And now we see through a Glass Darkly (See OOC)

[Blueblood]

For about the entire time while the group was shooting questions at him, the receptionist's mouth hung open, wide enough for them to see the pink wad of bubble gum resting on his molars. After a moment or two his jaw snapped shut, and he hastily ruffled through the folders, searching for the records.

"Er, hm, ah! Right, Mirror Glass. Took 114; ground floor, economy suite. Means no windows. Checked out just before I got off shift." He handed the group a key to the room. "I won't get in your way, officer. Can't say more, I'm afraid, didn't see much of him. I'll show you the way."

At least he was helpful, and it wasn't a long trot, either. The door opened upon a small hotel room, entirely unexceptional in its furnishings, except for two things. The first was a book lying carelessly on the bedside table, as if Glass had left it there.

Much more significant, and what caught the receptionist by surprise when he saw it, was that all four walls were covered by curtains. Walls, that should have had no windows.

"Those... weren't there, before..." He reluctantly pulled back a corner of the curtain. Behind it was a mirror; flush with and all along the wall, but otherwise not particularly special. It was the same with the other three, if you took a look at them.

[DerpRavener]

Nopony in the group really had a firm answer to 'Sure Strike's question. Night watcher didn't think there would be, but part of her basis for that was thinking Glass wasn't a vain pony. 'Sure Strike' couldn't agree with that. He was no fool, but arranging presentations of his own work was not the action of a humble stallion.

Swift Squall only pointed out that either Glass was using a very powerful spell, or he somehow knew that 'Sure Strike' and Flux were changelings despite not even them not knowing that detail about each other. That only brought up more questions however, which 'Sure Strike' concluded she could only answer after learning more information.

---

While she hated to give up the initiative, 'Sure Strike' was a little glad that she hadn't tried to get a word in. The clerk looked as though he hadn't been expecting anything remotely interest, much less a sudden guard squad all but assaulting the hotel. Still, all things considered he carried himself admirably, leading them to Glass' room on the ground floor.

On seeing the mirrors, 'Sure Strike' considered for a moment before turning to the clerk. “Thank you for your assistance, but we'd appreciate it if you returned to the desk. For your own safety, you should leave us to this.” She was only half lying. Part of her goal was to get him out of the room, in case there was more revealing magic in store. However, it was entirely possible that Glass had more prepared, and if so an untrained pony could be a risk to himself and others.

With the clerk hopefully dealt with, she turned her attentions back to the room itself. She looked briefly at the mirrors, but guessed that either their purpose would be obvious in a few moments, or that as the obvious change in the room they were a red herring for whatever else might be there. Instead, she started her investigation with the discarded book, turning it over and looking to look at both sides. If didn't look overtly trapped or suspicious, she would open it up to skim some of the contents, hoping to get some clues about Glass' motives from his reading materials if nothing else.

[PyroBlaze]

Flux gave the clerk a friendly, thankful smile as he led them off to Glass's room. She followed along with the group as they entered the room, which had a lot of curtains for a room with no windows. She tilted her head in confusion as the clerk said they hadn't been there before. So, this was another of Glass's things then? She watched as one of the curtains were pulled back to reveal a large mirror behind it, and she looked at the other curtains for a moment as Spring took care of talking to the clerk, sending him back out to the front desk.

She gave a hum before opening up all the curtains fully, looking around at all the mirrors. She spotted the book, but she figured one of the smarter members could take care of that little clue.

"Well then... That's a lot of mirror... Suppose it fits the name though..." Flux said, partially to herself as she looked around at the reflections.

[Lux]

Night nodded in agreement at Swift's statement of keeping things as contained as possible. Although she felt capable at negotiating with those who were at or even slightly higher in rank she wanted to leave that as a last option.

"Well hopefully my little speech was enough to quell most of the fears of those that saw Glass's show. But gossip does talk and can quickly spread like a fire."

this is the first time I ever heard for anypony to see through disguise of your species. In literal meaning that is. That would be one of - if not the most - powerful true-sights in the world. Unless he would spy on both of you but that's impossible. Even you didn't knew that each other is your own species isn't it? What's the chance that two of your kind meet by chance like today?"

Swift's words did bring up something that Night also pondered. She saw first hoof the two ponies not meeting before, at least they appeared unfamiliar with each other. It was true also that no guard could tell that a pony was a changeling in disguise except by seeing them change to their original form. Beyond that those like Night had to go by how ponies acted by themselves and with others.

"One more thing. Which windows are his?"

