private Deep Science 1x1 with Blitz Boom

[Blitz Boom 4,427]

@Illiad Easle

On 6/30/2019 at 1:21 AM, Illiad Easle said:

The shadow seemed to ponder Void's response, then shook its head. It did it's best to form the silhouette of a doe, then the shape of a small pony, then the shape of a hospital symbol, then the shape of an ingot, then the shape of a piece of paper, with an x in it, then the shape of the two sisters, before returning to the form it had when it first entered, it cocked its head to the side as if in questioning.

Void watched as the show went through a rather strange game of charades. Some of it seemed kinda obvious, yet other things were muddled and hard to interpret for her, which honestly made her a little frustrated, because this seemed important.

*sigh* Guess she just had to venture a guess and see what the creature would respond with? Not like she had much else of a choice, beyond ignoring it, and somehow that seemed like a really dumb idea. Even if the two of them could really use a shower about now... What a weird, chaotic mess today had become.

"So uhm... I g-guess you means Pen and that m-mechanical doe? Hospital s-symbol means t-they're getting help, or n-need it? The ingot I just... I dunno. Is t-the doe too b-broken? Is s-something missing? Is that w-why it looked l-like you wanted us to f-follow or find s-something?"

The treasure map for certain made it seem as if they were supposed to find something, but what exactly? Whatever it were, something told Void that they were not gonna get a shower, and that they might end up missing dinner... Not the best thing in view considering how little they had eaten the last couple of days.

[Illiad Easle 2,972]

@Blitz Boom

4 hours ago, Blitz Boom said:

I g-guess you means Pen and that m-mechanical doe?

The shadow nodded,

4 hours ago, Blitz Boom said:

Hospital s-symbol means t-they're getting help, or n-need it?

It nodded more emphatically,

4 hours ago, Blitz Boom said:

Is t-the doe too b-broken?

It shook its head,

4 hours ago, Blitz Boom said:

Is s-something missing?

It nodded again,

4 hours ago, Blitz Boom said:

Is that w-why it looked l-like you wanted us to f-follow or find s-something?

It didn't immediately react, it looked like it was thinking, before it shook its head. It pointed to itself, then made the map again, then pointed at them. Then it pointed at them and itself, formed the map, then took the form of a crown. It then took the form of a calendar with a week of space between a circled date, and an x'ed date. It didn't seem in any hurry, but it looked, slower, it tried to approach them, but was stopped by their curse, it instead went back to its charades, forming the map again, then a picture of fire.

Then their door opened, and the shadow hid itself as quickly as it had manifested. Behind the door was Selena, who looked concerned, but not directly at either of them, seeming to look for something in the shadows before finally looking at them, "Um, dinner will be ready soon, if you'd like to follow me?"

[Blitz Boom 4,427]

@Illiad Easle

Okay, so she felt like she were getting somewhere with this shadowy figure. Best bet she had right now from what were confirmed or denied, were that Pen and the mechanical doe needed help, and that would require a piece that were missing from the doe. Void barely grasped that a mixture of machine and deer existed, and now they had to find a part for her? Things were going to get difficult here, that were certain...

The map part were still somewhat confusing though. It kinds looked like it said that they should follow it, and that whatever their target were had something to do with royalty, with the last part meaning either a week of travel, or a week to try and save the deer. Something told her it would be the later, which were honestly not a whole lot of time. It were still vague though, and it seemed the shadow wanted to just drag them along rather than this too, but were stopped by the curse the two bore. They could perhaps work around it, but suddenly, it retreated as Selena arrived surprisingly quickly, as she had barely just left.

On 7/2/2019 at 2:20 AM, Illiad Easle said:

"Um, dinner will be ready soon, if you'd like to follow me?"

""W-We just need to w-wash up first, p-please? F-Five minutes."

They'd have to skip washing Void's stump and getting Null's wing preened, but even a quick shower would be better than nothing in taking some layers off them.

As she would move towards the bathroom, it would strike Void how it were kinda weird the way Selena looked when she entered. Eyes peering around the shadows like that... Did she know about the shadow creature? Why? And what were it to her? Vid would like to ask, but something told her that she wouldn't get an answer, or at least not a truthful one. She really did wish to think the best of this place, but... There was just something odd about Selena's behavior. Or perhaps she were just getting tired and were seeing things. Void weren't 100% sure right now.

[Illiad Easle 2,972]

@Blitz Boom

Selena shook herself from whatever was distracting her, "OH! Oh, yes, of course. Take all the time you need." Selena would leave them to it as long as they needed.

When they returned from washing they would find Selena waiting for them by the door, her gaze seemingly transfixed on a certain shadow in the corner of the room until she would notice them, and turn her attention back to them with a sheepish expression, "Sorry, can't be too careful you know? If you would follow me then?"

She would then lead them further down the hallway, to a double door at the end through which they could hear soft voices talking, including those of their parents and the Consul, as well as a voice they hadn't heard before, it sounded old.

When Selena opened the doors there was a large table that fit well in the rectangular room, the door facing the foot, and opposite them, at the head of the table, sat the Consul, who nodded at them with a smile before continuing to talk with an elderly, yet dignified earth pony stallion who sat at his right hoof. To the Consul's left were a pair of empty chairs, followed by their parents, who were talking with the general they had just met who was sitting to the elderly stallion's right. To the right of the General was the guard griffon that had met them in the lab, still wearing her sunglasses and not looking relaxed despite the cordial atmosphere of the room. She was also the only one not talking.

Selena would lead them to the empty seats between their parents and the Consul, who would then address them, "Void, Null, " he gestured to the stallion at his right, "This is Councilor Logs, Chair of the Trojan City Council, though you may have heard of him as the Leader at Troy."

The stallion cordially bowed to them, "I'm told you two have volunteered to save Hercules, that's quite noble of you. I and the city of Troy will be in your debt."

The Consul nodded, "Indeed, I hope we'll be able to discuss most of the details now, so that we can have this done as soon as possible, we have a number of pressing matters and the end of the Tar-Spawn will aid in end of those matters. They've nearly spread all the way down to South Port, if they're overrun we'll be cut off from Cervidas, again."

The leader put a hoof on the Consul's, "But that's not for here Illiad, we'll get to them, and they're strong enough to wait for us for a bit longer. Now," he turned to look at the sisters, "The Consul tells me that you two were rescued from a Deep Science facility? Were you two the only things to get out of that facility?"

[Blitz Boom 4,427]

@Illiad Easle

The bath were perhaps short, but it were very refreshing. And looking at the color of the water going off them, Selena had been right. They really had needed this.

It had taken a few minutes more since Void had to try and give Null's tail a bit more of a through wash, as whatever had gotten stuck in there, were making the hairs stick together pretty badly. It might've been blood or some sort of ooze from the looks of things, though the color really did speak more of blood. Perhaps she had gotten hurt and didn't notice? Void would have to check later, though right now, they had to get out and be on their way along with Selena.

It were quite a bit of way more than she had expected honestly, and during it, she were looking around at the varied things that lined the walls, curious as to the meaning of a few of the things, yet soon enough, they'd be in the main dining room, where her focus would be realligned more to focus on the presence of her parents, Illiad, and... Some elderly pony she had never seen before.

...This wasn't their grandad or something, right? That had never been thing when they grew up, as both their parents had said that their grandparents weren't alive, but so many other things had been lies so far so who could tell? Somehow she hoped that wasn't the case though. it would just make everything more complicated.

21 hours ago, Illiad Easle said:

"Void, Null, " he gestured to the stallion at his right, "This is Councilor Logs, Chair of the Trojan City Council, though you may have heard of him as the Leader at Troy."

Void's face sank some, and her eyes got a glimmer of fear in them as they were told that this pony were in fact, the actual leader of Troy. At least in title. All of a sudden, she'd wish it were the grandparent thing going on here actually, as that somehow felt like less of a stressful situation than having to be face to face with the second half of the leadership of Troy. *gulp* Guess she just had to hope that this one were on the same page as Illiad, yes?

21 hours ago, Illiad Easle said:

"I'm told you two have volunteered to save Hercules, that's quite noble of you. I and the city of Troy will be in your debt."

Void awkwardly bowed back, whilst Null just looked at him for a second before turning her attention elsewhere. Seeing this one couldn't get her riled up in the slightest.

"Uhm...Hello t-there? W-We hope we c-can get the j-job done and not d-disappoint."

Whilst the two leaders talked to one another, she grabbed her sister and placed her on a chair, where she'd sit and just keep her stare on their mother once again. It seemed she wouldn't cause any trouble here either.

21 hours ago, Illiad Easle said:

Now," he turned to look at the sisters, "The Consul tells me that you two were rescued from a Deep Science facility? Were you two the only things to get out of that facility?"

Oh boy, starting off with a harsh one, huh? Well... She could lie about this, but what were the point? They had already said that Pen and the doe were from there, when they had seen them at the cages. As the leaders, these should know it. Likely this were just some sorta test, and if not, they were just a bit behind on hearing the information.

"No w-we had some h-help from a... I d-don't know what s-she is, but she'd c-called Pen. She's t-trying to help h-her own friend now."

[Illiad Easle 2,972]

@Blitz Boom

The leader nodded thoughtfully, "Yes, Boss over there," he gestured towards the griffon, who looked over at them for a moment, "mentioned you having recognized a pair of creatures at the holding facility. While I disagreed, the Consul has decided, given your confirmation to their origins, that they be properly cared for."

