Ponysona 4, the Campaign.
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conantheghost
Caden2112
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Re: Ponysona 4, the Campaign.
"Oh, sure," Wraith says without hesitation. "Pretty sure nopony is expecting me today. I'm a bit more familiar with my limits now, so I'm ready."
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Re: Ponysona 4, the Campaign.
"Sure, let's go then." Tilt nods, and starts walking, furiously attempting to restore her coat to some colour other than the bright red of her jumpsuit.
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Re: Ponysona 4, the Campaign.
"So, after we parted ways last night I met up with a certain bird-brain. Scared my tail off, he did. And I forgot to mention, Melody also knows. Joined the fold even before you did. I'm...trying to keep this secret, but it's just not working out that way." Wraith fluffs his wings in consternation and nudges up against Tilt again. "This isn't like the other thing, this is something I can't just brush off."
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Re: Ponysona 4, the Campaign.
Tilt nods, not really moving to reject Wraith as he gets in close again. She looks up at the stallion, still taller for all his weediness, and gathers up herself to recover as quickly as possible, swallowing her embarassment at outing herself for no reason. "But it's not this, is it?" she comments, nudging Wraith's form with her horn for emphasis before continuing, "Tsk, if you were a mare we could talk in the old bathrooms... well, nothing for it, I guess." she fights down the redness, "What's on your mind?"
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Re: Ponysona 4, the Campaign.
"That's it exactly. I mean, I've accepted it, and I've even learned to love it, but..." Wraith shakes his head, then looks down at Tilt fondly. "This means so many things, some exhilarating, some terrifying, and all of them confusing. I try to be myself, but sometimes I don't know what that means.
"Yeah, that would be easier, wouldn't it? I can get us up onto a roof?" He flexes his wing over his flightless companion to indicate it would be no problem.
"Yeah, that would be easier, wouldn't it? I can get us up onto a roof?" He flexes his wing over his flightless companion to indicate it would be no problem.
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Re: Ponysona 4, the Campaign.
Tilt nearly snorts at the suggestion. "S- Wraith, I carried you to the ambulance last night, you'd have trouble lifting Alice, let alone a dense little pony like me." she teases, bursting into giggles, "Though now that you mention it, let's head up to the roof. I'll let Alice know to meet us there later." Tilt stops to plug in her phone and texts Alice to let her know about the change in plans.
She pauses, packing away her phone, and looks at Wraith.
"Are you sure you wouldn't rather just walk?"
She pauses, packing away her phone, and looks at Wraith.
"Are you sure you wouldn't rather just walk?"
- Spoiler:
- Streetwise 1d20+7 = 23.
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Re: Ponysona 4, the Campaign.
"I can do it!" Wraith playfully nips at Tilt as he moves away, then up and over to pick her up. "And I wouldn't want you to have to deal with this," he says as they start to ascend. The rise is slow but sure, his flight magic picking up where his physical strength lacks. "It's hard sometimes. It feels right, but at the same time there's so much wrong. I wouldn't give it up, though. That changed before I even met you. It's just confusing.
"You...really accept me as I am. I realize that now. Do you really want this to be a part of your life?" he asks as they touch down.
"You...really accept me as I am. I realize that now. Do you really want this to be a part of your life?" he asks as they touch down.
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Re: Ponysona 4, the Campaign.
Tilt quietly frowns as she releases the magic she was channeling through her horn and trots off to the other edge, looking out over the town.
"...Call me big hearted, I guess," she says, after a moment, "I don't know. It's hard. You're yourself, so far from your body, a ghost, perhaps even immortal. You even name yourself. Wraith."
Tilt turns around, biting her lip, and sighing, "...Me, I might go in a decade, I might go in a year, I might go tomorrow," the few metres of the roof seem an endless expanse now, "But for all that, I call you friend. Because every heart needs a home, for however long it lasts."
"...Call me big hearted, I guess," she says, after a moment, "I don't know. It's hard. You're yourself, so far from your body, a ghost, perhaps even immortal. You even name yourself. Wraith."
Tilt turns around, biting her lip, and sighing, "...Me, I might go in a decade, I might go in a year, I might go tomorrow," the few metres of the roof seem an endless expanse now, "But for all that, I call you friend. Because every heart needs a home, for however long it lasts."
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Re: Ponysona 4, the Campaign.
"Im-imortal?" Wraith stays rooted in place as she moves away. "No, see, I wasn't around for my time away. I can't be immortal, I still have a mortal bo-" He cuts himself off there as he realizes what he's saying. He slowly closes the distance between them, but stops short before Tilt, now only separated by a single breath.
"You might be right about me. I've...overheard you talking about your heart sometimes. Last night, I learned so much about you. I want to believe that something can save you, in this day and age, but I don't know anything about this place. You're my friend. If I can make you happy as long as you are here, that's good enough for me." With that, he closes the distance into a kiss.
"You might be right about me. I've...overheard you talking about your heart sometimes. Last night, I learned so much about you. I want to believe that something can save you, in this day and age, but I don't know anything about this place. You're my friend. If I can make you happy as long as you are here, that's good enough for me." With that, he closes the distance into a kiss.
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Re: Ponysona 4, the Campaign.
Tilt is taken aback as Wraith suddenly closes the distance into a kiss, and it's a split second before she realises what Wraith is doing, and surprise turns into rage. Forelegs close tightly around Wraith's barrel, and for a brief moment it seems affectionate before he suddenly finds himself kissing air and facing off the edge of the roof.
"Grrrrraaaaaaaaah!" bellows the unicorn, rearing into the air and lifting the gripped pegasus off the ground. Wraith soars for a brief moment before the forelimbs release him and he flies straight into the concrete rooftop, head first. A thundering crack issues through the roof, and small fractures split apart around Wraith's head.
"By the bucking sun empress!" she shouts, kicking Wraith's suplexed form over with her hind legs to leave him prone, "I'm. In. A. Relationship. You really are a bucking stallion."
