The Seventh Stone (open)

[Page.Turner 940]

Panting, Post Haste continued at his fast pace. The tears still stained his cheeks and streamed from his eyes but his expression was now one of anger and annoyance. He all but ignored the flying Pegasus that was pursuing him but it was very hard. In fact, the little hot headed stallion growled and shot Cloud a very dark look before skidding to a stop on purpose this time. His knees trembled and his legs almost buckled and gave out on him but he managed to stay up. They weren’t far from Ponyville so it wasn’t much of a concern now. “You hold on a moment!” he shouted. “It seems mighty suspicious that a pony like you who isn’t even from around these parts is just happening to defend the pony accused of murder. Now I know what I saw and what I saw is fact enough that somepony has taken the lives of our militia! If you’re wanting to preach logic, how’s about this to think about Mister Hot Shot: An out of towner with no intention of staying here supporting the ONLY pony who survived a full blown massacre of the very militia he was in support of. Not to mention the quick flight from the very scene of the crime without so much as a word to me!”

 

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Sky Song couldn’t believe it. The door was locked… locked! Hadn’t the doctor told her this was her ‘home’? Didn’t he say his door was always open to her? Maybe he meant his office doors. It would make sense, given the circumstance. What pony would just leave his or her front door wide open so any pony could just wander on in. Sense… was just something she didn’t have lately.

 

With a bit of a sigh, she looked up at Crystal Fire with a defeated look and gently handed him the papers like a filly who just got caught in the cookie jar. “I just thought… I thought they could help me.” The blue haired pony got to her feet with a bit of an effort and looked about as though she was expecting an eavesdropper to be nearby. She took a couple of steps closer before speaking in a low tone, “Look, I know something is going on here and I highly doubt this is of any importance to you but I’m not from here. In fact, I don’t even know where I’m from. I barely even remembered my name when I woke up but that’s beside the point. I have a feeling. A really, really strong feeling that maybe those papers will give me something I can remember. Have you ever forgotten something important and no matter how hard you try you just can’t remember? I need to remember this. I have to… maybe it even has something to do with your fiasco, I’m not sure but I want to know. I could hel-“ Sky Song was about to offer her assistance but she remembered her wings. Her poor, broken wings and sighed. “I could at least give you some answers… maybe. Possibly. Potentially.”

[Aureity 3,055]

Crystal Fire frowned. "Answers? What do you mean, answers? You don't happen to know anything about this, do you?" he asked suspiciously. And then he remembered the mob. "Look, I could care less about those papers, but the mob trashing the town hall at the moment would like some information. What's in the packet could save Ponyville from anarchy, ya know. Especially as all the guards in Canterlot seem to have disappeared, too. You know how easy it would be for kidnappers to waltz right in? And here we stand arguing over the fate of Ponyville."

[Strong Hooves 289]

Cloud glared angrily at the pony, in his anger, he threw up his fore hooves "You know what?!? Fine! Go on ahead and throw your accusations! But don't you dare accuse me! I only tried to make sure you weren't running on what you thought you saw!! Go ahead, I won't stop you!!". At that Cloud took off into the air, heading back to town square. "I gotta find Crystal" he said to himself, he needed answers, and Crystal was the only one who could provide them.

[Page.Turner 940]

“No, no, no.” Sky Song sighed and shook her head as though attempting to clear it. She could feel herself getting heavier but she couldn’t bear to let it get to her right now. “I mean, I don’t know if I do but I might. I just don’t know but if I could just read those papers then maybe I would. And maybe I would be able to learn a little more about where I came from, why I’m here and… Oh, I don’t know. I don’t know anything.” With a heavy sigh, Sky Song turned towards the house of Dr. Valium. “My saddle bag is in there right now. They found it with me. All I have is a map and a dumb old rock and I don’t even know what I had so if someone stole something from me I wouldn’t know. But I want to know… let me come with you to the town hall.”

 

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Post Haste snorted and continued on his way to Ponyville. He was dirty, tired, and feeling like he could rest for ages. And when he made it to the town hall he told the ponies what he had seen at the tower and his suspicions of the outsider pony Cloud and the militia pony Crystal.