Night knew what he was thinking, that she could fly out the window to gain a better perspective to what Glass was seeing. Sometimes the best way to look at something was from a different perspective. The pony at the desk, after recovering from his shock of the four military ponies, led them to the room. Swift mentioned that the hotel was not linked to Glass in any way by history, just as a place where the illusionist wanted to stay. But still Night wondered if this was part of a plan to pick an unobtrusive hotel where the stallion would not be bothered.

Night could see that it was an ordinary room upon entering it with a bed, dresser and night stand, the kind that visitors to Manehattan would likely stay in. Her eyes looked at the book for the moment before seeing the curtains which behind them weren't windows but mirrors.

Thank you for your assistance, but we'd appreciate it if you returned to the desk. For your own safety, you should leave us to this.”

Night nodded in acceptance hoping that the receptionist would take heed. Him being there could pose as a liability. She then turned to the book first which she found strange it being left there for anypony to see.

"Don't open that book, Night said to "Sure Strike" "It may be a trap. Clearly Glass set these mirrors up and whether intentionally or in a rush he also left this book here. Swift, can you tell if this book is a trap if opened?"

"Well then... That's a lot of mirror... Suppose it fits the name though..."

"That is also something I'm concerned about. We are surrounded by them."

[Ciraxis]

"Booked out? Blast it, we missed him. Yet we still may have a chance." Squall pondered. Maybe something in his room will tell them about his next destination.

Young stallion guided them towards the room Glass was renting. His reaction about it's contents implied that it wasn't normal.

"She's correct. We have this hoofled. Please leave the room. If anything would be damaged or if we would be forced to take it, I cover the financial part."

Squall said, before politely, but insistently pushing receptionist through the door, and closing them.

As he turned around Squall could see that Naj was reading a leftover book.

"Night's right. Step back from it! Don't touch it anymore. Everypony, don't touch anything unless you have to. We don't know with what kind of powers we dealing with. Especially the mirrors. The guy's named Mirror Glass for Celestia's Solar Rump sake!"

"Swift, can you tell if this book is a trap if opened?"

"I am no wizard Night. However I was taught long ago a spell that could detect intentional malice or anything left with such intent. If we lucky and he didn't left countermeasures, it will also light the source."

Unicorn stepped forward and unsheathed his weapon. Holding his sword right before his face using his telekinesis, with the tip pointing at ceiling Swift focused at the edge of the blade. His horn lighted up as the noblepony started murmuring the formulas in some foreign language and magical lighting started to run across the weapons length.

[Blueblood]

The receptionist looked glad enough to get out. This was exactly like how so many horror stories that he'd read began; something mysterious happening in a hotel room... "Right, I'll, uh, talk to the manager. I don't know how he got those mirrors in here." He left, not to say fled, before Flux had finished opening the curtains.

The effect produced was certainly creepy enough. Since each pair of mirrors were facing each other, the reflections of the room and the ponies within were multiplied into infinity, producing the effect of multiple rooms stretching out into eternity. Parallel realities, coincident. Looking at it, one might recall old mare's tales about what happened when you got caught between two mirrors. Supposedly, your soul was trapped in a world of illusions. Nonsense, of course, but given who they were dealing with...

The book itself was, in fact, not booby-trapped. In fact, there was nothing magical about it at all. It had been checked out from the Manehattan library, and was, in fact, two days overdue. The book itself was the work of a rather obscure psychologist, writing upon dreams and their interpretation. There's a mark in the book, and if one turned the pages to it, one would find a highlighted passage:

To summarize, throughout the dreams and nightmares of ponies, we find six common elements: Dreams of falling and the sky; dreams of fire and destruction; dreams of burial and decay; dreams of voyages and drowning; dreams of conflict and war; and dreams of mirrors and what lies within/behind. These common elements imply that the source of dreams is, at least in part, external to the psyche. This is covered in detail in my chapter on Parabola.

​

The underlining was apparently done by the reader, in ballpoint pen. A quick check of the table of contents, however, shows that the book contains no chapter on Parabola.

[DerpRavener]

A Night's order, 'Sure Strike' left the book alone, at least until Swift had a chance to cast a detection spell. She didn't fully agree with that overall approach though. “I get the idea of due caution, but we can't learn anything by sitting back and doing nothing. Glass is already ahead of us by the look of things, we'll have to be aggressive if we want any chance of catching him. Besides, he seems the type that likes to toy with ponies, I doubt we'll run into anything without an escape.” Or at least, they would provided things went according to plan. If either they or Glass started going 'off script' who knew what would happen? She kept these last thoughts to herself though, as they would conflict with her initial point.

