Luna's Command: The Wibbly-Wobbly Saga

Wandering Eye bows to the princess with a smile before levitating his saddlebags onto his back and leaving with the rest, idly wondering what Scorch had in mind... and what Luna had in mind.

Lunar nods and follows Eye out... Feeling like he was in way over his head here, but figured he was the best they had.

Luna smiled back at Wandering Eye as he exited on the heels of his compatriots, all heading towards an uneasy sort of destination. As the doors closed behind her, she turned to Scorch. "Well, then. What are your questions?"

---

"So where is this colt being kept again?" Plug asked one of the guards stationed just outside the door.

As same guard began answering his question, amking sure to point in various directions in order to emphasize what he was saying, Grizzle actually slouched slightly. "What a night," he breathed, now being outside the presence of royalty. "But I shouldn't really be surprised, should I? After all, 'There are more things under sun and moon, Primmin Proper, than are dreamt of in your philosophy...'"

"Alright, gang, let's a get a move on, time's a-wasting," Plug interjects before anypony can respond to the frazzled Stormthrower's partial lamentation. "And quoting Shake Spear doesn't automatically make you sound smart, Grrizle."

With that, the group is soon (and quite abruptly) being swept by a certain sense of haste down a hallway that seems longer than most main streets, with more turns branching off of it than the Cloudsdale Overpass. It is not a perfectly-apt metaphor, perhaps, but then again, the hallway doesn't seem much like anything outside of itself, all grand and glistening with enormous pillars standing off to the side like servants bowing as one enters the castle.

And then a turn happens, and the hallway shrinks as it does so, and again, and again, like a shrinking labyrinth of marble, gold, and plush, until finally just as things are starting to look relatively normal (if very high-class and moderately wealthy around the architecture) the hallway ends at a red door with two black-armored guards stationed in front of it. "Alrighty then, here we are," Plug says, perhaps a bit too enthusiastically. "Glad chattin' with you all!"

Grizzle seems a tad more hesitant. "From what I could glean from what her majesty said," he began, "We will not be getting much useful information from this pony, and the softer of us might be disturbed by some of his more extreme behaviors." A badly-hidden glance over at Cobbled, and he continues. "This perhaps is not the wisest course of action...even if we don't end up riling the poor colt up even further, and he is not violent, I don't think we shall exactly find a happy scene in there, and to be frank? This all seems unnecessary to me."

"I wouldn't recommend going in," one of the guards stationed there murmurs. The other nods a little.

Plug seems mostly unperturbed by these thoughts, but also seems to recognize he's outnumbered three to one. He shrugs. "Eh, last chance. Anypony wanna back out now?"

Wandering Eye snorted dismissively. "I'm sure I've seen worse in the asylum back in my hometown." He idly checked to see where his glasses were (they were in in coat pocket) and said, "Still, we probably shouldn't all go in at once... not too few in case he does turn... hostile, but not too many, so as not to alarm him."

He looked over at Lunar. "No offense, but that probably means you shouldn't go in." He looked over at Iggy, "You definitely shouldn't go in," and with that his gaze rested on Cobbled. "...I'll leave it up to you. I'm not sure your presence would hurt anypony but... well, you. In which case, it'll be me and Ms. Shimmer. going in there... if you don't mind," he cast a slightly embarrassed glance over at Shimmer. Wrong of him to assume anything about anypony without asking them first...

Brilliant tilts her head at Wandering Eye and grins, "Of course. I am many things, Mr. Eye, but 'soft' is not one of them. Even if he is highly unstable, we need to try. Pay very close attention to everything he says; he may know more than he thinks. Ready?"

She turns to Plug and nods.

Luthier had hesitated at the guards' warnings and advice, and Wandering Eye's statement (which had oddly enough not included him), but gathered back his courage and spoke up- after all, he had been one of the ones advocating this course of action.

"If it's a waste of time, we'll be out before too long, and won't have delayed much." he replied to the guards.

To Wandering Eye and Brilliant Shimmer, he said "If you don't mind, I think I'd like to go in with you as well. I think myself fairly perceptive, at least as far as sound is concerned, and can try to repeat anything our friend in there says exactly for those of us not participating in this interview."