The Consul nodded, "They somehow managed to teleport themselves through the anti-magic barrier caused by the security lockdown. While this teleport did injure some of the guards it was hardly their fault." He looked over at the Leader, "Replicating that teleport would allow us to more easily access the other havens across the dead zone, and I sense that the deer is crucial to unlocking that secret."

The Leader sighed, "Another time Illiad," he turned back to the sisters, "We also heard from Boss about a number of other... entities, that they saw in the facility. Given you likely encountered them more we'd like to hear your thoughts on how dangerous they could be, and what we can do to disable them if they pose a threat."

As he spoke a pair of pegasi entered through the same doors as the sisters had, each bearing a tray of bowls. As they were each dressed in a similar coat to the one the General wore, plus a red scarf, it might take them a bit to recognize them as the pegasi guards that had been strapped in the front of the machine that got them there. 

They expertly distributed the bowls to each of the guests at the table, except for the Consul, before bowing and leaving. Instead of a bowl, the Consul was given a tall mug of a carmel colored, fizzy foaming drink, it smelled of butterscotch and cream. 

The bowls they recieved were a traditional Trojan dish known as Oasis Stew, made of boiled reeds and oasis flower petals, it had a very subtle flavor that served more to clean the palate than to nourish, in preparation of a larger main course to follow. 

The Leader and the rest would begin to slowly sip at the contents of their bowls once everyone had theirs, the Consul doing the same with his cup of sweet smelling liquid. 

The leader seemed more concerned with continuing the conversation than eating however, as he continued speaking between sips. "In particular, I'm concerned about these hollow like this Pen you mentioned. Boss said there was another one that attacked you two and Foehammer?"

(Sorry for the delay,)

[Blitz Boom 4,427]

@Illiad Easle

14 hours ago, Illiad Easle said:

The Leader sighed, "Another time Illiad," he turned back to the sisters, "We also heard from Boss about a number of other... entities, that they saw in the facility. Given you likely encountered them more we'd like to hear your thoughts on how dangerous they could be, and what we can do to disable them if they pose a threat."

"W-Well.. There w-was this strange, l-large golem, that l-looked kind of like an a-angry bull of s-some kind. It uhm... A-Attacks when s-someone isn't looking at i-it. N-Nearly took my e-eye out, t-then big sis put a f-feather somewhere in i-it. It s-seemed to stop it from m-moving. It k-kept chasing me when we w-woke up though, and I d-don't know anything b-but anti-magic and s-starring that works to keep it down. N-No idea what can kill it. It looked l-like some sort of stone, so... A-Acid? Maybe?"

It might well be that they were about to served food, but she had been given a question, and now were a lul in the conversation that she could answer it in, starting with this horrible creature of stone and Celestia knows what else. Pixie dust and hatred maybe?

"S-Strange goo creature I t-think the consul k-killed so I guess... T-The strange pony with the b-beak? He kept talking about d-diseases, and slowly f-following us. Even getting h-hit with a large hammer just s-stopped him for a little. I think that p-perhaps he can be trapped, s-since he didn't look too strong, but he m-might be immortal."

The hit the creature had sustained were too severe to just get up from with a with wraps of gauze, at least for regular beings. If it had been her, she would most likely had been killed instantly.

The palate cleanser they were served were something which Void hadn't tried in many years, though honestly, this weren't one of the dishes she recalled with much fondness. When they grew up, food had been food. it were supposed to leave you sated, and not waste too many things on making it. This dish more or less just prepared the stomach for an actual meal, and the few times that Void had been in the kitchen and tried to learn how it were made, their mom had seemingly just made it to hide medicine in, or to teach her one-eyed, curious daughter. At least that were the assumptions Void had about it. Again, this had been rare and there were far more important memories to cling to in her opinion, so things were a bit fuzzy about this one.

She managed to get some of it down before more questions came, but it were slow, as she also had to spoon-feed Null. It weren't the important thing to make sure she ate, yet any sort of food she could get into her big sis were a good thing.

15 hours ago, Illiad Easle said:

"In particular, I'm concerned about these hollow like this Pen you mentioned. Boss said there was another one that attacked you two and Foehammer?"

"I d-didn't see any of them a-attack us. But t-there was another one, d-down where Sergeant P-Panic were trapped. He g-got released by a-accident, and f-followed me around for a l-little before he v-vanished, before the g-guards showed up. L-Last I saw, he were f-following us w-when this other creature were c-chasing us, and then it... I t-think the creature tore h-him apart. I d-don't know what they can d-do h-honestly. Null s-spent more time w-with Pen than me.

Anyway, if t-there were one of these c-creatures who attacked us, only the g-guard and Null s-saw it, and b-big sis is not r-responsive right now."

She ran a hoof through some of Null's hair that had slipped away from under her hat and slid it back in there, so it would get into her eyes.

"T-The other creature it... I t-think the thing w-with it is that it s-sits around and c-cries, and if y-you look at it, it w-will chase you down and k-kill you? T-That's what it sounded l-like when the m-mare told us about it. I g-guess that were B-Boss? The m-mare, not the t-thing."

[Illiad Easle 2,972]

@Blitz Boom

The Leader and the Consul exchanged glances as Void spoke, but didn't interject until she had finished. The Cosul spoke first as he set down his empty mug. "As to the golemand the beaked creature, it seems the barrier will be enough to keep them contained, at least long enough. This crying creature as well, so long as no one sees it it should stay down there."

The leader finished his bowl before speaking, "That still leaves the matter of the hollow creature, while this Pen appears forthcoming about its abilities and dangers, I hardly think it wise to simply trust it at its word without proof." He turned to look at Null, "I was told about your sister's condition, and you have my condolences, it's unfortunate that she cannot provide us with more information on this creature." He turned to Void again, "You said that the other one got out accidentally? How was it previously contained?"

At that question the main course was brought out, again by the same matching pegasi as before. This time they set a plate before each of them, retrieving the finished and partial bowls in the process. The plates were spread with a few slices of Trojan bread, which was a hearty wheat bread, dark brown in color, a few slices of aged goat cheese, which was often the only dairy that made it to Troy, as well as a small pile of steamed green vegetables. Water glasses and pitchers soon followed and were spaced around the table. 

The only exception to this was the Consul, who instead of recieving a plate or water was simply provided with more of the sweet smelling drink as before, which he began sipping almost immediately after he recieved it. 

The Consul turned to Void, "That reminds me, the doe that was found with Pen, what do you know of her? Pen said her name was Codex? She hasn't woken up yet so we haven't been able to confirm."

[Blitz Boom 4,427]

@Illiad Easle

On 7/8/2019 at 6:03 AM, Illiad Easle said:

"You said that the other one got out accidentally? How was it previously contained?"

"He w-were behind a door w-with some think g-glass in it. I-I tried to get to Panic and s-stumbled, it... My l-leg went through it."

Void would rise her false leg some and knock hard on it. A slight hollow sound came from it, as it were mostly exterior, since a good deal of it were hollow.

"N-Nighthaven Ironoak. It's p-pretty sturdy."

Depending on if these ponies knew about the remote isle of Nighthaven's infamous trees, that might well be an understatement of some measure, as the trees from there were sturdy enough that the locals there needed to use special diamond axes to cut them down. It had been their main export back when the sisters had run into the isle, after the ship they had been on had sent them into a dingy and claimed to aim them towards Germane. Weather hadn't been too good - and neither had the dingy - so even using the oars as well as they could, they managed to miss the mainland pretty substantially, and after a half day ended up on the isle where night always seemed to rule.

It were nothing magical or anything though. Simply speaking, the trees that grew there were large and the crowns so thick that no light got through, so the locals there lived their lives in darkness, and by the light of torches and candles. They could use magical items too for light, but since the population were more or less 99% thestrals, the darkness frankly suited them more, and according to the mayor they were lead towards, the population were booming since few other creatures cared to live like that.

As for the place having infamous trees, it were mainly from how impossible they seemed to be to work with, as well as the seeds that dropped from them, which as the area were mainly cast in darkness, had a tendency of hitting unsuspecting visitors. Hard mind you, considering the height they tended to fall from. Apparently, they had tried selling those and allow for the trees to grow elsewhere, but had had limited success at the time when they had been there around... Eight or nine years ago it must have been? It were honestly a pretty friendly a welcoming place all things considered, but the two siblings had needed light, not the wind howling through darkened trees and the chance of something smashing down on them, with a chance for them not to be found for days on end, if the worst came to happen.

Also, the locals were starting to get a little testy about their presence, since their curse were affecting the supercharged fertilizer they needed to make use of to ensure they kept having trees everywhere, despite a substantial export deal with Germane. So they had been happy when Null had flat out said that soon as she had fixed Void a new leg up, as the one she had at the time had started to become a bit problematic, they would jump on the first boat out of there. They'd even been allowed to use some of the carving tools the locals did to work with this wood.

It were some incredible stuff really. It had lasted them this long without getting broken, and it wasn't unheard off that they used it to smash in windows, doors, or hitting metal like nails down. Siure some things that were harder like diamond ts that had left some scuffs and such over the years, but overall, this were great. Plus, it couldn't burn, which were a big plus too.

On 7/8/2019 at 6:03 AM, Illiad Easle said:

At that question the main course was brought out, again by the same matching pegasi as before. This time they set a plate before each of them, retrieving the finished and partial bowls in the process. The plates were spread with a few slices of Trojan bread, which was a hearty wheat bread, dark brown in color, a few slices of aged goat cheese, which was often the only dairy that made it to Troy, as well as a small pile of steamed green vegetables. Water glasses and pitchers soon followed and were spaced around the table.

