private Tears of Virtue Rebooted

[Addem Up 246]

It was the Summer Sun Celebration in Canterlot: The sun shone, the wind blew through the city, and the air was warm. Ponies of all kinds flocked to the city, sampling the wonders it had to offer. The large podium was decked with ribbons and banners, ready for Celestia to emerge and bathe it in light.

 

The only spot of darkness lay far away, over the sea. A large thundercloud loomed, flickers of red arcing through the smoky darkness. Many a pegasus had been sent to dispel it; all had returned, claiming it was impossible. However, nopony really cared; it was a holiday, after all. Who cared about one dark cloud?

 

Perhaps they should have.

Edited June 2, 2013 by Addem Up

[GaleFenrir 281]

Curious observed his surroundings.

 

In all his days of travel, he had never had the pleasure of visiting Canterlot during a holiday, so he assumed there would be plenty of intriguing sights.

 

He had just arrived in Canterlot that day, and the city was full of ponies who have traveled there, much like he.

 

"Right, that would probably be why I have never been one for celebrations, too many ponies obscuring the event that is supposedly happening," he thought to himself. "Well, no sense in heading back out now. Might as well try to gain something from this."

 

Curious made his way to where the central podium was, hovering slightly above the ground for a better view.

Edited June 2, 2013 by GaleFenrir

[SilverHeart 741]

Silver Heart rolled around on her bed. She had been hoping to catch some sleep before nightfall, afraid that she would be too tired to stay up the whole night until Celestia brought the sun up. She wanted to fully enjoy the Summer Sun Celebration. However, the amount of noise coming from the hundreds of ponies passing by her window were making sleep impossible for her. 

 

"Hmm...maybe I can buy one of those Zebra tonics. They probably don't even work but the placebo effect may make it work. I wonder if the fact I think it won't work will cancel out anything it could have had...it doesn't matter. It's worth a shot."

 

After getting dressed and making sure she was presentable, she left for the marketplace.

[qqq 217]

Pondah rolled out of bed and hit the ground with a thump. "Hnng?" ​ he moaned, still half asleep. He stumbled to his hooves, knocking over a pile of papers. After having a quick stretch, he was awake.

 

'What's all that noise?" Pondah thought. 'Oh yeah, freaking Summer Sun Celebration. Waste of time more like. The whole event is just propaganda.' 

 

Words he over-heard from two stranger's conversation echoed through his head. "Don't knock it till you've tried it..." Pondah smiled and thought, 'You know what, that's true. I'm going to go to the Summer Propaganda Convention and see if it's as bad as I think.'

 

Pondah slipped a few books into his saddlebags, put them on and left his house. After just a half hour of walking, he'd reached the dead centre of Canterlot.

 

​'Time to see what this is all about.'

[Addem Up 246]

The ponies around Canterlot were in a fine mood. They laughed and chatted with each other, embracing friends as they slowly trotted towards the center platform. Colts and fillies shrieked with joy as they waved sparklers in the air, chasing each other as their parents chatted.

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'Hmm... it seems everypony is congregating around a single point. I guess that's where the action happens.' Pondah thought. He trudged over to this central platform area getting knocked by several foals as he went, even taking a sparkler to the leg at one point.

 

Despite these minor inconveniences, Pondah reached the platform area. He was stood at the far back, away from all the foals, mare, stallions and sparklers of death.

 

'This is fairly dull. It just seems to be one huge marketing experience. It's entirely shops.' he thought, 'When does it get interesting?'

[Addem Up 246]

Pondah got his answer as a hush fell over the crowd. Celestia climbed onto the podium, her armor sparkling in the moon's radiance. Nodding to her sister, she bowed her head, horn glowing. Her wings opened, lifting her into the air as the first traces of sunlight peeked over the horizon. She continued to rise, the sun showing its face. The night slowly became day, Celestia merely a silhouette against the amber light. As she reached the apex of her flight, a bolt of red lightning rocketed from the cloud over the sea. Seeing it, a guardpony threw himself in front of it; sadly, the bolt passed through his body and he fell, screaming, to the ground, his wings alight. Alerted by the screams, Celestia opened her eyes just in time to see the bolt hurtling towards her. It crashed into her chest, sending her skidding across the ground. Luna dashed over to her sister's side, helping her up. With a grimace, Celestia said, "Sh-show yourself! Who are you?"