"Grrrrraaaaaaaaah!" bellows the unicorn, rearing into the air and lifting the gripped pegasus off the ground. Wraith soars for a brief moment before the forelimbs release him and he flies straight into the concrete rooftop, head first. A thundering crack issues through the roof, and small fractures split apart around Wraith's head.
"By the bucking sun empress!" she shouts, kicking Wraith's suplexed form over with her hind legs to leave him prone, "I'm. In. A. Relationship. You really are a bucking stallion."
- Spoiler:
- Athletics 1d20+20 = 38. SUPLEX!
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Re: Ponysona 4, the Campaign.
As a bit of green mist floats away from his head, Wraith twitches randomly. He may not need to sleep, but blunt-force trauma is still blunt-force trauma. "But Hotstick, the gumdrops are up to our flanks, I don't want to be a ballerina." For the next hour or so, he'll be dead to the world.
Last edited by conantheghost on Tue Sep 10, 2013 1:29 am; edited 2 times in total
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Re: Ponysona 4, the Campaign.
"I can't believe him." grumbles Tilt, wiping spittle from her mouth as she storms off down the stairs in search of Alice.
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Re: Ponysona 4, the Campaign.
Zeela keeps calling at least three times... Before she stops, and sighs... "Well... Who else could know where to get in context with Soul... Mmmm.... Well I think she's hanging out with Tilt's place, so best bet I got..." She mutters to herself as she then calls Tilt's phone.
Re: Ponysona 4, the Campaign.
While unconscious, Wraith remembers the past 24 hours and how fast things have changed, even compared to the days before. He can't dream, no that'd be silly, so he remembers.
- Pone Calls and Phonies - Phonies Revealed:
“Soul, are you-SOUL!?” Melody had been a bit confused as Soul sat up and looked odd, but as she went limp...The changeling moved quickly, checking over her body...She knew she hadn’t done anything this time, so what had happened to Soul, what had she done?
“Absolutely nothing, Melody.” The voice came from above and behind her. It was nothing like Soul’s voice. Instead of chippy and wavery it was smooth and dark, speaking of a deeper pain, but also less...constrained, somehow. It also belonged to a stallion.
Melody looked over her shoulder, seeming confused now, turning to face the voice and taking a breath. “Uhm...Soul...You sound...Different? It is you, right?” She took a breath. This was so weird...But then again, nothing about the last few days had been normal.
“...And...You look different too...A stallion?” Melody was caught off-guard, and she blinked again, trying to figure out what she was missing...Was she able to change her form this way, or...No, that didn’t make any sense. What was going on?
Looking back at her was a green pegasus, tall and lithe, floating above the bed. Every detail was a study in duality from the comatose body of Soul laying beside her. His ears and wings went into the same black tips, but faded out instead. His mane and tail were jsut as smooth, but fell straight instead of curling around like a live-wire. The only thing that was exactly, the same was the vivid green eyes, which felt like a perfect mirror to the mare below. “Hello, my name is Wraith.”
“Wraith...? You’re...Inside Soul? What are-” Melody took a breath, holding Soul’s body close for the moment, not sure if she should be defending it or letting her have her space. “Maybe...Maybe you should start from the beginning...Please? This is-I’ve never seen anything like this before, even with other changelings...”
“Sorry, this is a bit...different, I admit. I’ve only seen one other pony who had a similar Curse, but even her change wasn’t this extreme. But sure, I’ll explain. The Wraith you’ve been worrying about is...that thing in the teevee. That’s not me. No, I’m just as much Soul Spinner as she is.” He points a hoof toward the white-blue body, then floats down. He barely makes an indent on the bed, and when his tail drapes over Melody’s hoof she barely feels the contact.
“Well...You’re less zompony-like than the Wraith the Midnight Channel showed, at any rate...” Melody moved her hoof a moment...It was like this Wraith was barely there. A spirit, maybe? That would explain why Soul had collapsed, but-”Wait. You said curse, right? Is this what-Is this what Discord did to you?” She looked at him and the body, a little confused as to where to start, but trying to make an effort.
“It’s...something He did to many ponies. Discord loosed elemental Chaos on a few select ponies, not bothering to control it. It had, shall we say, ironic effects as it interacted with our psyches. Some ponies got off easy, some were broken by it. It’s what happened to Arachne, and all of my friends from that era. Me? Well, I looked up the modern term for it. I’m transexual, and my Curse reflected that by giving my True Self its own body...at a cost. I, as well as my friends, gained some cool powers, but these things are...exposing.”
Melody listened for a moment, looking a little confused for a moment, but nodding. “Cool powers including those...rather insane blasts you were letting off when we were saving Icing, and...Being able to do this, I take it? I see...I think. I suppose without having gone through those times it’d be hard to understand, but...Uhm...thank you for being honest with me, Wraith. I’m...Not entirely sure what to say about the rest of it. Changelings...Well, given how we can change ourselves, I’m not sure I quite understand how that works for...ponies.” She trailed off, thinking. But...Clearly it was eating at Soul-er, Wraith, and...If they needed someone to talk to, the least Melody could do was listen.
Wraith smiles in gratitude. “It’s probably nothing like your own changeling powers, and even I’m not certain about the details. Apparently this,” he lifts up one of Soul’s hooves, the drops it limply back to the bed, “is no longer a part of ‘me’. I sort of just use Soul Spinner as a mask now. She’s really no better than a meat-puppet,” he says with a bit of disdain for the body.
“You possess...What used to be you?” The changeling was slightly confused, but she supposed it was similar to posing as a completely made-up identity, in a way. “I suppose yeah, you don’t exactly have too many others to compare notes with, do you? Uhm...So...Just out of curiosity, can you possess other ponies, or have you ever tried that?” She tilted her head, thinking.
