The Sun Sets

Storm nods and starts to heads upstairs. "Want to me take the unicorn back up as well? Or should he stay downstairs?"

Bronymous wrote:"Take him. Are there any others in the house, or did they all end up in the pile outside?"

Storm starts to respond before his mind registered what officer was saying. "Wait. Pile outside? What pile outside?"

"We pushed a zombie pegassus into one of the room unused rooms upstairs, and should still be there. Apart from that, we ran into a mare earlier that was also infected. She was near the stairway, frozen in place, but I'm not sure what happened to her."

Storm moves to push the cloud up the stairs.

Kanen listened as Storm and the guard continued with their exchange. He was generally clueless as to what martial law meant and brushed it off as one of the weird things that ponies did. As such he began to make his way back outside.
"I'm going back out, this house gives me bad feelings and there might be other kids like Cheese String running about." He said obliviously.

Cobalt looks at Kanen bewilderingly as he marches by towards the front door. He stares for a minute, and then calls out- speaking in perfect, fluent deer tongue. "Jik, Nawoa so maara neyaathkemante jow'ne susidne jeworram! Denaauwat!*" The dialect is a bit off, but Kanen understands it perfectly.

---

*"Everyone comes, including you Antlers! Get moving!"

"I am not a subject to your ponies' crown. I am deer and I go where I please, now if you'll excuse me I am going out to save your kind because you haven't been doing a great job of it."

"You've already lammed off from me once deer," the bat pony calls out as she jumps in front of the deer, "If you ain't a hood you better stop acting like one and cooperate with us."

"Under who's authority? Not yours most definitely. And I do not serve your worthless Princesses who care not for non-ponies. Do not forget I am here by my own choice and I remain here of my own choice, not to help you or anyone else here but because I want. Just like I want to go back out and either find the child's parent or find any others that are in similar situations as I found him. Now I will only say this once and as politely as I can. Move."

"Who the buck is that?"

"Look when I got here there was no one here except the demon Ravenous that nearly killed me. Ask one of the other ponies about the original owner."

"Some creatures were attacking us, busted in through the door to get away. Broke part of my tines still a little mad about that. Had to have one of the haeksenn reinforce the door afterwards to keep them out."

Until now, Cobalt has simply watched Scales try to control the deer. Seeing that she's losing him, he jumps in. "I see reinforcing it was greatly successful. I'll make this clear, deer." Once again, he switches over to deer language. "{I don't care what you think you can or can't do, what you may or may not do, who you bow to or who raises your sun.}" His hooves move in a flash, and suddenly a small metal cord wraps itself around Kanen's neck. "{You will do as I say, or beyond having you arrested and tried for Murder, Assault, Grand Larceny, Abduction, and a handful of smaller crimes, I will publicly and personally bring you down, humiliate you, make you hurt. I will destroy you on every level, and ensure your entire tribe feels the effects. DO YOU UNDERSTAND ME?}" A bolt of static discharge lances along the cord, giving Kanen a painful shock, even as it begins to tighten.

Between the pain from the electric noose and his malevolent tone in your own language, you feel... strangely compelled. Almost subconsciously, you feel yourself wanting to succumb to his wishes, even though consciously you may oppose him wholeheartedly.

---

He rolled a 29 against your 23, for the Cord. The subconscious thing... well that's another thing entirely.

"Moments like these prove my tribe is right about the aponske. I have done nothing wrong and have not raised a hoof in violence and yet here you are subjugating me forcing me to bend to your will. I don't care if you threaten me or even if you kill me but you threatening my tribe...this will not end well for you."

"We're just trying to crack what went down here. If you're clean, you'll help us, right?" Still, a fang lightly dug into Scales' lip. While she knows that sometimes cracking open a nut is needed to get the truth, even she couldn't help but feel that this was just a bit shocking...

(Persuasion Assist for Cobalt: 9 (Roll) + 11 (Skill, I couldn't bring myself to use the incorrect value) = 20)

Scales' words don't necessarily do anything to help or hinder Kanen, but deep within his head he somehow feels them add strength to Cobalt's, and he can't help but feel subdued. Maybe not helpful, but it seems like fighting is a waste of time and would only end badly for him... somehow. Kanen isn't sure what makes him think that either. But he does.

Satisfied in his results, Cobalt lets the cord go slack, but it remains around Kanen's neck. "Keep this in mind," he says to the rest of the group. "For the time being I am in charge and what I say goes- the Guard does not play around during crises like this. If everything checks out here, then we won't have to worry about anything. But I do have my methods of maintaining my authority. Don't test me, and let's just get this over with. Ms. Scales?" He gestures for Scales to continue leading.

---

Kanen has been SUBDUED by Cobalt. Any effort to resist his commands, ignore him, or be untruthful or unhelpful in any way now require a Will Check.

Since Will isn't a thing in this game, though, Endurance will suffice.

Night Scales starts to make the move upstairs. "Which room upstairs is she?" If no one replies, Scales with check the half of the upstairs floor that she wasn't it...

"This way."

Storm leads them down the hall towards Bells room.

Storm leads the group, including the bound unicorn and the slightly shocked colt, up the stairs and to Bells' room.

Bells, Gearick:
You are awoken from your naps by the door opening again. Storm comes in, an assortment of faces trailing him. Dodger, the cloudbound unicorn you just got rid of, a foal, Scales, and Kanen, who appears to be leashed by a new pony you've never seen. He looks around at the room and its occupants. "Is this her?"

"Yeah, that's her," answers Night Scales before turning to Bells. "Ma'am, we'd like to ask you a couple of questions."

Bells rolls to a position less awkward for talking to other ponies and looks up at Scales. "Ask, then, and I will answer your questions to the best of my ability."