/vx/ - Videogames and Paranormal

>>122525
"Well, there is a pony being falsely accused for sabatoge which I'm trying to free. I might need some back up if the old sweet talk doesn't quite pan out."

>>122526
"Sounds fun. So, where do we go?"

>>122525
The foals return to a situation much like that before Onyx looked into the cart

Ruby sits down on the left side of Onyx, holding onto (lightly) his left foreleg. Beneath the much taller Onyx it's like hiding behind a table leg. In front of Onyx, and to the right, Wesley sits down with a drooping head. Kerr stands up over his brother, with his right hoof on him. The scowl on his face slowly fades to a frown

>>122527
"Right now I'm waiting on the lieutenant to return with word about my request to bring the prisoner over to reveal who has been doing it. Perhaps I can get him to point to the forest and you can pop out and scare them into thinking there is a supernatural force out there messing with them."

>>122529
"Maybe. Say, can you take care of those two-"
he points to the changling foals
"I don't understand them"

>>122530
"Sure."
>>122528
He looks to the changelings.

>>122530
>>122531
The purple colt is the first to look up at Onyx and then Spark, with almost blank expression, ears that go down for a moment, and wide open, green eyes. The grey pegasus joins in a moment, lifting up a heavy head and looking at onyx with wet blue eyes that glisten

>>122532
Spark goes over and hugs the little ponies.

>>122533
The purple bat pony pulls back and inch, and starts to hiss. He is cut off by the hug. As he is much smaller than Spark, he is easily dominated. The grey pegasus is less mobile, but closer to the ground and places more weight into the hg, making him a slightly more difficult target. He is hugged nevertheless. Both have been out in the cold and Spark can feel it

>>122534
Awwwwww. Poor cold ponies.

Spark comforts the little ponies.
"We will be out of here soon. Don't worry."

>>122535
chkchk

>>122530
"What we gonna do?"
Ruby asks Onyx

>>122536
"Well, do what he says until we can get outta here. Hopefully sooner than later."

>>122537
"Where you gonna take me when we get out?"
Now, the bright red pony looks up at Onyx with a smile, his tail starting to move slightly back and forth

>>122538
"Well, there's lots of places we could go. Where would you like to go?"

>>122539
"Well, I hadn't been to the state fair in... three years now? Ever since daddy reenlisted there watn't really any time for it it seemed. I'd always wanted to see the Crystal City. Or.... I know! Canterlot! If we could just get....... Them"
He turns his eyes, but not all of his head, over to a guard that stands some 50 yards away, the same guard that Onyx so bravely made go away a few minutes before
"-to let us travel around rather than stay in our sector"

>>122540
"We'll get there, don't worry"
He pets the colt to reassure him

>>122540
Spark goes to check on the lieutenant.

>>122541
The colt closes his eyes, and slightly lowers his head, but presses up his big, bushy mane for the pets
"Awwwwwww If anypony can put some fear into them giant bedbugs, it's you. Make 'em let us go"

>>122542
The lieutenant walks out causally with an haughty expression. Behind him walks a white coated changeling who carries on a leash the prisoner spark met with earlier. The prisoner's head is lowered, but faces forward, with a firm if somewhat frowning expression. His eyes have bags and black around them, and his ribs show those portions not covered by a brown coat

>>122543
"we'll go soon enough, don't worry. But apparently we have some busiess first"

>>122543
Spark greets them.
"So prisoner, ready to point out who is responsible?"

>>122545
He looks up, then over to Spark. For a moment, he is completely expressionless. But then, he narrows his eyes at Spark.

The lieutenant looks to the prisoner. His lips are pulled up midway along his muzzle, almost like a snarl. But the fangs don't help, forcing the lips up at the front. Then, swiveling his head and its massive, dragon-fly eyes towards Spark, he says
"How can you succeed on this? We've been working him down for two weeks now and he has yet to name accomplices!"