((Roll Arcana U: Wraith? I’m leaving soon so could you please do it quickly?)) ((1d20+5 = 20+5 = 25, also nat 20.) -Caden apparently.)
“Umm, yes. And it works. I have to leave Soul behind to do so, but I actually had a rather easy time of it in the past. My power has...changed recently. Do you want a demonstration?” he asks with a nervous edge. ((Arcana: 1D20+3 => [ 19 ] +3 = 22))
Melody thought for a moment, nodding and trying to relax. “Uhm...I suppose? I’d rather know, just in case it becomes relevant, somehow.” She took a breath, wondering what Wraith would do.
Wraith takes a deep breath(not that he needs to breath) and exhales. “This shouldn’t hurt, but you’ll feel...trapped. It’ll be like I’m in your mind, sort of. Well, here we go.” With that, his body starts to mist. He becomes completely incorporeal and floats into the space Melody is, overlapping each part of her body with his. Then, all at once, the green disappears and Melody can feel a...pulling.
Wraith tugs on the strings, the nerves that control the body that is Melody. He can feel her mind beside him, letting him take the yoke, in a way. He feels out her connections, her hidden membranous wings and a horn that’s been changed to be less conspicuous. Her instincts, that allow her to change and feed off of emotional energy. (“That might physically damage me,” he thinks.) He tries out a few things. Change the body, change back. He moves a few limbs and tests what her horn feels like. He doesn’t dare try feeding, but he can feel the dreams of Shiro and the utter, black emptiness of Soul Spinner.
And he let go.
Melody slumped a bit before she regained control of herself, taking a few deep breaths, looking around for Wraith, shifting about a bit to try and relax. “Okay...That was officially the strangest thing I’ve experienced. Odd, in a way, to see myself acting without my intent like that...Are you okay?” She blinked, though, while she wouldn’t admit it, she was glad he hadn’t tried feeding off of anypony, especially considering Shiro was the only one present.
Slowly appearing beside her he nods. “Yeah, never takes much out of me, to be honest. It’s always oddly...intimate when somepony allows me to do that, though. Not in that way, just...close.” He gives the same reassuring smile Soul is so fond of. “Thank you for letting me show you all of this, and for showing me your True Self as well.
“I see...W-Well, we fought together, I trust you, you know? Besides, I didn’t think it’d be very fair to bring it up and not let you demonstrate if you were willing..” Melody shrugged a bit, smiling. “Still...Thanks for..For telling me all this, and for...Well, accepting what I am. I’m sure it couldn’t have been easy for you.”
Fluttering his wings a bit(and sending off some ethereal dust) he nuzzles her, the first bit of actual contact he’s made since transforming. “The first few ponies who found out weren’t quite as accepting of my own secrets as well. It took a long time for me to open up to my friends, so I’m glad there’s a kindred spirit in this time. So...any more questions? More dark secrets to share between monsters?”
“None that come to mind at the moment...Though, I don’t think you’re a monster anymore than I’d consider Arachne one. You got a raw deal, don’t get me wrong, but...You’re not a monster.” Melody nodded, thinking. “Not as far as I can tell, anyhow.” She returned the nuzzle, smiling a bit.
He shares in the smile, feeling more open than in a long while. “The same to you. I still don’t like spiders though. Arachne was a nice mare, but guh those legs!”
Melody giggled a bit, grinning. “Well, now I know what to ‘dress up’ as for Nightmare Night, heh! Thanks for the idea!”
“Nightmare...what?”
- The Hospital - Bring Him Home:
Tilt sits restlessly beside Soul’s bed while the tests continue, pendant clutched tightly between her hooves. She chants ceaselessly out of a hope that the pegasus’ guardian spirit would hear. “Namo guan shi yin pusa… namo guan shi yin pusa… namo guan shi yin pusa… namo guan shi yin pusa...” she continues to repeat, heedless of the dirty looks the passing doctors gave her.
Unseen, a spirit watches the unfolding events. Not quite the guardian Tilt prays to, but he understands the chant nonetheless. As much as he wants to intervene, though, he knows it would be a mistake. There is too much on the line to tip his hoof now, so he can only watch and
Elsewhere, various doctor and nurse ponies and other races fret over the unconscious mare, doing a few tests of her blood and what have you, and finding more or less non-existent issues with the mare. it seemed as though she had simply fallen asleep on the spot. The doctors started testing her brain and found something.... well, not so much distressing as odd.
Tilt looks up as the doctor returns, waiting expectantly for the news. Sure she wasn’t technically related to Soul, but she’d told them she was her cousin and with nopony else to object or stick around for her there wasn’t much room for arguing.
The doctor goes to speak as another unicorn opens the door, seeing Tilt and the Doctor. “Oh! Er... I’m... A friend?”
“... Well...”
“Oh! Rumes! Come in!” interjects Tilt, “She’s not doing too well, the doctor was just about to give us an update on her condition.”
“Oh, right. Hm... Well, your... cousin, miss, seems to be in perfect health except for one thing.”
Tilt’s heart skips a beat, “What do you mean?”
“Well, physically Miss Spinner doesn’t seem to have any sorts of issues. Breathing is fine if slow, heart rate is fine, if slow. Pupils aren’t moving however that’s simply a sign of being comatose....... All in all, there doesn’t seem to be any sort of physical issues that we can pinpoint other than her being in a coma. However...”
“However?” demands Tilt.
“However as it appears, there is no magic whatsoever emanating from her mental faculties, even the natural pegasus inclination to resist weather.”
Tilt looks over to Rumour in horror, “Oh no...” she wails, weakly. She looks at the doctor, again, waiting to see if there was any more bad news.
“Even with a few bursts of magic from a few of the unicorns to try and heal her.... I don’t believe miss spinner, if she ever wakes up, would be able to do what most pegasi can.”
Tilt closes her eyes, and nods slowly. “Thank you, doctor.”
