mylittlejamjar | 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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[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!

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

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>[private] Shall we wrap this up?

>[private] Let's~

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