Horse Eden: Fun Horse Game For Equestrians

November 17, 2024 01:48 PM

Posts: 553
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(Pausing 42 and Cass until Diamond replies)

Tristan

Eon’s voice sliced through the air again, and Tristan instinctively held his breath, his body rigid with unease.

"You still don’t understand, do you?" Eon said, almost too quietly. The smirk on his face was a razor blade, sharp and knowing. "The question is not whether you trust me. The question is whether you’re willing to embrace the future. Or will you cling to the past, to the remnants of what you think is right?"

Tristan swallowed hard. His mouth was dry, his throat constricting as if he could barely get air into his lungs. He had always prided himself on his intellect, his ability to stay calm under pressure. But in this moment, with Eon’s chilling proximity, all his training seemed to fall away, leaving him raw, vulnerable, exposed.

Eon had crossed a line. He was no longer merely a mentor or colleague. He was something else entirely now. The glint in his eyes, that calm, unshakable confidence, was more than just arrogance. It was a predatory.

Tristand turned back to his monitor. "What would you like me to do?" He swallowed his fear. The fear for himself and the fear for his cadet.

November 17, 2024 01:50 PM

Diamond

Posts: 24
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The moment Cass’s cattle prod made contact with the entity, a crackling surge of energy shot through the air, splintering the eerie quiet of the cargo hold. The prod, designed to handle even the most unruly of creatures, hummed in her grip as it buzzed against the strange energy field surrounding the voidcrawler. But instead of a mere shock, the creature reacted with an unearthly, guttural sound—an unnatural blend of a hiss and a growl that seemed to vibrate through the bones of everyone in the room.

The voidcrawler seemed to pause for a split second, as though calculating the best way to respond. Then, with a flash of blinding light, its form seemed to unravel, like ink spilling in water. Tendrils lashed out, slamming against the walls, and the metallic hum in the air grew deafening. The entity screeched—an ear-piercing sound that rattled their teeth and made the very air vibrate with power. Then, just as suddenly as the chaos had started, the creature seemed to collapse inward, its form folding back in on itself, as though it were being pulled into a singularity of its own making. The humming reached a peak, sharp and biting, before—silence.The colours surrounding the creature shifted erratically, swirling into violent shades of deep purple and electric blue, the air thickening with an oppressive hum. The voidcrawler’s tendrils—whip-thin and impossibly long—jerked with sudden tension. Its once almost ethereal form solidified for a moment, as though it were pushing against the energy surge with all its might, before twisting and writhing in a violent display of its power. It released Calyx, turning it's attention to the crew- or rather the prod

November 17, 2024 01:53 PM

Posts: 1339
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Rosaline could feel the tension in the room before the words even left his mouth, a familiar weight settling in the air between them. Quixor, always so calculated, so distant, and yet... she knew him better than anyone. The way his thoughts churned beneath the surface—how they clawed at him. The war, the council, the advisors.

She could sense his unease, his restlessness. The battle lines were being drawn, the war looming like a storm cloud. It looked as though it might swallow him whole, the dead weight of his cloak dragging behind him like a shroud. His empire, his war, his very *control*—all of it hinged on a fragile future he couldn’t yet grasp. He was a man cornered by his own ambition.

But she knew better than to let him spiral too deep into his mind. She could feel the fragments of his thoughts like a storm brewing in his chest. The Nexus. He hadn’t said it aloud, but she could almost hear it in his pulse, feel it in the rhythm of his breath. The one thing that could change everything.

He sighed, a deep exhale that seemed to carry more weight than the silence that followed. His eyes flicked to her, just enough for her to know she was seen, but not enough to make it feel like an invitation. But then again, Rosaline never needed an invitation. She had always been there.

“The crew...” he murmured, his words cutting through the fog of his thoughts.

She took a step closer, close enough now that she could feel the subtle shifts of his discomfort, the way his posture stiffened as if he were fighting the urge to turn his mind away from the present.

"Is there doubt?" Her voice was quiet, but there was no mistaking the steel beneath the words. Rosaline could sense the fragility of his state—the cracks in the armor that only she seemed able to see. The pressure of the heir, of the war, and now the fractured loyalty of the crew. He didn’t need to say more; she could feel it, the wariness in his voice when he spoke of them.