Looking at the food that were brought before them, Void were happy to see that some dairy and bread had been presented, as well as some greens, and though it might seem kinda weird considering how it were presented, she would personally use her bread slices and wrap them around the steamed veggies. After that, she took the cheese from her and Null's plates, smeared them on the bread on her big sisters plate, chopped/tore the veggies (depending on if she had a knife) and added them on top. The sandwich she'd eat herself, whilst the thick layered cheese and veggies were fed to Null. Void had never been a big fan of cheese on bread, whilst Null tended to favor it, so it worked out fine right now.

It kinda seemed like being an alicorn made someone part hummingbird though, as she observed that yet again, the consul had something to drink that he dipped right into. She had seen the same thing with Celestia and her cakes, and one of the feral alicorn males from their past who had been terrorizing a sugar beat plantation, so she were guessing that drink were likely sweet in nature too. Apparently being an ageless, winged unicorn, made you crave sugar.

That or she were just overthinking it. Best not to waft this theory around right now before she made a fool out of herself.

On 7/8/2019 at 6:03 AM, Illiad Easle said:

The Consul turned to Void, "That reminds me, the doe that was found with Pen, what do you know of her? Pen said her name was Codex? She hasn't woken up yet so we haven't been able to confirm."

"We d-don't know anything a-about the doe, h-honestly. Just that s-she worked with the d-doctors in there back w-when we were taken. I'm... N-Not sure if it w-were willing anymore. S-Something seemed w-weird about her back t-then."

So wait, the doe were Codex? This she hadn't expected, and honestly, she weren't sure if keeping back what she knew of Codex were all that good right now. They might know something and were baiting her to see if she knew it too before elaborating, or perhaps seeing if she were to need a silencing act once they were done using her.

...900 had managed to plant some paranoia that were starting to affect her actions it seemed. Perhaps she should just come clean? Though really, did she know anything? All she remembered about Codex were that seemingly, she were the control system of the facility, or something like that. Didn't seem to be much of anything else she were aware off regarding the mechanical doe.

"W-When we saw the t-two of them, the d-doe looked to be in a p-pretty bad shape. She might n-need some sort of m-mechanical help to w-wake up? I c-could perhaps ask P-Pen later? She m-might remember something and w-won't mind telling me, s-since she got to know b-big sis and me a little in t-there."

[Illiad Easle 2,972]

@Blitz Boom

On 7/9/2019 at 4:18 PM, Blitz Boom said:

"He w-were behind a door w-with some think g-glass in it. I-I tried to get to Panic and s-stumbled, it... My l-leg went through it."

The Leader nodded, "A sort of solid wall containment, I was thinking along those lines. Given they're hollow they'd be able to escape anything that wasn't practically air tight."

The Consul looked more intrigued by her leg though, "Nighthaven, that clan is more possessive of their wood than the Fastar clan. I'm impressed you were able to get them to part with it, considering the rather humble means I understand you would have had at the time."

Everyone ate the food in their own manners, no one paying any particular attention to the sisters as they ate, outside of the Consul who was staring at Null like she were some puzzle he was trying to solve.

On 7/9/2019 at 4:18 PM, Blitz Boom said:

"W-When we saw the t-two of them, the d-doe looked to be in a p-pretty bad shape. She might n-need some sort of m-mechanical help to w-wake up? I c-could perhaps ask P-Pen later? She m-might remember something and w-won't mind telling me, s-since she got to know b-big sis and me a little in t-there."

The Consul seemed stirred from his musings as she answered his question, "Indeed, the mechanical parts that were grafted into her are rather complex, but according to the best estimate of those who have looked at her, are fairly undamaged, though this Pen has been somewhat uncooperative, or perhaps truly ignorant, about what exactly happened. I'll arrange for the two of you to meet with them tomorrow, to see if you can figure out anything else."

With that, it seemed clear that the dinner had ended, as the General and the griffon rose from the table upon the completion of their plates. They each bowed politely to the Consul before bidding a more verbal farewell, in the case of the General, to their parents, as they left the room.

The Leader dabbed his muzzle with a napkin as he too rose from the table, "How I long for the feasts we used to have, but the time of plenty will come again I'm sure." He bowed to the Consul as well before turning to the sisters, "We'll talk again before you leave on your mission I'm sure, but may the stars guide you until then."

He then left, leaving only the sisters, the Consul, and their parents in the room.

The Consul finished his drink, setting the empty glass down with a thud in the quiet room. He seemed a bit distant now that the others had left. "There's something more, about the deer." He looked over at their parents in particular, "As you now remember Dr. Conegher, I am led to believe that the machinery inside her was his work. Do you recall his specialty?"

Their father looked pensive for a bit, before their mother responded, "He was the only one who worked directly with the miracle metal, had his horns plated with it even."

The Consul nodded, "Minostralium, the most sought after, most killed over, and most valuable metal known. And notably, there's only faint traces of it in the deer."

Their father spoke up, "The metal decayed over time, but not too quickly unless it was used to power something..."

The Consul looked over at the sisters, "It seems that that is exactly what our doe is missing. Unfortunately your... biological father, took the entire supply the Grey had acquired before I could stop him." He sighed. "But that's another matter entirely," He looked over at their parents, "It's been a long day, you two should rest. You're welcome to come back tomorrow to see your daughters again."

As if on cue their parents yawned, before rising from the table and bowing to the Consul, then coming over to tightly hug the sisters, each expressing their love as they did way back when, and then they would leave.

Once they were gone the Consul would also rise from his seat, and motion towards the door, "Now, Selena tells me she's found a way to enter Null's mind? But more pressingly that one of you may be harboring something in there. Would you mind telling me about it?"

[Blitz Boom 4,427]

@Illiad Easle

On 7/14/2019 at 2:25 AM, Illiad Easle said:

The Consul looked more intrigued by her leg though, "Nighthaven, that clan is more possessive of their wood than the Fastar clan. I'm impressed you were able to get them to part with it, considering the rather humble means I understand you would have had at the time."

"When we c-crashed ashore, my old f-false leg got pretty b-beaten up, and b-big sis refused to l-leave the island before she m-made me a new leg. A s-small bit of wood and a f-few days of c-carving were not u-unreasonable to them, if it m-meant we'd stay away f-from their fertilizer and l-leave without causing a r-ruckus. They w-were pretty f-fair and understandable t-towards us. I h-hope they're still there..."

This world had lost so much already. Entire countries in some cases, from what she had been told, and seeing as Nighthaven had not been mentioned as the save places to be... It were pretty isolated, and not everyone could live in the darkness, so there were a chance that it had perhaps just not been heard from in a long time, and yet still managed to live life as well as they now could, considering they had to improvise over some things from the mainland, since Germane had surely been attacked if Discord's forces had come near Harrowmark. It were the only landmass connected to the small, darkened country after all, though that would still put a powerful demigod ands his armies, against one or two full fledged gods who might have unintentionally been freed from the bonds that kept them as more a presence than physical manifestations... She could not imagine that either side of that fight couldn't manage to decimate a small island, were they to stumble across it, though she really didn't hope it were the case.

The talk of the mechanical parts, Pen and Codex, just made Void nod in response. She didn't know the technical details, and honestly still weren't sure where she stood on things regarding the interest that came from the higher ups of Troy. She'd have to think this through eventually. Perhaps then, she'd be able to make up her mind one way or another.

The rest of the dinner went along in pretty much silence, which were nice enough, though the staring that came towards Null were somewhat unnerving to Void. Experience told her that when anyone gave them that much attention they were either planning on doing something against them, were working for others who had ill intent, or were a crazed individual, such as Molotov had been. Starring like this were rarely something that resulted in anything resembling a good thing in her experience.

She'd manage to get around two thirds of her own food down, and half of Null's fed to her, before the dinner were over and the table started to get cleared, whilst some of their company began to get ready to move along to other things. It weren't much, but it had sated Void, and Null didn't need much in general, unless she roared through her energy again. Pretty much the exact opposite of what she were doing currently.

On 7/14/2019 at 2:25 AM, Illiad Easle said:

The Leader dabbed his muzzle with a napkin as he too rose from the table, "How I long for the feasts we used to have, but the time of plenty will come again I'm sure." He bowed to the Consul as well before turning to the sisters, "We'll talk again before you leave on your mission I'm sure, but may the stars guide you until then."

"We'll s-see you around sir, and uhm... May you s-stay where you fall. W-Wait, I m-mean... *whimper*"

Void felt like she had about half a meter of hoof stuck in her throat as she tried to backpedal from what had been meant as a nice farewell, to repond to the one he had given them, but soon as it had passed her muzzle she heard what were being said, and outside of Harrowmark, this sentence had quite the reverse tone to it, than the joyful one it would be there. Why of all things did she have to have been thinking about that place right now? If she had just been thinking about another place, like Germane, she could have come up with something that'd be far more appropriate than essentially wish the leader that if he died, she hoped he wouldn't be moved.

Of course it were kinder in Harrowmark, where the death magic seeped through the land and the odds were that death were just the next stage of your existence, rather than the end, but here? Dear Celestia, what had she been thinking? Hopefully the stallion would be able to forgive this misstep, before Void's embarrassed blush became intense enough to set her face on fire.

