Unbound CYOA #1

>>29924259
Cogs. Cogs. Cogs spinning. Steam! Steampunk? Cogs?

The fleeting ember slipped from my mind before it could ignite a memory. It would not come again no matter how hard I tried to concentrate, leaving only empty thoughts, hollow and dark. My emotions swell up and I scream in pitiful defeat to no one but myself. I feel as though I could burst into tears at any moment but no tears fall from my lifeless eyes. Can ghosts even cry? Apparently not, assuming that I even am a ghost. Exhausted by this entire experience I sink to the floor in despair.

"What is this place? Why am I here?"

The matte-finished crimson sphere confounds me for several reasons. First, the material feels cool to the touch like marble or iron. The fact that I can interact with it at all is the second question it poses. If I were a ghost couldn't I just pass through things like in the fairy tales we tell yearlings? Third, it makes no sound when I tap on it. It's as if it absorbs it all, devours it. The thought unnerves me. I thank my lucky stars I-

"THERE. YOU. ARE."

My heart- Well, if my heart HAD been in my chest it would have exploded from the palpable fear that thoroughly compressed my body from within and without. The booming voice seemed to come from everywhere and yet nowhere and thundered like a thousand cannons firing at once in my head.

Cannons. Cannons. Explosions. Invasion! FIRE IN THE HOLE! Fear. Another useless fragment of memory pops into and out of existence.

"YOU. ARE. MINE. FOREVER."

I reel on the floor as my thoughts are shredded by this all-encompassing voice invading my mind. I groan in agony as I grasp the lantern to by body all the tighter for fleeting security.

>>29924263
"ONCE. HERE. FOREVER. HERE."

As the force of the disembodied voice overpowers me, the flame within my lantern flickers precariously. My eyes grow wide with undiluted fear as the darkness begins to reclaim me.

"No-no-no! Don't go out! Oh please, no!"

"MINE. MINE."

I shake the little lantern, banging frantically on the frame as if I could somehow coax it to stay lit, pleading, praying for a miracle. The ichor-thick darkness creeps towards me like a sludge, ready to envelop me as the voice becoming more and more possessive, commanding.

"MINE."

And then I see salvation in a chance glimpse into the flickering flame. As the dim fire leapt around its housing I saw flashing images of those thoughts, those memories, I could not place earlier. One was of an alley, medieval brick buildings lining a cobblestone pavement leading out into a bustling street filled with ponies like me, the other a damp metal corridor rocking with concussions, klaxons wailing in the distance. One flame, two paths.

"YOU. CAN. NOT. ESCA-"

And just like that I was free of the infernal womb, drawn within my metal and glass savior to somewhere else. My impossible journey had begun. Or was I merely continuing it? I was determined to find out the answer even if it killed me. Again...

http://www.strawpoll.me/12799615

>>29924264
Interesting writing style. Lets see if this is a branching CYOA book type story.

interesting. Ill see where this goes.

out of curiosity how long are you planning to wait per strawpoll before continuing?

>>29924299
I somewhat doubt every post will be a strawpoll.

>>29924322
probably not but CYOAS do tend to have options come up often enough that i feel its legitimate question for if he plans to use it more.

Im fine with whatever time he says too honestly, was simply curious still how long he planned to let it sit when/if he uses it.

Well that's terrifying.

>>29924264
WOW. What a read.

Well. Time for me to vote.

The wait continues.

That's one hell of a start.

Episode day bump

>>29928113

>>29928826

You better not have left us bump

>>29930350
see
>>29924336
>A few days. I considered making this a weekly continuous story, but I might shoot for bi-weekly. It all depends on my free time from work.
If you're expecting normal, or even daily updates you're going to be disappointed.

>>29930408
Oh, well I'll be patient then

beb

>>29931737
L-lewd

>>29932292
no u

>>29931737

>>29933426

>>29934050
The CYOA sounds good but the update delay is gonna break its neck desu

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spoopy

>>29935281
2spoopy

Should we be bumping this, or should we just let the qm make a new thread since it's going to be a while between updates?

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>>29935648

>>29937435

>>29938145
This is dead anon.