As soon as Swift's spell finished, and turned up nothing from the book, 'Sure Strike' opened it up. The contents were curious to say the least. It was a library book for one thing, and while she doubted much could be found there it did say a few things. It meant he'd been to the library at some point in the last little while, which added a point to a timeline, limited though it was. it It also meant he hadn't spent any resources in leaving the book here, which meant that even if it was important as a clue it likely wouldn't itself be a critical part of what he currently had in motion. Unsure how useful they were, she kept much of her thoughts to herself, simply stating aloud, “It's a library book.” She imagined the others could come to the same conclusions with that, if not more.

The absent chapter on the parabola, whatever that was, was likely in another book. Making a mental note of the word and the author, she added “Might be worth checking out the library at some point,” before setting the book back down for the moment.

Turning to the only other point of note in the room, 'Sure Strike walked over to one of the mirrors on the walls. She gingerly pulled back the curtains before beginning a hesitant investigation of the edges of the mirror. If the book was any indication, whatever the next clue was would be behind one of these mirrors. At the same time, if there were any traps in the room, that is where they'd be as well.

[Pretzelparty]

Turning to the only other point of note in the room, 'Sure Strike walked over to one of the mirrors on the walls. She gingerly pulled back the curtains before beginning a hesitant investigation of the edges of the mirror. If the book was any indication, whatever the next clue was would be behind one of these mirrors. At the same time, if there were any traps in the room, that is where they'd be as well.

"Find anything?" Said a soft sounding voice belonging to a pale pony with a black and white mane and bright purple eyes. It would be a mystery as to how she got here. This mysterious earth mare made no sounds whenever she supposedly entered the scene. It wouldn't be inaccurate to assume she just appeared behind Sure strike and Swift squall. The calmly strolled to the pony's side and peered her head behind the curtain's as well to search around.

For quite some time the Magnificent Mister Glass had been an object of fascination for the prodigal author of horror. The story of one of his performances scaring a crowd of ponies from there seats, the fantastical feats of illusive prowess that seemed to rival a certain azure mare in las pegasus, The mysterious circumstances that seemed to follow him wherever he went... and now he was being followed by a ragtag group of ponies. "So very intriguing..." Said the group's newest addition; Foxglove, Equestria's modern mistress of the Macabre literature.

The Peculiar earth pony that now stood between squall and the pony looking over the drapes had an unusual style to her. Her eyes seemed to be surround by an above average amount of eyeliner with a small swirl pattern underneath the lower, outer corners of her eyes. At her side, she bore a sturdy looking, closed, black parasol... to any who would test it against metal they would find that it didn't so much catch a blade so much as the blade seemed to stop just short of hitting it. The mare's form was covered mostly in black clothing. On her chest she wore a black camisole with some fancy motifs around the neck area, She had a similar type of skirt on as well that only barely obscured her cutie mark; an eschewed five pointed star with what seemed to be an eye at the center. On each of her legs she wore black knee high, lace up boots.

"This is a very nice hotel... and these curtains are very high Quality."

[PyroBlaze]

Flux tilted her head as she looked at the reflections that the placement of mirrors caused, creating infinite reflections of the room and the ponies within. It was a cool effect, but she wasn't sure if it was supposed to mean anything or not. She stared at the reflections of the group for a while as she listened to them talk, as well as her imaginary friends. This whole situation was strange, and she wasn't sure what to make of this placement.

Her thoughts were interrupted by a new arrival, however, this one a strange-looking earth pony mare. Flux wasn't really sure what to make of her, but she seemed to be on their side, so that was good. She walked over to the newcomer, still not sure how she had managed to enter the room unnoticed with the mirrors reflecting everything into infinity.

"Hello. Sorry, but who are you? And what are you actually doing in here?" Flux asked the newcomer, not wanting to sound rude at all, though it might've come off that way. Oh well, too late to do anything about that now.

[Lux]

Night was glad that her fellow ponies heeded her warning about the book. Even though she was no unicorn and knew about magic only through theory and observation the Lunar Guard knew that magical or mundane traps could be found in anything. Having a book out in the open like that added further suspicion as a curious pony could simply open it and thus activate the trap. She had underestimated Mr. Glass and thankfully the results weren't too damaging, but now she needed to be extra careful. Her hope was that Swift who would be more gifted in magic than her, could tell about the nature of the book.

“I get the idea of due caution, but we can't learn anything by sitting back and doing nothing. Glass is already ahead of us by the look of things, we'll have to be aggressive if we want any chance of catching him. Besides, he seems the type that likes to toy with ponies, I doubt we'll run into anything without an escape.”

"Let Swift use his magic and then we'll be safe to look at it further."

"I am no wizard Night. However I was taught long ago a spell that could detect intentional malice or anything left with such intent. If we lucky and he didn't left countermeasures, it will also light the source."