>>122544
He looks up again to Onyx
"Oh... Alright"

>>122546
"Don't worry, it probably won't take more than a day"

>>122547
He looks up to Onyx, and his sad expression changes to a smile. His right ear folds in half for a moment, and flops back up, then his tail quickly moves back and forth
"I can wait for ya. I know you'll get it done"

>>122548
Onyx chuckles and continues petting the colt

>>122549
He stretches out his neck
"I know 'ya can. You scarred off that big, mean old changeling earlier like it was nothin'. I thought for sure we were goners! You see the teeth on that thing? Like ice-cycles. The big ones that form on the siding. But you scared him away"

The guard in question is still 50 yards away, sitting down and looking back at Onyx. He has lazy air about him, with indifferent eyes and relaxed lips, like a lion resting under the Savannah sun at midday. His spliced, tubular right ear twitches.

The mine never ceases to produce obnoxious sounds of diesel engines, rocks tossed into the back of trucks, power shovels digging through clay, and above all else, the pounding of the grinding mill

>>122546
"Well, sometimes it takes a pony to get a pony to talk."

>>122551
His snarl drops to a colder, straighter impression, and part of what seems to be an eyelid closes in. He nods
"Very well. We shall see what you can do. But I will have my eyes on you"
\r

>>122552
Spark nods and motions for them to bring him along.

>>122553
The lieutenant himself extends a hoof pointing forward, and the guard walks forward, pulling the chain tight, and with a "cling" the prisoner starts to move forward over towards Spark
\r

>>122554
Spark heads to the other workers to find the traitors.

>>122555
checks self in loneliness
Spark ponders his plan.

>>122564
Intercontinental Ballistic Boops!

>>122565
>>122564
Y'all are silly

>>122566
D'awwww.

>>122584
Gah!

Hi little pony! What is Silver up to?

>>122585
Currently looking at his compatriots, look around the small armory. He speaks up. "Finish up in here. I am going to scout ahead on this floor. Join me when you are done."

>>122587
White Sands nods. Blue Skies:
"Just.... Be careful"

And yet, from somewhere comes another voice, whispered
"Do you think me so easily repulsed?"

>>122588
Silver pays little head to the whispered voice. He smiles at Blue Skies. "I will."

The old pony thus leaves the armory to explore this floor of the building.

>>122589
Silver opens the door of the room, back into the hallway, and sees something rather different than he may recall

Light enters the hall. Natural sunlight, shining in from a glass roof that vaults upwards divided into one meter squares, covering the area over the rectangular atrium at the center of the building. Two beams cross under the raised glass roof, with flood lights attached. The sun shines through the roof, slightly angled towards the opposite side of the building, and leaving Silver's position slightly in shadow.

The walls on the left side of the hallway that blocked off the atrium are gone. Replaced with a part wrought iron, part wood railing kind of like that found on the lower two levels. Yet Silver can see that he is, in fact, on the fourth floor - albeit one that looks different than when he went in.

The walls hold a fresh set of white wash, tempered slightly by the presence of at least one sun symbol on each wall. The doors and door frames are fresh wood, if somewhat austere. Silver is not alone, as some ponies walk around here and elsewhere

>>122590
Silver blinks once, then again, then looks side to side at the new surroundings and the ponies that shouldn't be in there. He reaches out to the nearest one to get their attention.

>>122591
Silver doesn't have to look far. Over to the left, Silver sees a mare walking at leisurely pace in his direction. A nun. She wears a simple black habit that raises where in covers her ears, and has no coloring other than a white garment around her neck

>>122592
Silver reaches out to touch her shoulder. "Sister?"

>>122593
Silver feels something, without feeling the full detailed tactile sensations he would normally associate with touching a garment. It's something there, but it isn't soft or rough or smooth or wrinkled.

She pulls back at the touch. And narrows her eyes
"Are you looking for somepony?" She says to him looking at him

>>122594
The feeling makes the fur on the back of his neck stand on end. It's just wrong to him. He pauses for a moment before a question comes to him.

