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#Post#: 1856--------------------------------------------------
Re: Reaching The Top
DIR By: Foxtrot
Date: February 9, 2017, 2:34 pm
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It wouldn't take much strolling through the streets of Canterlot
before the two reach a growing crowd. "Oh, what's going on
here," Nivalia asks, tail swishing with anticipation.
"I guess a show or something." Foxtrot answers, rather curious
himself. He manages to pick up the riddle and decipher it in
record time. "A shadow!"
#Post#: 1857--------------------------------------------------
Re: Reaching The Top
DIR By: Silver Sage
Date: February 9, 2017, 5:49 pm
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Sage’s ears perked up as she heard the correct answer. “Correct!
A bit to you, good sir,” she levitated the coin over to the tan
stallion. She addressed the crowd. “But enough riddles! I find
the best way to tell you about what I can do, is to show you
what I can do! To do that, I must first introduce you to my
trusty assistant, Little Sage!” She paused dramatically, and the
crowd waited in anticipation for a pony to appear… only for
nothing to happen. Sage arranged her face in a shocked
expression. “But surely you see her, ladies and gentlecolts.
Why, she’s right there!” And with that, she pointed down to her
own shadow.
Suddenly, the shadow twitched, though Sage was remaining
perfectly still as her horn glowed. Then the shadow leapt up,
detaching from Sage completely and, much like a the paper shadow
puppets that foals liked to play with, jerkily trotted over
until it was on the blank wall. Some small gasps rippled
throughout the crowd, which was still growing larger. The shadow
pranced back and forth on the wall, when suddenly a harsh voice
cut through the group. “What’s so special about that? You can do
the same thing with a bit of paper and some sticks!” A few
ponies nodded in agreement, and Sage gasped. “Of course!” she
said. “I forgot the most important step! You see, my talent does
not lie within manipulating darkness and light,” Sage revealed.
“My talent is giving that darkness life.”
Her horn suddenly glowed exponentially brighter, and the shadow
on the wall appeared to open its eyes- eyes that were two pools
of light. The light around the unicorn’s horn faded, but the
unnerving eyes remained. Suddenly, the shadow moved, looking
around. Unlike before, its movements were completely lifelike
and smooth. A few ponies gasped, others stepped back a few
paces, but nopony left.
Sage called out, “Do not be startled, folks. Little Sage is
indeed ‘alive’, in a sense…. but her personality is an extension
of my own. She could not harm any of you, even if she wanted
to,” she assured everyone, and the crown calmed slightly. “You
see, I’ve found that shadows are absolutely marvelous
storytellers, and I’m about to show you what I mean. But first,
I must asked a favor of a few of you. For as talented as Little
Sage is, she cannot tell this story along. Ladies and
gentlecolts, tonight I would like to borrow your shadows.”
Ponies looked around in shock. “Did she say… borrow our
shadows?” a little filly asked her mother. The mother nodded,
looking uneasy. Sage piped up, “I can make any shadow come to
life, but don’t any of you worry… Being parted of your shadow
for a few moments will have absolutely no ill effects, and you
will have it back by the end of the show.” The air was thick
with hesitation, but Sage didn’t look worried. Her peach eyes
searched the crowd until they landed on the stallion who had
answered the riddle. “You there!” She called out cheerfully.
“What’s is your name, sir? And would you be willing to be the
first to lend me your shadow? The first to agree will be able to
see their shadow as the star of the show!” As if on cue, Little
Sage galloped down the wall over to Foxtrot’s shadow. Little
Sage gave a small curtsy, then held out its hoof towards the
stallion’s shadow, as if waiting for the other shadow to take
it.
#Post#: 1860--------------------------------------------------
Re: Reaching The Top
DIR By: Foxtrot
Date: February 9, 2017, 6:06 pm
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Foxtrot keeps an eye on the shadow as he pockets the bit. The
show so far has been impressive. Nivalia herself swept away at
the very start. As Little Sage offered its hoof, the unicorn
simply chucked and politely bowed in return. His own shadow
reaches out to Little Sage, gladly accepting the offer.