 

No pony seemed too pleased about this new piece of news.

[Aureity 3,055]

Crystal Fire rolled his eyes. "Okay, fine. As long as we can straighten out this mess." He looked back on the pother pony's broken wings. "Uh...you should probably get those checked up, ya know. It's the worst possible thing, being a grounded pegasus." He pondered. "But not right now, we have to get there as quick as we can, before the mob gets too strong."

[Strong Hooves 289]

Cloud made it to town hall, and when he did, he could see the angry glares of all the townsponies were pointed toward him, That little prick went and accused me! I didnt even do anything! He thought to himself. Cloud ignored the glares and proceeded to find Crystal who was approaching town hall with the pegasus that had the broken wings, "Crystal!" he called out as he landed, "We got trouble, some little colt saw what you saw and started accusing you of murder! and when I tried to calm him down to make sure he had his facts straight, he started blaming me too! Hes babbling to the townsponies accusing US of murder! And theyre buying into all of it!". He then turned to Skysong, "Uh... hello there..." but that was all he could say...

[Page.Turner 940]

“Right… of course.” Sky Song made a bit of a face at her wings, pitying herself and her situation but there was nothing they could do about it at the moment. Dr. Valium had already set them to heal and given her medicine for the pain but he could do nothing to speed the healing. It was going to either take time or a Hell of a lot of magic from a unicorn healer. The only problem was she didn’t know any unicorns, let alone ones who specialized in medicines. Regardless, she nodded to Crystal Fire. “I hope you’re good with words.” And with that, she followed him to town hall.

 

Upon arrival, Sky could definitely see the big problem that they had to deal with. When all the ponies were working on constructing buildings or landscaping, it seemed like just a normal, tiny town. But now, with every pony who was any pony was there stuffing the small space. In particular she noticed a white stallion with a blonde mane catching the attention of many ears but she was unable to hear what he had to say that was so interesting. Instead, she kept herself in close proximity to Crystal… just in case.

 

The other Pegasus who approached them seemed friendly enough, if not a little upset and maybe confused. He seemed to know Crystal already which was a little bit of a relief. “Hnnn…” Sky Song made a quick glance of the crowd and started feeling a little claustrophobic. But wait… the story this other Pegasus had to say was exactly what she needed to hear. Murder? Accusations? Of course! That’s what the white stallion was going on about. “Uh! Oh, hello!... sorry.” She blushed from the embarrassment of not having anything else to say to the Pegasus but she turned her gaze to Crystal in order to gauge his reaction to these accusations.

[Aureity 3,055]

Crystal Fire was shocked. Murder? ME? Nontheless, he had disciplined himself, and now he waited calmly for the white pegasus to finish. Once the white Pegasus had finished delivering his accusation, Crystal Fire calmly parted his way through the crowd.

"You," he said calmly, trying hard to contain his anger. "You accuse ME of murder? Without any proof? Logic has failed you, it seems. Alright then. Tell me one thing. All those militia, guards, and watchponies were here yesterday. Are you saying I caused the deaths of...let's see. Hundreds of ponies? In the span of one night?" He gulped down his rising anger. "I'm not even a unicorn, remember? How the hell does a single PEGASI grapple with an earth pony in combat, let alone a hundred earth ponies, pegasi, AND the royal guards?" He gave a derisive laugh. "So think before you speak. Now, as for the crowd..." he turned to the crowd, before eyeing Sky Song, or more accurately, the documents she was holding. "We actually do have a little bit of evidence in our possession, something that I found in the watchtower."

Edited February 5, 2012 by Aureity

[Strong Hooves 289]

Cloud followed Crystal and stood next to Skysong, he looked at the white earth pony and shook his head, Dangit I tried to tell him! Now he goes on and wrongfully accuses me and Crystal for the murder of all these poor ponies. He continued to watch Crystal as he spoke, occasionaly nodding slightly in agreement. Cloud didnt like to be wrongfully accused, especially in a place he had only been in for half a month. Clouds mouth dropped as he heard the number of casualties, Hundreds?! What could have killed them like that?, he thought to himself. He saw Crystal eyeing the documents that SkySong held, and got curious as to what they held, "What are those documents for?" he whispered to Skysong, unable to contain his curiousity.