The doctor slowly makes his way from the room, back to Soul’s and closes whatever door is behind him.
Tilt sighs, and slumps against a chair. “I… I know she was a horrible pony today… hates jocks, hates mares who pamper themselves, hates unicorns, hates unicorns from Canterlot, and even thinks my language is gobbledygook.” she leans tiredly onto Rumour, “But she didn’t deserve this. I shouldn’t have pushed her like that.”
“Honestly, I shouldn’t have started the rumor that she’s a pegasus supremacist and planned on
enslaving every earth pony, unicorn, and otherwise through force... I maaaaay have gone a little bit far.”
“And I got a message from Alice saying that she found Shiro unconscious and asleep, and I thought she’d done something, and she wouldn’t say, and I pushed her so hard I though I thought I was going to have an attack before she suddenly fell into a coma… She started summoning up something in her eyes, and I thought she was going to attack me, then she suddenly… broke, and fell over.” gushes Tilt, not really in any state to judge Rumour.
“Gah, I just.... She was from a time of Discord, right? What if she just... didn’t know how to talk to ponies. Like at all. In any way. Shape or form... Like for real...” Rumor says the same thing over and over in different ways, a bit bitterly.
“Yeah, you know, maybe we were too hard on her. I mean, she didn’t really know any better, did she? She tried to kill the school nurse, even.” agrees Tilt, beginning to descend into similar mumbling of regrets.
“Yeah, she called him spawn of discord didn’t she? I had a lot of work cut out for me trying to fix that... But... Maybe the things we’re saying was different? I mean, you had culture shock when you moved out of Chineigh, didn’t you? I did when I moved from Canterlot...”
“I was just a little filly when I moved here, so it wasn’t as bad, but yeah… I still feel a bit out of place whenever everypony starts talking about Trotkyo U and joining one of the Zaibatsus. Still… the last thing I said to her was ‘What did you do?’. I was so angry with her for saying all those things then ditching us that I wasn’t even listening to what she was saying, and now...” Tilt looks away.
The spirit still looks on, but is now at a crossroads. He has caused so much pain and suffering, and only now can he see that. The comatose mare in the next room over could have never seen this, never predicted it. As a spectral tear evaporates from his face, he bursts from his pocket of invisibility to tackle-hug the two mares.
“I’m so sorry!”
Tilt tumbles over under the force of the impact, spluttering with surprise as papers go everywhere on the floor. “Thpawhaaat where did you come from? Who are you? What are you apologising for?” attempting to wriggle out of the hug without anything resembling success.
Rumor promptly goes stark white and frozen stiff.
Squeezing tighter, the green pegasus looks almost ready to start bawling. “I’m so sorry, I didn’t know what happened with Soul would hurt you so much! I didn’t mean to do anything to you, and now it’s all ruined!”
“What? Who are y- you’re… you’re Soul’s shadow?” asks Tilt, uselessly.
“Bwaaaat.....”
The stallion lets go and pushes away, letting the mares stand. “I-I forgot myself. No, I’m nothing of the sort. No, I’m Soul’s...true self,” he says sheepishly. “And that monster just stole my name....Don’t they have any originality?”
“I… um… wait, there’s… Soul… You’re her true self… And she still has a shadow?” asks Tilt, still not quite clicking.
“Bwaaaaaaaaaaat.....” Rumor’s gone cross eyed.
Wraith stares at them for a moment longer. “I don’t suppose you read on Soul Spinner’s works on The True Self, did you?”
Rumor shakes her head. “Oh, er...... Yes. I couldn’t quite grasp them though...”
“Oh! OH! I think my coach had that one in his collection! I read it when I was stuck there one evening! It was… it was about…” the realisation slowly dawns on Tilt, “You mean... you’re really… a s-”
“A s... a what? Spirit? Skeleton? Snake? Sommolein?
“A stallion?” Tilt manages to force out.
“is there a problem with that?” Wraith pouts. “But yes.”
“Why would there be a problem with it... Just.... shocking and culture shock and oooookay I think I’m going to be sick from the emotional roller coaster going on...”
“Yes, your mane is terrible.” The humour falls flat. She looks over at Rumour, and puts a hoof on her shoulder, touching her nose and then gesturing with her head at Wraith. No words were necessary, the message was clear - it was time for them to show Soul they cared about what was important.
Step by step, she walks towards Wraith, and reaches out with her right foreleg, then embraces mare and stallion alike. “Is that what you couldn’t say?” she mumbles.
“I...All this time, yes.” He returns the hug, softly this time. “There’s so much that I haven’t told you, but this was the big one. I’ve only ever told a hoofful of ponies, and not all of them have accepted me, so-”
“Buck it, Soul, you’re my guest and even if some ponies have forgotten them the rules of hospitality are important. You’re always welcome in my home.”
“Rules of what-now? I thought you were housing me because you wanted to be friends.”
“Wanted? Rumour, do you think it’s anything about wanting to be friends anymore?”
“Huh?” Rumor tilts her head. “It’s just hospitality. Yeah, friendship comes from it but even when I really thought I hated you from what you said, I’d still say things like “Hi” and “Hello” and “How are you”.
“Hospitality isn’t just about letting somepony who needs help into your home, and not leaving them in the lurch. It’s about doing right by them, even when you’re still a little bit angry about some things he didn’t think through saying during the day and has bad hair.”
Turning his head to look at her mid-hug, Wraith gives her a curious look. “That’s....really how it works today? I haven’t seen...ohhhh.” The dawning comprehension in his voice echoes back to previous revelations about certain griffons and bookcases. “During the past few years, the only ponies who ever took the chance with me or my friends were close allies and family. There was a lot of...mistrust of strangers, especially when there was the possibility of a guest being Cursed.”(not a typo)
<rumour> “Like... Sort of like we had thought. You’re not used to how Nippon, or even now-a-days, works...”
