Grey Mane tapped her chin. "It would be most unwise just to try the front door. I suggest we use stealth and acrobatics. I heard that odd stuff is expected here so we wont be too out of place, right?"
"Well," said Silver, "We just need the book, right? Assuming that she doesn't keep it by her side every second of every day, this shouldn't be too hard." After a moment, ne added, "Well, it shouldn't be too hard for anypony who's good at sneaking. Which would...not really include me." He smiled apologetically.
Grey Mane snickered. Her stealth would come into play now. "I beleive I could be of Great help there... How do you think I aquired these trinckets without a job?" She began to laugh.
"And here we have the majestic dragons. See their beauty and shiny scales and, and.....ah..." "What?" "Come on! What else could we possibly write about dragons? We know everything about dragons! They don't draw people in any more, you should know that!" "We're not going on some wild-goose chase looking for your fabled temple. I want to pass with something solid and achievable." "That's always been your way; solid and achievable. Why don't you ever think 'Huh. I could pass, or I could pass with flying colours and maybe even get more grants than I would know what to do with?" "Oh please..." "They are out there, RIGHT NOW!" "Fairy tales and nonsense. Please, we should be getting back to work." "You saw their tracks! We have hair samples! They're here!" "Please...Next you'll tell me Changlings have replaced Professor Brandy." "Wouldn't surprise me..." "Honestly, Follia...why do I-" Follia raises his head to see that the ferret cage had fallen over. The loud thud must have woken him. He stretches hard, sliding off the cot where he caught some sleep and onto his hooves. Mulling over the half-evaporated memory, he sighs. "I damn well found them, didn't I?" He said, looking around the small cabin he'd been given. It was largely bare wood floor boards, some pastel yellow wall paper, a basin and a porthole. Folia's luggage took most of the space, making an already cramped room even smaller. He stands on the cot to look out of the porthole, over looking the surrounding area of Ponyvile as they descended. The wagon seems interesting...Wonder if that's a new fixture here. He walks on behind the group, chatting amongst themselves. He realised that none of them attended his classes. Maybe he was here for filly-sitting... "Hey! We can't go and stealthy-stealthy and all that without first knowing exactly what we're dealing with here!" Follia said, storming forwards. "Its rude! She could be sitting innocently and perfectly fine and you want to go in like a bat with a cloak and dagger, all cloak and dagger! We ought to talk to her and assess what this book is doing to her by seeing Sparkle first. Then we can send in all the rodents we need later on."
Silver hid a smile. "Sounds like a logical idea, professor, but if she's insane, couldn't she hurt us? She has really powerful magic, and typically artifacts enhance your magic, if I'm not mistaken." If Follia could come up with a way to get past this problem, he would gladly accept this course of action. Come to think of it, all they needed was a little strategy, which Silver fancied himself rather adept at... "Perhaps I could be hidden somewhere nearby by Grey Mane's camouflage, and if she goes crazy on us, I can project a shield around her, or us, whichever would work better, and keep everypony and everything else safe. If I can't contain her, can I rely on everypony else to back me up?
Mystic Heart sighed gently as she trotted towards the library. "The best course of action, I believe, is to speak with her first. If reason can be used to persuade her first, then there's no need for anything..." she looked at the professor, "rude." She flashed a short smile, then turned her head to the library. "If you would rather not be the first option, then I'll be glad to try and talk to her myself. I rather like the thought of that opportunity!"
"But," said Silver, "we cannot take any chances. While we are all for rational talk, she may not be. We should have some sort of backup."
She stopped and smiled at Silver. "What's the worst that could happen? If she were to do something nasty, there are still four of us. Besides, she's Twilight Sparkle, it's probably just a temporary psychosis."
Silver frowned. Was she going to throw caution to the wind? "So you're saying we shouldn't have any sort of backup? There may be four of us, but just because we subdue her doesn't mean one of us won't get hurt."