"Excuse me, Sister, what is the date today?"

>>122595
She blinks, and her mouth is partly open
"It's the twelfth, I think, of April. Nine forty four. Tuesday."
She looks at him for another moment in silence, maybe a second and a half
"Do you have a daughter or somepony close to you that you expect to be released today?"

>>122598
The old pony's eyes widen.

April nine forty...I think I am having stroke...

Nervously, he smiles. "I...do believe so, but I think I will be fine, Sister...?"

>>122599
She turns her head ever so slightly to the right. Still looking at Silver. Her mouth closes. Then she says
"North o' the' Dam. This floor is for the sisters and patients with higher needs. Who are you looking for?"
\r

[1d20-1 = -14]
>>122601
Bluff: Silver says the first thing that comes to mind. "I am looking for Willow."

>>122602
Her eyes open up "Wippy Willow? Oh yes, she should be coming up soon from her treatment. I'm not sure she's ready to be released yet though. I think she's on a court order...."
She kind of trails off, with less confidence in her most recent words

>>122603
He nods. "Thank you, Sister North."

>>122604
She looks at him, almost confused, but moves over to the side and tries to walk past him

>>122605
Silver steps out of her way to let her pass.

>>122606
She does so. But what does Silver do?

>>122607
As soon as she's out of sight, the old unicorn releases a breath he didn't know he was holding. His legs get a bit wobbly underneath him. He shakily trots over the railing down into the atrium, the one that not 30 minutes ago was host to a very brutal massacre by his own hooves.

>>122608
*over to the railing

>>122608
>>122609
Trotting over to the railing, Silver can find that his hoof can go no further than to the railing itself - not over it. But his vision extends further, and down to the floor he can see that it is a set of dull greyish stone tiles that break up the otherwise oppressive atmosphere impossed by the bright, whitewashed walls. There is no hint of bodies or blood.... but still Silver can vaguely smell burned clothing. A smell that is added to by a slight smell of disinfectant and bleach. A mare walks past, naked, as does another, and one is visible on the second floor as well. From off in the distance is the sound of a foal crying.

>>122610
"I must be having stroke..."

The unicorn slumps down into a sitting position, holding a forehoof to his head. "April 944...I was not even born yet..."

After a minute of catching his breath, he trots back to look in the small armory he just left.

>>122611
Entering the room, he finds it to be, as before, a long common room with two separate other rooms on the right. This room is actually a bit simpler, with a white tile floor, a white washed right wall, and the far wall painted a sort of ocean blue color. There is a table, a wooden chair, and a simple but fluffy couch. One window on the far side opens to outside, looking onto ocean, and letting some light shine in, with rays falling nearly directly below the window. There is an oil lamp, but no electric lights. Looking over to the two side rooms each have a bed but are otherwise mostly plain, and the doors have windows and locks from the outside.

>>122612
He just shakes his head. "Oh no..."

The old pony paces out in the hallway, wondering what to do now that he has obviously lost his marbles. Ultimately, he decides to follow whatever is causing the scent of burnt clothes.

>>122613
As Silver moves back into the hallway, he comes upon three mares. One, a little further away is North, who has turned and is looking to the other two. The other two are a daffodil yellow mare with a white shirt, and another nun, this one clearly a white unicorn cover completely in black. The yellow mare rocks her head side to side, and moves her mouth as if in mumbling, and does not seem to notice Silver, or even focus her eyes forward. The Unicorn nun tugs at the daffodil mare with a yellow magic glow, trying to pull her forward.

The mares seem to be coming from the stairwell, as the door closes Silver can see stone steps like those on lower floors, and can smell the smell of burned clothing coming stronger from the stairwell

>>122614
Silver continues to follow the scent, wondering what could be causing it.

Is it hallucination like everything else? Or is it real?