>>29938154
Never

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>>29924264
Within the blink of an eye I was thrust out into the alleyway, my lantern floating idly nearby. I quickly gathered myself and lunged to reclaim it, clinging to it tighter than ever. "I sure don't wanna lose you," I exclaim with a relieved chuckle. "You okay?" I carefully fondle the object over in my hooves, inspecting it for any damage. Inside the well-worn housing the bluish flame flickered softly as if in response to my query. "Alright then. Let's see where we are."

Slowly I float down the alley and peek out into the busy street. Various ponies dressed in longcoats and utilitarian harnesses travel about this open air market purchasing goods and socializing with each other. Copper and brass pipes of many sizes crisscross from building to building overhead, balloons and banners dominating the skyline above. The occasional gout of steam can be heard hissing from valves and whistles within the metal tangle.

This steampunk setting comforts me with its familiarity, as if I were returning home from a long journey. I wonder if that's why the lantern brought me to this place as opposed to the other one I saw. My other vision, the damp metal walls, the loud sirens, filled me with anxiety when I saw it. The lantern might have felt it too and sent me here instead. Either way I'm glad to be free from that terrifying metal ball I woke up in.

Speaking of terrifying, I hope I don't scare any of these ponies when I come floating out at them. I slink back into the alley for a moment to consider my options. Settling on a less direct approach, I patiently wait until someone wanders by so that I might gain their attention in a slightly more gentle manner than outright spooking an entire crowd.

>>29939195
After a few minutes a young filly finally happens to trot by. "Psst! Hey!" She walks by without noticing me. A pair of stallions engaged in scholarly debate stroll by moments later. "Hey! Over here!" Nothing. Feeling bolder I partially float out of the alley and whistle at a passing mare dressed in flamboyant head ware. She continues on her merry way none the wiser. I pretty much assume at this point I'm definitely a ghost. Being dead aside, I suppose being a ghost does have its advantages when you're trying NOT to be noticed by anyone else. Overcome with childish mischief, I openly float above the center of the marketplace and howl ghoulishly as I hold my metal companion aloft menacingly.

"Beware, you ponies! For I, the ghost pony queen, have come to haunt your snack carts! OooOOOooo!"

"AAAAHHHH! NOOOOO!"

I jolt from the startling scream below me, fumbling and nearly losing grip on my lantern. As I quickly scan the crowd I see a young filly carrying a little shopping basket and running full tilt down the street. "CRAP!" Go figure. I scare away the ONE pony who could actually notice me and who might be able to give me a clue as to where I am! I hold my lantern tight and fly as fast as I can to try and catch up to her.

"W-WAIT! I'm not going to hurt you! Or haunt your snacks! I PROMISE! Please!"

"AAAHHH! AAAHHH! AAAHHH! GO AWAAAAAY!"

But it's no use. The little filly runs far faster than I, screaming and crying down the cobblestone road where I lose her in the crowd and maze of steam pipes. I sigh and hang my head. "Guess it's still just you and me then," I say as I pat the device gently. But perhaps my failure was a blessing unto itself; though the mid-day sun made it hard to notice, I just happened to discover my lantern's flame was growing dim again. I quickly fly into the shade of a web of pipes and carefully peer into the housing.

>>29939211
"Oh no! It's happening again, isn't it? What should I do?"

"Concentrate. Remember."

Though the lantern doesn't make a sound I hear the words crystal clear in my mind. I obey and stare deeply into the light as it forks and splits into visions once more. In my mind's eye I see what appears to be a dark cave with various statues carved into the walls. An eerie buzzing sound accompanies the sight. The other is a cliffside overlooking the ocean. It's very high up, possibly on a mountain. As the flame extinguishes I am dragged into the lantern yet again for destinations unknown.

It was this moment in which I began to unravel the mysteries of my metal companion. Not only did it serve as a light source but also as a timer of my stay in each of the places it brought me. That made it all the more terrifying when I realized the timer was diminishing each time it reset...

http://www.strawpoll.me/12814530

>>29939231
>That made it all the more terrifying when I realized the timer was diminishing each time it reset...
I find this a little odd.
how could we possibly work this out after only a single jump.

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>>29939316

>>29939195
Ghost pone a cute

>>29939367
What is this, a spoiler for ants.

>>29939417

>>29940335

Bumping so I won't have to worry about this falling off the board.

>>29941488

bimp

>>29944685

>>29945399

Bampo

>>29939384
Blowjob.

