fear, but this pony seemed to have no grip on any kind of reality. She revelled in the idea that some poor ponies were missing, possibly even deceased.

"I'm all for the fun of fear, but you should keep in mind you are speaking of ponies losing their lives. It is no light hearted matter." A'bek didn't enjoy lecturing, however he had dealt with death and it should never be a mere excuse for somepony to enjoy being scared, they should always remember the loss. Still he didn't want to bring the mood down so he did not dwell on it.

With that rather impressive kick, the building opened. With the gust of of air that seemed to be sucked into the rather ominous building, it seemed as though the building had been closed for longer than it actually might have. Still there was little turning back now, t'was time to take the step into the threshold of the museum. However before he could, he heard a quiet little voice behind him and something softly nudge his side. Turning his head down to the side, he looked down and saw Aurora with a seemingly excitable grin upon her face. However the problem was that as they got closer to the door, the group had to pack in tight lest they walk into a wall. As such, A'bek had no means of moving to the side or out of her way to allow her to get to the front.

As they approached the door, A'bek had to crouch and duck down to actually get in and even then his horns scrapped against the old door frame. As they entered the old dusty building, A'bek coughed a few times as he accidentally inhaled some of the dislodged dust that his hooves had kicked up.