On 7/14/2019 at 2:25 AM, Illiad Easle said:

The Consul looked over at the sisters, "It seems that that is exactly what our doe is missing. Unfortunately your... biological father, took the entire supply the Grey had acquired before I could stop him." He sighed. "But that's another matter entirely," He looked over at their parents, "It's been a long day, you two should rest. You're welcome to come back tomorrow to see your daughters again."

"So to s-save the doe, w-we'd need to find him?"

Void felt visibly uneasy thinking about it, though strangely, the mere mention of having to meet the one who spawned and subsequently abandoned them, somehow managed to get a response out of Null. It wasn't much, little more than a weak attempt at a sneer and a brief hardness passing over her eyes like a dark cloud - which Void did not see - but there were certainly animosity that were bubbling over this. Which also meant that Null had heard the part about him earlier on.

"I'd p-prefer not to, but I s-suppose that p-perhaps we'd h-have to o-one day anyway. D-Dear Celestia is t-this just g-getting more complicated all t-the time..."

Frankly, she'd wish to approach him, and get to know why he had been so hellbent on making their lives a living nightmare, just for his own, selfish reasons. Perhaps she might even end up taking a page from Null's book and smash him with something that made a satisfying thudding sound, to get some of the aggression out, but she just didn't know. Up to this point, she had thought that perhaps they could avoid ever having to see him, and just deal with his legacy eventually, yet now things had gotten to the point where that seemed less and less of an option, as he had apparently stolen some sort of strangle metal that she had never heard about. Something which they apparently only had about a week to get hold off, if the shadow had been interpreted right.

Void would say goodbye to her parents as they left, giving them both a long hug with Null forced into the physical embrace, and wishing them a good night's sleep. Something told her that neither her nor Null were going to have any of that.

On 7/14/2019 at 2:25 AM, Illiad Easle said:

Once they were gone the Consul would also rise from his seat, and motion towards the door, "Now, Selena tells me she's found a way to enter Null's mind? But more pressingly that one of you may be harboring something in there. Would you mind telling me about it?"

"It's this c-creature that l-led us on in the f-facility. Showed us that t-there would be war and t-that we had to s-struggle against things, or t-they'd use our curse to e-erase Equestria's cities. I don't k-know how real that were anymore, b-but Equestria is... Were, our h-home. We had to t-try and help. T-Though after everything w-were done, and we g-got but in s-stasis, it c-came back. Said that h-hundreds upon hundreds w-were going to d-die in regular battle instead. I'ts like it w-work on a giant c-chessboard, and we d-don't know what the strategy is. J-Just that we're pieces on the b-board.

I o-only know it as 900. I c-can't remember a face w-when I try to concentrate on t-the meeting it had in o-our dreams though. It's l-like s-something's missing, or it d-didn't have one. M-Maybe it's just been so s-stressful that I forgot. I'm s-sorry."

[Illiad Easle 2,972]

@Blitz Boom

13 minutes ago, Blitz Boom said:

We'll s-see you around sir, and uhm... May you s-stay where you fall. W-Wait, I m-mean... *whimper*"

The Leader paused in his steps, and looked back with a slightly puzzled expression as he mulled over the statement before he simply shrugged and continued out the door.

The Consul looked at them with a raised eyebrow, but said nothing about the odd farewell.

19 minutes ago, Blitz Boom said:

"So to s-save the doe, w-we'd need to find him?"

The Consul waited till their parents had left to answer this question. "Not necessarily, while he took the entire supply the Grey had, it's hardly all there is. I've heard that Celestia had acquired quite the collection of it two or three decades ago, but where she kept it is lost to us. There should also be some left in the mines of Minos where it was discovered, there's the severed horns of Empress Yzma..." he rolled his hoof to emphasize that the list continued, "But that is all mostly irrelevant as I happened to recover some from the facility. It isn't much, but it should be enough to stabilize her until we can get more, I just wanted your parents' input to be sure, given Dr. Conegher is on the Æther."

58 minutes ago, Blitz Boom said:

J-Just that we're pieces on the b-board.

I o-only know it as 900. I c-can't remember a face w-when I try to concentrate on t-the meeting it had in o-our dreams though.

The Consul's expression grew more serious, "From what I have learned of it, you'd either not see its face, or it'd be the only thing you remember. We're all puppets in this game, but not all of us can see the strings."

He sighed, "The Summer War was indeed terrible, but I would be wrong to say that the upset at your facility didn't play a part in the end. The cancellation of Director Bunsen's antimagic project kept Consul Hooves from pushing too hard, kept Celestia from a more drastic ultimatum, which in turn saved the cities of Troy and Canterlot from an otherwise sure destruction." He looked off into the distance, "900, as you call it, is not the only one who knows of possible futures. It was right in this case, but I can't assume his motives were more than ensuring your escape."

He led them back to the room where Selena had treated their parents' memories, where she was already preparing... something, on the floor of the chamber. It looked like some sort of summoning circle, only instead of blood filling the runes it was shining diamond dust, which she appeared to be pulling out of herself. She held out a hoof as they entered, "Don't stand too close, can't have your curse affecting the circle. I need it to get around the curse." Without looking over at them she gestured to the beds, "If you would take a seat, unfortunately this procedure may not be entirely painless."

(I'll let them react before we continue.)

[Blitz Boom 4,427]

On 7/16/2019 at 2:04 AM, Illiad Easle said:

The Consul waited till their parents had left to answer this question. "Not necessarily, while he took the entire supply the Grey had, it's hardly all there is. I've heard that Celestia had acquired quite the collection of it two or three decades ago, but where she kept it is lost to us. There should also be some left in the mines of Minos where it was discovered, there's the severed horns of Empress Yzma..." he rolled his hoof to emphasize that the list continued, "But that is all mostly irrelevant as I happened to recover some from the facility. It isn't much, but it should be enough to stabilize her until we can get more, I just wanted your parents' input to be sure, given Dr. Conegher is on the Æther."

Perhaps this had been one of the items she had kept in that large vault of hers? The sisters had been shown a place where the princess said she stored many special and dangerous items, in preparation for them being handled by professionals in handling cursed objects, or just to ensure they never got seen by the outside world, as they were too dangerous. That's what they had been told at least, along with a message that they should consider stashing what they had found over the years in there, for safekeeping. Void kinda wish they had taken her up on this offer back then, instead of them saying that they wished to think about it first, but hindsight weren't going to make a difference.

On 7/16/2019 at 2:04 AM, Illiad Easle said:

He led them back to the room where Selena had treated their parents' memories, where she was already preparing... something, on the floor of the chamber. It looked like some sort of summoning circle, only instead of blood filling the runes it was shining diamond dust, which she appeared to be pulling out of herself. She held out a hoof as they entered, "Don't stand too close, can't have your curse affecting the circle. I need it to get around the curse." Without looking over at them she gestured to the beds, "If you would take a seat, unfortunately this procedure may not be entirely painless."

Following Illiad after he leveled some more concerns about 900, along with his word that the wars they had been shown had actually happened, they'd soon find themselves near Selena again, looking like she were meddling with some kind of bloodless ritual circle of some kind. Probably for the best that this weren't of that variety too, as Void would have taken Null and gotten out of there instantly if it were. They had dealt with enough summoning circles to know that when it included blood, it would end up with something horrendous happening, like a demon getting summoned, or someone getting set up to be a sacrifice, regardless of whatever or not it were actually going to do anything. Delusional beings could sadly still swing a blade like any cultist or butcher.

Being directed to the beds, Void cast a few nervous glances towards the whole thing, but obliged, and placed Null and her in separate beds, whilst avoiding to touch the silvery pattern on the floor.

"Long as it w-works, what's a l-little more pain?"

[Illiad Easle 2,972]

@Blitz Boom

2 hours ago, Blitz Boom said:

"Long as it w-works, what's a l-little more pain?"

Both Selena and the Consul looked concerned at the statement, but didn't remark on it. Selena moved from where she had been drawing to sit in the center of the circle. "Now, normally Illiad would induce sleep, but as you know, that won't work in this case. So, in order to make this experience as smooth as possible, I'd like you to close your eyes, and imagine that you are in a white room about the size of this one."

Selena would wait a moment, or for Void at least to close her eyes, before she would lay in the center of the circle. She and the lines of the circle would begin to glow, faintly at first, but increasing in brightness.

If Void were trying to visualize the room as Selena described, her attempts would be met instead with the glowing eyes of 900, the glow seemed frantic, and would attempt to dissuade any attempt by her to fully visualize the room.

"They're lying to you. They just want to control her. They want what's in your head. They want to control you."

The words in their heads would become more desperate, trying everything to break their concentration.

"Stop her. Break the circle. STOP HER. BREAK HER."

The eyes would be all she could see, whether they were closed, or not. But in the eyes she could see herself reaching out, and shattering Selena as she and the Consul would be too distracted to stop her.

 

(If she does that, the post ends here. If she does not, then the post continues)

The words turned to screams, and tearing. A pain like something was being ripped from her mind, and a part of the shadow covering her vision would fall away, allowing her to see the white room if her eyes were closed, or if her eyes were open:

There was a dark shadow that seemed to emanate from the space between them, a swirling writhing mass that tried to lash out at Selena, but was held back by some sort of barrier that surrounded the sisters. A sort of glowing figure seemed to emanate from Selena as well, a single limb outstretched towards the shadow, similarly stopped by the barrier around the sisters.