"Ah, of course," Wandering Eye said, cursing himself for failing to notice the sixth individual. "If you think you can help, sure. You seem to be more perceptive than I am at the moment..."

"Well if you was in as asylum then I don't think you should be doing anything let alone be here. Besides, I didn't want to talk to this pony in the first place if you remember."
Iggy turned towards Luthier's direction.
"And what makes you think that you are so perceptive with sound. You merely adopted sound, I was born into it, molded by it . The things I can hear, the whispers always calling from every nook and cranny. No you do not know what it truly means to hear..."
As he finished, Iggy slowly stared? off into space.

"I don't think anyone should go in one at the time... And hey... Just cause I'm... Not the best with this... Doesn't mean I can't help... I'm good at reading people... Might notice things you miss..." Lunar said trying to defend his honor.

"Just like how you failed to notice the fake Luna voice and the fact the other people was yelling at you to tell you that it was fake. Then yes you are definitely more perceptive than any of us here."

"If you had heard the stories I did while growing up... You'd understand..." Lunar gurmbles. "To fight for the Goddess of the Moon is the greatest honor a wolf could ever get..."

Wandering Eye glared over at Iggy. "I visited the asylum because... ugh, not like you'd care." He turned his attention towards someone more deserving of it, such as Lunar. Note to self - ask him about his upbringing by wolves at some point in the future, sounds like a fascinating topic."And I meant that you shouldn't go in there because you're a bit more... intimidating than the rest of us, I'd think."

Lunar blinks and smiles at hearing that term used to describe himself... "Still... Do think you shouldn't go alone..."

AProcrastinatingWriter wrote:Luna smiled back at Wandering Eye as he exited on the heels of his compatriots, all heading towards an uneasy sort of destination. As the doors closed behind her, she turned to Scorch. "Well, then. What are your questions?"

"Right." The dragon thinks he's got a grasp on the situation now, and was ready to ask. "If Wandering Eye and the guard are right about this reality theory, and if I understand it right, then anything could be different between this reality and my reality. I mean, the Crystal Empire is just one example, but there might be others differences from what I know and what has happened here. So, Princess Luna, could you please give me a brief run down on any major events in Equestria's history? Starting with how Nightmare Moon was defeated?"

"Hmm. I understand your wariness, and believe you to be prudent in asking such a question. Very well," she coughed a little, clearing her throat. "After 'my' defeat at the hooves of the Elements of Harmony, there was the Dragon Mountain incident wherein samesaid Elements removed a dragon from the top of one of the mountains near Ponyville, saving Equestria from a smogstate lasting 1000 years. Then there was the parasprite infestation in Fillydelphia - or did that come first? Either way, following those events there was the Appleoosan-Buffalo compromise, wherein after a short battle a peaceful resolution was reached regards the placement of an apple orchard within the nearby lands, mostly notable for its opening of negotiations with the Buffalo species as a whole. Shortly following this was the return of Discord, a mischievous draconequuis who was defeated by the Elements of Harmony and sealed once more in stone. Then came the latest Great Dragon Migration, and shortly after that the Changeling Invasion at the North Border, detected and overcome by Shining Armor, the captain of the Royal Guard. Finally, shortly after the unsealing and redemption of Discord, Twilight Sparkle, Element of Magic and Shining Armor's younger sister, ascended to alicornhood."

Another sharp exhale followed by a long inhale. "I have had to do too many of those tonight."

The dragon nods as he listens. Fortunately, history seems to have remained mostly the same between the two worlds, although the absences of the Crystal Empire meant that there was no Princess Cadence, which meant there was no Royal Wedding. At least the changelings were still defeated in a different way. "Thank you, your highness," replies Scorch when Luna was finished. "The only differences come from the Crystal Empire. Or the lack of it." Frankly, most of his other question ideas would have stemmed from any variations in the history, but since none seem to have appeared, he didn't really have any other really important questions. Still, he knew he'd be more use gathering more information than attempting to interview an already shaken-up pony...

"Princess, what does the Crystal Empire look like at the moment? Is it all shiny, or is it very dull?"