With a glow of his horn and a muttering of some arcane knowledge, the book yielded nothing magical about it. It was by all accounts an ordinary book, but even non-magical things held value.

"Alright, let's see what this book is about," she said placing one hoof into where the book was opened and flipping the book to its cover. It was a psychology book about dreams by a psychologist that she never heard about. The spine had written in ink a call number, indicating that it was from a library which turning to the other side of the cover revealed it had a pocket glued to it with a card that read Manehattan Public Library marked with further dates stamped on it. This book in particular was two days overdue, something that Night wasn't really concerned with now but made her wonder if Mr. Glass was that interested in the book to keep it past due. Then another idea came to mind.

"I wonder, if this book is overdue by two days could it be that Mr. Glass left this hotel two days ago and stayed somewhere else but kept it in his name for the Dean of the film school to use as a place where he was staying. I'm not saying the Dean was in on this but he may have been told by Glass of this place where Glass was somewhere else."

She flipped to where the book was opened and read the page which was underlined in places.

To summarize, throughout the dreams and nightmares of ponies, we find six common elements: Dreams of falling and the sky; dreams of fire and destruction; dreams of burial and decay; dreams of voyages and drowning; dreams of conflict and war; and dreams of mirrors and what lies within/behind. These common elements imply that the source of dreams is, at least in part, external to the psyche. This is covered in detail in my chapter on Parabola.

Night looked through the book for anything on Parabola, searching the table of contents and index, but it yielded nothing new.

"Maybe Mr. Glass was interested in using mirrors as a portal to a pony's mind, or maybe Glass has an obsession with mirrors that even is in his dreams," she said to the other three investigating. Flux and "Spring Breeze" were both looking at the book, giving the same conclusions about it. Night was about to investigate the mirror which gave off an endless reflection when she heard a new voice.

"Find anything?"

"Sorry mam, but this room is off limits due to our investigation. But since you are here, I take it you are also a patron of this hotel. Tell me, did you know about another hotel guest by the name of Mr. Glass?"

[Ciraxis]

"Well..." Squall started when he finished the spell "...it seems we got whole lot of absolutely nothing."

Unicorn rubbed his chin before continuing.
"And to be honest, we can very well give up on catching him right now." stallion said in response of Naj's concern about Glass fleeing.
"If he wished to go away, he probably did already. This is Manehattan girls we are right now. He can freely chose between taking a cab outside the city, train, airship or travel by water. And even if we would split up to cover all of those transport means, any one of us trying to confront him solo may end on the short end of the stick. Especially you two." Squall glanced first at the Spring and the at Flux.
"That doesn't mean we should give up on investigation through. If we can find his next destination it wouldn't ma...." noblepony was able to finish that sentence.

The sudden sound of unfamiliar voice made Swift body work on reflex. While he was still turning around, unicorns still drawn weapon sliced through the carpet and the floor in a rising slash, going past his companions before...stopping. And not by it's owners own will either. Swift meant the sword to stop next to intruders throat, it never really got that far. A apparently normal umbrella happened to be in blade arc path, and to his efforts were halted. It wasn't an telekinesis...or anything magical he was really familiar with either, seeing that this new mare happened to be Earth Pony.
"What?" a single word flew from his mouth, but it contained three times more confusion then he usually had at the face of unknown.

"Hello. Sorry, but who are you? And what are you actually doing in here?"

"Yes, thank you Flux, that! Also, when and how?!" Squall asked, apparently annoyed a little. He couldn't fathom how this mare, dressed like that managed to sneak on him and Night. Heck, even Naj used to be a soldier of sorts judging from her comments - and yet this.....strangely familiar mare managed to sneak on all of them. And stop Squall blade, with umbrella of all things. Well it appeared it wasn't a normal one at least.
"Sorry to say this but goth convention is two districts away." swordpony said in a snarky tone while eying the white mare, head to hoof. Again, how somepony dressed like that was able to be so sneaky? Well he can ponder over this, and the sense of familiarity he's having in the mean time. They had to pick up a trail.

"Can I?" he walked towards the Night Watcher and picked up the book. He placed a bookmark on the page that they found it open on and flipped through the pages.
"The spacing is odd. Why so many unnecessary empty rows? And the leadings of each chapter are way too large, this isn't a newspaper but a scientific book. I think the text could've been tampered by magic. It isn't a hostile action so my spell didn't detected it"
He returned to the marked page.
"And see here? It specifically written the 'chapter'. It had to be in the book, otherwise it would reference another book or written work. I think Glass was in hurry when he did this, this explains why he did this sloppily. Why leave the mark of city library in different case?"

