"I suppose the zebra couldn't do much wrong with it. After all, he had it originally, and no horrific things befell Equestria then, at least as far as I know," said Silver mildly, looking at Heart.
Follia nods along with Grey's suggestion. "Yes, he did manage to keep it safe, right up until Twilight lifted it from him." He points out, "The book should stay with the University under lock and key. Leaving it with the Zebra could leave this open for another young unicorn to find the book, have a quick flick through, steal it and then run rampant with Buttercup again. It stays with us."
"But it's his. We at least need to let the University offer to pay him for it. We can't possible go running off with his property and then expect him to trust us again..."
Grey Mane sighed. "Ok. How about we ask Celestia to raise the Zebra's sucurity. If that does not happen we shall pay him then give the book to the University."
She muttered gently to herself, then with a sigh reminded the others. "I was hoping to rest before we discussed, but my personal opinion follows along releasing it back to Virulento." She stressed his name. Calling him zebra just seemed... vulgar. Shaking her mane to the side she calmed and smiled. "It would then be proper, as law dictates, for the university to then make him an offer on his possessions. Since we're not police I wouldn't feel comfortable just taking it to them when he was so nice to us. He seems of fair intentions, even in close proximity to such an object. Plus, I'm sure he'll be much more reserved about other ponies reading the book."
Grey Mane nodded. "See! She knows it is best to do the right thing! Raise your hoof, if you think the book should be returned to Virulento." As soon as she finished speaking, she raised a hoof.
Silver, who had been attempting to explain this the entire time, facehoofed with one hoof and raised the other. He quickly fell over, as this left him balancing on only two hooves.
Toxic raised a feeble hoof, her head hanging in exhaustion. "Can we please go rest now?" she asked tentatively.
(Time Skip) You all adjourn to your respective beds for the night, and resolve to take the book to Virulento (with the offer to buy it from him) in the morning. Spike has taken residence with the colts of the group, Follia and Silver Shield. He takes special care to tuck the dolls uder his covers, and clutches the Rarity doll tightly in his arms as he sleeps and sucks his thumb. Spoiler: Roll Willpower for Toxic Rain 34 + 2 = 36 Dream: noun 1. a succession of images, thoughts, or emotions passing through the mind during sleep. 2. the sleeping state in which this occurs. 3. an object seen in a dream. 4. an involuntary vision occurring to a person when awake. 5. a vision voluntarily indulged in while awake; daydream; reverie. Most scientific poines believe that dreams are the mind's way of sorting out events from days past. Some ponies believe that dreams hold special meaning. What do you think? A cold breeze wakes Toxic Rain from her slumber. She gets up out of her bed and notices that the window is open, but she doesn't remember anypony opening it. Mystic Heart is sleeping soundly nearby, perhaps she is dreaming of a special somepony... As Toxic quietly closes the window, she stops as she hears the sound of pages turning in the breeze. The Book She turns toward the sound and sees it. The book lies on top of Mystic's saddlebags. That wasn't where she had it. I should put it away. Toxic's surroundings become hazy as she approaches the book and the walls seems to warp toward her, almost comletely closing her in before expanding at the very last second for what seems like miles. She closes the book, resisting the urge to take a quick peek at the great knowledge contained within its bindings. "You like it. Don't you?" The feminine voice causes Toxic to start and she jumps back slightly. The pony who spoke is none other than Twilight Sparkle. She wasn't there a second ago. Maybe she teleported. Twilight speaks, but oddly, her mouth doesn't move. "It's quite a find. You only had but a taste of its power, and you liked it didn't you?" Her face suddenly twists into a mask of pure hatred. [size=+1]"The Book Is Mine! Give It Back!"[/size] Before you can react, a massive claw reaches up and snares the unicorn mage. Twilight screams and struggles desperately as the claw drags her down into the floor. She curses you with her very last breath. Then, for but a moment, silence. Suddenly, Princess Celestia rises form the floor, wrapped in a golden wreath of sunlight and holiness. When her form appears fully before you, she speaks. Her voice echoes through the room, "You have done well, Toxic Rain. The power of the Book is yours to command." With those words, she levitates the book toward Toxic Rain. Toxic Rain suddenly awakens in her bed, drenched in sweat. Mystic Heart is sleeping soundly nearby. Perhaps she's dreaming about a special somepony...
Grey Mane thought she heard something when Toxic woke up, but until she was certain decided to wait in bed.
Silver woke up feeling rather refreshed and quite happy that yesterday was over with. He made his mental list of things to do: 1. Get ready for the day 2. Return book to Virulento 3. Read lots and lots of other books He crossed that last one out. That probably wasn't a priority. Hmmm... 3. Return to university? He decided he would wait and see what the day brought before planning anything beyond number two.