>>29939231
Hugging the lantern tightly I materialize over the cliff side overlooking the ocean. Quite literally. I let out an instinctual squeak of fear for the briefest moment, forgetting that I float in the air. I quickly dash to solid land anyway just in case that decided to suddenly change without my input. It's a good thing I'm a ghost, though, because I definitely would've peed myself looking down, down, down to the foaming waters below. I apparently hate heights.

"Hmm. I wonder if that's how I died."

It's a clear morning wherever I am, few clouds, pretty blue sky. Aside from the sound of the wind and the churning waters it's pretty quiet here. I float up the path along the rocky cliff as it passes through a small grove of trees, their leaves rustling in the breeze. Shortly after I see a gated wall built into the mountain pass, beyond that a small mountain village.

Eager to explore my surroundings, and with little else really to do, I non-corporeally pass through the gate and wave to the sentry pony with deepest thanks for his unconditional cooperation. He doesn't wave back obviously. Inside the walls lies a small village with cozy-looking homes. Clay pottery, cloth windsocks and tiny metal chimes seem to be the de facto theme for decorating in this village but there are plenty of canvas tents and tarps everywhere too. Perhaps this village is a trading depot of sorts.

>>29947656
"Huh. That's strange," I note to myself. Up until now the lantern had sent me places that invoked a sense of familiarity, places I must've been before. But this little hamlet doesn't seem familiar at all. "What's up with that," I question the object in my hooves. Its wildly flickering flame was already almost diminished again and was all the reply I needed.

"Woah, woah! Already?! But we just got here!" I stared into the flame as it violently danced around its cage but the visions didn't manifest as I'd come to expect them to. "What's wrong? Hey! Are you broken?" The flame scattered and twirled, stretching out against the glass until bending over on its side against all normal physics.

"What is going on with y-"

"Hu... rry..."

"I KNEW IT! You CAN talk! What's your name? What's MY name? Why am I-"

"Huuurrr... rrry..."

"Hurry? To where? What do you mean?" The voice doesn't respond. "I-I don't know what to do! What am I supposed to do?" Silence. "You didn't give me any visions! What am I supposed to look at?" As the light continued disappearing I helplessly began to wonder what would happen if it ever went out but didn't ignite again. Would I be stranded in the last place I was to visit? Would I just poof out of existence? Or, worse, would I end up back in that dark red sphere?

I tremble with emotion. "WHY WON'T YOU SHOW ME WHAT TO DO," I cry out. But wouldn't you know my silent guide had yet another trick to unveil to me. As I floated around shouting like a fool the answer had been right under my nose the entire time. As I turned the device around in my hooves I discovered the flame stretched streight outward regardless of its orientation. This wasn't caused by some etheral draft or magician's parlor trick, it was because it was homing in on something like a compass, literally lighting my path.

"Oh! Okay! I get it now! J-just hang on, alright?"

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>>29947659
I fly as fast as I can, zipping through the village, passing by rugged nomads and caravans oblivious to my presence, following my spectral pointer. It leads me up a small stone path to a lonely little hut overlooking the ocean. The flame strobes and pulses almost like a heartbeat now, threatening to go out. I phase through the wall of the little home and quickly scan around for anything that looks like it could help a sick lantern.

"I'm here! W-what now? What do you need?" The lantern barely flickers as it spins 'round and 'round. "C'mon! Don't give up now! How am I supposed to help you if you don't tell me what-"

The entire building begins to shake, a humming vibration from below reverberates even through myself. Curious, I phase through the floor to discover a reinforced basement laboratory. A young purple unicorn with a blue and red mane stands on her hind legs in a mechanical apperature. Extremely violent and opposing energies arc about her body and she grits her teeth as she strains to stay upright.

As the energies crackle around me that feeling of slipping into another realm returns and my entire being is slowly dragged towards the conflux. "Is this what you want?" The force drawing on me is so great that it actually manages to pry the lantern from my grip. "No," I cry as the object sails into the vortex and is absorbed by the pony. She imediately notices the imbalance of power and screams in agony. Her eyes burn with raw untapped magic while at the same time I feel very, very light. Very... Ve... ry... Help...

http://www.strawpoll.me/12819119

>>29947877
Get the lantern back.

Uh oh. We're caught in the current.

>>29948778

>>29950403

>>29947877
Go posses her body.

bamp

>>29953071

>>29953954

>>29947877
The ghost has the most votes

>>29955329
well shit

>>29955329
Funny. Focus on the unicorn with ocasional cuts to ghost took an early lead.

