//------------------------------// // Ch - interlude - // Story: Chaotic Visage // by Orderly Disassembly //------------------------------// Clover felt the cold stone beneath her. It was a solid sort of cold; the kind of cold that seeps into your bones and grasps at the core of your being. That icy chill was the only sane thing left in her world.  The room's window was really just a strange screen of lies, but now, it lay shattered all over the ones who told the falsehood. The tea and the ceramics associated with it had vanished as if they never existed in the first place. The walls themselves were only recently shifted to where they now were, and they hid numerous bars of runed metal that stretched to the ceiling, perhaps beyond. The window, the tea, the walls, her loyalty, were all lies. She was his friend, friends were supposed to stand up for each other! Yet, at the first opportunity she had, she stabbed him right in the back. No, she didn’t, she couldn’t have! In reality, she told her friend, she warned him. She was still his friend. Typhon still smiled at her. Her world blurred as something got in her eyes, and when it dripped into her slack jaw, it tasted salty. She couldn’t see the table, she couldn’t see the broken glass, she couldn’t see the ashes, and Clover was fine with that. None of it was real, none of it could be real. If only she could see what really happened, then maybe her friend would be laughing with her about something over a cup of tea.  Maybe it would be about one of Starswirl’s long-winded lectures? Perhaps some off-color joke about smiths and their hammers? Whatever tall tale Typhon was telling right now, Clover hoped that he would repeat it to her when she woke up. And dismiss the memory of those wide, hurt, yellow eyes. Celestia’s eyes were growing heavy. The ashes that lay just beyond the black mesh constantly refreshed the memory of what had just occurred. The day had started out fine. Just some issues with wards in the tower. Just a quick visit to realign the tower's main crystal because some apprentice got overly zealous. Just a small errand that she could attend to while being out and about. Then Starswirl came running to tell her of Typhon. Then came the realization that she had a national threat running around a research tower like a puppy. However, unlike a puppy, she couldn’t get Typhon into a kennel. Celestia sighed as her wings folded against her back before she straightened. There was work to do, ponies to see, and plans to set into motion. However, when she turned to leave she saw Starswirl frozen in place, staring at the pile of dust that was once Typhon. She cleared her throat. “Starswirl, are you alright?” The gray unicorn remained stuck, causing Celestia to frown in concern. “Starswirl?” Then she heard the muttering and noticed that his mouth was actually moving, if only slightly. Starswirl’s whispered words barely reached Celestia’s ears, and when they did, all meaning was lost to the alicorn. However, he would occasionally twitch and a phrase would jump out at Celestia. “Dead… logic is safe… is he?... no?... yes?...yes… please.” Every word teased out another piece of his message, and every few twitches Starswirl would blink before going silent. Only for him to begin again moments later. Celestia’s eyes froze on the wizened wizard. She had never seen him like this, not when the sirens came, not when Tirek roamed the lands, and not even when he took the empire with him. After a few more repeats, Celestia shook her head to clear away the last dredges of shock before walking over to Starswirl's side. A blast of magic cleared shards of glittering glass away from their hooves and Celestia gently nudged Starswirl with her wing. Eventually, the unicorn took the hint and collapsed into a ball of twitching muscles. A few seconds passed with Celestia’s wing over Starswirl before a thought pierced the cloud of worry Where is Luna? However, Celestia dismissed the thought when Starswirl shifted and concerns for her sister vanished when the crazed mage began laughing. Luna trotted down the halls with a grin covering her face. Her coat was back to its natural blue color, the beast that made a fool of her was dead, and her friend was jovial. Her friend was there when the chimera made her yellow. Her friend was there when nopony else took her side. Her friend was there when nopony else bothered. Her sister seemed to like the beast, and the staff back home were always wearing those false masks of loyalty whenever they spoke around her. It was painfully obvious that her sister was behind the idiocy when lines like ‘wow the constellations are very nice tonight’ or ‘I wonder if the spoon of Tauros will be out’ reached her ears at the leading edge of dusk. Why would any comment upon the stars while the sun still glared down at them from the sky above? Luna loved her glittering children of the night but even she knew they had a time and place. As for the Spoon of Tauros… she had ripped that pathetic image asunder a century ago when Minos fell! Luna’s face darkened at the thought of Minos, but a comment from her friend lifted the shade. After all, why should she let the past bog her down in the present?  Her plans were ahead of schedule, she could afford a diversion like this. Things were going well, she should be happy! Yet a cold pit ate away at a hole in her stomach. Luna shook her head to clear away the hesitation and set her jaw. She had work to do. They had work to do. Where should they strike next?