(Halloooo?) After stretching, Silver walked out of his room and looked around. Nopony else seemed to be up. Had the innkeeper said their stay came with breakfast? He thought he was right; after all, it was called the "Hay and Stay", but he couldn't remember for the life of him, so he went to the front desk and asked. "Excuse me, Ambiance, but did you say that there was a breakfast included here?"
Silver Shield Ambiance glances up from his work and replies, “Well, we’re not really like those fancy-shmancy hotels in Canterlot, but I don’t see why I couldn’t get somepony to whip you all up something. You know, since you did save us from that weirdo-monster thing.” He reaches under his desk and takes a small bell in his mouth. He rings it a couple of time, calling a young, filly, earth pony to his side. “Yes, sir? What can I do for you?” the young pony asks. She seems eager to serve, and constantly shoots glances as Silver Shield only to quickly turn away when his eyes meet hers. Ambiance turns to the filly and replies, “Could you go to Sugarcube Corner and ask the Cakes if they’d make somethin’ for Stalwart and his friends? Tell them it’s on me.” “Yes, sir!” The filly salutes with one hoof, then dashes off to complete her task. Ambiance turns to Silver and says, “It might take a while. Why don’t you make yourself comfortable?” ---- Grey Mane, Mystic Heart, Toxic Rain As the girls wake from their slumber, some have an easier time than others. Toxic Rain, in particular, appears to have gotten little to no sleep. Her eyes are bloodshot and she seems a little nervous. Grey Mane seems to have rested well enough. She had heard her professor tossing and turning in her sleep the night before, but it hadn’t bothered her overly much. Mystic Heart slept like a rock. A very elegant rock, but a rock nonetheless. She had the most wonderful dream of finding her special somepony. She is the most well-rested of the girls and it shows as she stretches and yawns loudly. ---- Follia and Spike Follia is awakened by Mitzy lightly tugging on his bedsheets. As he opens his eyes toward the window, he can see that the sun is brightly shining and he can hear birds singing in perfect harmony. Spike is also just waking up. He yawns loudly, scratches his head, and sits up in his small bed. He stares blankly at the wall for a moment, as if trying to figure out where he is. He blinks a few times before shaking the remaining sleepiness from his mind. He takes the Rarity doll and gently pats her head, then places the dolls back in the sack. Then, he gets to his feet and asks, “Say…Mister Follia? Where’s Silver Shield?”
Grey Mane looked to Mystic. "Sleep well? Come. Lets get the boys. Do you still have the book?" She then turned to Toxic, who looked like she had no sleep. "Hmmm.... You seem tense. Maybe when we get to Virulento we can ask him if he has anything for drowsiness." She giggled a bit, before resuming her serious attitude.
She lifted her head and looked at Grey Mane through half-opened eyes. Muttering something that could only possibly be understood by her, (it sounded pleasant though,) she patted the pouch she had the book in to ensure its placement. Given that it was there, she went to do the very first thing anypony does in the morning... and on after that she quietly found a mirror she could sit in front of and begin her morning brushings, smiling quietly to herself.
"Perhaps he's walking around somewhere." Follia said, slipping out of the bed onto the floor where he proceeded to stay. While lying on his back, he began to hum quietly to himself while peddling his legs in the air in constant circles, over and over. His humming didn't make any tunes for about three minutes; just trips from the highest to the lowest his voice could handle. Then he moves onto various little tunes while continuing to peddle in the air. "Spike, there's ferret food in my bag next to..." Follia began but a note from Mitzy stops him. "Well, why is it in there? Go and fetch it, will you?" The collie rushes off, coat dragging along the carpet and vanishes out the door. "Well, when she comes back, could you feed the ferret? Thank you." Follia returns to his peddling and humming.
"Well, thank you, Ambiance!" said Silver, slightly embarrased at the favor. He never really got used to ponies doing things like that, and he always felt ashamed, like he was taking advantage of them unless he refused the offer. But, he had learned long ago that refusing was often taken as quite rude, or at best rather strange. He gave Ambiance a big smile and then wandered over to one of the small tables in the "lobby", sat down, and pulled one of the textbooks that he'd gotten from the library out of his saddlebag. He'd only brought a few down from the room, because obviously all of them would be ridiculously heavy to carry around. His eyes darted across the pages, absorbing information. He was completely oblivious to his surroundings when he read, as the activity took all of his attention.
Grey Mane brushed her mane out of her eyes. "I'll see you girls in the lobby." She left the room and went down to find a reading Silver. He seemed into his book. tee-hee-hee. Grey Mane thought it would be rude to not make sure he was awake... She crept up behind him, waiting to see if he would turn around.
Silver kept reading his book, which happened to be on early Equestrian history. It was quite riveting. As such, he most certainly could not be blamed for the lack of attention he paid his surroundings.