#Post#: 1862--------------------------------------------------
Re: Reaching The Top
DIR By: Silver Sage
Date: February 9, 2017, 8:20 pm
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As Foxtrot reached out his hoof, Sage’s horn glowed brightly
once again, and Foxtrot’s shadow gained eyes of its own. Little
Sage grasped the other shadow’s hoof and pulled it towards the
front of the crowd. The shadow was pulled away from from the
stallion, though Foxtrot would feel no different. “Excellent!
Thank you!” Sage called out, then looked to the other ponies.
“Come on, folks. Though the star’s role is now taken, I need a
few more volunteers!”
A few other mares and stallions, emboldened by Foxtrot’s
agreement, nodded and agreed as well. The little filly that had
spoken earlier eagerly raised her hoof, only for her mother to
gently push it down, much to filly’s disappointment. As the
other ponies agreed to lend their shadows, Little Sage trotted
among them, pulling them up to the “stage” as Sage gave them
life one by one. When several ponies’ shadows now on the blank
wall, Sage cleared her throat.
“Now, are you ready for the real show to begin?” Several ponies
cheered. “I said, are you ready?!” The crowd roared with
affirmative cheers. The shadows appeared to interact with each
other, shoving each other aside to try and be in the center of
the wall, as if they were eager to start as well. “Every shadow
listen up!” Sage yelled, turning to the wall and giving the
shadows a stern look until they calmed down and were all looking
at her. “Very good, now here are your instructions…” Sage closed
her eyes as her horn lit up and the shadows straightened as if
in understanding, though the unicorn mare hadn’t said a word.
“And now folks, prepare yourself of the legend of the Edmund
Fitzgerald!”
Then, Sage began to sing in a high, clear voice.
(Here is the original song. Listen to it while reading for the
fullest effect!)
HTML https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PH0K6ojmGZA
“The legend lives on from the buffalo on down
Of the big sea they called ‘Celestial’.
The sea, it is said, never gives up her dead
When the skies of November turn gloomy.”
The shadows morphed into different shapes, until they didn’t
look like ponies at all, but instead became a landscape upon the
wall. The shadow-prairie was dotted with buffalo, standing in a
ring around a flickering fire. They only stayed this way for a
moment before swirling around and changing into a large ship,
floating in a calm bay.
“With a load of iron ore twenty-six thousand tons more
Than the Edmund Fitzgerald weighed empty,
That good ship and crew was a bone to be chewed
When the gales of November came early.”
Shadows of a few ponies appeared on the ship. At the forefront
was Foxtrot’s shadow, wearing a traditional captain’s cap.
“The ship was the pride of the Equestrian side,
Coming back from some mill in Griffonstone.
As the big freighters go, it was bigger than most,
With a crew and good captain well seasoned.”
The ponies waving goodbye to the shadowy Griffonstone, the ship
sailed out of the bay into the open ocean, the shadows of waves
curling over themselves.
“Concluding some terms with a couple of steel firms
When they left fully loaded for Baltimare.
And later that night when the ship's bell rang,
Could it be the north wind they'd been feelin’?”
The ship’s sails swaying in high wind, the waves grew larger and
larger, until an enormous one reared in front of the
shadow-ship. The crowd gasped as the huge wave crashed over the
ship.
“The wind in the wires made a tattle-tale sound,
And a wave broke over the railing.
And every pony knew, as the captain did too,
T'was the witch of November come stealin’.”
The wind only grew stronger, the waves taller, as shadows of
raindrops flew across the wall, pelting the captain and crew.
“The dawn came late, and the breakfast had to wait,
When the gales of November came slashin’.
When afternoon came, it was freezin' rain
In the face of a hurricane west wind.”
One of the crewpony’s jaw moved, appearing to talk along with
Sage as she sang.
“When suppertime came, the old cook came on deck sayin’,
‘Fellas, it's too rough to feed ya…’
At seven p.m., a main hatchway caved in, he said,
‘Fellas, it's been good t'know ya!’”
Sage’s voice grew louder and stronger until it filled the
street. The waves crashed over the ship again and again, the
crew running about in a panicked manner, tugging on ropes and
struggling to steer through the storm. Finally, a monstrous wave
curled over the ship, over Foxtrot’s shadow standing bravely on
the bow of the ship. This time all that popped up were shadows
of a broken mast and a few barrels.
