open 'Neath the Chestnut Tree (Mature)

[Leafeon 2,701]

@@Toxic Widow, @@Snowy Storm,

 

Memento noted how distracted Novella seemed. Now would be the perfect time for an undetectable break in to her back room. As she exclaimed, there seemed to be something of interest to him in there. Since he had to learn about most all of Equestria's abilities, learning how they mind control would be a great find for his empire. And he would have to report his findings soon afterwards.

 

With a dull flash of green flame, the stallion emerged in the backroom, and casually sorted through the books. Worst case scenario, he could play this up as an accident.

[Demosthenes 13]

Scorpio yawned and shuffled over to the window of his hut, glaring out at the darkened sky as it was filled with bright flashes and loud noises. "Bloody flashbangs!" he hollered into the night. "I could make be'er ones in mah sleep!" He let out a huff of irritation and returned to his nest of hay and moss.

[Toxic Widow 62]

@,

 

Novella felt like something was a bit amiss in the library. She turned to see a pony standing in her office.

"Excuse me for just a moment." She said to Dark, slightly angry that some one could go through all of her journals, half-finished books, ideas, the books she was reading, and her personal belongings, just because they felt like it.

She could feel her eyes clouding over, blinded by dark voices in her head, she took a deep breath and shook her head. Her vision was restored to normal once again.

The door flung open and made a loud bang against the wall.

 

She stared unblinkingly at the pony in her office, her horn glowing faintly.

 

"Who do you think you are and why the buck are you in my office? Don't you dare try to lie to me." She asked calmly, half of her wanting to tear him limb from limb, and the other half wanting to reason with him politely.

[Leafeon 2,701]

"Who do you think you are and why the buck are you in my office? Don't you dare try to lie to me."

As suspected, she had sensed his magic. Nice. Fortunately for him, the book had been open to the exact page it needed to be, due to that being where she had left off. This other pony's timing was excellent.

 

"To lie to such a beautiful mare would be a waste of time. My name is Memento." The pony began, with a bow. "My apologies that I didn't introduce myself earlier. As well as my apologies for this. I was unaware this was the room you spoke of... So, I'll simply exit in the same way I came in..." Memento said, as calmly as anypony could, and headed for the door.

[Toxic Widow 62]

@,

She blocked his exit with a small force field.

 

"I said no lies. Are you trying to bucking charm me!? Who do you think I am!? I work in a bucking library all day! I'm not about to just let you walk away after rifling through my stuff.

What did you come in here for? Now don't lie to me this time." Now she could really feel her eyes cloud over, she heard a chorus of laughter in her head, and it's almost as if she felt her whole body become darker.

Though she could still see out of her eyes, they were visibly becoming cloudy, as if she was blind. She wasn't in the mood to do something about it for it was clear to her he had no good reason to be in her office.

[Leafeon 2,701]

"I said no lies. Are you trying to bucking charm me!? Who do you think I am!? I work in a bucking library all day! I'm not about to just let you walk away after rifling through my stuff.

What did you come in here for? Now don't lie to me this time."

Hm. This would actually provide a fraction of a challenge. What fun this would be...

 

"I seem to have misheard you, Novella? I'm quite sure you're upset, and for that I apologize. Though I do think trying to trap me in the room you wish me not to be in is a bit... counterproductive." Memento said, in the same tone as before, absentmindedly tapping a hoof to the barrier. He suspected it to be a normal barrier, which it was, thought the power of said barrier was notably stronger to the average unicorn's. Nothing he couldn't handle, but still. A simple sapping of the energy from it would be enough to let him shatter it when on direct contact was made to it, in theory. So of course, that's what he did. In the most discreet way, possible, of course. Novella's vision seemed indirect. Most likely clouded. And as far as he knew, changeling magic was not easily sensible. "Though I could easily enough ask for your mercy as long as I want, my testimony doesn't seem to mean much to you. Again, my apologies." He finished with another bow.

Edited July 18, 2013 by Firebolt

[Toxic Widow 62]

@,

 

She laughed, he thought she was weak. That that was all she could do. That she couldn't provide more of a challenge, that she was wrong, and that she was easily brought down. She couldn't, and wouldn't, stand for it.

 

She grit her teeth.

 

 

"If this is how you want to play it...

I have a simple question. I'm sure you'll be able to answer it.

Who do you think I am." She said her question as more of a command.

Her eyes became fully clouded over, dark magic and voices swirled in her mind without control. She knew he didn't fear her like he should, but she didn't care.