>>122615
Only faint, but it does seem that the air caries it stronger nearer the stairwell. As Silver passes, North says to Silver and to the other two
"Oh! It's the father! Here is Willow"
She looks back to the Daffodil mare, who audibly mumbles to herself and rocks her head back and forth. She pays no mind to the alleged father. The nun looks over towards Silver

>>122616
Silver stops in his pursuit of the smell, and looks towards Willow. "...Willow? Is that you?"

>>122617
The mare actually does look up, and over to Silver. Her eyes are magenta. Her mouth keeps moving, occasionally stopping, evidently talking at low volume. She says nothing to Silver, however. Partly covered by the collar of her shirt on her neck are a couple darker spots with some lost fur that Silver by now can recognize as electrical burns

>>122618
Already knowing the answer, Silver points the burn marks out to the Sisters and asks, "What are those from?"

>>122619
North tries to answer
"I... I think it's from her treatment. She has mania"

With an air of almost indignation, the white unicorn nun interjects, looking over towards North and then to Silver. She speaks, with a voice that sounds older and harsher
"The doctor says she has Premature dementia, and has prescribed treatment accordingly. If you ask me, she's been conversing with demons."

She looks back to Willow, who at least sometimes looks in the direction of people who are talking, only to then again look off into the distance down the hall.

>>122620
He raises an eyebrow at the Sisters. "You are treating my daughter...with electricity?"

>>122621
She answers, with a tone of no apology
"Electrically induced seizures, yes. So says the doctor. And a healthy dose of prayer time, so says I."

Willow looks down the hall and says something under her breath every few seconds, occasionally nodding

>>122622
"That is just barbaric!"

Silver tries to listen in on what Willow is muttering.

>>122623
She's talking at a really low volume, and her head is pointed further down the hallway, slightly to the right
"The cats jump to the moon and live on the far side?"

Pause

She nods
"Can you take me there?"

She pauses, and moves her head forward, more eager
"My daughter will be there?"

Short pause

"But.... I am stuck here"

A much longer pause. She nods
"I see"

>>122624
I wonder who she is talking to...

Silver pats the mare's back, while trying to discreetly smell if the burnt clothes smell is coming from her.

>>122625
The smell is not coming from her, and has actually dissipated somewhat since they entered. And yet, there is a slight - very slight - smell of burning fur from her

She speaks a little more
"Wait?"
And this time, it sounds as if there is a whispered reply
"Just take me home"
Another whisper
"And be with the cats"

>>122625
>>122626
When Silver pats the back, he feels like his hoof is completely numb. He can feel that it is touching something, but he can feel no details of it. Silver's hoof comes down on the shirt. Her ears twitch back, and her fur goes from a completely upright position to one ever so slightly relaxed

>>122626
>>122627
It might be a hallucination, and it might feel like it's wrong, but he continues to pat Willow's back. "There, there..."

>>122628
Her fur relaxes a bit again, but she keeps staring forward, almost like a dog at alert.
"Tell me when it comes" she whispered

The nun speaks to Silver
"She is not ready to go home"

>>122629
Silver speaks back to the nun. "You know that this 'treatment' isn't helping."

>>122630
"Guh! The court ordered her to treatment by a doctor. She needs an exorcist. But the Doctor has his own ways"
She looks down to Willow, who is silent now, and has turned her body to look at the three

"She's only been here a few weeks. Give her more time"

>>122631
"With all due respect, what she needs is love and care. She's a pony. She's my daughter."

>>122632
There is a distant whipser
"Well, give her love now while you are visting. She tried to stab a stallion on the street, the court says she is here as long as the doctor says she is harmful to self and others. She can't go home with you."

Willow sounds more joyful
"I can jump to the moon, like the cats, and see my daughter!"
She smiles, turning her head and looking over into the atrium

>>122633
Silver nods, and continues to pet his "daughter".

"My poor Willow..."