“The captain wired in he had water comin' in,
And the good ship and crew was in peril.
And later that night, when his lights went outta sight,
Came the wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald!”
Sage’s voice grew softer and more mournful as search boats
sailed over to where the ship had went down, searching for
survivors among the wreckage… and finding none.
“Does any one know where the love of Celestia goes,
When the waves turn the minutes to hours?
The searchers all say they'd have made Horseshoe Bay,
If they'd put fifteen more miles behind her.”
The shadows all changed again, this time back to ponies, many of
them small, looking sadly down at the ground.
“They might have split up, or they might have capsized,
They may have broke deep and took water…
And all that remains is the faces and the names
Of the wives and the sons and the daughters.”
The shadows twisted to show different bodies of water in turn,
as Sage listed off a few of the water bodies that surrounded
Equestria.
“South Luna rolls, North Luna sings
In the rooms of her ice-water mansion.
Old Luna Bay steams like a young stallion’s dreams,
The islands and bays are for sportsponies.”
Now the shadows showed a quaint town with a small lake, panning
out to reveal the silhouette of Canterlot behind it, perched on
the side of the mountain with a waterfall tumbling down the
side.
“And farther below, Lake Ponyville
Takes in what Canterlot Falls can send her.
And the iron boats go, as the mariners all know,
With the gales of November remembered.”
The shadows warped to become one large shadow of a cathedral
with stained glass windows and a tall bell tower. Inside it, the
crowd could see a small shadow-bell ringing.
“In a musty old hall in Detrot they prayed,
In the maritime sailors' cathedral.
The church bell chimed till it rang twenty-nine times,
For each pony on the Edmund Fitzgerald.”
Finally the shadows returned to the first scene, with the
prairie and the buffalo. However, now ghostly shapes of Foxtrot
and his crew galloped though the starry sky.
“The legend lives on from the buffalo on down
Of the big sea they call ‘Celestial’.
Celestial, they said, never gives up her dead
When the gales of November come early…”
There was a moment of quiet as Sage’s voice faded into silence.
The only sound was the occasional sob from the few ponies that
were weeping from hearing and seeing the tragedy. Then the crowd
positively exploded in applause and cheers.
#Post#: 1871--------------------------------------------------
Re: Reaching The Top
DIR By: Foxtrot
Date: February 10, 2017, 8:59 pm
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Foxtrot and Nivalia sat there speechless through the whole
performance. The shadows, the song, it was all so mesmerizing.
When the show ended, they joined in the applause. "Whoa, that's
uh, unbelievable." Obviously his words couldn't be heard over
the roar of the crowd.
#Post#: 1874--------------------------------------------------
Re: Reaching The Top
DIR By: Silver Sage
Date: February 11, 2017, 6:28 pm
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The landscape and buffalo before the crowd changed one last
time, back into the shadows of those who had volunteered. Then,
they lined up and all took a deep bow along with Sage. “Thank
you, thank you!” She called out, actually blushing slightly at
the loud applause. She would never get over how it felt to see
ponies love what she was able to do. She caught the eye of the
filly from earlier, who was jumping up and down with excitement
from seeing the show, and motioned her over. After a glance to
obtain permission from her mother, the foal ran over.
“Hey there! Do you think you could help me out?” The filly
nodded eagerly, and Sage levitated a cloth bag out from under
her cloak. “Could you pass this around? Tell everypony that
donations are appreciated, but by no means necessary! I’ll give
you three bits for your help.” Eyes shining, the filly snatched
the bag and started galloping around to everypony, chirping,
“Donations are appreciated, but not necessary!” The bag quickly
started to fill up as most of the crowd tossed in their spare
change. The fact a cute, excited filly was going around
certainly helped matters, but most of the ponies donated out of
their awe for the show itself.
The crowd finally started quieting, and Sage’s horn glowed once
more. The eyes of the shadows on the wall, except for Little
Sage, vanished into darkness and the shadows seemed to “snap”
back to their owners. “Ladies and gentlecolts, my name is
Silver Sage and I hope you have enjoyed the show! The shadows
and I will be telling the story of the Edmund Fitzgerald every
night this week, at the same time and place. If you wish to see
a new story, come to see me next week! Thank you again for being
a fantastic audience, and have a wonderful night!” With that,
the crowd started to disperse.