But as the glow around Selena grew stronger, the gap between the shadow and the glow would shrink.

Until they finally touched, and with a sound like a rubber band breaking, everything would go dark.

 

Void would find herself in a white room, exactly as Selena had described, with the addition of a door. Opposite her in the room was what looked like Selena, or at least a glowing outline that looked like her. In a few moments it would coalesce into her usual shape, and get up off the floor. "Alright, now I'm trapped in here too. But from here it seems I can follow it to your sister, where it must be hiding from me."

She would then go over to the door, and disappear upon touching it.

(I'll need you to describe what the inside of Null's mind looks like)

[Blitz Boom 4,427]

@Illiad Easle

On 7/18/2019 at 4:00 AM, Illiad Easle said:

If Void were trying to visualize the room as Selena described, her attempts would be met instead with the glowing eyes of 900, the glow seemed frantic, and would attempt to dissuade any attempt by her to fully visualize the room.

"They're lying to you. They just want to control her. They want what's in your head. They want to control you."

The words in their heads would become more desperate, trying everything to break their concentration.

"Stop her. Break the circle. STOP HER. BREAK HER."

The eyes would be all she could see, whether they were closed, or not. But in the eyes she could see herself reaching out, and shattering Selena as she and the Consul would be too distracted to stop her.

How many times had some creature shouted at the two of them in desperate tones like this? Dozens, maybe hundreds of times at this point, usually said by creatures who desperately tried to cling to whatever power they felt were crumbling between their hooves.

This weren't as simple as most other times when they were faced with one of those though. Not only were Void needed to try and keep her focus on a white, empty room, but she also had to do that whilst this being were trying to stop her from doing so. Mostly by trying to play to her worries about what Troy might have in store for them, and speaking of how they were just being controlled again. Something which were hard to say were definitively not true, and the thoughts it made roam in the back of her mind didn't exactly help this visualization process.

Still, another thought that helped against these were the thought of what might happen if she were to stop this. What could happen to her sister if she got interrupted halfway through something like this? She might go even further down her pit, and never be seen again. Just a hollow shell keeping her tormented until she'd eventually wither away...

This prospect made her try to keep the focus on the room as the cries became more desperate, and then got followed by a visual of what 900 wanted her to do. To reach out, and shatter the creature who were doing this whole ordeal. The very one who were a the center of a lot of things that Void desperately needed herself, in regards to Null and her big sisters future. She couldn't do this, long as there were no proof that everything told were lies. Besides, as she reminded herself as the room became clearer in her mind: They had already killed enough because of him.

On 7/18/2019 at 4:00 AM, Illiad Easle said:

The words turned to screams, and tearing. A pain like something was being ripped from her mind, and a part of the shadow covering her vision would fall away, allowing her to see the white room if her eyes were closed, or if her eyes were open:

There was a dark shadow that seemed to emanate from the space between them, a swirling writhing mass that tried to lash out at Selena, but was held back by some sort of barrier that surrounded the sisters. A sort of glowing figure seemed to emanate from Selena as well, a single limb outstretched towards the shadow, similarly stopped by the barrier around the sisters.

But as the glow around Selena grew stronger, the gap between the shadow and the glow would shrink.

Until they finally touched, and with a sound like a rubber band breaking, everything would go dark.

What followed the unnerving scream and what she would assume were some kind of mind violation, were a surreal vision for Void, who honestly weren't sure what to think. It reminded her of some depictions she had once seen of light and darkness, eternally fighting, yet never able to defeat the other. This were taking things a little more literal than she felt comfortable about though. Doubly so when that strange shadow around them - which she would assume were 900 somehow - tried to lash out, got stopped, and then had to face being pushed on itself. Difference were that Selena's connecting limb of light didn't stop. It came closer, and closer, until eventually, it'd make contact, and everything would black out.

On 7/18/2019 at 4:00 AM, Illiad Easle said:

Void would find herself in a white room, exactly as Selena had described, with the addition of a door. Opposite her in the room was what looked like Selena, or at least a glowing outline that looked like her. In a few moments it would coalesce into her usual shape, and get up off the floor. "Alright, now I'm trapped in here too. But from here it seems I can follow it to your sister, where it must be hiding from me."

She would then go over to the door, and disappear upon touching it.

She wasn't sure what she had expected when light shone again, but it had not been to seemingly be standing in said white room that had been visualized before, near a... Drained, Selena? She'd assume that were what the deal were with the white outline, though all of this felt at least four layers above her level of comprehension. They never had to think this much on how the inner workings of magic went on before, and it was just confusing as all hay. Sorta terrifying too, which Selena for some reason weren't showing herself to be, despite the notion that she were now trapped inside the sisters mind. How wasn't that something that made you afraid?

There were no time to ask though, a Selena did not waste time and went right for the door, where she'd vanish into thin air, or whatever were behind this door. By the sound of it, 900 were somewhere behind it, and if he were really stuck in Null's mind...

Void scrambled over to the door and would grab hold, trying to get out as well. Whatever were going to happen here, and however it looked out there, she couldn't just sit here when it came to saving her sister. She had to be out there and do something. Anything.

Whatever or not she'd get out though, wouldn't change the sight which would meet Selena.

The crystal mare would find herself on a floating platform of dirt, about three meters in diameter. The dirt she stood upon were darkened and barren of life, with trickles of red sand being seen faintly visible upon a few random spots around her, though it were not easy to see much, considering the darkened sky with the swirling dark clouds looming above, blocking out all but the faintest light to shine down upon the dimly lit, broken landscape around them. Annoying when you wished to traverse, but perhaps preferable to having to stands and see the faceless mannequins present on the platform, which stood in varied statges of damage. One had a leg missing, another were seemingly lashed multiple times, and a third appeared to have been the victim of a brutal knife attack of some kind.

If you looked closely, on each of them you would be able to find a small thing that weren't just blank or part of the damages. A feather, a shard of some sort of glass on another, that sort of thing. Small, physical representations of Null, stuck to these where it would have been on the actual mare.

Were anyone to touch these, they'd find themselves in the midst of a memory of something that happened that Null had retained. For example one where she - around age 8 there it seemed - stood above the corpse of a withered diamond dog, holding a diamond stuttered collar in a shaking hoof and constantly whimpering *I'm sorry* over and over again, whilst tears ran from her eyes. The whole feeling of the memory would be one of regret, though it would end the instant that no contact were made again, and varied others of these dolls had other memories and feelings associated with them, such as humiliation, grief, pain, and so forth, and often more grizzly or otherwise disturbing scenes.

Looking around, it seemed like this were not the only broken platform. In fact, were one to look for a route here, jumping from platform to platform and try to get somewhere would be the only way, as there were no ground beneath them. These broken platforms seemingly were it, and none seemed to be alike, although they shared the visual of being bleak, with only a very few of them having anything resembling a pleasant vibe to them.

The platforms were everywhere around them, with no indication where the right path towards the innermost sanctum so to speak, were. Selena might have to look around if she could not track the darkness somehow, but it could take some time. It were a large area to go through, and from the looks of things, Null's mind were in quite a state.

[Illiad Easle 2,972]

@Blitz Boom

Void, upon touching the door was transported just like Selena had, but rather than be there fully she had a more ethereal form, able to float round but not quite affect anything around her. Touching the mannequins would give her the same memories as Selena.

Selena shuddered as she entered Null's mind, before she opened her eyes and shuddered again at what she saw, "I haven't often delved into the subconscious like this. Usually I only get the frontal mind like that room you made."

She gestured out towards the scattered islands, "This isn't recent, clearly she was only barely holding together even before what broke her, though I can't tell how much was caused by 900, whether to her benefit or detriment."

She approached one of the closer mannequins with a curious expression, "This looks like... a fragment. It seems she's pulled herself apart over the years." she shuddered again as she touched it, the memory washing over her, "And it's reasonable I would guess." Looking back out at the islands, "But with how much has been going on... just cutting and running from the past... I fear there won't be much left of her to find. And it will be quite painful to bring her back together."

She sat down and took a deep breath, "All these fragments, this fragile mental state, it'll be hard to pick her out of all the... mess." She looked over at Void's apparition, "I don't imagine your state is too much better than this one. If we've got time later, we might want to take a look at you as well. But first."

She fully laid down on the platform and closed her eyes, searching for some pattern in the islands, usually there was a larger concentration wherever the main consciousness resided, in whatever form it took.

Meanwhile, if Void were looking about, she might notice a shadowy figure hopping about the islands. Moving, or at least attempting to move, the mannequins. And it was coming closer to them.

[Blitz Boom 4,427]

@Illiad Easle

Void had expected to see something bad when she got on to the other side of the door. Null being grasped by some sort of darkness, perhaps some pictures here and there of things that haunted her, but this landscape of misery, it just...She couldn't have expected it to be this bad.

Walking through the air and not even taking notice of how she weren't physically touching anything, she would wander on with a feeling like something had just gut punched her several times over, soaking in the misery and torment that laid around her, whilst Selena gave her analysis of what were going on in a les than cheerful tone. Honestly she were not doing a great job of acting supportive or cheer up the sister who were currently watching her elder sisters misery first hoof. Selena might want to work on her bedside manners at some point in the future.

Getting close, Void touched the mannequin that would show off the sight of the diamond dog, and Null weeping over his corpse, whilst the feeling of guilt flowed over her. She would retract from it quickly, like she had been hit by a jolt of lightning.

"She told me h-he made it..."