Her gaze never left him as she took another step forward, standing beside him now. "The crew has never been your *true* enemy, Quixor," she murmured, her tone low, soothing in the way only Rosaline could be when she needed to remind him of his own power. "You already know this. The only threat you face is the one inside your own mind."

His jaw tightened, and Rosaline could feel the resistance in him. But it was a resistance she welcomed. She had always known how to handle him when he was like this—lost in thought, and yet unwilling to confront the heart of his fear.

“The Nexus is slipping from your grasp,” she said, her voice firm now, cutting through the murky thoughts that clouded his mind. She didn’t need to ask him if he could feel it. She knew he could. The longer the shards eluded him, the closer he came to losing control of everything he had built. His empire. His war. *His future*.

"You need to make a choice, Quixor." Her voice softened, just slightly, but the weight of it hung in the air, pressing down on him. "You cannot fight the war and hold onto the Nexus at the same time. You need someone to hold the reigns while you... settle your mind."

She didn’t need to say more. She knew he would hear the implication. It was never just about strategy with Quixor. It was about control—his empire, his vision. But Rosaline also knew that control could not be sustained if he was constantly haunted by doubt. He needed a solid ground to stand on.

The crew, the war, even the Nexus... she could see the threads of them weaving through his mind, binding him tighter and tighter, and she knew it was only a matter of time before the strain would break him. Or worse, lead him to make a mistake.

And that was something Rosaline couldn’t afford. Not yet.

She didn’t need to say more. She could already feel the tension shift, the undercurrent of his thoughts slowly beginning to move, the way his gaze shifted back toward the holographs in front of him. Her presence—quiet, unwavering—seemed to anchor him. It was enough for now. She would wait.

The battle ahead was more than just one of weapons. It was one of wills. And Rosaline knew exactly which will she needed to keep close.

“Let them come,” she said softly, her words almost a challenge. “You will find your way.”

But *he* had to decide whether or not he would.

November 17, 2024 03:06 PM

Posts: 553
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Quixor

Quxior sighed, his muscular arms seem to relax as he drapes them over his chair. He still doesn't face Rosaline fully. Her words, softer now, a caress soothing his thoughts as he mulled them over one by one.

"What do you suggest I do?" He asks. He felt Rosaline shift her weight, as she relaxed. He knew she could only really do that around him, when they were out of sight of the crew, the soliders, the palace ambassadors.

He didn't move. He didn't want to startle Rosaline as breathed softly, closing the gap between them. Luckily for him, he had his desire quenched the night before, the sweet reminder of the woman who lay in the sheets, the morning sunshine brushing her face with a delicate warmth, as she lay in the brothel, that he'd left behind om Valthara.

His thoughts drifted back to Rosaline and the familiar hum of the ship. Like a cat purring, it satisifed his senses in other ways. The battle was yet to come...

Experiment 42

42 paused momentarily. The energy convulsed around it. It was like a layer to the fabric of its reality. It could sense and hum and strike its own tune but not one that was on the same plain of existence as the creature in the cargo hold.

42 twitched. A piercing shriek, even this creature writhed in. Finally, the chain snapped.

It had, had enough of the torment this creature on board had presented it with. In a blinding fit of rage, it lurched towards the door, the grip under its body and talons was chaos. The thin membranous wings that jutted from the arms helped propel itself along. It halted at the door, sizing it up, sniffing. It turned its blue gaze, that of a predator, towards the controls for the door. Without opposable thumbs it could not operate it. So inside, it used its razor sharp talons and started to claw through the metal, using its teeth to warp and twist it, as it started to make a sizeable hole.

The head of the creature testing the size every now and then to see if it would fit. 42 kept quiet during its work. The energy, it desperately sort after was quiet now. The hole getting bigger and bigger...

Cassiopeia

Cass recoiled in fear and pain. The loud screams of the creature, made everyone duck, holding their ears. Cass didn't let go of the prod. She evaluated the creature, as it kind of recoiled into itself? The captain collasped on the floor. She rushed to his side, as other crew members step up beside the creature. "Get that thing under control" She snapped, looking from it, to her crewmates, to the captain. She evulated his condition. "Zyxir, get him out of here" She said to him. He nodded and lifted the captain as they retreated away from the creature.