Tilt nods in agreement, “Everypony’s cursed, at least a little bit. It doesn’t mean anything.”
<wraith>“Eh, my Curse is a little different. Y’see, it had the side effect o-”
Tilt puts her hoof to Wraith’s chest, feeling for the heartbeat. It wasn’t there anymore. But still, she had to say it. “It doesn’t matter, Soul. Not unless you want it to.”
<wraith>“...Thank you. I think we can also take that literally these days, but that’s unimportant right now. So...you really just took me in because it’s the neighborly thing to do?”
The athlete pauses, and laughs a little. “I’m afraid there was a little more to it than that. I didn’t want you sleeping in front of a TV, not after you’d just escaped from one.”
“So Tilt wanted to keep you safe.” Rumor smiles, going onto the other side of the ghostly stallion and putting her own hoof on Wraith’s chest. “I for one probably will leave the ‘Soul is a Soul’ rumor floating around. Better the true rumors are out there to keep people listening, even if they don’t believe it. Also to keep you safe.”
<wraith>“Um, I would rather this remain as secret as possible, Rumour. No-”
“Exactly!” Rumor pokes Wraith’s face slightly. “By having that rumor out and about, nopony’d believe it! Especially since I always keep the true rumors from being, well, rumors.”
“Wait, what?” Wraith screws up his face trying to get what she’s talking about. “That...is kinda insane, but I can see how it works. Oh, I did it again.” His ears flop over and he hugs Rumour a little tighter. “I didn’t mean to insult your talent just now. Nor anything about you two, ever. I just...come from such a different world than this one. You actually have a sizable middle class, how crazy is that? In the future, please just step on my tail if I say something stupid or insulting?”
“Sure. No backsies.” grins Tilt.
“Great. I’m gonna regret that one-ACK!” Tilt yanks on Wraith’s tail.
“Field test!”
Wraith’s glare doesn’t last long. “I deserved that, and that’s the only reason you’re getting away with it. Oh yeah, on calling me Soul...”
“Spins?”
“Actually, I like to go by ‘Wraith’ while not inhabiting my mortal body.” He demonstrates how not-quite-mortal he is by phasing his hoof through the floor and the two ponies next to him. “I got used to answering by different names while I was working out how to tell...other ponies for the first time.”
“Wraith...” repeats Tilt, chewing over the name like a tough root, “I think I can manage that.”
“Wra- .... Did I really get that name right when I started the rumor in the library? Whatever- That explains the midnight channel, then again the way you look...”
He runs a hoof over his scalp. “Is it my mane again? I can’t really do anything with it...Ectoplasmic follicles and all.”
Tilt looks up at the limp pieces of ribbon attacking Wraith’s head and dock. “Discord got the last laugh, it seems. A- wait a minute. When not inhabiting your mortal body?”
“Yeah, Soul Spinner is my body. This,” he waves his hoof to indicate himself, “Is my spirit. I hesitate to say soul to avoid mixups. I’m a bit more resilient in this form as well.”
Tilt turns to Rumour, “And you said that Wraith here has been spotted in the library for the last couple of nights?”
“Yes, as far as I know.”
Tilt slowly turns back to Wraith, and all of a sudden he notices just how much of her face her mane casts a shadow on. For a second, he even sees a flash of gold. A chill washes down his ghostly spine, and he gets flashbacks of a similarly upset mare from his past-and all the reasons to fear her like.
“Rumour? Correct me if I’m wrong, but doesn’t that mean Wraith here has been refusing my hospitality?”
“Um...”
“Hm.....” Rumor turns to Wraith, tapping her chin slightly and the spirit can feel another chill run down his ghostly spine. “As a matter of fact, I do believe that that’s precisely what that would mean...”
“Maybe it’s time I go back to my body. Don’t want to unduly worry those doctors...”
“Oh no you don’t...”
<rumour>“You’re not goin’ anywhere, honey.”
<wraithsmalltext>“Help.”
- The Hospital - Evening:
Soul lays back in a hospital bed reading a book in Equestrian. There’s a good-sized pile on the table beside her, only barely started on. Soul has about seventy sticky something-or-others attached to monitor brain activity and heart monitors right beside her bed. Shiro is in a bed across the room, still sleeping.
”So are either of them awake yet or...actually I’ll just find out for myself, thank you for letting me visit them.” George comes in, out of breath and scanning the room.
”Ah. It’s good to see you awake...uh...Soul wasn’t it? How are you feeling?”
Startling at the intrusion, Soul fumbles with her book. ”Hey George. Yeah, I’m feeling as good as ever. No changes really...Um, they said something about ‘mana deficiency.’ No idea what that means.” She points toward her chart at the foot of her bed for his perusal. ”Also they were worried that I’d never be able to work weather again. Ha! I haven’t been able to touch a cloud in years. As long as I can still fly, I’ll be fine.”
George examined the chart, frowning.
”Mana deficiency? Can you remember performing any magic recently or helping to do so?”
”You mean beside the giant blasts of energy and ethereal scythes? Oh, I also read recently that pegasi wouldn’t be able to fly without magic. Kinda makes sense, but to answer your question, no, not much else beyond that.” Her eyes leave his when she says that, trying to avoid the question.
”If it had been the first two you probably would have collapsed shortly after exiting the television and if it had been flight it would have lead to exhaustion before mana deficiency, you did collapse at Full Tilt’s home from what the paramedics told me so if you don’t want to say anything I can always ask her if anything happened.”
”I-” don’t want to lie to you. ”I just collapsed in front of her. She was yelling and me and I just passed out. It isn’t the first time, actually. When I met...Discord for the first time he did something to me. I got those scythes and some other powers, but I lost the ability to work with clouds and such. It hasn’t hurt me before, George. If something in this age can fix it, that would be great, but I’ve lived with this for over two years.”