>>29956417
Strawpolls can never be trusted.

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>>29947877
With a soul-wrenching flash I am disconnected from my lantern and thrust out into the most bizarre realm I've yet encountered. A sea of dust greets me and stretches for miles in all directions, occasionally sprinkled with giant, half-submerged crystal monoliths with pulsing veins choking their interiors. On the distant horizon a mountain range kisses a cloudless and quite majestic starry sky, home to a jet-black moon radiating a lightless aura across this shadowless land. But the supernaturally colossal alicorn dominating the entire landscape is what has my full attention. It stood silently on the horizon like a massive living sculpture, its wings held aloft effortlessly by windless updrafts.

I shriek in fear and take refuge behind the nearest crystal, praying the giant didn't see me. If I had a spine right now it would be frozen with the chills running up it. While I remain hidden and motionless the crystal beside me begins making a nearly silent moaning sound. This cry is joined by a few of the others producing a disturbing drone that echos across the desert.

"W-wha? Nonono! Shhh! Please! Don't tell it I'm here!"

The crystals pulse like a heartbeat for a scant second and then eject several ghost ponies of different types from inside. I recoil and curl myself into a little bundle of fear as these strange lifeless beings begin to wander aimlessly around without saying a word. One by one they seize up and begin to fall apart. The little pegasus colt, the elderly unicorn mare, the fat stallion - all turn to dust, contributing to the sandy sea in their final throes. A beautiful young filly turns towards me with dead eyes, her face suddenly upturning in a silent scream before her ethereal skin sloughs away leaving only the silent plume of motes where she once stood.

>>29959865
What followed next was me - for lack of a better term - flipping right the fuck out. I darted across the landscape aimlessly like a minnow fish attempting to outmaneuver a predator, screaming in unchained terror and ignoring any sensible thoughts regarding my lack of concealment. The monoliths would occasionally churn out more ghostly sacrifices which only served to propagate my madness. I can't say for how long this continued but eventually my upturned gaze met that of the colossus who cocked its moon-obscured head slightly out of curiosity towards me. I suddenly became all too aware of my exposure and genuflected in hopes of appeasing this monstrous lord of the land.

"Welcome back, my child," spoke the titanic pony with a surprisingly soft voice. Startled by the restraint such an imposing being could employ I nearly choked on my own words as they struggled to leave my mouth.

"W-w-where? Where am I," I feebly squeak out.

"As you were told before, this is The Umbral Valley."

"Before? I've b-been here before," I query with overwhelming disbelief. "Yes," the giant alicorn replied. Despite its commanding presence I found its answer a little far fetched. This isn't exactly the kind of place one would forget visiting. Well, unless they were dead.

"Am I... dead?"

"Yes. And no."

"I don't understand what you mean."

"Yes, you are dead. And, no, you are not dead."

"But how is that possible? How can I be both?"

"As you were told before, you are unbound."

>>29959870
"Unbound? What does that mean?"

Even though the alicorn's face remains completely obscured from view I instinctively know that it is staring at me with unquestionable seriousness. I cower back down in silent obedience.

"Life, death, time, space, you are unbound by these universal constants. In death you will find life, across space you will find time. You will end your journey where you began your journey."

"But I, I don't... What does all that mean?"

"As you were told before, my child, you will answer that question yourself."

I appreciate its confidence in my abilities but at the rate things have gone today, and without my lantern no less, I have my doubts...

http://www.strawpoll.me/12835383

>>29959876
we should ask if this is an afterlife. are the ghosts those who just died recently getting turned to dust?

>>29959876
What about my lantern?

>>29960124

>>29924259
>10

>>29958195

bimp

Are you the fag who said he was going to make a CYOA from whatever we posted then vanished?

>>29965807
No. qm already said in /cyoa/ updates would only be every few days.

>>29965837
Really? Because >>29959865 that image is reeeeally similar to the one he posted before vanishing a long time ago. Thought we were having some underwater adventure with our deer BFF.

>>29965875
No idea what you are talking about sorry. this is the Planeswalker qm.

>>29965922

>>29967679

>>29968272

>>29968974

>>29969902

>>29970685

>>29971611

>>29972419

>>29973307

>>29973988

>>29975712

>>29977045