 

A rumble of thunder echoed over the land as the grey cloud moved closer. The guardpony that had been injured before chuckled, drawing a sword and slashing at his comrades. Chain lightning struck the crowd, the struck ponies collapsing. They groaned, then rose to their feet and attacked the others. Celestia watched as her subjects battled, then turned her gaze to the cloud. She and Luna shared a glance, spread their wings, and hurtled towards the cloud, horns glowing. They rocketed into its center... and did not emerge.

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As Celestia was hit by the lightning, Pondah reared onto his back legs and shouted, "Ha! Owned!" He quickly realised that now was not a time for joking as things became violent.

 

'Oh look, a fight. How civil. I really can't be bothered to stay here anymore.' he thought. Pondah began to sneak off towards a row of buildings and a quiet place to think. 'Now then, when it's all gone down the pan and there's violence all around, what would I do?' The proverbial lightbulb pung in Pondah's head. 'To the library! But quietly...'

 

With this, Pondah began to sneak off towards castle library.

[GaleFenrir 281]

"Well, this was not quite what I expected," Curious thought to himself when the first arc of lightning struck. "This will probably end up in a riot, and I do not want to be a part of that, got to get out of here quickly."

 

Curious turned around and saw other ponies in the crowd getting struck, followed by their irrational violence. "Alright, I can either try my best to sneak through this violent crowd unnoticed, or I take flight and draw attention to myself."

 

Curious took a moment more to look upon the sisters flying into the cloud, "Whatever is going on, it's not going to be fixed by staying here, got to get out quickly and collect my thoughts." Curious decided against flying, as that would make him an obvious target for any of the mad pegasi or unicorns. He slowly but surely waded through the crowd, when he saw a rather hairy earth pony doing likewise, headed towards a row of buildings, and past that.

 

"Where exactly is he headed off to? Oh well, he at least seems sane enough, might as well catch up to him and see what he makes of this situation," and with that thought Curious followed after the earth pony.

[qqq 217]

"Where exactly is he headed off to? Oh well, he at least seems sane enough, might as well catch up to him and see what he makes of this situation," and with that thought Curious followed after the earth pony.

Pondah stopped for a moment's breath. Panting, he thought, 'I haven't done that in a while. I need to get out more. Now then, where from here?' Whilst thinking, Pondah saw a pegasus running towards him. Without thinking, he ran further, his energy coming all from fear. "Oh, crap, crap, crap!" he shouted. 

[Addem Up 246]

The crowd, still locked in its fierce battle, didn't notice the two stragglers. They did, however, notice the unicorn at the marketplace, quickly catching her up in their tussle. The guards quickly subdues their unruly comrade, only to have the weight of the crowd pull them apart from him. Once free, he began slashing at the crowd with a wicked grin on his face.

[SilverHeart 741]

 

 

They did, however, notice the unicorn at the marketplace, quickly catching her up in their tussle.

 

 

(OOC: I assume that unicorn is supposed to be Silver Heart. Sorry I haven't been posting. College work consumes my life. I'm sorry about the bad quality of this post. I wrote it in a hurry.)

 

Silver Heart could only stare at the dark cloud that had consumed both Celestia and Luna. She waited for the Princesses to emerge victorious over whatever malicious entity controlled it. After all, no creature or spirit she knew of could best their combined might. She continued to watch the grey cloud closely. Nothing happened. Her faith in the two Alicorns soon turned to worry. Silver Heart found that she was breathing harder, as if she had just ran across the city. 

 

A nearby mare screamed, causing Silver Heart to finally tear her eyes off of the cloud. Before Silver Heart could take in any of the pandemonium around her, a large stallion bucked her in side. Even if she had been prepared for being kick, it probably wouldn't have done her much good. The strength of the impact had effectively knocked her out. Pleased with himself the stallion turned to look for his next victim. A nearby mare watched for a few moments before deciding to try and drag her off to safety.

