Solarvoid comes in....

[NovaLuna]

Solar pushed open the door and walked in, head bent low. With a dejected sigh, she slumped down in one of the chairs.

"Deja." She mumbled. "What do I do now?"

[WingSong]

You hope, for your sake, that you're capable of lying low.[/u] Deja paced and thought of ways he might occupy himself. I don't suppose you've read anything intersting lately?[/u]

[NovaLuna]

"No....." Solar said, thinking. Her mind wandered to the white book. Her white book.

"No...... of course not."

She had to keep that hidden.

[WingSong]

Oh well...there must be something.[/u] Deja focused straight ahead, but found that he didn't have to use the tricky navigating methods of standing still at certain spots and waiting for your destination to come to you. And no squinting through mists - besides the stray lost soul drifting by, mouth open in a silent scream, Solarvoid's mind was very clear. It was probably Misty's insanity that made it such a complicated, jumbled mess.

Here it was straight-forward, so Deja Vu was quickly able to look ahead and locate the library of books Solar had read in her lifetime. Upon inspecting the shelves, he found books dealing with minds...and how to manipulate them. But what stood out most from the other dark-colored bondings was a white book, propped on one shelf all alone. What's this? Deja was really wondering aloud, but then he elaborated. This white book - what is it?[/u]

[NovaLuna]

Solar's eyes widened in obvious horror.

"No...." She whispered. "Please! That's sort of like...... my diary! You can't read it! Please don't....."

Solar panicked, not knowing what to do. If Deja Vu managed to read that book, her secret would be exposed. But really, would that be such a bad thing? There really was no reason to live anymore, anyway. Solar fell silent, running her hoof along a small crack un the table.

[WingSong]

Oooh, your diary? Excellent.[/u] Deja whipped the book off the shelf and flipped it open to the beginning, skimming through the pages...

((Your cue. Fill in some passages and Deja'll respond. ))

[spookytale]

Spookytale walked over to Solarvoid. She opened her mouth to say hello, but then realized that the mare was speaking to herself. A closer inspection revealed that she was scuffed up slightly, like she'd been running or otherwise active.

Spookytale nodded knowingly to herself, she'd been in that state a few times. Obviously this customer was working on a story. Sometimes being around books helped. Spookytale discreetly put a pad of paper and a pencil in front of Solarvoid, not wanting to disturb her rhythm.

Then Spookytale slipped over to the section that would sell treats and started cleaning the area up.

[NovaLuna]

*Excerpt from Solarvoid's Diary*

~Age 10~ "Dear Diary,

I am so confused. I can't understand why this happened, or even how it happened.
Yesterday was my tenth birthday. As birthdays go, it went okay at the beginning, I guess. I had five guests, plus my little sister, Starcloud. I didn't really want her to be there, but mom insisted. I was right - if she hadn't been there, none of this would have ever happened! I was gonna blow out my candles, when my little sister said that SHE wanted to blow out the candles. Well, this was MY birthday, it was MY cake, and I was gonna blow out MY candles!
So I looked her in the eyes, telling her no. Mom always looks me in the eyes when she wants me to do something. And then...... I really don't know what happened..... but then I was in this PLACE. It was strange. It was dark and empty, except for this swirling white mist. I was so scared. I didn't know what to do.

Then- somehow- I found out I could clear the mist away, if I concentrated really hard. It would go into my eyes and be gone. So I started to take it in. I just wanted it to go away. It was all so scary. When all of the mist was gone, I felt so energized, like I could jump over the moon. I took a giant leap, and found myself back in my chair at the table. My sister collapsed.

Mom started screaming and pulled me away from Starcloud. My sister went to the hospital, and mom told me she saw me look into Starcloud's eyes, then she saw a white cloud pass from Starcloud's eyes into mine, then she saw Starcloud faint. She demanded to know what had happened.

So I told her about the mist. She picked me up, and walked out the door. She said we were gonna see the king.

((I think that's too long enough for one post, though the entry goes longer. Deja can read on if he wants.))

Solar eyed the paper placed in front of her and began to doodle, drawing the first things that ran through her mind. Misty and Deja. Herself, in Misty's mind. Deja, thumbing through a little white book.

[WingSong]

((There's no such thing as too long a post. And duh he'll keep reading, I get to see Wing Song's dad banish a foal from his kingdom! ...Her parents are harsh... ))

Deja let out a long, low whistle after he'd read a part of the mare's diary. Her own sister? Man, that was low. She said it was an accident...but come on, why would she keep doing it if she didn't like sucking out other innocent ponies' souls? He looked back down at the book, hooked.

(*shoves Nova forward to keyboard* Go, go, go! Type more! Go!))

[NovaLuna]

((Okay! I'm typing! I'm typing! )

Mommy made me kneel in front of the king, and tell him all that happened. I didn't WANT to! But mommy made me anyway. I told him all about it. The blackness, the mist, everything. When I was done, he got up and glared down at me. His voice was sorta soft and whispery, but I could tell he was mad. "Do you realize what you have just done?" He whispered.

I didn't know what to say, so I didn't say anything. The king turned to the doors, and yelled- "Bring her in!" My sister was led in. But.... something was wrong with her. Her eyes looked sort of blank. I said hello to her. Her voice was hollow as she said "Hello, sister. How are you today?"