#Post#: 1877--------------------------------------------------
Re: Reaching The Top
DIR By: Foxtrot
Date: February 11, 2017, 9:17 pm
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Fox and Niv stay behind as the crowd disperse, the unicorn
himself checking to see his shadow in place. The two certainly
donated a hefty amount. However, since the spectacle put them in
such a good mood, a personal congrats are in order. Once the
crowd had faded, the two approach the performer. "That. Was.
Awesome!" Nivalia squeals, still giddy like a foal. "The shadows
were all like, woosh! And the scenery was all, woah! And the
song was like, yea!"
Foxtrot chuckles at his sisters excitement, "I'm guessing she's
saying that you were superb worth the whole thing. You must've
put a lot of work on it."
#Post#: 1883--------------------------------------------------
Re: Reaching The Top
DIR By: Silver Sage
Date: February 12, 2017, 1:37 pm
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The filly skipped back to Sage and presented the heavy bag.
“Excellent job! Thank you so much,” Sage told the filly. before
levitating out ten bits and presenting them to the foal. The
little pony’s jaw dropped. “B-but you said three bits!” Sage
just smiled and winked. “You did such a good job, I think you
deserve a tip! Go and spend it on whatever you’d like, okay?”
The filly accepted the bits, hopping up and down excitement
before she galloped over to her waiting mother. They left as
well, and Sage watched them depart, smiling at the filly’s
excitement. She turned to see two ponies approaching her.
With almost everypony gone, she dropped her dramatic showpony
demeanor. She finally let herself pant a little from the
exertion of putting on the show, but she giggled a little at
NIvalia’s compliment. “Thank you! I'm so glad you enjoyed it!
Yes, it takes weeks for me to select a song, learn it by heart,
choreograph it, and compile it all into neat telepathic
instructions that will make sense to the shadows,” Sage listed
off rapidly. “The only reason I’ll have another story ready by
next week is because I’ve done it before, as well as the story
that was told tonight. I’ve done both shows back in Baltimare,”
she explained.
She turned to Foxtrot. “Anyway, thank you for being the first to
lend me your shadow. One of these days, everypony is going to
think the concept is ‘too creepy’, and then Little Sage will
have to put on the show by herself! It always helps to have a
brave soul among the crowd. In fact, I think it warrants a
proper introduction.” She held out her hoof and grinned. “I’m
Silver Sage, but you can just call me Sage. And you two are….?”
#Post#: 1886--------------------------------------------------
Re: Reaching The Top
DIR By: A. Capella Schwambart
Date: February 12, 2017, 2:39 pm
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From far above and away, a certain sharp-eyed pegasus watched
the show, and was certainly rather impressed by it, though he
was unable to hear it. Mostly he was interested in the visual
aspect of it. He begins the flight over to contribute his own
two bits, but by the time he gets over the bag has been returned
to its owner and the assistant repaid. Well...it looks like it
got quite enough filling without his help. Eh...a couple more
couldn't...hurt...
He lights on a roof across the street and pauses. Right, the
pony who had contributed the shadow to start it off. He
remembers...seeing him previously. The night chase when he'd
been spotted and retreated. Right. Maybe...maybe I'll just
take a look from here, Schwambart thinks, leaning blurred
against a decorative grotesque. I'll just watch, listen, maybe
toss a couple more bits in later when they're done.
#Post#: 1889--------------------------------------------------
Re: Reaching The Top
DIR By: Foxtrot
Date: February 12, 2017, 9:20 pm
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"Well, my name's Foxtrot," the unicorn starts as he reaches out
to shake her hoof. "And-"
"I'm Nivalia," the mare cuts in, not only in words but actually
cutting her brother off to shake Sage's hoof. "Foxtrot's older,
cooler, sister." Once she lets go, her excitement calms down.
"And it can be frustrating at times to share something amazing
when it appears strange or scary at first. But when you can, the
feeling can't be matched."
The unicorn next to her nods, using the opportunity to shakes
Sage's hoof as well. "It's something we've come across a few
times as well. So when the... unusual presents itself, we
approach it with an open mind."
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