Her voice were little more than a whisper as she nearly choked on her words. The diamond dog in question had called himself Ralphie the rock sculptor, who had found the sisters after Null had fallen ill from a stomach virus, and taken them back to his hut, where he had given them a small space to stay in and helped getting a few things to get Null better again. Void had done what she could to keep him happy then, including cooking for him and cleaning up what she could, and they had considered him to be pretty much the closest thing to a friend they had ever had, even if he were gruff and were a bit too obsessed with his sculptures.

He had started to tell them how some of the local diamond dogs had started to go missing, and that though he normally didn't get involved since he liked the peace, he had promised to help out when a few of his friends had asked. Since Null had gotten better at that point and wanted to help, she had sprung along once he had started mumbling something about a strange magical smell coming from the area many had last been seen, and soon enough, the three of them had been on their way. 

Void weren't sure what had gone on in there, as she had been cut off from them by a minor cave in, but she knew that once all were said and done, Null had come out with that collar, told her that it had taken the life of all that had worn it, and that Ralphie had asked them to take it with them away from their home, before it hurt anyone else. She hadn't thought much on why Null's face had seemed kinda puffed up at that point, and were more just saddened that Ralphie had chosen not to come out and say anything to her himself, yet she had trusted what Null had said and they had been on their way after picking up their items. Seeing this in context however... Null had lied to protect her feelings about how Ralphie had apparently taken on the collar too, and paid the price for it. Something which would have hurt Void a good deal, as she liked the gruff canine, but Null seeing him die in front of her, and feeling guilty about it, whilst not sharing any of that pain? This had barely been two and a half years after their parents had seemingly gotten killed, and a lot of other bad stuff had happened subsequently. Null had been hurting already at that point, and tackling this alone would just be salt in the wound.

One of many wounds that she kept to herself, seeing how many places were here, with likely all of them carrying painful memories of their own.

On 7/20/2019 at 7:14 PM, Illiad Easle said:

"I don't imagine your state is too much better than this one. If we've got time later, we might want to take a look at you as well. But first."

"...She shielded me f-from all of this."

If she could cry in this form, she currently would be shown to do so, as she gazed upon this inner sanctum of misery.

"We a-always got into t-tough spots, but whenever s-something bad happened, big s-sis would comfort me. Help me t-through it. She never s-shared her own pain, just k-kept a tough face on and m-moved on. I knew she d-did this to shield me from t-things, and that it l-looked bad, but this is...

It's my f-fault. If she didn't h-have to take care of m-me, or I d-didn't just always r-relied on her like I d-did mom, she w-wouldn't... This w-wouldn't have h-happened."

Void weren't in a perfect state internally. She were filled with nervousness and paranoia after a lifetime of not being able to trust others, but she were more or less able to keep it together, barring a few special encounters. Mainly this were because Null had always been there to take care of her, and make sure that she never completely lost hope, up until the brief episode she had in the facility. Null ont he other hoof, had just been breaking more and more apart, and tried to fix it not by addressing it, but by distancing herself as much from it as she could, and pretend she were doing okay.

Unbeknownst to Void, it were a double edged sword that were in play here, as in a way, she were indeed the cause of her sisters misery, as Null were certain she had to be tough to make sure her little sister could have a chance. Yet at the same time, Void and her potential future, had been the hope that Null had been able to cling to in the darkest hours, and it helped her to push on. It were only when she had lost any sort of hope that there were one left for Void, as the world were broken apart and Troy were one of the only places to seek shelter, that she had finally felt the entire thing collapse on top of her, and she had ended up falling down into her own selfmade Tartarus.

As for where the biggest part of her still remained, Selena would find that the largest cluster of platforms seemed to gather further down, in a nearly spherical manner. Somewhere in the middle of that, they might be able to find the core of Null.

It were about the same time that Void bit notice in some sort of shadowy entity moving around the platforms and seemingly attempt to interact with them in some manner, though at the same time move closer to them, a little by little.

She didn't feel afraid over this though, her eyes simply went wide, and her spectral heart skipped a beat.

"Is that h-her? Selena, is that a p-part of my big s-sis? Is she l-looking for us?"

[Illiad Easle 2,972]

@Blitz Boom

Selena opened her eyes and got off the ground at Void's comment, "In my experience, I doubt it. The subconscious is not often keen on intruders, especially given our forceful entrance. Were she in a better mental state I'd have to fight to stay here, and in all likelihood we'll be forced out once we awaken her concious mind."

She didn't say that it looked like more of an IF they could wake her up. 

She looked around for the shadow, but it seemed to have taken notice of them, and hid itself. "More likely it's 900 skulking about, until we know it's intentions here we'll need to be on our guard. As ethereal as you may feel, we aren't impervious to damage, the scars will just be mental rather than physical."

With that she walked over to the edge of the platform to peer down, stepping back as a small bit of it fell off before pointing into the darkness, "Down there, the islands get closer together. And there's more of them, she should be down there somewhere, and as we get closer her defenses will get stronger."

Selena looked to steel herself before jumping to the next platform down, bumping into a mannequin in the process, and shuddering as she did so, in all likelihood the memories would get stronger the closer they were to her core, either more recent or more impactful, they'd be the ones that had effected her the most. 

If Void moved to follow, she'd find that simply wanting to go a certain direction would send her floating that way, even through the ground if she weren't playing attention to it. 

If she were paying close attention, the shadow would be following her, always a few islands behind, and hiding wherever she looked straight at it. 

[Blitz Boom 4,427]

@Illiad Easle

On 7/22/2019 at 5:42 AM, Illiad Easle said:

"More likely it's 900 skulking about, until we know it's intentions here we'll need to be on our guard. As ethereal as you may feel, we aren't impervious to damage, the scars will just be mental rather than physical."

So if she got hurt here, it would go and hurt her mind self, rather than the physical form? Void guessed it made sense, and would try to do what she could to not get into a situation where it'd happen. If the situation arose where she'd have to shield Null in some way by taking a blow like that though, she might still go ahead and shield her big sister. Mental scars sounded harsh, but she'd get bigger ones if she knew that self preservation had caused her to let her sister get hurt, or potentially even caused her death. *gulp* Hopefully this wouldn't be a choice she had to be faced with, and they could both come out of this as well as were possible, given the circumstances and how shattered Null seemed.

She attempted to keep some degree of track of 900 as they started to move along, but failed it, as it seemed like a movement that only occurred whenever she were facing away. Like a shadow in the corner of her eye, registering, but never to be seen once you tried to focus. Quite annoying, and it didn't help her concentration, which it turned out she needed here to not fall further through the rocks.

In her defense, Void had never tried to be spectral before. She hadn't been aware that it could cause you to fall through rocks if you didn't focus on things even a little, and it were causing her some hiccups to try and get used to it as she moved along. She didn't plummet though, so that were good, as likely nothing good came from falling into the empty abyss of a shattered mind like this. Someone might be lost forever if it came to that.

After a bit of trial and error she managed to get the hang of it, and floated after Selena as fast as she could, getting to her just about the time that the crystalline mare hit one of the mannequins. This one, standing with a crude spear in its hoof, in an apparent stabbing motion.

Selena would see Null, about a year older than in the previous memory. She'd enter with Null ripping the spear backwards, that the mannequin had been shown holding, and with a large thud the griffon in front of her would fall to his knees. A red pool would spread on his feathery coat around the wound that he were trying to keep pressure on, whilst starring at the filly who had surprised him with her attack.

Null's face would flare what emotions ran through this memory. The unbridled anger and adrenaline, mixed with the beginning stages of disgust over what she had done, were plastered over her as she threw the bloodied spear aside and just yelled towards the heavens. No words, no meaning, just angered screaming, as the griffon fell flat to his stomach.

Behind him, some cages could be seen, with various eyes int he shadows looking out, and you would not have to be an expert to tell that those were not animal eyes. One in particular, were a in the socket of a small filly who came forth and lifted a shaking hoof towards the bars of the cage. She looked shocked and horrified at what she were witnessing, and you could just see on her face that something vanished then. That last bit of innocence she had left, ruined as she were being faced with what her sister had just done, and for the first time became afraid of Null, and what she were capable off.

Null would never forget this day. The time she had caused her first death - albeit to a slaver who had taken her sister - and had gotten down from the angry height into the miserable feeling it then gave her, to see Void look at her like she were some kind of monster. Even if it had been brief, and Void had soon called out for her with pleading words and kinder eyes, it had broken something fundamental inside her that day, and been the first step on the dark path she had trodden down, were every stone were metaphorically engraved with the phrase *I did it for her*.

One might shutter to think what else were in there, if this were not near her core. Selena might well end up being correct in thinking that Null were too broken to ever truly fix.

[Illiad Easle 2,972]

@Blitz Boom

"Huhhaaaaaaaaaaaugh" Selena almost collapsed after withdrawing from the mannequin, "Woo, I've... felt that in others, but it wasn't the same. There was a true vengeance there. Were it not for your curse you two very well could have been chosen by Karma."

The thought gave her pause, before she shook herself and looked off to the next platform. With the strengths of these memories, and the apparent number she had potentially killed personally for this memory to be so far from the center, meant the memories wouldn't likely be confined to the mannequins for long, and the ghosts that haunted her waking and resting moments would begin to haunt them as well.