[Looking at her record, George sees something Soul neglected to mention: when she passes out, her brain mostly ceases to function, leaving only the most important processes running. Her heart beat, breathing and other natural functions also slow significantly, but not enough to do any damage.]
George opened his beak to say something, then shut it again in confusion.
”You met Discord? Something in this age!? When did this first happen to you?
Soul looks at the ceiling, studying it for her memories. ”I don’t know exactly how long. Discord’s night and day were chaotic at the best of times. I would guess about two years, like I said. It was the fall of Canterlot, and ponies were in a panic to get off the mountain. I got off on an airship, but not before running into him.”
George holds up a claw. ”Wait. You mean everything you said before actually happened? I mean it was too well detailed to be a lie but I was thinking...I’m sorry in any case, give me a moment to find something to sit on I’m going to need the whole story.” and he pulls up a nearby chair to sit down on.
Soul goes over her story again, expanding on a few points as she tells. Such as how her family was minor nobility, the ponies Hotstick and Restful Nap, the strange grey creature that joined them in search of a way back to his home in the stars. She tells him of some of the stranger things she encountered. Mountains that went uphill both ways, entire weather patterns made of different kinds of food, and the first members of species that are very common today. ”Have any specifics you want me to cover?”
George closed his beak. I would like to know more about the grey creature but I should focus. ”Well...uh...let’s see, So it may have been your power that lead to your collapse at Full Tilt’s place? Well how about what that power is, if this sort of thing happened...before and what you were doing just before you collapsed.”
”Just an instinctive defensive power,” Soul answers. She shakes his head before he can jump on that one. ”It doesn’t usually cause me to black out, though. The blackouts are kinda random, as far I remember.” She groans as she puts a hoof to her face. ”It’s exactly that that has me so annoyed right now. These doctors, sorry George, want to find out what’s happening to me, but this is Discord we’re talking about. He did this to me!”
”I see...well with Discord involved, especially if you can prove it to the doctors here, there’s not really much to be done without extensive examination at least, and that relies on it not deciding to change at the last minute. Well then where were you before you collapsed? If you used a lot of magic then something happened at Full Tilt’s home to activate your power that may have drained most of your mana.”
Soul shakes her head. ”Not that I could tell. As far as I know there’s no correlation between powers used and my blackouts. There might be some connection there, like the powers not allowing me to use my pegasus abilities...soooo, maybe the power’s mere existence causes me to blackout sometimes?” She offers the explanation, but clearly doesn’t believe it herself.
...She’s hiding something. Do I push her and try to find out more or should I let it lie for the moment…well I guess I can... Uh-huhh. Well I guess I schedule you for some tests for Unicorns at a later date to try and find out how it works. Moving on. George glaces at Shiro in the opposite bed. ”Apparently Shiro came in around the same time you did, do you have any idea of what happened to him?”
Soul looks away again. ”I...can’t tell you that. I won’t lie to you, I know what happened, but I made a promise.” She turns back to George to look him in the eyes. ”Trust me that he’ll get better quickly, and that this is a one-time thing. But I can’t tell you what it was without...”
George steeples his claws in front of his face and stares soul down.
...I’m only visiting so I can’t properly examine Shiro to see what, if anything it just seems like he collapsed, happened to him and it looks like Soul feels bad about what happened to him...I probably shouldn’t push this just yet either, though I should probably ask…
”Alright then.” George keeps his voice measured, the effect is quite disconcerting, especially with Soul’s memories of Griffons during Discords reign. ”Was there anypony else there? When Shiro collapsed?”(Applying Half-Lion as creepy staring and body-language. Persuasion roll: 18 +11 Sum: 29 vs Endurance roll: 4+3 Sum 7)
”I-I-I...” Soul stammers, seeing a look she had thought modern griffons were past. Apparently, they were still the same predators she was used to. Her brain goes into fight-or-flight, and the machine monitoring her goes haywire as signals it has never seen are processed. Soul’s eyes glow green again, then she seems to fall asleep. The machine goes crazy, telling George that she just slipped into a coma.
George stood up at this and went to Soul’s bedside. ”Soul are you alri…?” Wait her chart said she was like this when she came in? and she was sitting in bed talking to me until just now...I get the feeling that her eyes glowing had something to do with this...her instinctive defensive power maybe?
”Gahhh!” A green blur leaps from Soul to tackle the griffon, who dives away as soon as sees it come at him. When he gets his bearings, he sees a green pegasus stallion staring him down, clearly in ‘fight’ mode, no trace of ‘flight.’ (??? Athletics 9+3 Sum vs George acrobatics: 12 19 +9 Sum: 28)
...What!? Who!!?...okay George calm down this green pegasus just...leapt out...of Soul? take a deep breath and calm down... George takes a deep breath and stands up on his hind-legs spreading his fore-limbs out wide and pulling his wings in an attempt to show that he’s not a threat. ”Who are you? and what did you do to Soul?”
The stallion glances at Soul with panic in his eyes, then the incessant beeping machines, then back to George.
George moves to put himself between the stallion and Shiro’s bed and takes another deep breath in an attempt to calm his nerves and hold down his own “fight” or “flight” reflex. ”I am Dr. George Redcross, trained at Phillydelphia Medical School, I mean you no harm. Now who are you?” (Persuasion: 10 +11 Sum: 21) The pegasus visibly loosens up at this. He still has a guarded look and might bolt, but he’s not going to attack.
A switch on the side of the wall flips down while George talks down the stallion, an almost invisible spider string (DC 25 to see. ??? Perception 15+12=27, George 1+11 Sum: 12 Crit fail) tied to it and telling the hospital everything was fine. The stallion jumps at this, wings flared, but does nothing else.
...Why is he? Oh Sisters above! The staff, they’ll be checking to see what happened to Soul soon and how am I going to explain a green pegasus jumping out of her. I should convince him to leave peacefully and quickly...but I would like to know…[/Brown] ”I mean you no harm.” The griffon repeats, trying to soften his voice. ”Can you tell me your name? please.”