Edited February 5, 2012 by Strong Hooves

[Page.Turner 940]

Post Haste glared at Crystal Fire and snorted like a bull ready to charge. Of course, the facts brought to the table by Crystal were logical but Post was dead set in his opinion and more stubborn than ten mules’ minds together at once. “I sure as hay do accuse you of murder!” he shouted but an older Earth pony beside him with the same blonde coloured hair put a hoof in front of him to help him calm down. It was Post’s father; the family resemblance was striking.

 

“The proof is in the pudding.” Post’s father nodded. “My son is not a known liar. He saw what he saw and I believe him. You must have had accomplices. The other two Pegasi with you! The outsiders! Three of you surely could have come up with SOME kind of plan!” the stallion was talking out of his behind. “There is no amount of paper you could show us that could prove your innocence is what I say!” a few other ponies had nodded and mumbled in agreement. This was all too strange to go one way or another but Post Haste and his story was starting to break down to nothing but accusations. It was just him and his father keeping it alive. They needed to blame somepony!

 

Sky Song was simply astonished at the actions of the ponies. The faces of the crowd were a little depressing as well. Frightened children, protective mothers, ponies of all shapes, sizes and colours were terrified. All in all, who wouldn’t be? There had just been a mass murder with no explanation and three ponies being blamed for it. The easiest way to ease one’s mind would have been to punish the accused for the crimes and live on a happy life once more but… this was different.

 

A whisper from Cloud snapped her out of her thoughts and she shrugged slightly to him, having no idea what they were for. “I’m not sure but I know they’re important. I believe they can make or break this case… tell me, though, does this town have a mayor?”

[Strong Hooves 289]

Cloud shrugged, "Im not sure,Ive only been here two weeks" he then listened to what Posts father was saying, "There is no proof!! Youre only running off of what one colt says! And you go on and wrongfully accuse US of something we didnt commit?! And here I thought this was a peacful town! If all you can do is blame strangers because you have nothing better to do, then I suggest you take it to the mayor! Whoever that may be... Besides, what motive would we have of commiting such a crime! The three of us couldnt take out such a huge group of militia! If you havent noticed, one of us has two broken wings! Ive only been here two weeks! Its not like we decided to just go on some killing spree!!" he glared at the pony, letting out a snort of anger as he did.

[Aureity 3,055]

(That's actually a good question, DOES this town have a mayor? XD)

 

Crystal Fire rolled his eyes. "Sooo...three pegasi, two who haven't even had any combat experience, one of whom has broken wings, can defeat a few hundred soldiers now in one night, can they? And even supposing they could, I'm sure you've actually seen the outpost for yourself, which is how you realized the same thing as I did. Well then. You know guards don't man the towers alone, especially an outpost that functions like a house all on its own. There were at least ten guards in there, if not more. At least two of them were officers with extensive combat training. You're saying I jumped ten guards. Alone. AND got away with it in the five or ten minutes it took you to arrive? To me, it looks like your story is...falling apart. Which leads me to wonder. Why would you two be so eager to accuse us of murder, without having even provided a single shard of evidence? YOU don't have something to hide...or do you?"

Edited February 5, 2012 by Aureity

[Page.Turner 940]

(( Uhhhhhh... Guess someone could always play one? If neither of you two want to, I'll be more than happy))

 

Sky Song simply nodded and took a deep breath which she released slowly and with a bit of a huff at the end. “So as far as we know, no mayor…” that wasn’t a very good thing to hear. But, keeping her hopes up, she figured that maybe this pony that was also fairly new to the scene just hadn’t seen the mayor yet. Suddenly, she was feeling a little defensive with all the shouting going back and forth. She decided to keep her mouth shut, though. She knew nothing of this place and her honor was being defended for her; even if her wings practically spoke for themselves.

 

Post grumbled and shook his head, “What motive could you not have!? A newly developing town with much to offer to Equestria and much to steal!-“there was suddenly a hoof over the Earth pony’s mouth at the mention of thievery.

