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[1d20-1 = -14]>>122601Bluff: Silver says the first thing that comes to mind. "I am looking for Willow."
>>122602Her 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
>>122603He nods. "Thank you, Sister North."
>>122604She looks at him, almost confused, but moves over to the side and tries to walk past him
>>122605Silver steps out of her way to let her pass.
>>122606She does so. But what does Silver do?
>>122607As 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>>122609Trotting 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.
>>122611Entering 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.
>>122612He 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.
>>122613As 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
>>122614Silver continues to follow the scent, wondering what could be causing it.
Is it hallucination like everything else? Or is it real? >>122615Only 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
>>122616Silver stops in his pursuit of the smell, and looks towards Willow. "...Willow? Is that you?"
>>122617The 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
>>122618Already knowing the answer, Silver points the burn marks out to the Sisters and asks, "What are those from?"
>>122619North 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.
>>122620He raises an eyebrow at the Sisters. "You are treating my daughter...with electricity?"
>>122621She 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.
>>122623She'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"
>>122624I 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.
>>122625The 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>>122626When 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>>122627It might be a hallucination, and it might feel like it's wrong, but he continues to pat Willow's back. "There, there..."
>>122628Her 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"
>>122629Silver 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."
>>122632There 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
>>122633Silver nods, and continues to pet his "daughter".
"My poor Willow..."
>>122634She 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"
>>122635How 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.
>>122636The 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
>>122637Silver 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.
>>122640Willow'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 >>122642Silver grabs her successfully, and is holding onto her
>>122643Silver pulls her away from the railing and her certain demise.
>>122644Silver 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
>>122646From 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.
>>122650As 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.