"What, you don't expect her to attack us outright do you? She's crazy, she's not stupid! Physical harm would be greatly unexpected for a madwoman of her kind. She would likely try to lure us in first." She smiled again, which was almost creepy at the end of her statement, still nearing the door of the Library.
Grey Mane sighed. Although reasonable it was not near as fun. "Fine.... But I won talk... I'm not a talkative Pony... If it fails though... I get to have some fun." She smiled and stared up at a few possible entrances which could work.
Expecting an insane pony to think logically is folly, thought Silver, but he followed Mystic Heart in any case. He wasn't much for conflict, and would usually give in to somepony else if they stuck to their argument long enough.
As Mystic Heart nears the door to the public library, she might notice a pair of green eyes peering out one of the windows above the front door. The latch creaks and the window opens with a soft sqeak. After a moment, a small, purple dragon steps out onto the small balcony outside the window. He seems friendly enough as he waves, but his voice is no higher than a Stage Whisper. Spoiler: Roll Perception Mystic Heart - 71 + 4 = 75 Follia - 66 + 4 = 70 Grey Mane - 71 + 4 = 75 Silver Shield - 67 + 4 = 71 The streets of the town aren't very busy and most of the other ponies are speaking in hushed tones. This makes it rather easy to hear what the baby dragon has to say: "Psst! Hey, were you the guys sent by Celestia? You are, aren't you? Great! Twilight's gone completely off the deep end since getting that-" "Spike?" The dragon shudders as a young mare's voice calls to him fron inside the library. "Uh *gulp*...yeah, Twilight?" "Who is that at the door?" "Uh, nopony. Just some...uh...loiterers! Yeah, that's it!" The dragon turns back toward you. "Go away! Shoo!" Twilight's voice rings out, "Oh, Spike. Don't be so rude. How many are there?" "Four?" A few moments of silence, Twilight replies, "Could you let them in, please Spike? I always love meeting new friends." Spike slowly turns to go back into the library, but before he can even make his way inside, the front door swings open, revealing a lavender unicorn. She perfectly matches the picture you all saw in Room 101, smile and all. Her mane appears slightly messy. She makes a quick examination of you all before saying, "You know what they say, 'A stranger's just a friend you haven't met yet.' Hi there!" she giggles, "I'm Twilight Sparkle. The dragon up there, who has been exceeding rude lately..., is my faithful assitant, Spike." She turns to go into the main area of the library. "Please. Come inside. Just take a seat over there." She jerks her head toward a row of seven smaller than average chairs. On three of the chairs is sitting five pony dolls. One is white with a purple mane and a small horn sticking from her head, One is butter yellow with a long, pink mane and wings, One is orange with a blond mane. This one is wearing a cowboy hat. One is pink with a fluffy pink mane and tail, The Last is cyan in color with a raqinbow-colored mane and a pair of wings. Spoiler: Roll Perception Mystic Heart - 7 + 4 = 11 Follia - 52 + 4 = 56 Grey Mane - 21 + 4 = 25 Silver Shield - 89 + 4 = 93 Silver Shield notes that the white doll has a droplet of water on "her" face.
Mystic Heart tried to keep her composure. Didn't want to appear anything but at ease. "Oh yes, I do enjoy meeting new friends. If you don't mind though, I'll stay standing." She widened her eyes momentarily to roll them in expression. "The trip over here had me sitting for hours and I rather enjoy the opportunity to stretch my legs." She went into a sweet smile. "Such small chairs, too. I wouldn't want to ruin anything." Then, with a quick bow of her head; "I am Mystic Heart... pleased to meet you, Twilight."