>>122634
She smiles, looking definitely contented. Her mane is cut somewhat short, but still messy. Silver's hoof feels completely as if numb when petting her, only barely registering that he is touching anything. But her mane moves with the pets. She sits down, and stares up into the glass ceiling over the atrium to the blue sky above
"Like the cats"

The nun says to her
"She may be released when the doctor approves. She's had her parental rights taken away, just a reminder. If your granddaughter is with you, she is to stay with you"

>>122635
How quickly I've already adopted this mare, and she likely doesn't exist...

He nods, and continues to pet Willow to help keep her calm and happy. He begins to wonder if he'll even be able to feel his hoof after he's finished.

>>122636
The numbness extends only to the touch itself. Otherwise, Silver feels mostly fine. Mostly. Maybe a little dizzy
"Well, we can't stay in the hallway forever. She needs to come into the room now. Come on"
The nun turns away, and tries to open the door, while North goes towards the door as well.

Willow stands up again, looking again outside, up through the glass ceiling in the atrium

>>122637
Silver stands up as well, and looks in the same direction as Willow.

>>122638
"Now!"
Standing up, Willow looks forward, and when both mares are turned, Willow jumps forward towards the railing, placing her forehooves over the top

>>122639
"Willow!"

Silver tries to keep the poor mare from (presumably) killing herself.

>>122640
Willow's forelegs go over, and her hind legs push upwards.

When she hits the railing, the two nuns look back and try to intervene. The unicorn grabs her shirt with magic, the other nun tries to run forward to pull on her

Roll grapple

>>122642
Silver grabs her successfully, and is holding onto her

>>122643
Silver pulls her away from the railing and her certain demise.

>>122644
Silver pulls on her, and when this happens she falls down next to the railing, onto her back, looking up at Silver, with her two hooves together over her chest as he stands overtop of her. Silver can feel her with that strange, numb feeling.

But when Silver pulls her down, something happens. A phantom version of her - the image of her, but translucent - remains in her place on the railing. The yellow magic rips the shirt off the ghostly double, and North grabs for a hoof, and fails. The phantom manages her rear hooves over, and then presses forward, jumping off the railing.

She laughs the way down, filling the atrium with her laughter, until after a second and a half there is a loud "clump" sound. The nuns rush to the railing

But beneath Silver, the more solid version of Willow looks up at him. The magenta in her eyes bleeds away, replaced by a pure black that takes up her irises, and ever increasingly the whites as well.

She smiles, and starts to laugh, looking up at Silver

>>122645
"...Who are you?"

>>122646
From downstairs, a mare's scream is heard. This is swiftly followed by North, then the nun, who place their hooves up to their faces in horror.

But Willow still looks up to Silver in a sort of glee, taking heavy breaths and laughing maniacally, if at a volume reduced for lack of air.

She does not speak. But Silver can hear a voice, male, as if from the distance
"I am Maar. She is with me now, and her granddaughter nearly followed as well."

>>122647
"..." Silver starts to chuckle.

>>122648
"Stand against me and see oblivion. But there are secrets hidden in the stars. You too may see these"

She keeps laughing at Silver for a moment longer.

But the sensation of hoof against her fades. The light fades. The laughing is slowly replaced by a tinnitus-ringing, louder and louder. Silver sees stars and added brightness, before darkness. Then his eyes adjust. He is standing up, looking down, onto the floor next to the armory room.

The whitewash is faded. The railing has long since been closed up and replaced with solid wall. The sun hanging in the hallway is gone. The nuns are gone. The only real light is from a lantern in the armory room.

Silver feels a little dizzy, his vision has a "spin" to it, and his ears ring.

>>122649
"...ughhhh...mulp...mmmmulp...mulp..." Silver keeps his eyes firmly closed and puts a hoof in an ear as he tries to correct his tinnitus.

>>122650
As is the nature of such ringing, it remains even when all sensory input is cut off. So too do certain lights, sometimes in color, parade before Silver's tightly closed eyes. But the effects of both start to fade, and Silver returns closer to normal.