(\Haha, Sorry! I have had a busy Easter week, and it isn't over yet. I am afraid I might still not be able to promise a consistent posting. Again, full apologies./)

Cobbled looked between each pony, nervously gulping at the thought of going in. But still, his curiosity begged him to go in, to see this, maddest of ponies. But yet....
Maybe it's just that nopony here understands him. Everything that we have been saying is lining up with what he said. Maybe he's just lost,and we are the only ones who are lost with him. Maybe we're the only ones who can help him. So I say I'm going in, and nopony can stop me.

Wandering Eye smiled. "It's that exact logic that makes me think we can get something out of him. So, the four of us will be heading in, it seems. Or five," He glanced over at Lunar, not sure where his position on the issue was.

"Well... Yeah... Might even be smart to try taking the pony as a guide back to his empire or something..." Lunar said, he only thought talking with the Crytal pony being the best of ideas, no matter what little they find out, it might be helpful to this quest that The Goddess of The Moon has tasked this group with.

"I still think that this idea and everybody that supports it is stupid."

Paper Shadow wrote:"Princess, what does the Crystal Empire look like at the moment? Is it all shiny, or is it very dull?"

"From what few messages the envoy has returned, the Crystal Empire has seemed clean by all accounts, almost to the point of gleaming in the sunlight." She pauses a moment, then answers the question more straightforwardly. "So very shiny, one would suppose. Are you going somewhere with this?"

---

Plug looks amongst all the ponies preparing to go in. "Alirghty then," he says, turning. "Guards!" he commands with a voice of authority. "Open these doors!"

In response, the guards salute sharply and turn, pushing against the doors with their hooves. After an exceedingly long half-second, the doors budge, swinging inwards, and the guards settle in on their hooves again, taking their proper positions.

The doors to the inside are open. The room inside seems clean and tidy enough, furniture in its proper place. It hasn't been dusted in perhaps a couple days; nothing noticeable on the furniture but the moonlight gleaming in through the window reveals it floating in the air. Quite plush. The pony in question is sitting, not sleeping, not lying, in the bed in the corner of the room.

It is very quiet.

As those who chose too entered the room, door closing behind them* the colt slowly looks up. Princess Luna was right; his coat does look like it's made of crystals. Shiny crystals; even without light hitting them they seem to gleam and refract photons that aren't there. His face seems to drain all of that shining away, though. It's not even upset-looking. Just very, very dull. He stares impassively at the group here before him for several seconds before opening his mouth and practically breathing out the words:

"So many stars. So many stars..." Then, a bit more relevant to the situation, he continues:"Go 'way," before placing his head in the crook of his arms and curling into a ball.

*:

deonte9109 wrote:
Iggy turned towards Luthier's direction.
"And what makes you think that you are so perceptive with sound. You merely adopted sound, I was born into it, molded by it . The things I can hear, the whispers always calling from every nook and cranny. No you do not know what it truly means to hear..."
As he finished, Iggy slowly stared? off into space.

"I said I was perceptive, and did not say you weren't. I've really studied more the production of sound. I could even reproduce the conversation we'll have with this pony, just parrot it and let somepony more perceptive or insightful try to glean something of it- like you for example, if you'd be willing to make use of your talents and help."

Luthier goes into the room. "Er, hello, we would like to talk to you, we think what you have to say might be important." Not sure what to do or say in this situation, he turns to Wandering Eye, hoping he would know how to talk to a pony in a state like this.

Wandering Eye felt a little nervous at Luthier's glance (that tended to happen when ponies - or things - looked at him). He had visited an asylum and Tome Peeker was a psychologist, but that didn't mean Wandering Eye was prepared to persuade somepony to talk who didn't really want to talk. "It's all right. If you want, we won't talk, we'll just listen..." He looked over at Shimmer, hoping he was going about it right. "Just want to hear what you have to say."

Lunar ended up walking into the room with the others a well... The Hippogriff didn't realize he did so until it was a little too late. So Lunar starts trying his best to be helpful and look the pony over as best he could, and see what he saw to hopefully not come across as anything other then friendly...

Perception check: