//------------------------------// // Session C1 - Verdant Vines - May 5th // Story: They're Never Coming Back // by Flashgen //------------------------------// Transcription of Session C1: Verdant Vines Date: May 5th Time: 3:16 p.m. Interviewer: White Clover With most personnel and supplies moved to a clearing far from Ponyville, I requisitioned one of Doctor Blue Sky’s recording devices for my own use. It was important that I have a discussion with Vines to go over our course of action moving forward, while Princess Celestia considers the same. I also feel, however private we want it to be, that a friendly chat might assist the record. I made sure to prepare a kettle for tea before we started, and once Vines and I had settled down, I began recording. White Clover (WC): So, not likely the chat you were hoping for, Vines? She laughed, sighed, and then sipped at her tea. One of her hindhooves tapped slowly on the floor. Verdant Vines (VV): No, Clover, it really wasn't. WC: Well, usually things are wrapped up when we catch up. So, let's work on the loose ends, shall we? VV: Yeah, sounds like a plan. She downed the rest of her tea and stood up, pacing back and forth in the tent. VV: So another… plane of existence and creatures that came from there, but were originally from Equestria, kidnapped an entire town. They've been subjected to untold amounts of stress and torment, for an actually unknowable period of time, and one pony has a way to bring them back. VV: We don’t know what they'll look like, if they can be rehabilitated, and this pony has committed, at the least, potential atrocities by her own admission. They could be lying and leading us into a trap, in which case we've been standing in it for weeks, but the jaws haven't shut yet. If they're telling the truth, some of these creatures and ponies are working to spring a trap, and there is absolutely no guarantee that we can do more than delay it. VV: We have to balance rescuing survivors, ensuring our own safety, avoiding a national disaster and panic, and, if it's even possible, arresting the creatures responsible. Sound like everything? WC: More or less, yes. Twilight, if this is her, needs to be held accountable for what she’s done. That said, she's already talking about remaining in this place. Whether that's sacrifice or punishment or… running away, I can't say. She's the only hope we have of finding more survivors though. VV: Unless some other journal drops out of the sky and into our laps. But there's no hope that'll be real and trustworthy. WC: We could wait for Solace to recover, but that may take too long. If these other survivors are in his state then— VV: They're on borrowed time. Silence came for a while, in which I nursed my own cup and Vines poured another. VV: I just feel betrayed, Clover. I almost feel like her writing "I'm guilty" a dozen times when she first wrote to us would have been better. Then I'd know where she stood, what she was. I wouldn't have this hope to be dashed on the rocks. WC: We've both dealt with these things before, and so has Sky. So has everypony. It's part of our jobs to root out the truth, and that often comes with finding out someone was lying. VV: And when they were, you trust them with your life? WC: No, but I'm willing to see the bigger picture. VV: I started thinking what the worst case scenario is, even before what she said. These things fighting against her for the fate of that place and this town. She loses, we lose, everypony or even the world is at risk. Now she claims they aren't even there or at least that she can’t sense them? The worst case is still present, and the best case isn't quite so great. WC: It never was going to be. At the best, we would recover a small portion of those kidnapped, find out what happened, and would have to spend an inordinate amount of time helping them recover. And that was assuming the truth didn't make us eternally paranoid, which it seems is a foregone loss. VV: Our burden to bear, along with Princess Celestia. WC: No. It will be a burden for every single pony that suffered through it, those who will help them, and every descendant that will tell some terrible story derived from it all around a campfire. VV: A little reaching, don't you think? WC: Maybe, but it's all beyond the present, Vines. What do we do? Vines was silent, her hoof tapping slowly at first and then faster. VV: What does Princess Celestia think? WC: I think she's much more optimistic than you. She believes this is Twilight, that she speaks the truth, and that we can… save everypony or at least some of them. VV: So when is it going to start? WC: She told Twilight to wait, so whenever we're ready. VV: Do you trust her? WC: I only have what I've read and what’s happened to consider. If she was malicious, there would be no need for this. She talked about how They can reach out and affect things here, and you and Sky ended up there for however little time it was. Wouldn't you still be there? WC: If you vanished, we'd obviously try to find out why or send more ponies. Why explain anything about this place? Why even talk? VV: Because they knew we'd give up otherwise. WC: Possibly, but if they can control this place, does it matter where we are? Even worse if this infection, if that's what it is, makes it easier. WC: It's just that… we can see the worst and plan for it, but rejecting this avenue wholesale leads us nowhere. There's no progress without risk. VV: I know, of course I do. She was quiet for several moments. VV: Did you have another one? A nightmare yesterday? WC: Not a nightmare, no. A dream of you? Yes, but you didn’t do anything. VV: Well I had one. I didn't like what I saw. It wasn't anything steeped in this imagery and metaphor. I… I think I saw her. I approached Vines, but lingered close by. She stared down into her near empty cup, swirling it in her hooves. VV: It was this… thing that looks like us but isn't. Twisted and dark and… there's no way it can be. It didn't move right. It didn't sound right. It didn't breathe. WC: But Solace isn't that. He's alive. He doesn't look like some alien creature and he could be the first of many. I pulled her into a comforting hug, at least as much as I could manage. WC: We'll get through this, Vines. She returned the embrace and I felt tears on my coat. VV: I really hope so, Clover. After a few moments, we broke our hug. I took a seat next to her. WC: Should we let Celestia handle talking with Twilight going forward? VV: I have a feeling you aren't really asking. Sky would probably recommend it: someone she knows to talk to instead of a stranger. WC: That would be the idea, yes. VV: Well, I guess we just need to be ready then. Solace suddenly appeared at Town Hall. Hopefully there's little theatrics with the other survivors she sends. WC: I'll help assign the guards to canvas the town and its surroundings when she begins. I've already sent a pegasus to request medical aid from Cloudsdale, and we have a train and airship coming from Canterlot tomorrow. There should be enough supplies and personnel on them to assist us. WC: We'll also need to advise caution from everypony involved. Do we have a list of… suspects? For those that may be a danger. VV: We can go over the transcripts again. Beyond Twilight, Applejack, and Fluttershy, there have to be some other ponies that exhibited odd behavior, or were at least in difficult enough situations to have changed. With our path settled, I sent a guard to inform Princess Celestia and we began our research.