 

She put up a much stronger force field this time, surrounding only Memento and herself.  

[Snowy Storm 57]

Dark was reading a book he thought might give him some sense of this place. When he heard Novella shouting at some pony. Dark stopped reading and looked up. What he saw made him cringe. It seemed the mare had her own history to her.

Turning his attention to the other pony that was in the library he took small mental notes on him.

@@Toxic Widow,

"I'd be careful if I was you. You don't want to get blood on the books do you?" Dark said trying to calm her mind.

@,

-I'll need to find this stallion later-  Dark thought to himself

[Leafeon 2,701]

"If this is how you want to play it...

I have a simple question. I'm sure you'll be able to answer it.

Who do you think I am."

Now, this posed a problem. On one hoof, Memento was still perfectly able to escape at anytime. On the other, that would expose himself. And really, he'd prefer to die for the hive then face the wrath of the Queen. And exposing them would probably lead to death anyway... This pony obviously thought highly of her powers, regardless. Which seemed to blind her. Which ended up nicely for him. 

 

"I'd be careful if I was you. You don't want to get blood on the books do you?"

And then the cosmos decided that making things easier on, oh so helpless, Memento was the best hoof forward. Fine by his regard. "I must agree. That would be quite a waste. Not to mention... I really don't have anyway of getting out of here." Memento said, his voice shifting to a bit desperate with the last sentence. Though that wasn't true in the slightest...

[Toxic Widow 62]

@, @@Snowy Storm,

 

"That doesn't matter. They can be repaired. Just answer my questions and we'll be fine." She threatened. At this point, she only had a limited amount  was barely controlling what she was doing. She wasn't confident of her magical abilities at all, or able to stand up to any pony. A small voice in her mind, her own, was crying out in pain but she couldn't hear it, as usual. She would never want to hurt any pony, but she couldn't help it. Her hate and insanity controlled her, it ruled her, never the other way around. Her eyes become firmly clouded and  she seemed like a completely different pony.

Suddenly the force field flickered and her face became contorted with pain.

She let out a small squeak of pain, but kept standing, and staring right at Momento with unblinking, clouded eyes.

[Leafeon 2,701]

"That doesn't matter. They can be repaired. Just answer my questions and we'll be fine." ... She let out a small squeak of pain, but kept standing, and staring right at Momento with unblinking, clouded eyes.

Well, it was certainly obvious Novella was hiding something a bit more important then what Memento had gathered. Regardless, this was certainly worth what he had gathered. Perhaps he would have to visit again... But disguised as someone else.

 

The squeak caught him off guard, though. How could this pony be in pain? Memento had done nothing to injure her, so what was up? "Uhm... Are you alright...?" He asked, raising one hoof, out of more curiosity then genuine concern.

[Snowy Storm 57]

@@Toxic Widow,

Dark closed his eyes. What he saw almost reminded him of his own transformation. That painful and dark time. Walking over to the mare he tried to sense the magic around her. The magic around her was simple and tainted with something. Dark didn't care though. Dark thought about eating the magic around her. Dark placed that thought out of his mind.

"If you can hear me. Say something" It looked like she was out for the time being

@,

"While you were in that room did you happen to find out anything that could be related to her current state?" Dark said the pony.

"I am Dark, by the way" 

[Toxic Widow 62]

@,

 

"I'm fine. I'm always fine. When everyone else is dead...I'm fine..." She whispered, her face still contorted with pain.

 

"You could've asked..." She remarked, this time more to Momento.

 

Her eyes started becoming more and more clear and she let more of a shriek out. She fell to the floor whimpering, her horn still slightly glowing.

 

"We're ok..We'll always be ok...We'll always there for each other to keep us safe..." She murmured quietly to herself.

Edited July 18, 2013 by Toxic Widow

[MelancholicMemory 2,022]

Forest chuckled and gave Vesper a hard pat on the back...which felt pretty normal to Forest. "Yep...when I first saw 'em I couldn't look away...I was only six...was with me sister." He smiled, which was something he rarely did.

He watched the fireworks for a moment before walking back below the roof, sitting down on his chair and puffing on his pipe.

Vesper followed him inside with a big, wide smile across his face. "I like...fireworks..." He sat back down with Forest, looking at him from across the table. "Y-you're r-really nice....c-can I come back here sometime...and...um..." he looked around. "watch you work....or talk...or something?"