The stallion hesitates for a moment before responding.I’m...Wraith. I think we...need to get out of here.” Hearing the sound of many hooves come from down the hall, his wings give a more worried tale than the rest of his body language. “The doctors will be here at any moment to check on Soul Spinner. Or at least I do. Maybe...I’m sorry, but can you trust me for a moment?”
Should I trust this Stallion? I mean I have no idea what he did to Soul but...but I’m going to have to explain his presence to the staff anyway and if he’s focused on me he may not try to hurt Shiro or Soul. ”Alright, I trust you. What do you intend to do?”
”I intend to get myself out of here. I’m going to disappear for a bit. Meet me on the roof?” Wraith’s eyes glow for a moment, but he stops. “Or...I can get us both out of here, but I don’t...You wouldn’t be in control. Would that be alright?”
...I won’t be in control? Does he mean he’ll take me hostage or something? Oh well, I’ve made my bed I may as well lie in it. George takes another deep breath. ”Alright.”
Wraith slowly approaches George, trying to stay as unthreatening as possible. ”Just...relax. This won’t hurt at all-” Wraith ends his sentence by touching the griffon with an outstretched hoof, and immediately dissolves into a green mist which envelops him. George feels a second...presence in his mind. He can’t control his reactions, feeling the strings being pulled by the other entity, presumably Wraith.
”Don’t panic, I’m just gonna get us both out of here.” George’s body starts moving through the hospital, a little faster than he feels would be safe in the narrow corridors. ”I don’t know what else to do, we both had to get out of there before I was caught.” The voice continues right beside his own mind’s voice as they exit the hospital and they take flight.
So this is what he...Wraith meant by me not being in control, I wonder if Wraith is what Soul meant by that instinctive power and if so what will happen to her if I can’t get Wraith back to her...and I just realised the implications of this...I hope Shiro and Soul will be ok...maybe if I try to think at Wraith I’ll be able to communicate with him? “If you want somewhere to go my home should be empty at this time.”
George’s head flinches. Huh, never had somepony try to talk back to me before like this. “Um, that works. I can...feel where your home is.” His wings angle by themselves in the direction of his house. With the winds, it doesn’t take long before they reach the destination. This is it, I just have to make sure we’re safe.
The possessed George paces around the house, making sure there’s no surprises in store, witnesses, or traps, or cameras or-Wraith’s mind begins to go over all the possible things that could go wrong here, and it devolves into psychic babble that George can’t make sense of.
”Calm down. I’m the one being possessed and I’m taking it better than I should be. My house is safe, I live here.”
Oh... “Um, alright, just let me....” George feels control of his body again as Wraith exits his body like he did Soul earlier. ”There. Um, sorry about that, I didn’t want to let myself...run away.”
”It’s alright, I am worried about how this will affect Soul, what did you do back there anyway?” George unlocks the front door and goes inside, eventually rummaging below the kitchen counter.
”Soul’s health is...not much of an issue to me. And I don’t think me being out of her is much of a problem anyway,” Wraith says as he follows George. The pegasus has calmed down significantly since they left the hospital, his brief panic just before notwithstanding. He approaches George, but hesitates before he gets close. I’m sort of...the other side to Soul Spinner. I’m her, sans the physical body, you could say. Stars, this the third time today I’ve had to explain this...”
”Something like a Shadow? Or a separate personality? Still in any case...” George puts a spray can on the counter. ”Spray this on yourself, you...don’t exactly smell good.”
Wraith slaps his pole with a hock at that. ”That would be ozone. My old friends used to tell me I smells like fresh rain and lightning, and you say I just smell?” He sighs, but complies and sprays on the deoderant. ”Now I smell like a predator. Thanks. And no, I’m nothing like those things. I am Soul, and without me she is just...”
”A shell?”
”A shell. When Discord attacked me this is what he did. There...were many others like me, with different abilities and disabilities. We called it our Curse. What it means for me is that I don’t get to be in Soul all the time anymore. She is my body, but, now I, her Self, am separated. I wrote a paper on the theory, you can ask Tilt for a copy.” Wraith goes over to the couch and lays down. ”That reminds me, Tilt, Rumour and Melody found out today. Not quite as dramatically as you, though. Do you have any beer?”
”No I don’t, I pretty much have tea, coffee or water. Speaking of which...” George put the kettle on, tipped some coffee grounds into a mug and looks down into it. ”...actually would you like Tea, Coffee or Water?”
”Tea, please. Green if you have it.”
George nods and starts rummaging in a cupboard. ” So since you are a part of Soul I guess you see what she sees and feel what she feels?”
Pretty much. I’ve gotten used to setting my identities aside, though. I don’t like telling ponies. Or griffons, for that matter. That’s new.”
George placed some tea leaves in a second mug and poured hot water into both. ”You take milk or sugar? What’s new by the way?”
”Explaining anything to griffons,” Wraith says with a grimace. “The ones I fought against were no better than animals. Not to insult your ancestors, but the original griffons were monsters. Both! Those are still fantastic luxuries as far as I’m concerned,” he grins, now thinking of the expensive teas he could get in Canterlot.
George stirs in a couple of spoonfuls of sugar and some milk and places Wraiths mug in front of the Pegasus, taking a sip of his own. ”It’s alright, some of my immediate family I would consider monsters.” he put down his mug. ”Will you need help getting back to Soul? I have a room free if you need to spend the night and I hopefully won’t raise too many eyebrows if I...take you back to the hospital.” He glances down to his mug. ”Actually there is one question I would like to ask first.”
Wraith looks up from thoroughly enjoying his tea. ”Mm? Go ahead. Oh, and I don’t sleep. I can pretty much keep going 24/7, but if I stay in Soul too long I start to hurt my body. I can’t leave her for too long, though, or I start to have trouble...interacting with the world.”