Squall hoofed over the book to Night and started to tap the floor with his left leg while thinking aloud.
"The fact that we know that book is library property is a tremendous help. Even if he altered both the title and author he couldn't alter the whole text - that would be like writing the whole new book altogether and we can assume he didn't had time for that. They can very well be other copies of this volume in library that we can compare this one with. And even if he altered one's in Manehattan there are other cities. Glass couldn't possibly alter every single piece in Equestria. Especially since he couldn't bother to return this one. This makes sense, why he tried to deny us the clue why alter the book, if you could very well return it? Why leave the mirrors? No, he was in hurry or something demanded his full attention in the meantime. He's mortal pony like us as well, he could simply forget. And since it was borrowed....he has to have a library card! Glass had to give library his ponysonal data to receive one!"

"I wonder, if this book is overdue by two days could it be that Mr. Glass left this hotel two days ago and stayed somewhere else but kept it in his name for the Dean of the film school to use as a place where he was staying. I'm not saying the Dean was in on this but he may have been told by Glass of this place where Glass was somewhere else."

"But why the receptionist was surprised by the curtains and mirrors then? The hotel have spare keys, and we very well know that they had to at least change the linens time to time or dust the carpets and furniture. He either made specific wish to not clean his room during his stay, or he actively stopped the hotel service by being in the room most of time. Either way search the room, look for the food crumbles, smell the bed,check how often he gave his clothing for laundry. Those little details can tell us how long it was since he was here for the extended period. We have to ask receptionist the exact date he moved in as well. You can't bring those inside just like that - magic or not."
Unicorn waved his hoof at the certainly impressive mirrors.

"Maybe Mr. Glass was interested in using mirrors as a portal to a pony's mind, or maybe Glass has an obsession with mirrors that even is in his dreams," she said to the other three investigating.

"Maybe. Or maybe he just nuts. You can't believe everything that you read. I can write that I claim that moon is made of Limburger but that wouldn't make it trues isn't it? Also..." stallion again peaked at the high-lined page.
"He seemed to be interested with dreams somewhat. Well, if all else fails, your boss happens to specialize in that field, correct?"

"This is a very nice hotel... and these curtains are very high Quality."

"Well, we happen to have were different definition about what can be considered 'nice hotel' Miss....Miss....?" noblepony started but his voice trailed off when he recalled something. Now he got it! Only now he realized why this mare was so familiar.
Untrammeled, unicorn lighted his horn, and lifted the earth pony skirt somewhat, to have a better look at her Cutie Mark. Of course, funny how he run at her here - when way back when Swift was actively looking for this girl, for advice regarding Ostrheinhoof Castle, yet he wasn't able to. Still he managed to memorize description of her look very well and there was no mistaking it right now.
"Team, let me introduce you to Miss Foxglove. A writer of horror books and apparently, secretly a ninja."

[Blueblood]

(There weren't many avenues of investigation to respond to in this round, but I'll give a little something for your trouble)

The mirrors were not flush with each other on the corners, which rather broke up the effect of infinitely repeating rooms. They happened to be quite large, and hard to shift. With a little leverage, it would be possible to detach them from the nails and screws that held them to the walls, but from what Spring could tell, that would do nothing but reveal torn plaster, and probably end in them dropping the mirror and breaking it.

The reflections themselves, while more hypnotizing, would also be more intriguing. It was hard to tell, but if you looked at them through the corner of your eyes, they looked... different. One of the reflections of a pony might be standing still while the rest were moving; the positions and colors of pieces of furniture differing as well. It was quite an eerie effect, but it only began to dawn on you once you'd been staring at them for a while...

[DerpRavener]

The mirrors themselves didn't reveal much.  Though 'Sure Strike' couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong with them, and kept seeing weird distortions out of the corners of her eyes, they weren't immediately threatening and there wasn't much she could do with them.  She wasn't well versed in magic.  Aside from the book, the room was a dead end for her, and she was about to announce as such.  She was about to reply to a theory Night had put forth, but then was interrupted.

 

"Find anything?"

'Sure Strike' whirled around almost fast enough to make herself dizzy, to find a black in white earth pony .  How did this pony get into the room unnoticed?  Why was she sneaking up on them?!  'Sure Strike' managed to mutter out “Ma'am, this an ongoing investigation,” before others took over the conversation.

Flux and Night had similar questions apparently, soon asking the mare who she was, what she was doing here and if she knew anything about Mr. Glass.  'Sure Strike' felt Flux wasn't keeping up her guard impression, though in the circumstances that only amounted to 'Sure Strike' directing a brief, chastising glare in the other, disguised changeling's direction.  She kept an ear open to the discussion, but as the others seemed to have the newcomer covered for now she otherwise turned her attentions back to the room.