Cass once again faced the creature. "Time for you, to go back in your box" Between the three crew members that now faced it, they used the prod to lure and push it back towards the box it came out of.

(Sorry it's short)

November 17, 2024 04:13 PM

Posts: 1339
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ROSALINE

Rosaline felt his presence like a weight settling over her, the quiet hum of the ship and the soft rhythm of his breathing lulling her into a state of rare stillness. She glanced at him, but only briefly, her eyes tracing the curve of his silhouette, the way his posture had softened, the tension slipping from his shoulders. The softness in his tone, his words, even the way he’d asked—there was something about it that made her feel the pull between them more keenly.

"What do you suggest I do?" His question lingered in the air, and for a moment, Rosaline wondered if he truly sought her advice or if it was just another way for him to seek her out. Either way, she was here, and the silence between them wasn’t one of discomfort but of something deeper, more intimate.

She shifted slightly, leaning back in her chair, letting herself relax fully, knowing he wouldn’t take offense. She wasn’t certain what to say, though. She couldn’t just give him an answer. Not this time.

"What you always do," she said at last, her voice low and steady, as though the words had been lingering on her tongue for longer than she'd been willing to admit. "You face it, Quxior. Head on. Like you always do, but this time... not alone. You don’t have to do everything on your own, not anymore."

The weight of the words seemed heavier than she intended, but they felt true. A truth she had known for longer than she'd let herself acknowledge.

She heard his breath catch, but she didn’t dare look at him. She couldn't. It would ruin the moment, the delicate tension between them. Instead, she allowed herself to lean forward just a fraction, just enough that her presence would be felt, that he would know she was still there. Still with him.

And maybe, just maybe, he’d let her stay.

CALYX
-passed out-

EON

Eon’s smirk widened at Tristan’s words, the answer unfolding in his mind even before the question had fully formed. He could see the struggle within him, that final shred of resistance clinging to what was familiar, what was safe. But it was so obvious now—Tristan had already crossed the threshold. He just hadn’t realized it yet.

Eon stepped closer, the soft sound of his shoes on the floor almost too loud in the silence between them. “It’s not about what *I* want you to do, Tristan,” he murmured, his voice smooth as velvet, a stark contrast to the cold bite of his words. “It’s about what you *can* do. What you will do, when you stop pretending you don’t see the inevitable. Because it’s already here.”

He paused, letting the weight of his gaze sink in, the silence stretching between them like a rope pulling them toward something irreversible.

“Do you want to be a part of the future?” Eon’s voice was sharp now, the edge of a challenge slipping through. “Or are you going to waste yourself on the illusion of a past that can never be reclaimed?”

November 18, 2024 09:40 AM

Posts: 553
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Quixor

Quixor set his gaze upon her. Really looked at her this time. The azure ring of his irises pulsed as if they had a mind of their own.

His eyes drank in her form, her casualness, as she relaxed into her chair that she'd sat in opposite him. He waved away the hologram as he looked at her further.

Thirsting for more of her words. The air intense but it was somehow different than before.

The battle plans had been baked into his mind, he was ready. This was it. The next step. The'd commanded the generals in position but they wouldn't strike until the time was right.

A faint glow with a low vibration hummed at his desk. The engineer on the bridge was summoning him on comms. Quixor looked at Rosaline once more before activiating it. "Captain, we've picked up a strange energy reading, its not one I've seen before" Quixor's gaze hardened on Rosaline.

"We will be right there" And with that, Quixor made a motion to move. He knew it wasn't over with Rosaline. It never truly was.

Tristan

Tristan swallowed hard again. He listened to Eon's words and then communicated with Neoma "I have word from command, its an anomaly Contain it" Was all he said. Swallowing again.

Once he'd received affirmation, he waited for Eon's approval, as if his actions to command the cadet to contain the problem was what he was longing for. He stared at the Doctor. His thoughts, as if Eon could control them somehow was an array of fear, confusion, and intimacy?

(Sorry for another short one - have a headache :( )

(Pausing Cass and Experiment 42 until Diamond replies)

November 18, 2024 02:23 PM

Posts: 1339
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Rosaline leaned back in her chair, an unspoken challenge in her posture as Quixor's gaze bore into her. She felt it, the weight of it—like something unseen threading between them. His eyes were the kind that could pry secrets from your soul, yet he never asked. And that... was dangerous.

