Humble Pie
IC date: Autumn 89
OOC date: 17/12/12
PCs: Rising-Chaos Quintessent-rune Gravity
NPCs: None
GM: None

Let it not be said that a mare wanting something gives up easy, Quintessent-Rune stood outside Rising-Chaos' door once more with a hoof raised to knock. Though in all honesty she didn't expect it to work, less the land-pony mare had calmed down since yesterday, and was considering the possibility for a different approach. Still, it would be polite to knock, wouldn't it? And she did.

And waited.

After a reasonable wait, reasonable for the impatient seapony at any rate, she sighed and fished around in her scarf and pulling her fish-plushy out. "Well Servant, it seems we'll have to make our own entra-… What? No! No battering rams! Look, you'll take these," she hoofed the plushy a few bobypins from out of her scarf, "and pick the lock. I'll… hold you?" She frowned at the golems silent reply, giving it a annoyed stare. "Oh shut it, now pick that lock!" Rune raised the plushy golem to the lock and let it get to work.

Rising-Chaos is in her lab, it's possible she didn't even hear the knocking. Like yesterday she looks awful, bags under her eyes and frizzy mane. She hasn't gotten enough sleep. Broken glass and books litter the lab, which is slowly falling to pieces. In one corner, Chaos is hard at work, mixing something. From the looks of things, this wasn't the first attempt.

Meanwhile, the door to her lab is left open, and is slightly off it's hinges. Apparently one of the failed experiments was a /little/ explosive.
The Servant gets the door open fairly readily, letting Quintessent-Rune step inside even when she shouldn't. A very quick snooping about reveals all this and leads the seapony to peer down into the cellar for a few moments before descending worriedly. Catching sight of Rising-Chaos she winced. "Oh dear. Miss Chaos, you do look rather horrible… Have you slept at all?" she asked. Concern, that'd help her along, no doubt.

If Rising Chaos is shocked by rune's entry, she doesn't show it. She waves away the concern, mixing one liquid into another. "Can't sleep, no time." The mix bubbles for a moment, then goes flat. She growls and soon the mixture is tossed across the room, smashing against the wall. Chaos sinks down and rests for a moment against the counter. whatever she says, she's obviously exhausted.

Quintessent-Rune hesitated for a moment, shifting uneasily from hoof to hoof. What was Rune supposed to do about, well… -this-?! After a moment she settled for doing exactly what she'd planed, be nice and friendly and helpful - make Chaos inclined to lend a hoof. Nodding for herself she descended into the lab, picking her way between glass and unhealthy-looking splotches of… stuff… over to the unicorn, placing a hoof on her shoulder. "Maybe you should, Miss Chaos? The state you're in, well… it can't be conductive to whatever task you are attempting to accomplish surely? I suppose things might seem bad," for you land-ponies, she added for herself, "but Miss Muzaji had a point - your adversary might have power, but you do have numbers."

Rising-Chaos gets up again, fires of determination burning in her eyes. She sets about working on another mixture, mumbling something about 'not enough sulphur'. She still hasn't really acknowledged her visitor. It's looking like if you wnat her to stop, you'll have to stop her yourself. "This is important, sleep can come later." She chuckles grimly. "Numbers? I work alone, safer that way."

"Oh, I tend to agree," agreed Quintessent-Rune, "Always somepony wanting something from you and the likes, though do consider that this happening might require some cooperation. Presuming you all wish to walk away with your heads and such, and I know that on my own part I'm rather attached to it an-… Are you listening to me? 'Cause you don't seem to be listening, really…"

Rune frowned at Rising-Chaos for a few moments before reaching across to her back where the fabric-form of Servant was lying. Taking him in her hooves she sighed. "Fine, we will be forced to subdue you for your own good it seems. Have at thee! Servant, please detain Miss Chaos." She chucked the plushy at her.

Rising-Chaos is just about to mix a new concoction. She really isn't listening intently at all. "If you want to stay safe, don't get involved," she grumbles. She doesn't see or care as servant is thrown her way. "I know what's best for me, just leave me alone!"

Apparently Quintessent-Rune doesn't agree with Chaos. And neither does Servant, the blue and black plushy winding up landing underneath Rising… and promptly taking her legs out from under her with a quick flop, dropping her to the ground. Thus further un-levelling the playing field in contest of strength it clamped a mouth over one of Chaos legs, forcing her to stay down. How it actually -manages- is anyony's guess. It must most likely be a fluke of the enchanting, or perhaps Rune's just deranged enough to make a plushy fish that can wrestle earth-ponies with a fair chance at winning.

Leaning forward worriedly Rune peered down at Chaos. "Miss Chaos? Would you consider taking a moment not worrying?"

Rising-Chaos falls to the ground with a cry of surprise. She flails around thrashing against Servant's hold. She's not even a strong pony by unicorn standards, so Servant may as well not even try. Chaos looks up and glares at Rune. "I suppose I don't have a choice, do I?" she snarls. "What do you want?"

"Is it so hard to believe I am doing this out of the goodness of my heart?" asked Quintessent-Rune, a hoof to her chest. After a few moment she nodded for herself. "I presume it is, you strike me as somepony of a similar opinion to me in this regard. 'What do you want', always somepony wants something from you. I'm merely here to exchange my talents in rune-craft and artifice, as well as my knowledge of seapony lore, in exchange for some of those 'benefits' your acquaintance might bring."

"As so boldly stated by you when we first met I believe."

Rising-Chaos sighs with resignation. She crosses her hooves over her chest. "Fine, you want to help? Let me up, we'll go upstairs." The fires that previously were fuelling her die down. She slumps down, losing all her tension. Like before, she just look defeated.

Quintessent-Rune nodded, that was reasonable. Reaching down she picked Servant up, once more dropping him onto her back before offering her hoof to Chaos to help her upright. Keeping an eye on her, Rune lead the way back up the stairs. "Indeed I do."

Rising-Chaos takes the hoof and gets to hers. She follows Quintessent Rune with her head hung low. She looks around at the horrible mess of a lab and winces. What she does while mad isn't always the actions of a sane pony. "I doubt it," she mumbles to herself, too low for Rune to hear easily. Trust is a valuable commodity.

"How about, if I may be so bold as to suggest it, we start by trying to get you somewhere safe and sound. Mentally speaking. You do seem a little off-killter to be perfectly frank, Miss Chaos," stated Quintessent-Rune. "Then we can figure things out and see if we all can be happy with the arrangement we come up with, surely?"

Rising-Chaos brushes past Quintessent Rune and storms into the kitchen. she immediately sets about finding something to eat and making some tea. "What's that supposed to mean? I'm perfectly fine, I told you. Maybe I worked too hard last night but it's for a good cause. Just need to get more rest." She's not going to make this easy, it seems. "What kind of arrangement do you have in mind, anyway? You have expertise with seapony lore and coralcraft. How is that going to help us beat Spindrift?"

Quintessent-Rune frowns at Rising-Chaos as she followed her into the kitchen, seeming rather… disappointed? "Miss Chaos, I'm starting to get a feeling you rather would not -try- to ward away the danger at your doorstep than believe that there is value to be had in other ponies. And I said seapony lore and, this is important, artifice. Artifice and coral-crafting are not necessarily the same thing - one implies a common artisan while the other a educated magical adept. I hope that Servant can convince you of my credentials as one of these artificers."

"The way I see it is that your town needs all the help it can get, and since you have taken on the task and seems to be the consensual leadership in this endeavour," Rune frowned, more so at herself, then shook it off, "you do have responsibilities. It would be negligent to not explore your options fully."

Rising-Chaos finishes getting a simple breakfast together with some tea. She trots past Quintessent Rune and into the living room. "Are you accusing me of not trying, miss Rune?" her voice drops to a deep growl. "I am going to stop Spindrift, I can promise you that. I have vowed to destroy her, one way or another. I push you away because I don't need you." Her glare shows that she really believes it. What value do you bring to me and a battle with her? Your skills are impressive, but what will that actually do?" she motions for Rune to help herself, pretending to be polite. "I neither agreed or asked for the role of leader." She sighs, it seems like the mare won't leave her alone. "Fine, what options do you represent?"

Quintessent-Rune cocked her head to the side, seeming a fair bit surprised. "Truly you have to ask? My family have a history of weapons craft, our enchanted arms have been used by royal guard since we began. Though admittedly weapon forging is not my strong suit. The crafting of golems however, is, as you might have deduced from Servant. Which is, I feel the need to add, a over-sized fish plushy and still more than capable to wrestle you or me to the floor as well as picking the lock of your front door."

She almost giggled at that, then put on a straight face. "I could most likely construct a number of golems for you, if you feel the need. If nothing else than to use them as gun fodder should you need them to. And I still have my knowledge of seapony lore. I am not certain of the rod, but I do believe I can track down knowledge of the spear - after all, magical weapons is part of the family business and it's worth it to keep track of them."

Gravity has sorta been listening, he often does after all, its not his business but well they are talking in the open like this. He's not about to announce his presence by just jumping down, or dropping from the ceiling, no this approach will be in a walking approach, down the rafters, then down a vertical beam, with his wings tucked in tight so he's not so massively imposing. just mildly creepy. "Good Afternoon ladies" he comments lightly as he sorta hangs adhered about half way down the post, at eye level, "My apologies for the intrusion, the conversation sounded as if out of hand, and I was attempting to see if everything was ok?" He glances between the two for a moment.

Rising-Chaos raises an eyebrow. Apparently Quintessent Rune is a seapony, she was unaware of this. "So you're one as well? That raises more questions about your trustworthiness than answers. Still, I'm not a cruel mare, I could be persuaded to give you a chance." She shakes her head. "Despite that, Spindrift can create dozens of elementals in under a minute, how fast can you create an autonomous golem?"

And then suddenly Gravity. Chaos directs a withering glare his way. "Why hello there tenant." She stresses that last word, adding a bit of venom. "We were just discussing our partnership, everything is fine."

Quintessent-Rune flinched ever so slightly, though more than practised with taken unawares in social situation she just said, "I'm afraid so. And it's honestly no problem on my part, I could always just leave if I find the need for it. I do not live here, you do." The other voice startled her though and she turns around, eyeing Gravity. And eyeing him almost nervously.

Gravity remains on the beam just sitting perched at that unnatural angle as he glances to Rising-Chaos, "The volume of your mutual conversation reached a volume that sounded as if intervention may be needed" he states, "When the 'Master' of the home is involved, than defence and security become a factor, for which I may be of assistance" he states as he ducks his head levelling an unwavering stare to Chaos. "Master Chaos's safety is a priority of mine" he states as he turns about and climbs back up to the horizontal beams where he lounges up side down like some wicked bat or something, he flicks his gaze over to Rune while in that upside down position as if he were able to just drop down at a moments notice.

Rising-Chaos sighs. "Oh calm down Gravity. Even if miss Rune here were to make any aggressive move. She wouldn't last a second." Which is a total lie, Chaos is currently struggling to stay awake. "she's my guest, you will leave her alone." She turns back to Quintessent Rune, getting to her hooves. "I could leave this town at a moments notice. I have made it clear that I do not care about it. I am beating Spindrift because she deserves to be beaten. If you can help, I will welcome it. If you betray me, you'll go down with her." She moves past Rune, and once out of sight, starts shaking. The enormity of the task is a little much for her in her current state.

"I am less and less certain that you can, even if you want," came the snarky reply from Quintessent-Rune, though she quickly continued to cover it up, "at least till you have had some proper rest and figured out a plan of action."

Gravity smiles and nods, "My apologies than Master" he mentions and returns to the darkness above, oh he's still there, "She's your guest" he continues, "and I respect that" he comments softly "Though if my 'services' are needed of an impromptu lunch arangements were to be needed…." he trails off

Rising-Chaos freezes. Rune's accusation cutting to the bone. She was aware of it all along, but just didn't want to show it. She hangs her head in shame. "I know," she admits. she sighs deeply. "I don't even stand a chance." she starts to walk up the stairs. She has a lot to think about.

Quintessent-Rune glanced at the blue and black fish plushy on her back, then up at Gravity. "Servant, keep an eye out on… him," she said Somehow, the plushy contrived to be peering intently up at Gravity, almost daring him to try something. Taking a step forward she reached out for Chaos and then hesitated. The actually had no idea what she was doing now, she'd come here to barter her way to necessities and, maybe if she was lucky, some luxuries on the other mare's expense. Not… this, whatever it was. Some kind of well-hidden vein of goodwill, maybe? Finally she took a step forward, hurrying after Chaos. "Miss Chaos, do slow down! You might, perhaps, be a bit out of the water at the moment but you do have acquaintances that have offered to help, you're hardly alone in this endeavour!"

Gravity peers down at that which is apparently staring him down, brow furrowed, he does not like being stared at so. He slips his 'shadow' necklace over his head and shadow's out. His eyes remain looking down at his 'prey' creatures, though he does so now from near the top of the roof now.

Rising-Chaos turns around, stopping. She looks at Quintessent Rune, an expression of hopelessness on her face. "I have already gone down Rune. but I'll keep fighting. But what are the others going to do? Rush in after me and get beaten just as quickly? What can you do, other than the golems? We're dealing with a pony who has more magic than I've ever seen. What power could you all bring me? Friendship? don't make me laugh." She snorts. "Tell me what you want from me, then get out. I don't have time for this." Because she's obviously so busy.

"Because you're obviously so busy," replied Quintessent-Rune, rolling her eyes. This time not even bothering to cover up the snarkiness. In fact, she keeps it going. "You get, as you inevitable would, a problem you cannot solve on your own and you roll over and surrender like a schoolfilly!? Is this truly you, little miss perfect? Are you truly so self-centered that you can't conceive of the possibility that you are not as capable as you think on your own. You have allies, you have - presumably, but I am reconsidering it - smarts. The pieces of solving your problem should be there, if you just put away your stupidity for a moment and actually start looking for a solution!"

Rune huffed and puffed, breathing heavily after her continuous and very loud tirade. It most likely wouldn't be the thing to ingratiate herself with Chaos - so she didn't quite conceive what had put her up to it - but she believed it was what the mare would need, a bit of fire and antagonism to put the spirit back into her. Hopefully.

He's trying to not be seen, and still has his 'shadow' orb on and as owlish as he tends to be he's likely not heard going about his rafters, His voice slips into the fray again. "The Master is tired" he mentions seeing her state, she's breaking down. "We can all talk of alliances another time, when level heads prevail" he states "I'd put in with Master Chaos here, and there are likely others whom would I think we'd all appreciate all the help we can get against the, situation" he states softly still above and relatively unseen sans those eyes

Rising-Chaos gasps, looking shocked. With a furious look on her face she smacks Quintessent Rune. She gets right up close to her. "Is that what you think, miss Rune? Is that what this looks like?" She is breathing deeply. "I haven't given up, nor do I plan to any time soon. This is my fight, and I will finish it." Whatever is driving her seems to power down all at once. She hugs Rune, which is all that stop her from falling down to the floor. After a couple seconds of deep breathing, she says shakily. "But I think you're right. I can't do it alone. It's too much." If everypony who knew her well didn't know that Chaos acts tough, and didn't get sad. It would almost sound like she was on the verge of tears.

Quintessent-Rune reeled, her head spinning for a moment. True, Chaos isn't a particularly powerful mare physically but neither is the surprisingly diminutive Rune. The seapony is about to put a hoof to her muzzle as Chaos slumps against her, leaving her standing unsteadily and wrapping the raised hoof around the unicorn instead. "It kinda does look like it, I must admit… Now how about you get some -rest- and then think about it again later? You cannot do it by yourself, but there are those willing to offer help… You are bound to figure -some- approach out. Not necessarily one that works but-," Rune's head jolts forward, Servant smacking her in the back of her head with a fin.

Gravity announces himself, "I'm coming down now, I won't harm a feather, er an ounce of fur between the both of you." he mentions, "I'll be putting the good Master to bed" he mentions "She needs her rest" and with that he finds a decent spot to land, and doesn't untuck his wings, but simply drops from that height to land solidly on the ground, and brings himself to his normal height, and for right now remaining
in the place where he landed, so as to not threaten, or impose in any way.

Rising-Chaos barely hears her. She's so done. Maybe now she'll finally accept some help. Maybe she'll stop being so stupid, so stubborn. She unlatches herself from Quintessent Rune once she think she can support herself again. She sniffs, and moves over to Gravity. Right now, she just needs her bed. She seems to regain some composure on her way though, adopting her usual cool, unaffected air. "My apologies for that episode miss Rune. I look forward to our partnership in the future." Her face splits into a small smile, even if Rune can't see it. "Perhaps even being able to call you a friend?" With that, she let's Gravity take her to her bed.

Quintessent-Rune nodded slightly, understanding all to well the occasional slippage of the public face. "Think nothing off it, Miss Chaos," she said as if nothing at all had happened. "And rest assured I am still willing to find a suitable working arrangement with you. Now, I bid you a good rest and I hope we can reconvene at a later date."

That said, Rune turned and started trotting for the door, letting herself back out. And letting Servant pick the lock closed once more behind herself.

Gravity is most confused by that 'plushie' fish type, did it just? Ok, that's just weird! But aside from that he takes care to make sure that Rising-Chaos gets off to bed. He knows the house well enough to know the right way. He gets her to bed and kindly enough tucks her in like some sort of nest leader or something, fatherly, whatever. He has 'some' caring in him, after all she did take him in, which was a risk as it was. He's only wanted to prove his worth since he got here more or less. serving as the Maintainence Gryphon certainly has been a way for him to show some worth. Now taking up a role as 'guard-gryphon' for the household seems to be a new task for this shadowy creature. "Goodnight Master" he mentions before slipping back out to the front room and launching himself into the rafters again for the night.