Swift evetually resolved the issue by reconizing the mare.  Her name was Foxglove, and by the sound and look of things she was a horror writer with a habit of finding trouble.  “Great,” 'Sure Strike' muttered, mostly to herself, “Just what we need.  More complications.”

 

As the discussion wandered back to the topic at hoof, 'Sure Strike' voiced her thoughts on the subject, largely in response to other ideas presented.  Night seemed to think that the book being overdue for two days meant that he'd been here until two days ago.  Swift was under the impression that the reference to chapter, combined with the odd spacing of the text meant that the chapter was supposed to be there but wasn't, which meant magic.

'Sure Strike' was still skeptical though.  “Wouldn't that kind of spell be a lot of effort for a library book though?  Using a library book says to me that he either doesn't want or can't afford to use something of his own.  Why would spend the time and energy on an illusion when you could probably just rip out pages more easily, if nothing else?  Either this is a part of a larger volume, or there's a more complicated message Glass is trying to send.”  Looking at Night, she continued.  “The two days thing sounds just convoluted enough to be true.  What would that imply though?  How does knowing the room was set up, but vacant for two days help us...?”  'Sure Strike' thought a moment longer, before asking a rhetorical question this time.  “Why would he want or need to leave the room for two days?”  Was he being watched?  Did he have somepony else set up this particular room?  Maybe he was making sure he was clear of the place he might lure his pursuers.  “Seems to me like he had this ready for us.”  Which could likely only mean one thing, given that current company.  She looked meaningfully at Swift.  “Or at least one of us.  I'm guessing he expected you to show up.”

It was the only thing that made sense, why would he have taken note of any of the others?  Unless...Glass seemed to have prepared a spell for revealing changelings.  Could that be what he was after?  She doubted that she or Flux were specifically important enough to be worth pursuing, but that didn't deny the possibility that Mr Glass was either working with the hive to root out defectors, or him wanting some for his own purposes.  It was a disturbing thought, though fortunately it didn't seem particularly likely.

 

Either way, there wasn't anything left for 'Sure Strike' here.  She made a cursory check of the room at Squall's request, through which she wasn't expecting to find much, after which she'd say “I say we check the library, unless anypony has any better suggestions.”

[Pretzelparty]

 

"That doesn't mean we should give up on investigation through. If we can find his next destination it wouldn't ma.... What?"

 

"Hello. Sorry, but who are you? And what are you actually doing in here?" said one pony.

 

 

"Yes, thank you Flux, that! Also, when and how?!"

"Sorry to say this but goth convention is two districts away."

 

"Well, we happen to have were different definition about what can be considered 'nice hotel' Miss....Miss....?"

"Team, let me introduce you to Miss Foxglove. A writer of horror books and apparently, secretly a ninja."

 

"Sorry mam, but this room is off limits due to our investigation. But since you are here, I take it you are also a patron of this hotel. Tell me, did you know about another hotel guest by the name of Mr. Glass?"

 

 

 

Squall's was probably the most violent reaction she'd gotten to her trait of suddenly appearing behind ponies... she'd have to be wary of such reactions from anyone in the future. Thankfully, the mare's umbrella managed to block his attack.. and that reaction of just 'what' was pretty funny. A smile creased the lips of the Ivory author before she put down her umbrella, using it like a cane under her hoof. The mysterious pony held her opposite hoof to her chin in a thinking sort of pose, "Hmmm... Well to answer those questions in order of their appearance; Umbrella, a curious writer, investigating like you are I imagine, about five seconds ago... and through the door." 

 

When the Noblepony made that crack at her appearance she chuckled, "I'll be sure to stop by there after all this is going on ... if it's still happening." Once she noticed some of the looks that the stallion was giving her she blushed as she felt a magical aura tugging up her skirt. When he managed to more formally introduce her to the rest of the group she smiled playfully at him, "Oh please, sir... if you wanted to take a gander under my skirt you needed only say so. It's not like we all haven't forgone accessories like this at some point or another... I just wore considerably more." The earth pony bowed politely to the group and giggled heartily when the stallion introduced her as a ninja, "A very interesting choice of words, sir. I promise you I'm not a ninja... I'm just very easy to miss."

 

Either way, there wasn't anything left for 'Sure Strike' here.  She made a cursory check of the room at Squall's request, through which she wasn't expecting to find much, after which she'd say “I say we check the library, unless anypony has any better suggestions.”

 

"I hope you lovely people don't mind me tagging along... would you like to bring me up to speed if that is the case then?" she asked before she casually stood beside Sure Strike, "Also... you seem like a very interesting sort. I think if we ever wind up needing to partner up... I'll stay with you for the time being."