[Snowy Storm 57]

@@Toxic Widow,

"We? What do you mean by that?" Watching the mare lose her mind was almost enough to amuse Dark, but it also made he feel bad for her. 

"I think you should just lay right there. You need to rest"

@,

"Well what are you going to do?" Dark said facing him "This is your fault after all"  

[Miss Light Diamond 2,801]

Vesper followed him inside with a big, wide smile across his face. "I like...fireworks..." He sat back down with Forest, looking at him from across the table. "Y-you're r-really nice....c-can I come back here sometime...and...um..." he looked around. "watch you work....or talk...or something?"

 

Forest chuckled. "Sure." He said, sipping his tea. "If ya do come...I'll probly ask ya t'give me a hoof now and again...I could pay ya for it if ya want." He said, puffing on his pipe. "Or y'could just sit and watch...thought it'd give ya somethin' t'do..." He shrugged. "Ye're welcome any time."

Edited July 18, 2013 by ~Fire Sky~

[MelancholicMemory 2,022]

Forest chuckled. "Sure." He said, sipping his tea. "If ya do come...I'll probly ask ya t'give me a hoof now and again...I could pay ya for it if ya want." He said, puffing on his pipe. "Or y'could just sit and watch...thought it'd give ya somethin' t'do..." He shrugged. "Ye're welcome any time."

"Thanks! I want to help! We can be friends!" he said in a cheerful, but restrained manner. He smiled at Forest. He was happier than he's ever been. He met somepony who didn't care about his wings; somepony who actually liked him and wanted him around! He restrained the urge to hug him.

[Miss Light Diamond 2,801]

"Thanks! I want to help! We can be friends!" he said in a cheerful, but restrained manner. He smiled at Forest. He was happier than he's ever been. He met somepony who didn't care about his wings; somepony who actually liked him and wanted him around! He restrained the urge to hug him.

 

Forest nodded. "Uh yeah...I suppose." He said.

Truth is...in all of his life, he had never had a real friend before. He smiled and patted Vesper on the shoulder before taking another puff from his pipe. "Ye're a pretty cool pony, y'know that, Vesper?" He said, finishing his tea.

[MelancholicMemory 2,022]

Forest nodded. "Uh yeah...I suppose." He said.

Truth is...in all of his life, he had never had a real friend before. He smiled and patted Vesper on the shoulder before taking another puff from his pipe. "Ye're a pretty cool pony, y'know that, Vesper?" He said, finishing his tea.

"I-I'm cool?" he asked uncertainly. He didn't quite know what that meant, but it sounded good! He was so glad to have a friend! "You're the best pony I ever met!" he said awkwardly, but optimistically before taking a long sip of his drink, his wings opened wide. He couldn't wait to tell Chirp (his favorite chicken) about this.

[Miss Light Diamond 2,801]

"I-I'm cool?" he asked uncertainly. He didn't quite know what that meant, but it sounded good! He was so glad to have a friend! "You're the best pony I ever met!" he said awkwardly, but optimistically before taking a long sip of his drink, his wings opened wide. He couldn't wait to tell Chirp (his favorite chicken) about this.

((You're...I just...O.O))

 

Forest raised an eyebrow. "I'm nothin' special." He muttered, puffing on his pipe. "If y'do come...not allots gonna happen. I rarely get any customers so...not allot happens 'ere 'part from carvin' and smeltin'." He said, glancing over at the forge in the corner. "I don't really need bits anyway. I grow all me own food and make most a the stuff in my house...so..." He shrugged.

[MelancholicMemory 2,022]

((You're...I just...O.O))

 

Forest raised an eyebrow. "I'm nothin' special." He muttered, puffing on his pipe. "If y'do come...not allots gonna happen. I rarely get any customers so...not allot happens 'ere 'part from carvin' and smeltin'." He said, glancing over at the forge in the corner. "I don't really need bits anyway. I grow all me own food and make most a the stuff in my house...so..." He shrugged.

"M-me too..." he said, looking around the shop. "I...I just want to help..." he said. "Um...do you wanna talk about something else?" he asked. He was desperate for conversation. He loved talking to this pony. "W-what kind of things do you like to do?" he asked the big stallion across from him. Vesper was a runt of a stallion, so he looked much bigger than he really was.

[Miss Light Diamond 2,801]

"M-me too..." he said, looking around the shop. "I...I just want to help..." he said. "Um...do you wanna talk about something else?" he asked. He was desperate for conversation. He loved talking to this pony. "W-what kind of things do you like to do?" he asked the big stallion across from him. Vesper was a runt of a stallion, so he looked much bigger than he really was.