 

(OOC: Like I said, I'm really sorry about the quality.)

[GaleFenrir 281]

@,

 

Curious noticed that the Pony he was following had seemed to slow down, turn around to face him, and then promptly redoubled his pace. "Now why would he do that? Oh, right, the riot. Better convince him that I have not, in fact, gone insane."

 

Curious slowed down his chase to what he hoped would be a less threatening trot. "Hey! Hey, hold up! I swear, I am not insane! Where are you going?"

[qqq 217]

@@GaleFenrir,

 

Pondah continued his evasive action until a turn took him to a bad place. "Is this a dead end?" he said with chattering teeth. "No, no, no! Damn it!" ​Pondah's feelings of fear became replaced with anger and self-preservation. "Grr!" 

 

He looked around frantically for an escape path. It was no use. Pondah got ready for what he believed to be an imminent battle.

[GaleFenrir 281]

@,

 

Curious saw the Earth Pony continue his frantic pace, turning at each corner in an effort to evade Curious. "Poor colt, he's clearly panicked. Have to hurry and catch up to him before he does something stupid." Curious shifted from a cautious trot to swift flight, not letting the younger pony escape his sight.

 

He took one final turn and saw that the pony wound up in a dead end, and turned towards him. Curious kept himself a couple of meters away, knowing that the eyes of that Earth Pony was not a friendly one. "Look, calm down. You're panicked and exhausted, but you evidently had the sense of mind to escape before things got messy. I am not here to hurt you, so let me help you!"

[Addem Up 246]

 

 

(OOC: I assume that unicorn is supposed to be Silver Heart. Sorry I haven't been posting. College work consumes my life. I'm sorry about the bad quality of this post. I wrote it in a hurry.)

 

Silver Heart could only stare at the dark cloud that had consumed both Celestia and Luna. She waited for the Princesses to emerge victorious over whatever malicious entity controlled it. After all, no creature or spirit she knew of could best their combined might. She continued to watch the grey cloud closely. Nothing happened. Her faith in the two Alicorns soon turned to worry. Silver Heart found that she was breathing harder, as if she had just ran across the city. 

 

A nearby mare screamed, causing Silver Heart to finally tear her eyes off of the cloud. Before Silver Heart could take in any of the pandemonium around her, a large stallion bucked her in side. Even if she had been prepared for being kick, it probably wouldn't have done her much good. The strength of the impact had effectively knocked her out. Pleased with himself the stallion turned to look for his next victim. A nearby mare watched for a few moments before deciding to try and drag her off to safety.

 

(OOC: Like I said, I'm really sorry about the quality.)

 

 

(Not a problem, it's pretty good.)

 

The mare gently tugged at the unicorn, wings outstretched as she dragged her away from the fight and into a nearby building. She locked the door behind her, then turned to the unconscious pony. She retrieved a cloth from the nearby kitchen, dipping it in water and wiping her forehead before examining the unicorn's side.

[qqq 217]

@@GaleFenrir,

 

Pondah's heart and breathing rate shot through the roof. "B...b...back off! I'm not falling for a trap!" he stuttered. Pondah searched around for an escape path. Realising that the wall to the left from rough and bumpy, Pondah launched himself at it and begin to climb. After only a quarter of the wall, Pondah slipped from the wall and hit the ground on his back. "No..." he said softly. Pondah looked at the Pegasus with a gaze of pure fear and worry.

[GaleFenrir 281]

@,

 

Curious looked upon the the scampering pony with a mixed look of worry and confusion. "This... this isn't just the typical panic that would accompany whatever just happened at the celebration. Yeah, he's young, relatively, but... what could have caused him to be this traumatized?"

 

"Alright, I get it. Sorry for bothering you." Curious started to turn around, head hanging low. "Can't do much for him if he's in this state."

 

Then, Curious heard a thump. The kind of thump that Curious always felt in his own head, rather than heard, no matter how soft the impact. His face went from worried to absolutely terrified, and he immediately turned to the source.

 

The earth pony was evidently unsuccessful in his attempt to climb the wall, and had fallen on his back.

