mylittlejamjar | Seventh Starfall: Beyond the Pale [Visual, postdated for after the Closing Ceremonies]

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Seventh Starfall: Beyond the Pale [Visual, postdated for after the Closing Ceremonies]

[It's about two hours after the appearance of the Pale Pony, and everything that came with it. You might think that things would calm down again, but no.

This time, Flare Star fires up a scroll ~~that she basically pulled straight away from Dust~~ and starts talking, about as seriously as many ponies have ever heard out of her - the exceptions being Queen Chrysalis (who got to hear the tone when she was attacking the pegasus) and Zecora (whom she helped during Nightmare Night).]

The cards've been played. I don't know what kind of feeling that was that I felt back there, but I know it is evil. No more playing around, no more wasting time trying to understand.

I'm not saying that we don't still need to research this nag, far from it. In fact, we need to centralize our research, so that everypony has the same access to it. It's only right in times of war to allow your soldiers to know of the enemy they fight.

She pulls us all in at random, focusing on those with powers, and then every month, she culls. A few more get drawn into her, possibly for keeps. By standing before us today, by proving that she exists, she has declared war. Not on Equestria, but on every last one of our worlds.

Buck compassion, and buck caring for a pony so far gone that she'll steal souls for her own gain.

She needs to die.

Who's with me?

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[Donna's firmly convinced that there will always be another way apart from killing. The Doctor has taught her that dozens of times over and being here in Equestria has, as well.]

[Chie's a fighter... but when the moment came when she had the choice to kill the person that caused that much misery, she balked. It wasn't right. But she struggled with the question of whether leaving him around wouldn't endanger people too.]

[But Donna's question makes her wonder what they should do about this.]

I wish...

[And she's quiet.]

Go on. [Donna encourages, with a brief nod.] What d'you wish?

I wish I could be half as strong as you about this.

[She's jealous of her certainty. Though maybe it's staunch defiance? Still, she has seen what she knows is right and is willing to do anything to make sure what is right is what comes to pass. Chie was envious of that.]

[Donna stares for a moment, completely taken aback. She's not strong. What is this girl talking about? It takes several seconds for the elder mare to piece something together.]

You aren't screaming for all of us to go kill someone. That's strong enough.

I don't even know what to do.

What d'you feel like doing? If it's kneejerk, something dangerous, probably best to let that pass. It's natural to want to hurt that thing after what it's put us and our friends through. Doesn't mean we ought to turn death. That's a very permanent solution to something we don't understand.

Haah... are you kidding? I got into a duel with a dragon the other day and he pretty much laid me on my flank. And this thing? It's getting a lot of really powerful people scared.

I... [She wasn't sure why, but something about Donna made her want to spill her guts. Maybe it was the seriousness of her resolve? Something made her feel she would understand.] I know when I'd get in the way. And this is one of those times.

But I can't just do anything, because I want... no, I have to make sure my friends are okay.

[Donna understands feeling helpless when your friends are fighting around you. She wishes she didn't, and for someone who looks so young to know that... the mare shakes her head.] I'd get in the way, too, if it came down to fire fight with that thing. But y'know what I can do? I can be a distraction. I started singing when the Pale Pony turned up so the others could try attacking it.

Scared me down to my hooves being in that gaze, but it's what I could do, even if it was only something small. You don't have to be out there with a sword in the thick of battle, y'know? D'you know anything about tactics? Investigations? Cookings? Just helping morale? We've got a lot of fighters here, but fighters need support to do anything big like what's called for.

I'm... well... I'm not really good at anything but fighting, if I'm honest. Though, yeah, I went with my friend and... I sort of helped, I guess?

[She uses her hoof to kick some dirt. She wasn't proud of herself right now. This was hard. This sucked. More than anything, she wanted herself and her friends safely back at home.]

[Life's hard, nothing's fair, and everything sucks. Welcome to the teenage years, Chie. Granted, she's probably been through a lot more than Donna had had to deal with when she was that age.]

How did you help them?

[Let's start with the positives.]

[If she was honest, she really didn't help herself out in some ways. And yet in other ways she did quite a lot to have her do many good things. It's all a balancing act, really?]

Well, when it appeared I was seriously scared, but after a friend knocked me out of it I made sure to see that my friends were okay. And one of them decided the best thing to do would be to serve as a distraction.

And I guess I sort of helped, there?

[By singing. But Donna doesn't need to know that.]

[Hey, now! There's no shame in singing. Everyone knows music is one of the most powerful forces in Equestria.]

Good on you, then, yeah? You know a lot of people couldn't even move at all? You stood up to it, and that's a start.

[Music is great unless she has to sing it and then it's just weird.]

Well, yeah, I know, but...

It's not like I could have done anything!

[Tell her about it.]

What? You mean like hurt it? Look... sorry, what's your name?

[She's getting frustrated. Which is evident by the frustrated pawing at the ground.]

Yes! No...? I don't know... maybe?

[She knows fighting isn't the best answer, but it is what it was good at. Maybe she wouldn't beat it but she would have liked to be able to overpower it and ward it off, perhaps? That seems reasonable. Except a thing like that would probably not be intimidated. And around and around these thoughts go that she almost forgot the last part of Donna's words.]

Huh...? Oh... uh... [Her name, right.] It's Chie.

Chie... [Donna's tone is gentle.] I'm Donna.

So, maybe throwing yourself at it and beating your hooves might have made you feel a little better, yeah? But I think that's what it wanted. The way it was talking, we're all just one big experiment. Maybe doing what you don't usually do threw it for a loop.

Maybe...

[Her voice is soft and she closes her eyes. She can still visualize it well, even now. The Pale Pony standing and staring at everybody, her eyes full of malevolence. The pony the died nearby. The strange dragon-thing attacking it. Something about it seemed... odd. If she was really there to goad people to attacking, she would have done more to antagonize everybody. So as much as Chie doesn't want to disagree with Donna...]

But I think the Pale Pony was too confident in herself to really see us as a threat.

[Her eyes open and look at Donna's. They changed. These are not the eyes of the timid and unsure girl. They're ones that have the clarity of a fighter.]

And I saw the way she stopped to look--really look--at the ones she was the most interested in. It seems to me that what she was really trying to do was scare us, and to remind us right then that she is always watching us, even when we don't think she is. Maybe she wants us to be scared, to feel alone and helpless. To trick us... no... SOME of us to do something that it wants us to do.

[There's a bright-eyed girl filled with fire. Donna matches her determination.]

Did you see who they were? The ones it was really looking at. Might have something in common between them. That walking advert for Clear Eyes is trying to figure out something. I just don't know what it is, yet. Think we can find out?

[Chie's eyes look from side to side, as though picturing the event in her mind. However, no matter how many times she recreates the scene...]

No. After freaking out over her just being there I pretty much went to protect my friends.

I don't know who she was really interested in, sorry.

Hmm... that's all right. One of my friends was taking readings with his sonic screwdriver. Still trying to sort 'em out, but they might point to who we should keep an eye on. Mind if I contact you again for help once I've got an idea?

Yeah, uh, that sounsd good! And I'll ask around to see if anybody else knows anything.

[She's not used to more adult-types taking the lead and giving her reign to try things too.]

[It's a mad, mad world they're in here. Only way to live is dangerously. Kids know how to do that best. Well, kids and the Doctor.]

Brilliant! Talk to you soon, Chie!

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Seventh Starfall: Beyond the Pale [Visual, postdated for after the Closing Ceremonies]

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Apologies for the delay on this! I'm not getting notifs for Donna for some reason.

Oh, it's okay. :3c

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>[private] Shall we wrap this up?

>[private] Let's~

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