"Be warned, I think we'll have to go through some of her more traumatic memories to get to her core, which means you'd have to relive them through her eyes." She looked over at Void with a concerned expression, "You don't have to follow if you don't feel up to it. I find it likely you wont emerge the same as you entered..." She looked off into the depths with trepidation, "But without your help... I may not be able to find the way forward once the memories begin. No, that's an unfair decision to force you to make."

"She's guilting you into it"

Selena didn't react to the voice Void heard, if she turned towards the sound she'd see the shadow, now vaguely in the shape she saw the first time 900 visited them. It stood where Selena couldn't see it, and it would move away if Void tried to draw attention to it.

"She knows it will hurt you, and wants you to do it anyway."

"And she knows another way."

Selena approached the edge, apparently unaware of the shadow speaking to Void. The platform seemed pretty far to jump, but she closed her eyes. Slowly, wings seemed to knit themselves into existence as she grew slightly smaller. When she opened her eyes again she was a bit smaller than before, but with pegasus wings, which she used to glide down to the next platform. Her ineptitude with the wings was apparent as she still collided with one of the mannequins as she barely managed to not go off the other side of the platform.

[Blitz Boom 4,427]

21 hours ago, Illiad Easle said:

"Be warned, I think we'll have to go through some of her more traumatic memories to get to her core, which means you'd have to relive them through her eyes." She looked over at Void with a concerned expression, "You don't have to follow if you don't feel up to it. I find it likely you wont emerge the same as you entered..." She looked off into the depths with trepidation, "But without your help... I may not be able to find the way forward once the memories begin. No, that's an unfair decision to force you to make."

"I'm g-going down there. She w-would have done the same f-for me."

And just look where it got her...

Void shook her head to get this thought out of there. She weren't here to judge Null, she were here to help her come back out. What happened to 900 during this were troubling her some, but not as much as the rest going on, which now seemingly included her thinking things that should not be entering her mind, no matter how abysmal this place looked.

And speaking of 900, it seemed it were back, whispering doubt into her mind to fan the flames of her paranoia. She didn't know what was worse about this honestly. That it were nagging her along, that Selena seemed not to hear a thing, or the fact that she couldn't rule out that this were true.

21 hours ago, Illiad Easle said:

"She knows it will hurt you, and wants you to do it anyway."

"And she knows another way."

This part honestly stung a little, and made Void wish to formulate a question, yet before she had the chance to gather the courage, Selena had flown off to another one of  the platforms, where she would hit the immovable mannequin that seemed pretty untouched. Just a doll with holding a piece of paper. What could be so bad about this?

Inside the memory, it would appear to be quite a bit, as the feeling of fear were flooding the small, dimly lit inn room that Null stood in, about age 7 at this point, which would put this event within a year after leaving Troy.

She had gotten some bits recently through acting as a lookout for some shady types who figured that no one would be afraid of a filly like this, and pretty much ignore her, and she had used part of the bits to get Void and her a room at this shoddy little inn for a few days. It wasn't much, but it were roof over their heads at least, and it had allowed her some time to sort a few things out, and prepare for the next step of their travels.

Things had not become as easy the day before however, as a strange pair of earth ponies had actually approached them and had a bit of a talk with them. Hearing what they were doing there, what had happened to them, and so on. They seemed sympathetic enough, though mainly to Void. Null had seen the look in their eyes as they looked at her, and it reminded her too much of how it had been in Troy. The same aura of them thinking she were worth less than others. Later in life she got confrontational when that happened, but she had not grown bitter by this point, and had just sorta stopped talking and fallen back a bit, until eventually they left.

She didn't think much more of it until she had gotten this letter from the mayors office earlier on, which at this point in the evening, she had stared at for about twenty minutes, whilst waiting for Void to return.

The letter were originally meant for the mayors office, informing him that the pair were interested in adopting the three legged earth pony filly, along with their credentials and what they were able to offer of support, counselling, opportunities, and so forth. It had gotten passed on to Null by some clerk who thought that the filly were part of the local orphanage, and asked her to bring the copy along to their office to inform them that there were likely a pair coming for a filly the day after.

One, filly. Nowhere in the letter were Null even mentioned, and when she saw that, Null had ended up feeling rather resentful and hurt, yet more than anything, the more she stared at it, she became conflicted, and then increasingly scared.

This could prove the chance for Void to get a better life, away from all of the pain and suffering, and get the support she needed to move past it. However, Null would end up alone. She weren't wanted by this couple. Hay, not by anyone. An earth pony without a leg and an eye wasn't something debilitating, but a pegasus missing a wing? What was even that? Nothing were the answer. Null were nothing anymore, and this letter just stabbed her with that fact.

She hadn't known if she should show this to Void or not, yet mere moments after this memory began, she crumbled it up and threw it in the fire. She wanted to keep her sister safe, but being alone out there... She couldn't handle it, and she were afraid that Void would either say yes, or be made to follow them if they stayed much longer.

They had gotten out of town the same night, rushed on by Null, and for a long time, this memory hadn't really bothered her too much. But as time passed and their lives became harder, she sometimes looked back on this moment and thought *What would have happened, if she had stayed?*. Away from all of this misery and pain, with foster parents who didn't care about her curse, and could shelter her against the horrors the world had in store for them. It had started to make this a defining moment in her mind, and a point Null tended to look on as her first big act of self defeating selfishness.

It had ingrained into her subconsciousness too, without her thinking about it, and were one of the main influences as to why she were holding on and trying to find a place that would accept Void, along with some other pony in her life that would care for her, and give her a home, and a family. Null were subconsciously trying to give her little sister the life she had once denied her.

There were no more to this memory, and once Selena lost connection, she would be approached by Void as the tall mare floated in.

"W-Wait, Selena? Is there... Is t-there another way to d-do this? I j-just... There's just t-this little voice in m-my head that p-pokes at my p-paranoia, t-telling me that there h-have to be a way t-that wouldn't hurt a-any of us. M-Maybe?"

As for apparitions, they'd start seeing some from the next isle, though something peculiar were down there too: A mannequin that had a small glow of light around it. One of the good memories perhaps? Whatever or not it were, it were situated around slowly walking, over-sized representations of a couple of imposing ponies. Likely this were the view of a few who had intimidated Null when she were small, though they wouldn't give memories from touching them. They'd just keep on going around in the same pattern. Perhaps Void knew something about these and could share? Though if it didn't matter to Selena, she weren't forced to ask. Well, if she even cared to, seeing as both ponies shown here, seemed to carry ready machete knives on their backs, with the weapons clearly out of proportions., and dripping a red liquid at the tip of the edge. Stallions in reality, but monsters through the eyes of a foal.

[Illiad Easle 2,972]

@Blitz Boom

Selena seemed troubled as she left the memory, and had to take a few deep breaths before she spoke to Void, "Wait, don't touch that one." she gestured towards the one that she had just come from. "I can't stop you of course, but I can assure you that... well... you're better off not knowing."

She gave a rueful chuckle, "So much like vengeance, maybe they still could?"

She shook herself from her musings, "You asked a question, right."

She turned back from where she was looking down to face Void, she had an odd expression to her face, "As to another way... I could just physically move the islands out of the way, clear a path right to her, but given the damage she's already sustained... I'm not certain I could do it without causing further damage."

She sighed, "Honestly, I know it's not optimal, but it's the safest path to go."

"The safest for her."

Selena's ears perked up, as if she heard something, and she looked about confused, "Did you hear that?"

"She could draw her out with Mercy"

Selena's eyes narrowed as she scanned about, but clearly she couldn't see the pony standing between her and Void. "It's 900 isn't it? I can feel it, faintly." she stopped scanning, and turned to Void with a defeated expression. "It fled to your mind, didn't it? probably slipped through while I was in one of Null's memories, great."

She turned about, facing down at the towering scepters that seemed to guard the next level of Null's trauma, "No matter, we'll get it when I can face it on the conscious plane, I won't deal with it down here."

And so she jumped down to the next platform, aiming for the glowing one so as to not hit any other mannequins on the island.

 

[Blitz Boom 4,427]

@Illiad Easle

"I t-think it's 900, but I c-can't say for sure. It s-starts talking about s-strange things now. M-Mentions something about M-Mercy being a-able to draw out N-Null? I d-don't understand, but the m-moving around thing. P-Please no. If t-there is even a c-chance it could h-hurt big sis more, I d-don't want to risk it."

Void really felt like a pawn between two creatures functioning on a plane several levels above her understanding. Both of them obviously wanted something from both Null and herself, as it were rare to find good deeds being done without much of a reason in her experience, yet she couldn't say who were the best to follow anymore. The Troy aligned ones seemed to surprisingly be the most up front with their wants, and had done tangible things to help, though with their history regarding this country, it were still hard to think that something more sinister weren't going on.

900 on the other hoof, had driven them towards killing the few, to save the many, and were lurking in their heads. This were so far what she could say for that creature's influence into things, though there were this small part of her that felt like it had done something more. Something important that she just couldn't put a hoof on.

So far, Void still leaned towards Troy, but there were coming more and more complications to that previously, relatively simple view, and she didn't know what to do anymore. It might end up coming down to who were the best help in getting Null out of here, and patched up to some extend. Family meant everything to Void, and her big sis more than anyone else. Even Troy helping their parents gaining their memories back would pale somewhat in comparison to saving the broken pegasus.

Going on to the next platform, where the ground were rocky and barren of vegetation, Void would avoid the big figures, and sent a few nervous glances towards them, but not address this before the memory that Selena would see passed, as the earth pony had noticed it took a lot from the crystal mare. She were mighty curious what these had in them herself, yet something told her that Selena were right, and that she were best off not knowing, considering how bad just the first one had been.