((Forest usually stands taller than most other stallions so, he is pretty big...))

 

Forest shrugged. "Uh...I carve..." He said, looking around at the many carvings around the shop before looking back at Vesper. "I...um...I gather up dead tree's to make stuff..." He said. "How about you?"

[Pripyat Pony 2,608]

Jay wandered away from the crowd of ponies, back towards the shops. She wished that she didn't feel so alone; she'd lived in the city all her life, yet she had never made any friends. Jinx had seen to that. Jay looked in the shops as she passed, wishing that somepony would come out and talk to her, however she understood if they didn't want to. After all, Jinx had done some pretty bad things over the years and perhaps some ponies had heard of them, and didn't want her around.

[MelancholicMemory 2,022]

((Forest usually stands taller than most other stallions so, he is pretty big...))

 

Forest shrugged. "Uh...I carve..." He said, looking around at the many carvings around the shop before looking back at Vesper. "I...um...I gather up dead tree's to make stuff..." He said. "How about you?"

"I...I read...and sing...quietly...and feed chickens...and...and....um...sleep...and...um...Will you teach me to carve?" he asked, suddenly realizing something he could do with his new friend. He smiled at Forest once more. "Carving looks good. I like carvings. They're pretty..." He gestured at the various carvings hanging around everywhere.

[HigurSan 195]

((OOC: Time to get this show back on the road to plot. Sorry if this is a bit confusing, basic summary will be added at the end.))

Time: Midnight

Location: City Hall

The Germaneigh City Hall and Capitol building was not expansive and luxurious as Canterlot Castle was. It was built, designed, and constantly updated to be a structure of many and varied uses. In war time, it was a fortress of stunning fortitude and defensibility. During times of peace, it served as a efficient and strong bastion of political, legal, and social matters. Wide and near indestructible arches ran the length of the building, which was much like a '#' sign. Each pair formed a rib like structure, so the entire complex bore the great weight of the ceiling with ease.  In the center was a massive square, with all four sides being encased in walls that stretched into the sky. Giant cathedral like windows rose on all sides, illuminating the inner sanctum. The land within the four walls was sculpted into a masterfully planned garden. Instead of plants, there rose and fell magnificent sculptures and contraptions wrought of iron and steel.

 

The centerpiece was a massive device that rose above all the others. Should the unceasing movement have stopped, one could see that fifteen rings of metal, the outermost twenty meters in diameter. However, no unicorn of magician had ever been able to do so. They would grow smaller in radius as they came closer to the center. In the exact middle, a solid orb of brass hung in the air. None of the rings or the orb were connected by physical means, floating in the air by magic alone. It was an old device, dating back to the time Germaneigh was founded. What exact purpose it had been created for was long forgotten. However, some industrious mare in the foggy past had figured out that it could in fact be used as a clock. Each ring spun around an axis which in turn changed which direction it was point with every passing moment. The spin could be measured to a specific amount of time. The outermost spun once every century, the next spun to every half century, then came decades, and so forth all the way to a second for the innermost ring.

 

By a spell developed by the same mare, one could tell with unerring accuracy what year, month, day, and time it was. After a long series of mathematical equations that measured the spin time of each ring, she had learned that the last time every ring had been exactly parallel was around five hundred and fifteen years previous. It had been considered at one point that perhaps it was linked to the curse of Vicegrip the Demented, as the next time it would do so would be near the eve of his prophesied disaster, but this was dismissed after it was concluded that this event would occur on the night -after-. In a quirky bit of fate, a tired archivist in the far past had made a miscalculation when setting up Germaneigh's calendar. In effect, the -true- founding day of Germaneigh was actually the one -after- the one currently being celebrated. In reality, the turning and spinning device had -a lot- to do with the curse, though none suspected it.

 

Chancellor Steeleye was touring the now closed museum of inventions and metal sculptures when a sound like he had never heard before. It was like metal grating against metal, along with the ominous sound before a landslide, and a sort of wail all meshed into one. He had a magical ball of light he was using a guide, which he now turned in the direction of the noise. The assorted rings of the timepiece in the very center were almost all aligned, the last one grinding into place even as he watched. The ear pounding noise ended the instant it stopped moving. A cold sweat began to run down Steeleye's neck. As much as he had joked about it before during the speech, things like Vicegrip the Demented's curse had terrified him to no end as a colt. Now something like this was happening during the middle of the night the day after.