[PyroBlaze]

Flux caught Spring's look out of the corner of her eye, leading her to tilt her head to the side in confusion. What was that for? Had she done something wrong? She only remained like that for a second before looking back to the newcomer as she began speaking. She hadn't really answered the disguised changeling's first question, but Swift took care of that eventually anyways, so that wasn't really a problem. She giggled as well at Swift calling the mare a ninja. That was silly!

 

"Well... I suppose it's alright with me if you want to tag along, but you'll need the permission of the others too." Flux said eventually after Foxglove had moved over to stand next to Spring, saying she wanted to stick with the other changeling should they need to partner up. Well, Flux had wanted to do that, but she supposed the other two wouldn't have allowed the two changelings to go off on their own.

 

She gave a little hum before looking around the room again, just now spotting slight differences in some of the reflections out of the corners of her eyes. It was very strange, and she continued to look around, trying to think up why the mirrors would be showing different versions of the room in their reflections. Were the reflections enchanted or something? Possibly... Angel then suggested something that made her stop and tilt her head again as she stared straight ahead into a mirror. Alternate dimensions? 

 

"Is that even possible?" She muttered to herself as she watched the differing reflections out of the corners of her eyes.

[Lux]

Night couldn't believe that Swift thought it was a lost cause catching up to Mr. Glass. She knew that like many big cities she visited it was easy for somepony to hide or even take one of the many modes of transportation to escape. Even if this was her first trip to Manehttan the Lunar Guard knew this from living and guarding Canterlot. Still he agreed that the case should continue despite this fact in the hopes that they may indeed find where he would strike next.

 

The Pegasus knew that Swift was always on his guard, maybe too much at times. But the newcomer, who was not very stealthy in the way she dresses, actually took him by surprise. She also managed to deflect his sword using her umbrella, something that spoke much about the quality of the accessory. He easily dismissed her and went straight to the book that Night was reading. 

 

"Be my guest," Night said as she shuffled over to allow the stallion read the book. 

 

"The spacing is odd. Why so many unnecessary empty rows? And the leadings of each chapter are way too large, this isn't a newspaper but a scientific book. I think the text could've been tampered by magic. It isn't a hostile action so my spell didn't detected it." 

 

"So he altered the book by taking out a chapter from it and changing the index and table of contents. Yes, that is a great help knowing where he got this book from. I'd like to see what other books this author has written and of course get the information about Mr. Glass from his filling out for the library card." 

 

"But why the receptionist was surprised by the curtains and mirrors then? The hotel have spare keys, and we very well know that they had to at least change the linens time to time or dust the carpets and furniture. He either made specific wish to not clean his room during his stay, or he actively stopped the hotel service by being in the room most of time. Either way search the room, look for the food crumbles, smell the bed,check how often he gave his clothing for laundry. Those little details can tell us how long it was since he was here for the extended period. We have to ask receptionist the exact date he moved in as well. You can't bring those inside just like that - magic or not."

 

"Definitely. He might be a good illusionist but he made no attempts to clean things up. Surely somepony recognized him moving in those mirrors." 

 

"Maybe. Or maybe he just nuts. You can't believe everything that you read. I can write that I claim that moon is made of Limburger but that wouldn't make it trues isn't it? Also..." stallion again peaked at the high-lined page.

"He seemed to be interested with dreams somewhat. Well, if all else fails, your boss happens to specialize in that field, correct?"

 

"Whether he is crazy or not, he must at least have an interest in it. I supposed if we needed to Princess Luna could help interpret what this book was about." 

 

Night turned her attention to the mirrors which each seemed to produce a different effect on the viewer. While things were similar the coloring and positioning of certain objects stood out. 

 

"Hmm... optical illusions but these mirrors do not seem to be altered physically like glass in a fun house. Maybe this was an experiment in magically enhancing these mirrors, something he tried before his little act at the film school."

 

"Sure Strike" was also very interested in the book as to its purpose and being that it was overdue. Night had to admit it was a very intriguing thing to leave behind. 

 

“Wouldn't that kind of spell be a lot of effort for a library book though?  Using a library book says to me that he either doesn't want or can't afford to use something of his own.  Why would spend the time and energy on an illusion when you could probably just rip out pages more easily, if nothing else?  Either this is a part of a larger volume, or there's a more complicated message Glass is trying to send.”  Looking at Night, she continued.  “The two days thing sounds just convoluted enough to be true.  What would that imply though?  How does knowing the room was set up, but vacant for two days help us...?” 