As for what Selena would see, she'd find a small memory, of the two sisters - around age 15 - crawl the last few steps up a cliff and look back at a seemingly endless area of primitive huts, ruined buildings, and in the distance, what seemed like the outskirts of some kind of steel cage. It were of course not an endless expanse, but the canyon this were in were vast, and reached further than their eyes could see. Still, they had seen far too much of this recently to want to look at the details of this place, or the roaring ocean constantly crashing against the rocks, covering the entire area in a misty puff of seawater more often than not.

The two of them seemed relieved, yet tired and drained. The saddlebags they carried monstrous things in were only about half full for Null, and two thirds for Void, which had slowed them down, but they couldn't exactly leave these things behind. Not with the ones who lived down there.

"I can't hear them anymore."

A vague smile were on Null's jaded face, as she embraced her sister, who more or less collapsed on her small shoulders and gave some raspy sighs of relief. The whole memory would feel like this relief, and a small ray of hope in their lives, though it needed some context to understand.

"I r-remember these two... Enforcers of the s-siren brothers who r-rules over the Moonshell Mountains. They took o-over the small c-country and m-made it into one e-enormous arena. Their s-song is everywhere, and it c-caused so much violence... The s-strongest ones gets p-pitted against one another in s-several c-cages, and shown to o-outsiders who pay to s-see the spectacle. F-From what we h-heard, they get p-payed in b-beings. The s-song didn't affect u-us, so we c-could escape, but t-these two hunted us for w-weeks. Allmost g-got us three t-times.

I h-hope that when D-Discord w-went on a rampage, he t-took them down, instead of o-offering them to come with him. I t-think they'd do it if he a-asked..."

Disgusting place that were, with food being fought over more often than not, even though plenty were available through varied means, as the two massive siren brothers wouldn't want their power diminished by having their angry subjects die from starvation. The blood-fueled fights though... Well, Void personally wished to know as little about their disgusting business and cruel takeover as possible, and hoped that Discord would have done the world a favor, and utterly destroyed these two, regardless of how much they'd likely be thrilled to go on a world wide tour of war. They might be prideful sirens of the olden kind, but more than anything, they were known to be sadists and warmongers, who had only not gone beyond their chosen area, because it were easy to defend, compared to going out and dealing with the multitude of beings who wanted a piece of them.

[Illiad Easle 2,972]

@Blitz Boom

Selena looked a bit relieved, and confused, when she recovered from the glowing memory, "That was interesting... but strange, why did she kick this one out?" She turned her attention upward at Void's description of the towering specters, "I suppose even with a good memory at the end, she'd rather forget everything to do with them."

She sighed as she looked onwards, "It'd be easy to lie and say that 900 is making stuff up to pit you against me, but it'd no doubt call me out on it. It's been around as long as I have, and knows what it's doing. I only wish I could tell if it is trying to be benevolent, or not."

She turned towards Void, "I am the embodiment of Mercy, and as such can manifest it. I am then at my strongest, but also my most vulnerable, especially here in the subconscious and without my own body. Given 900's past efforts, I'd guess he wants me to manifest so it can strike, and drive both me and Null past the breaking point. Were it not for that threat, I'd have done it already."

Selena could feel that they were getting close, likely they would soon reach the point where they would have to walk through Null's most traumatic memories, but they would then emerge out the other side to see whatever was left of Null.

She shuddered at the thought of what horrors lay ahead, given the gruesome they had already passed. But nonetheless, she would press forward.

[Blitz Boom 4,427]

@Illiad Easle

"M-Mercy? That's uhm... I d-don't know how to t-think about that, but p-please, nothing that w-would cause a fight in h-here. I don't w-want to risk Big sis g-getting hurt."

Void looked surprised and honestly a little cautious as she heard this part about Selena. Mercy were a concept with many forms after all, and if she were really the embodiment of it, Void couldn't be sure if perhaps the crystalline mare wouldn't sooner just eradicate Null than try to help her, as with the state she seemed to be in here, it might be seen as the only true merciful thing to do, rather than making her continue to suffer.

The sisters were no strangers to showing this kind of mercy, though Null were usually the one to dole that out if needed be, as Void couldn't quite stomach it the same way. Looking to the side to find a platform where a crimson mist seemed to infest the large area, made it painfully clear to her that Null couldn't either, and that it was just a mask she put in front of her, to hide how broken it all made her.

Void hung her head in shame and guilt, feeling like a lot of this were her fault. Perhaps if she hadn't made it out of Troy, Null wouldn't be split so far apart as she were.

As she stood there in her self doubt and guilt, Void lost her focus and fell through the platform she were standing on, which she only realized as she were almost through it and could see at what laid below them, which were mainly the abyss that she feared would swallow one whole, were one to fall into it.

In a panicked frenzy, she crawled upwards again to get away from this potential end, however, something caught her eye down there. Something that seemed rather important, which she'd share with Selena soon as she popped up from the dirt again.

"Uhm S-Selena? I t-think I f-found her. D-Down there."

If Selena were to look, she'd find a sole platform sitting below them. it weren't all that large, but it were hard to evaluate from the things in the way of the platform on all sides, which seemed to be a swirling mass of faceless pegasi, flying endlessly around. If one listened intently, there would be faint laughter to hear from that direction, along with words that were far too faint to hear from this distance.

The few glimpses one could see between the mass of wings that should still be possible to navigate, would be dunes of sand, with some crimson streaks splattered across sections of the little they'd be able to see from this distance. The sand were present on every platform so far, but that one were the only one were it were dominant, and if Selena had a keen eye, she'd see that what sand went over the edge of any other platform, would fall down on this one, almost as if it were guided there by an invisible force.

"I k-know this isn't the r-route we were g-going, but e-everything horrible s-started in Troy. In the d-dunes. It w-would probably be her m-most painful memory. And uhm... B-Big sis always h-hated seeing other pegasi f-flying. I h-heard her say a few t-times that it f-felt like they were m-mocking her, b-because she couldn't fly h-herself anymore. I know it h-hurt her a l-lot..."

There were certain risks in going down there, as the platform they were on right now weren't the closest to this one, and the distance might be an issue for Selena, as well as the fact that this might not be where Null actually were, but just where she had pushed her most painful memories away to.

On the other hoof though, they'd save time on not going through seven other platforms before reaching somewhere closer to that one, and not having to deal with the pain and memories they might face there, along with giving 900 less time to mount an attack, if that were his plan.

It would be up to Selena. If they went the path they already had been threading, the next platform would be in a dying forest, with varied mannequins seemingly try to run away from another, holding a cube in the middle, yet as it seemed, none of them had gotten away, with varied mutations and angles shown on the mannequins that would speak volumes about pain and grotesque deformities. Even without faces on, the mannequins were still easy to show as being in agony, and the aura of pain and hatred would almost seep out of the very ground. Any memory here would be some truly dark ones.

If they went down to the sandy platform where Void said she imagined Null were, thy'd approach to hear the pegasi were indeed saying things between laughs. Rather loudly too.

"Freak."

"Lesser than dirt."

"Without wings, you're nothing."

"Good your parents aren't alive to feel ashamed over you anymore."

And the things just went on and on, with them not reacting in the slightest to the incoming traffic. They'd find them to be annoying to pass at best, but there were gaps where you could fly through, and in case it wouldn't go too well for Selena, Void would swoop down and grab her, before dragging them to the platform.

Landing on the dunes, they'd find that there were indeed two large splatters of blood, covering the center area of the little desert, going in each their own direction. The amount made it clear that whoever this had belonged to, hadn't survived. There also seemed to be marks in the sand, and a trail of fresher blood that they could follow, that indicated that it had somewhat recently been disturbed. Following the trail, they'd find an entrance to a darkened tunnel going downwards. Outside, a broken lump of black wood could be found at the side of the entrance, which were open, and from down below, a few weak, indecipherable voices could be heard. Perhaps they'd find Null down there? Though judging from the hoofsteps in the sand outside the entrance, they would have two or three beings in total that had wandered down there not too long ago, so they might be in for a troubling experience.

There were a single mannequin on the isle too, but touching that one would not give a visual at first. Just the sound of screams, and a voice chanting desperately above all of it "I killed them! It's my fault! What have I done?!" over and over again. The voice would be very young, but from the memories earlier, Selena should still comfortably know the one speaking as Null.

If she managed to get through the deafening, fearful voice for more than fifteen seconds, she'd get a look at a small and broken Null, bandages around her freshly amputated wing stump, looking back over towards a dune with tears streaming down her horrified face, just to hear triumphant yelps coming from the directions, before a voice cried out *Find them! They cannot escape!*. You could see pain wash over her face at that point, as she turned away from this scene, to run down to a bawling mess of an earth pony filly, stumbling as she hadn't had the time to adjust to her lack of a back leg. She were trying to go back, but Null pushed her away, dragging her and supporting her best as she could.

The last Selena would see if she kept on, were Void weakly straining against her sister's weak, but persistent push to move on, and reaching a hoof back towards the dune where the screams had been heard before.

"Let me go, we have to help them! M-Mommy!

Daddy!!!"

The desperate, crying words of a filly who just heard the last outburst of her parents would boom out across the sands, engulf the memory, and suddenly, Selena would be forcibly ejected from the memory, whatever she wanted to or not.