The pulse in his irises was almost hypnotic, like they were alive, waiting for something, perhaps for her to slip, to give him what he wanted without him having to ask. But Rosaline wasn’t one to easily give in, even when the air hummed with something she couldn’t quite place.

She exhaled slowly, letting the tension fill the space between them, letting him simmer in it. She knew what he was thinking. He was always thinking ahead, calculating, probing for weaknesses. And yet, in this moment, the only weakness he might find would be his own curiosity.

The low hum from the desk interrupted her thoughts, and Quixor’s attention snapped away from her as he answered the call. Her eyes followed his movements, her mind already shifting back to the present situation. There was no real surprise in his words. Of course, something strange had been detected. They always found something strange when they were this close to the heart of the operation.

But Quixor’s gaze… before he turned to leave, it lingered. And that was what she didn’t trust. There was always more with him, always that extra layer beneath what he said. She straightened slightly, a cool, calculating smile tugging at the corner of her mouth as she stood.

"Shall we?" she said softly, the challenge now clear in her voice.

November 18, 2024 03:42 PM

Posts: 553
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Quixor

Quixor entered the bridge, Rosaline following in from behind. The journey on the elevator had been a quiet intimiate tension building within the confined walls of the small space as it carried them upwards towards the bridge. Only when the doors open, did the air seem to cool around them, the gaze broke from each other, as Quixor's heavy boots thudded onto the all familiar bridge of the Vanguard.

The voice of the engineer, a deep-voiced officer by the name of Lorian, crackled through the device. "Sir, we're detecting a strange energy signature—it's unlike anything we've encountered in this sector. Its frequency is fluctuating... almost as if it's... alive."

Quixor's eyes narrowed. His mind raced, calculating the implications of this unknown energy. A threat? A beacon? Something else entirely? His thoughts collided briefly with the image of the Nexus on the hologram. Could it be?

“Understood,” he replied, his voice a steady pulse of authority. “Prepare for full scan.”

He looked at Rosaline, to see if she would command his crew as much as he did. Did she know what he wanted? The battle brief was self explantory yesterday, the commands but this... this was something else entirely. A sudden diversion to their plan but if this turned out to be what he thought it was, it could all work out in his favour.

"Captain" A pause as Quixor swung his head round to meet Lorian's. "The energy signature is coming from a planet known as Alpha-7" He paused again before continuing "This is in sector 2270, Coalition space" His face turned into a grimace. Quixor stood tall now. He looked back at Rosaline.

"Time to investigate" Was all he said before the crew jumped into action and the Vanguard rose steadily out of Valthara's orbit.

The crew directed the Vanguard to the familiar blue flashing lights, the bright blue of the main intergalactic gateway for them to jump to the nearest gate to Alpha-7.

"Battle stations" Quixor said low and gruff to Rosaline. "Guns ready" He turned to Rosaline "Make sure we have cloaking online as soon as we are out of range from the gate" His words stern. "We are treading into enemy territory".

November 18, 2024 04:04 PM

Posts: 1339
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**Rosaline’s POV**

The door to the bridge slid open, and Rosaline stepped in behind Quixor, her boots making no more sound than a whisper against the floor. The journey from the elevator had been a strange one—quiet, almost unnervingly so. The tension between them, unspoken but heavy, had been hard to ignore. Rosaline’s hybrid senses had been keenly attuned to the subtle undercurrents of emotion, even when neither of them had said a word. She felt it—the weight of whatever was lingering between them. A subtle strain that neither of them addressed. But it was there, and it pulsed with every beat of her heart.

As Quixor strode forward, the cool, sterile air of the bridge welcomed them, but the unease did not fully dissipate. Rosaline’s mind sharpened as Lorian’s voice crackled through the comms. The engineer’s words had an unsettling clarity to them. "Sir, we’re detecting a strange energy signature—it’s unlike anything we’ve encountered in this sector. Its frequency is fluctuating... almost as if it’s… alive."