 

“Now, now, young buck.” His father whispered to him, “There’s nopony ‘round here wanting to steal the fruit of our labour just as we would never steal from anypony who happens to pass by.”

 

Post just nodded; father and son looked to Crystal Fire but only one of them had a guilty conscience. “Look, arguing isn’t going to get us anywhere. What we need here is answers and that pony right there has them, according to you.” He gestured to Sky Song who looked for a good place to set down the papers she held. “Anypony seen the mayor? Or the judge?” the mob of ponies all mumbled in unison; it was a cacophony of disappointment and uncertainty.

 

“How, for Equestria’s sake, could a town even start without a mayor!?” Sky Song suddenly blurted out in the moment of silence. “Now THAT doesn’t make any sense.”

[Aureity 3,055]

(I guess...I'll play a mayor

 

"What's all this racket," snapped an angry yet commanding voice from the entrance to the town hall.The mayor of Ponyville calmly strode down the flight of stairs, landing with a gentle leap at the foot of the cobblestone steps. "Young miss," he said, addressing Sky Song in a calm voice. "I am the mayor. Now, what is going on here? What are these citizens doing rioting in front of the town hall?"

[Strong Hooves 289]

"Well it would seem that a mass muder has been comitted and somehow, me, Crystal, and this young lady have been wrongly accused of the crime" responded Cloud to the mayor. He then stepped forward and lowered his head respectfuly, "Its a pleasure to finally meet you Mr. Mayor, my name is Cloud Chaser, and I have arrived in this town only two weeks ago. We mean no harm to this town, nor have we even thought of commiting any crime, yet we are wrongfully accused of murdering the town Militia." Cloud then stepped back to wait for the mayor to respond, turning to SkySong, he said, "I almost forgot to ask your name, I just realized it when I was speaking to the mayor".

[Page.Turner 940]

(( I'll take on the next NPC-type character!))

 

 

“Oh!” the dark coated Pegasus blinked when the mayor entered the town hall. It was a huge relief to see a pony of influence who could possibly clear their names of this crime. She bowed slightly to him and nodded. She was about to speak when Cloud did so for her which was a pretty good summary of what had happened aside from the small details that neither of them knew just yet. “Well, sir… basically what he said. But! We have these.” She gestured to the documents still in her possession and continued, “Crystal Flame found these in the watch tower after discovering the cadavers. He thinks and I feel that the answers are in those papers if we could just have a chance to open them.”

 

After her mini-speech, she sighed and lowered her head for a moment. It was too stuffy in here. And hot. She turned back to Cloud and said, “I’m Sky Song, it’s nice to meet you.” It felt strange exchanging pleasantries at the moment but it didn’t last long as Post Haste piped up.

 

“I know HE had something to do with it!” he pointed to Crystal. “I saw him!”

[Aureity 3,055]

The mayor raised an eyebrow as he turned towards Post Haste. "What did you see him do exactly? Please provide a full account of what you have seen, and why it has led you to this conclusion."

[Page.Turner 940]

((I'm just gonna respond o3o I'm sure it'll be okay))

 

Post Haste nodded and took a breath, readying himself to speak. "I had noticed there hadn't been a sign of anyone in our local militia group so I was sitting just outside of Ponyville watching the sky for any sign of... anything. And I saw HIM," he pointed to Crystal, "flying towards the tower. Everypony here knows that I deliver the town's mail and I was finished with my duty so I decided to run and meet up with him! I didn't want to go on my own because I know I'm not part of them so seeing somepony going there was, or what I thought was, a good chance to get a hoof in. Anyway, as I was running, I was almost there and I saw him fly AWAY from the tower! And he was going as fast as he could! I tried to shout at him but he didn't hear me. Instead, I went inside to investigate and I found them all dead in the beds. In the BEDS. SO! If he DID kill them, which I'm sure he did, he killed them while they slept."

[Strong Hooves 289]

It was then Cloud spoke up, "But did you SEE him do it? and if you were following him the whole time, how is it he entered and left so quickly? Even if they were asleep, he would still have need more time to kill them!"