I couldn't belive how calm she sounded. Whoever she was, she couldn't be my sister. I ran to her and shook her, and everyone started yelling. The king said, "Get this girl out of my kingdom. She is a danger to us all."

I couldn't understand it. Mom was crying, and she dragged me out of the kingdom wall. She ran back in, and the gates supposed to- "keep evil out of our reach" As the king said, closed. I guess this journal had been in my pocket the whole time. Now I can't go home or see mom again. What am I going to do? How will I survive?

Solar's drawings grew more ferocious as the memories of her past returned to her. Her pencil flew as she drew herself young, going through the ordeals that were written in the little white book.

[WingSong]

Deja frowned as he read. Harsh...her own sister!

Quite the interesting life you lead.[/u] , he said, almost casually. He really just wanted it to be known that he had in fact read her diary - he knew she'd probably freak out, but that's really what he was going for anyway.

The stallion paused a moment to think, If only Misty kept a diary... Then he snorted at the thought - as if she'd ever kept anything from him anyway! She'd never tried - she realized it wouldn't do any good. He'd witnessed her whole life as well, though in a way it was from the sidelines, and he'd had easy access to her thoughts and memories the whole time as well.

This gave him an idea, and he looked around for the memory section of Solarvoid's mind. Ah well - from what he could tell, he'd have time for that later. He flipped ahead across a few entries, to when she was a bit older, and started to read again.

((Not wearin' ya out. am I? When you're out of entries let me know, but I was thinking you still had a few ideas you wanted to get out. ))

[NovaLuna]

((Naw, I think I might have a few more..... *rummages through exact, hand-made replica of Solar's diary* Ahem. So........))

Diary-

I've been reflecting today. I've been in a daze since last week. I haven't been able to do anything. I've been numb. I have finally streightened out most of my thoughts, and am able to write. This will be a painful entry, but I know I have to record it. I have to be able to look back and collect my memories, however much I might want to forget.

Last month, I met a stallion. He was nice, smart, and caring. All the things- the things that I look for in a stallion. Not that I have been doing much looking, or that I've had time. I've had enough on my plate just trying to stay alive, let alone find a mate. Ironically, me "just trying to stay alive" was how we met.

I was walking through a town, trying to find a job. After wandering for a long time, I really wanted to settle down. Get some money, rent a room in an apartment. The stallion- the one I met- when we passed in the streets, he sort of stared at me. I guess I must have looked pretty bad, not having had any place to live for a while. That would explain why he stopped me and said, "Uh, you homeless?"

That had to be the single most embarassing thing that ever happened to me. "Yeah....." I looked down at my hooves, scraping one against the grungy, dirty street. "Yeah, I am. Uh....... do you maybe know someplace..... where I can find a job?" He smiled warmly, and it was all uphill from there.

Our relationship blossomed. I had never been happier, and I guess I forgot to write in my journal. But this is just one more reminder that good things don't last.

We were sitting under an apple tree. The first really romantic time we had ever been together. We were laughing and talking happily, but at a break in the conversation, my eyes met his, and we held the gaze. Immersed in bliss, not knowing what I was doing, I stared deeper, deeper still....

And found myself in his mind. It was so similar to my sister's. The same black emptyness, and swirling mist. But it contained a feeling of happiness, that it seemed would never end.

I panicked. I began to gallop, running faster and faster through the mists. Remembering how I had gotten out before, I took a giant leap. The mist swirled, jumped, and followed me. Before I could process what had just occured, I was out of his mind, mist being taken with me. He blinked, then collapsed. Panicked, in tears, I ran to him, shaking him. But he would not get up. I had almost lost all hope when he slowly sat up. Like my sister, voice hollow, he spoke. "Why, hello Solar. How are you today?"

Not knowing what else to do, I ran.

Not thinking, Solar replied absentmindedly, "Yes. I did." Memories returning in vicious waves, she swiped her pencil in angry lines across the page. Herself, with HIM. It was then she realized that she had never known the stallion's name.

[WingSong]

After reading the passage of the diary, Deja's first reaction was to fling the diary away from him in disgust, watching it skid to a stop several feet away from him in the landscape that never seemed to end.

Then he took a moment to think about it - well, she'd managed to screw her life up on two seperate occasions - and he thought Misty had problems. Unable to contain himself, he called out, Whoa...you need help, sister.

[NovaLuna]

Staring at her drawing, Solar sniffed. She was dry of tears, but nevertheless, still felt horribly depressed.

"Whoa..... you need help, sister."

Remembering how her thoughts had been whispered when she had been within her own mind, she thought-

I guess I do....... but where would I go? A psychologist?

And what am I going to do? I'll be caught sooner or later, and when that happens...... Solar's thoughts trailed off.

[WingSong]

And when that happens I'll hope for your sake that I'm already out of here. Deja rolled his eyes and looked around the mare's mind. It was clearer than Misty's mind - no mist. And he didn't like it. Everything seemed to mean something here, so was it a bad thing that Misty's mind was so foggy, or a bad thing that Solarvoid's mind was so clear?

Look - if Misty was going to get any backup, she would have by now. And I knew she wouldn't anyway - she's on the run herself. So you just have to find her and put me back, before we both go insane.[/u] Deja felt again as though he was telling Solarvoid too much. But what did he care, anyway? It's not like she would dare try anything - she was terrified of him, and he could tell.