A flicker of unease rippled through Rosaline, but it was gone as quickly as it had appeared. She was used to uncertainty in their line of work. What she wasn't used to, though, was the way Quixor’s expression shifted so subtly—a tightening in his jaw, a narrowing of his eyes. The man was calculating, always thinking several steps ahead. But even he wasn’t immune to a momentary flicker of uncertainty.

Her gaze lingered on him as he processed the news. She didn’t need to hear the battle brief or be reminded of their mission. Quixor had already shifted his focus, and Rosaline felt it—the shift in momentum. This was something else. Something unforeseen. Something bigger.

She stood silent as he turned his attention to her, his eyes flicking over her for the briefest of moments. She met his gaze, unflinching. There was no need for words. She understood. Quixor wasn’t asking her if she understood what needed to be done; he was measuring her reaction. Would she act in sync with him? Would she follow his lead in the chaos that was about to unfold?

The engineer’s report on the energy signature being tied to Alpha-7, Coalition space, confirmed what Rosaline already suspected. The stakes had just risen.

Her hand instinctively went to her face, where the smooth, glimmering gems just below her temples pulsed faintly. Blue. Calm. Calculated. But she could sense more now—something beneath Quixor’s stoic expression. His calmness hid the turbulence of thoughts racing just below the surface, thoughts that she could read in the subtle shifts of his energy. He was on edge, but he was holding it together. Just barely.

When Quixor gave the order to investigate, the bridge came alive with motion. The crew of the *Vanguard* was a well-oiled machine, moving with practiced precision, executing their captain’s commands. Yet, Rosaline's mind never fully left the moment when Quixor had looked at her. She saw the unspoken question in his eyes. Was she ready? Was she in control? In this, he was the one used to commanding, used to being the one others followed without question.

But Rosaline was no stranger to the weight of leadership herself.

"Battle stations," Quixor’s voice was low and gruff, filled with the seriousness of the command. “Guns ready.”

She nodded, her response a sharp, quiet affirmation. “Aye, Captain,” she murmured, her voice steady despite the underlying rush of adrenaline that coursed through her. The *Vanguard* was already on its course toward the jump gate, and she was already anticipating the worst. But this wasn’t just about the mission anymore. It was about something else, something deeper—and she could feel it vibrating through her chest like a second heartbeat. The tension in the air wasn’t just from Quixor’s command; it was the very fabric of something bigger coming into play.

“Make sure we have cloaking online as soon as we’re out of range from the gate,” Quixor added, his tone harsh, warning.

Her fingers danced across the interface at her side, issuing commands as her mind stayed sharp, pulling her focus back to the immediate task. Her pulse was steady, but beneath her skin, her alien side buzzed with an energy that made her hyper-aware of the atmosphere around her. She was in full command now, just as Quixor had always expected her to be.

But she could also sense something else—a shift in the crew’s energy. Some were tense, others uncertain. A few were eager. She could feel the wavering thread of doubt in the air, but she didn’t let it show. She’d been second-in-command long enough to know how to rally them, how to mask the fear before it took root.

As she turned back to face Quixor, her mind went through the calculations once more. The Coalition. The unknown energy. The planet Alpha-7. Everything was aligning toward something. But what? She couldn’t ignore the knot of unease in her stomach, and she didn’t try to. She’d learned long ago not to ignore her instincts, especially when they screamed at her.

Her gaze lingered on Quixor for a beat longer than usual. He was still the captain, still the one who led them. But for the first time, Rosaline wondered if his confidence was rooted in certainty—or if, like her, he was simply doing what needed to be done, without fully understanding the consequences.

The *Vanguard* slipped through the jump gate’s bright blue light, heading toward Alpha-7 and whatever awaited them there.

Rosaline’s gaze flickered to the holographic map as the stars bent around them. She had to stay focused. There was no room for doubt.

"We’re ready,” she said softly, but with a weight that carried all the authority needed.

Her eyes glinted briefly, a flash of blue across the gems on her face, as she turned to handle the operations. Her empathic abilities would guide her in this mission—but they also made her all too aware of the risks, the uncertainties, and the storm that was fast approaching.

The *Vanguard* was on course, but Rosaline could feel the pull of something far darker ahead. She could sense it in the hearts of her crew, in the pulse of the ship itself—and deep within her, where the mix of human and alien coiled tight. Whatever this was, it was far from over.

November 18, 2024 04:48 PM