[Aureity 3,055]

The mayor considered for a moment, and finally adjusted his monocle as he spoke, "What time was this incident?"

 

(Oh and, only the captain died in his bed, the other ponies in the outpost just disappeared. Probably shouda made that clearer while I was exploring the place)

Edited February 6, 2012 by Aureity

[Page.Turner 940]

"That's what I want to know." Post's mother, whose name was Blue Belle, spoke up over her son and looked right at Cloud. She had a soft, light blue coat and a gentle ginger mane and tail. Her cutie mark was a shooting star and her voice was soft, velvety and with a charming Southern accent. "None of this makes a lick of sense and you know it, Post." she glanced at her son with her violet eyes.

 

Post looked down and shrugged. He had no answer for the mayor specifically. "Not too long ago..."

 

((OH! Sorry... XD;; We can just pretend Post is lying about that too... XD))

Edited February 6, 2012 by SkySong

[Aureity 3,055]

The mayor adjusted his monocle as he looked sternly down upon Post Haste. "Well, young sir, I trust that your education towards joining the town's militia propelled you to read up on the rules they had, did you not? For I myself seem to recall one in particular. The soldiers of Ponyville sleep in shifts, in order to ensure safety at all times. It was how our noble town was able to defend against the banditry that attacked it half a year ago under the midnight moon. Now then, young colt. Does it seem likely to you that a pony you've followed could have landed silently on the roof, slain five guards in their sleep, slain the other five that were awake, and escaped before you entered the building to investigate?"

The mayor cleared his throat and addressed the crowd. "Citizens of Ponyville. Rather than take up arms against your brethren, would it not be wiser to find out the real reason behind the disappearance of so many of our fellow brothers and sisters? I implore you, citizens, if any of you have any clues, to come forward now."

 

Crystal Flame looked relieved as he heard the mayor's logic. When the mayor had gotten to the last portion of his speech about clues, Crystal gave Sky Song a questioning glance, and pointed towards the documents.

[Page.Turner 940]

Post Haste hung his head and avoided the look of any pony, feeling ashamed of himself. During the mayor’s chastising speech, he had opened and closed his mouth like a fish out of water trying to speak and get his words in but not only had the mayor continued speaking, not allowing him, but a sharp jab in the side by his embarrassed mother also kept his lips tight. He knew he was wrong, that much was as plain as a cutie mark, but he was neither ready nor mature enough to admit it. Instead, he avoided eye contact and slowly sat himself down. Post’s legs were exhausted from the strenuous exercise and he was finally feeling it.

 

On the other side of the argument, after the ponies of Ponyville set aside their flaming anger and bloodlust for justice, Sky Song met Crystal’s glance and with her eyes she confirmed. Stepping a little closer to the mayor and out of the crowd, she placed the papers on a convenient surface and cleared her throat. “I…” it was a poor start, but she was nervous. “I mean, we,” she gestured to Crystal Flame and Cloud, “We have these. Crystal found them in the watch tower after discovering the crime. Neither he nor I have looked at them but we believe it will give us some clue as to what happened.”

Edited February 7, 2012 by SkySong

[Strong Hooves 289]

Cloud now managed to relax himself after the mayor spoke to the crowd, seemingly calming them down. He looked to Post and felt strangely sympathetic for the colt, Poor kid, his heart was in the right place, he just got a little carried away... hopes this teaches him. He then looked to Sky Song as she set down the documents, his curiosity finally reaching its breaking point. He approached Sky and Crystal, wanting to see just what these documents held...

[Aureity 3,055]

Cyrstal Flame sat down wearily. Well, that was taken care of. Barely...but thank god for a level-headed crowd. He hummed in anticipation as he waited for Sky Song to open the documents. Bit sad, really,he thought. I snatched these as an afterthought. Thank Celestia I did, cause they seem pretty important right about...his gaze wandered off until his eyes met the horizon, and the royal castle of Canterlot. Was there smoke coming from the towers? I'll check there next, he promised himself, shooing away the uneasy thought.