 

Curious wasted no time, he unwrapped his scarf from his neck and ran towards the pitiable pony. Without saying a word, he began to try and wrap the scarf around the fallen colt. "Rationally, I realize it wasn't too far a fall. But... even if it is only a bit of pain, I can't let that be. The enchantment upon the scarf should help soothe his muscles, and hopefully provide some modicum of comfort."

 

((OOC: I know the scarf's enchantment wasn't mentioned in my character bio, but I hope it's alright, since it's only a minor enchantment that doesn't really do "proper" healing.))

[qqq 217]

@,

 

 

Pondah was visible quivering as Curious walked towards him. As the scarf was wrapped around though,  the shaking stopped and, in a stuttering voice, Pondah said, "You... you really were trying to help. I'm sorry for doubting you." The soothing effects of the scarf flowed through Pondah's body and he sighed as the pain from landing was relieved.

[GaleFenrir 281]

@,

 

Curious rubbed one of his front hooves against the back of his neck, and let out a small chuckle. "That's quite alright." His face went from one of relief to a noticeable grimace, and he looked down upon the pony, "you were clearly spooked, and I should have backed off sooner. My name is Curious, by the way. What is yours?"

Edited June 4, 2013 by GaleFenrir

[qqq 217]

@@GaleFenrir,

 

 

Pondah staggered to his hooves, wincing slightly as he stood. "The name's Pondah." He paused for a moment, then said, "Well, first thing's... second, what in world is going on? This is my first time here. Is this normal? Is this meant to happen? In short, why is everypony crazy?"

[GaleFenrir 281]

@,

 

Curious tilted his head slightly at Pondah's comment. " He doesn't live in Canterlot? Certainly he didn't come here alone, his parent's must be worried about him."

 

Curious let out an audible sigh, "I don't know what's going on exactly, and no, this is not normal. I saw the princesses get struck by some sort of lightning, along with some of ponies in the crowd. The best guess I have is that it's some malevolent force, and that's not exactly a lot to go on." Curious straightened himself up, in an attempt to look heroic. "But whatever is going on, I'll get to the bottom of it! It's what I live to do!"

[qqq 217]

@@GaleFenrir

 

Pondah smirked at Curious' "hero speech". "Need a hand with that? I'm pretty good at hunting down information... just not from other ponies. This seems interesting enough to warrant getting involved." Pondah shook a leg to help remove some of the muscle tightness. "Am I the only pony who thinks this is seriously cliched? Evil force, princesses in danger, unlikely bunch tries to solve the problem. All we need now is a knight in shining armour and it'll be clichetastic."

[Addem Up 246]

@@GaleFenrir

 

Pondah smirked at Curious' "hero speech". "Need a hand with that? I'm pretty good at hunting down information... just not from other ponies. This seems interesting enough to warrant getting involved." Pondah shook a leg to help remove some of the muscle tightness. "Am I the only pony who thinks this is seriously cliched? Evil force, princesses in danger, unlikely bunch tries to solve the problem. All we need now is a knight in shining armour and it'll be clichetastic."

 

(Oh, hush. Clichès are fun. Speaking of which...) A loud clanking echoed down the alley as an armored guard dashed in, panting heavily. He jerked back at the sight of the two stallions, his sword levitating by his side. "Hooves where I can see them, now!" he called out in a shaky voice.

Edited June 5, 2013 by Addem Up

[qqq 217]

(Oh, hush. Clichès are fun. Speaking of which...) A loud clanking echoed down the alley as an armored guard dashed in, panting heavily. He jerked back at the sight of the two stallions, his sword levitating by his side. "Hooves where I can see them, now!" he called out in a shaky voice.

Pondah jumped out of his skin upon being addressed by the metal-plated guard. "Ahh!" he cried, placing his hooves on his head a laying down on his belly. "Please don't kill me, please don't kill me, please don't kill me." Pondah whispered. He closed his eyes in an attempt to drown out the chaos of reality around him.

 

(OOC: Remember this Addem? Don't worry new guys, it's a special thing.)

[back on the floor, right where you belong.]