Silver enters the house after the others, still frowning. He doesn't sit down; hay if he was going to do what she expected him to do. He studied the chairs and dolls with great scrutiny, but did not see anything unusual. The white doll's face appeared to be wet, for some reason, but he didn't know what conclusion that should lead him to. In any case, he felt like the dolls would not be here if she were sane. What purpose, if any, could they have? They reminded him of voodoo dolls; perhaps that was what she was using them for? He shuddered. Not wishing to dwell on that any longer, he looked around the room. His eyes fell on Twilight, and he remembered his manners. After all, even insane ponies deserve a greeting, and she had greeted him with respect. "Charmed to meet you, Miss Sparkle. My name is Silver Shield."
At least one of the group wasn't going to leave this place. Twilight would end up gaining a new coat or a fancy new hat while all but one or two the team rushes out, screaming. She'd grin, her eyes would glaze over a twitch then they'd all be hanging from the ceiling before they new it. Follia followed them all in, trying to avoid Twilight's gaze by suddenly being interested in a bookshelf as he walked by her. He moves towards a free seat and eyeballs it carefully. He scans the seat with great intensity and scepticism before turning around and sitting down. His eyes keep darting around the room for saw blades or restraints.
Spoiler: Roll Perception for Follia 43 + 4 = 47 The seat creaks slightly under the professor's weight, but hold steady. Surprisingly, (at least to Follia) there doesn't seem to be anything out of the ordinary. The library appears as any library should: shelves stacked with books, recently cleaned floors, a young, female librarian tending the place...the dolls and small chairs are an interesting touch. Not a saw blade or restraint in sight. Edit: Twilight gives a friendly nod to each of you as you introduce yourselves and flashes a smile at Follia, who chose to sit. As Spike comes down the stairs behind her, Twilight chirps, "So! To what do I owe this pleasure?" Spike glances uncertainly at the four of you, then the dolls, then back to you. He shrinks back slightly.
Shield wondered whether they should tell the truth and risk Twilight wigging out on them, or make up a lie on the spot. "We are from Misakitonik University in Canterlot. We've come to your library to do some research; we've heard you hold a few rare books here." Well. That was the truth. Just not all of it. Anyways, he managed to keep his face neutral, without showing much of any emotion. He was rather good at that.
Grey Mane looked at Shield. If she was hostile then what he just said was a bad idea. She sent a look at the others which looked like she was angry. She glanced over at Spike. He knew something. "Excuse me Miss Twilight... Do you have a restroom?" She shot a wink over at Spike.
Twilight tilted her head to the side slightly at the mention of Misakitonic University. Then, she grinned at Silver Shield. "Oh! I've heard about that place. It's not quite as great as Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns, but I heard that they have a lot of wierd things there. I'd like to visit it sometime!" Her eye twitched. "You really should sit and rest from such a long trip." At Grey's question, she tilted her head in the other direction. "Silly! You should've thought of that before leaving Canterlot. Spike!" Spike jumped. "Yes, Twilight?" "Could you show Miss Grey Mane where the little filly's room is?" She chuckled, "~Don't let her steal anything.~" She turned back and winked at Grey Mane. Spike scratched the back of his neck and chuckled nervously, "Uh, heh, yeah sure, Twilight. C'mon, Grey Mane. Follow me." ----- As Grey followed Spike up the stairs to the bathroom, Twilight turned her attention back to Silver Shield. "So, what are you researching? I love doing research! I'm sure that I have plenty of books here that can help you." ----- Spike tried as calmly as he could to lead Grey mane to the library's restroom. He was visibly shaking. Before long, they reached the restroom. Spike opened the door, revealing an ordinary-looking room with a bathtub, sink, and toilet. The bathtub was filled halfway with water, and the water was light red. Suddenly, Spike tried to shove Grey Mane into the room. Spoiler: Roll to Dodge Grey Mane - 8 + 88 = 96 Spike - (Hidden) + 23 = Less than 96 Result = Successful Dodge Grey steps to the side and Spike's momentum carries him into the room, where he falls flat on his face. He looks up, horrified, then quickly waves her over. "Close the door," he whispers. "I'm sorry for that, but I wanted to be sure I could get you in private. You gotta help Twi and Rarity and everypony else!"