 

He had known that it would occur, being informed of such by one of the goverment flunkies under the employ of Germaneigh's Head Magician. The mare was so old that she should have been in her grave years ago, but she still kept on kicking, literally. When someone stood in her way, she would not waste a second in throwing numerous curses of both magic and language at you. Still, it made him unsettled. A few magicians, including the old crone herself, would be over by the device in order to see what happened. This would turn out to be a deadly decision, as the orb in the center slowly fell out of its position and toppled to the ground. The rings followed soon after, crashing to the paved floor with a loud crash of metal against stone.

 

Steeleye raced over to the center of the museum, looking desperately for any survivors. A few of the attendants were strewn about in various levels of confusion and or injury. One had been sliced neatly in half when the third smallest ring had fallen edge up on top of him. Another was trying vainly to crawl away, both of his back legs crushed. Others were totally smashed into bloody pieces under tons of falling wreckage. It was a monstrous sight to see, though Steeleye had seen worse. He had been a medium ranked officer in Germaneigh's army during one of the few wars with the numerous nation cities that surrounded Germaneigh. The one he had participated in had been one of the most brutal of all, with thousands dead on both sides before Equestria decided to wipe out the enemy under a tide of magic and destruction. That had been bad, but this shocked Steeleye even more. This was a time of piece, ponies were not supposed to die like this.

 

Seemingly unscathed and completely silent, the Head Wizard stood atop the wreckage, looking down at the giant brass orb. She seemed to be about to say something to Steeleye when the true disaster began. Much like an egg, the orb began to crack in numerous places, before finally exploding in a plume of fire and shrapnel. One large piece caught the Head Wizard in the throat, decapitating her instantly. Out of the explosion came something inexplicable: fog. It was deep and opaque, swallowing all that it passed over in a seemingly solid wall of mist and smoke. It took form and snaked out of the wreckage towards the nearest exit, a broken window. After it had gone into the night, Steeleye looked back to the area it had passed over. Bodies and injured ponies had disappeared into thin air. All that remained was their skulls, perfectly clean and bony white. Steeleye, quite frankly, shut down. Much like a 'blue screen of death' associated with computers in the human world, he simply stopped functioning. His mouth hung open, his muscles not moving an inch, and his mind blank. What had just happened was something that he simply couldn't comprehend, so his mind turned off instead of trying to decipher it.

 

In moments soldiers and medics arrived on the scene, alerted by the assorted crashing and the gigantic boom the explosion had given off. Those bodies that remained were collected and tenderly carried off to a morque where their families could collect them. The injured were taken to hospitals. The skulls... were left in place. No one knew what to do with them. Steeleye had always been strict about reactions times and orderly conduct in the military and medical portions of Germaneigh, accounting for their swift arrival. Steeleye eventually snapped out of his trance to find a myriad of ponies waiting on him, from army officers to civilian leaders. Rather than answering each of their individual questions, he wrote down a detailed report of the incident to be copied and distributed to those who needed to know. More than likely some would be skeptical, but one look at the results and Steeleye's reputation for being a straight arrow quashed most doubts.

 

Nothing much could be done until morning, other than calm down panicked civilians and sort out the mess. Steeleye was escorted to his personal quarters and a guard placed at his door for protection. In the morning, when everyone woke up, all would be able to see a solid wall of fog rising in the distance. It formed a rough thirty kilometer in diameter circle around Germaneigh, going hundreds of meters into the sky over the tallest hill. The sun could still be seen in the sky, as there appeared to be no top to the the circle. One pegasus tried to fly over the encirclement to see what was going on. Out of thin air a lightning bolt speared him through the head and sent him plummeting to the earth, dead before impact. Those that tried to go through the mist would not return alive, their bony skulls tossed back out moments later.

 

((Summary: A lengthy description of the City Hall, in the middle of which is a museum of inventions and other metal-workings. The largest is a fifteen ring gyroscope http://etc.usf.edu/clipart/32300/32389/_32389_md.gif , with an orb in the middle. Steeleye is touring the museum at midnight when the gyroscope aligns and drops the sphere in the middle, followed by the collapsing rings. Out of the sphere comes a 'deathly fog' which destroys the bodies of ponies who pass through it, only leaving their skulls. This fog forms a circle around Germaneigh, which cannot be flown over. Any who try automatically die by lightning bolt.))