”So getting you back to her sooner rather than later would be best. Well Soul told me something about a grey creature.” George leans in. ”Could you tell me more about it? I’m interested I’ll admit.”
Wraith nods in affirmation. ”Pretty much, but I still have awhile to go before I have to...go back. You wanna know about Amek? Well, he had these guns that shot weird rays. He was this grey biped...thing. If we hadn’t known any better, we would have thought he another of Discord’s creation. Also, he was a dick...”
conantheghost- Very Special Somepony
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Re: Ponysona 4, the Campaign.
Zeela mutters to herself that if Tilt's phone is dead, she'll dip the thing in Liquid Lightning... So she finally tries to take a longshot and call up Melody to see if somehow the changeling might know where Tilt or Soul might be.
Re: Ponysona 4, the Campaign.
Melody had reached the hospital by the time her phone rang, and she paused before answering, looking at who it was...Oh, it was Zeela! She answered it, smiling a bit. "Hey, Zeela. What's up?"
Caden2112- Best Pony
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Re: Ponysona 4, the Campaign.
"Hey, Mel, been trying to get ahold of Soul, and so far, no answer with her phone... Nor an answer from Tilts... So um... You got any clue where they might be?" Zeela asks with a sigh.
Re: Ponysona 4, the Campaign.
"Uhm, I just saw Tilt at school, talking to...A green stallion." Technically true, but to her knowledge, it was still a secret. "As for Soul, she's usually hanging around Tilt, but I haven't seen her today..." Melody paused for a moment, thinking. Again, technically true. "I don't figure Tilt's wandered too far just yet, though."
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Re: Ponysona 4, the Campaign.
"Thanks... I"ll try to find them at the school then..." Zeela replies, then hung up and heads quickly to the school, she wasn't sure what this Green Stallion could mean... But it could mean anything at this point, after all the party doesn't know the limits of these Shadows. And some part of her fears that this could be Soul's Shadow or something...
- Streetsmarts:
- 1D20+10 => [ 15 ] +10 = 25, TO FIND TILT.
Re: Ponysona 4, the Campaign.
"Alright, later, Zeela!" Melody hung up, looking around. Now, if she was going to put a colt in the hospital, where would she have put him...? She asked around, curious.
- Streetsmarts:
1d20+8 = 12+8 = 20
Caden2112- Best Pony
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Re: Ponysona 4, the Campaign.
Soul meets Rumor on the roof. Here is what happened.
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1V4VWoxZQohJ_BnWeSr3ZCbNwdwG6a2a-HzN4ZwIxSeg/edit?usp=drive_web
----
Melody can, eventually, make her way to the room shared between Soul and Shiro, the colt holding his hooves out and playing a game of Cat's Cradle... Somehow, with a thin white thread. On the other side of the room, Soul's phone on her sidetable has a flashing green light.
"....." Shiro's tongue sticks out of his mouth as he works the string, oblivious to the changeling at the door.
----
Zeela can, relatively easily, find Tilt just as the athlete is tackled from the side by a certian unicorn filly... who simply slams into the mare's barrel with a soft 'thwump'
"... Ow."
"Alice, don't run! And especially don't tackle ponies."
"But Onii-saaaan"
"No buts, Alice. You might poke someone's eye out. Hello Tilt-san." The pegasus bows slightly at Tilt, noting the other pegasus. "And Good day to you Zeela-san."
----
The feminine stallion can easily find George in his office, a small pegasus colt watching him for a moment before dashing off when Icing turns the corner.
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1V4VWoxZQohJ_BnWeSr3ZCbNwdwG6a2a-HzN4ZwIxSeg/edit?usp=drive_web
----
Melody can, eventually, make her way to the room shared between Soul and Shiro, the colt holding his hooves out and playing a game of Cat's Cradle... Somehow, with a thin white thread. On the other side of the room, Soul's phone on her sidetable has a flashing green light.
"....." Shiro's tongue sticks out of his mouth as he works the string, oblivious to the changeling at the door.
----
Zeela can, relatively easily, find Tilt just as the athlete is tackled from the side by a certian unicorn filly... who simply slams into the mare's barrel with a soft 'thwump'
"... Ow."
"Alice, don't run! And especially don't tackle ponies."
"But Onii-saaaan"
"No buts, Alice. You might poke someone's eye out. Hello Tilt-san." The pegasus bows slightly at Tilt, noting the other pegasus. "And Good day to you Zeela-san."
----
The feminine stallion can easily find George in his office, a small pegasus colt watching him for a moment before dashing off when Icing turns the corner.
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Re: Ponysona 4, the Campaign.
"Hey... Tilt... Alice... Daisoujo..." Zeela said blinking a little at not expecting to meet up with these two when he found Tilt.
Re: Ponysona 4, the Campaign.
"Imoto-chan!" interjects Tilt, sweeping up Alice in her hooves and swinging her through the air in a tight embrace, her foul mood melting in an instant.
She sets the smaller Fortune down, and smiles to the others, "And Daikon! Zeela! Good to see you too!"
"How are you?"
She sets the smaller Fortune down, and smiles to the others, "And Daikon! Zeela! Good to see you too!"
"How are you?"
Pingcode- Technical Administrator
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Re: Ponysona 4, the Campaign.
"Well I've been trying my best to find Soul..." Zeela said. "Hoped she'd be with you... Or you'd know where she is. Need to chat with Soul about... Something... Important..."
Re: Ponysona 4, the Campaign.
Alice giggles loudly, grinning in the hug as Daisoujo chuckles at the nickname. "Doing good. We were going to visit the TV world but Junes is having an Electronic's sale. Can't really get into the tvs."
Alice boops her nose against Tilt's and smiles. "We were thinking about going through that Velvet Room place."
Alice boops her nose against Tilt's and smiles. "We were thinking about going through that Velvet Room place."
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