 

​"I would think he has enough means to afford these mirrors and the hotel fee. Depending on how many books can be cumbersome to take so I think that he just knew about this book ahead of time and borrowed it at the library. Maybe altering the book was something he did at home as well and he was merely copying the same routine. The time frame though is very important as it tells us how long he was here and when he left. We can say then take when he checked in and out and subtract the two days to determine when he was actually here. Surely if he was prepared he would have taken it back to the library and dismantled the mirrors, but I do agree he was taken off guard. Maybe it was us showing up to the film school. I think a trip to the library would be helpful, but first I'd like to speak with that front desk pony for a little more information before closing the book on this area. Speaking of book, maybe we should take it with us as a clue."

 

Night watched as Swift lifted the skirt to check on the earth pony's cutie mark. It felt a little indecent to mess with another's pony's clothing but she assumed that Swift wanted to be doubly sure as to who he was speaking to. His efforts and the mare's admission revealed that she was a horror writer named Foxglove. 

 

"Ah, I knew you looked familiar. Although I do not have much time to read fiction I have read some of your novels. Perhaps with your knowledge of horror you can help us indeed. I must ask that you keep all of this confidential until this case is closed, ok? I'm sure the others will fill you in, but we are pursuing a dangerous unicorn with a fascination with illusions and dreams. In your researching of your novels have you read anything about dreams or illusions?" 

[Ciraxis]

 

“Wouldn't that kind of spell be a lot of effort for a library book though?  Using a library book says to me that he either doesn't want or can't afford to use something of his own.  Why would spend the time and energy on an illusion when you could probably just rip out pages more easily, if nothing else? ”

 

"Because simply ripping it out would make a clear massage 'There was something here I didn't want you to see'. This is a true advantage of Magic, it can either be subtle or straightforward as battering ram. Think about what you said, by using sorcery he already gained benefit of doubt." Squall was quick to point out a flaw in changeling reasoning.

 

When the talk between girls shifted towards wondering where Glass could be during that two days, stallion again felt necessary to remind them it could be not the case.

"Don't be so quick jumping to conclusion that he was outside. He very well could be so occupied by something here, that he simply forgot returning the book until it was too late. Question is, what could take so much of his time and attention?"

 

 

"Oh please, sir... if you wanted to take a gander under my skirt you needed only say so. It's not like we all haven't forgone accessories like this at some point or another... I just wore considerably more."

 

"Look to who you talking about that." Swift replied. Indeed he covered much more then her, with that cape of his, and exotic, high quality full-body armor. "And don't delude yourself that you can woo me with those feminine charms of your's. My heart belongs to one mare and her only."

he added withe a matter-of-state tone, but also with a hint of warning. It seems that for Swift Squall love topic was serious businesses. Whoever that mare was she had to be the most important pony to him.

 

​"I think a trip to the library would be helpful, but first I'd like to speak with that front desk pony for a little more information before closing the book on this area. Speaking of book, maybe we should take it with us as a clue."

 

Noblepony nodded in agreement of Night Watcher judgment.

"That would be the most sensible cost of action. And regarding the book, we would need it if we be to receive the additional information out of librarian."

He unexpectedly turned towards the humming changeling.

"...I think Flux should carry it." Swift added before directing his next words towards the Flux herself.

"Besides the Miss Foxglove here you are only one who didn't read it. And as much as I hate to consider it, Glass could put some magic withing it that can distort our perception. As such you would be able to keep...errr..." he hesitated for a moment. Flux didn't stroked him as the po...changeling with the same grip on the reality as the rest. "..clear head. Under no circumstances open. It. The spell I cast detects harm, but they are loops that can be used."

With that said, he reached with his magic towards the volume and entrusted it in Flux's hooves.

 

"We should move on...but that's one more thing before." swordpony said, shifting his attention towards the mirrors Flux was so captivated with.

"Those mirrors are a little....off. The don't seem right. And neither is the fact that they reflect through each other."

With that said, he picked the curtains and re-concealed all of mirrors save one.

"Now for a little test. I wouldn't risk touching it directly, either with hoof, clothes we have on ourselves or any equipment..." stallion voiced his concerns while looking around for something more suitable. His eyes caught the bunch of paper clips laying inside half open drawer.

"That would do." he said levitating a respectable amount them. "Now for a test...." he added, before throwing a whole bunch at the mirror.

[Blueblood]

Maybe it was just the the removal of an unusual visual effect, but once Swift Squall closed the curtains, the whole atmosphere in the room changed.  It was as if one had woken from a dream, and blinked the illusions from one's eyes.  Aside from the excess curtains, there wasn't anything unusual in the furnishing of the room.  The one mirror left uncovered was behind the bed headboards, and a lot of hotel rooms had one there.

 

As such, when the paper clips were tossed at the mirror, they did what you would normally expect them to: plink off.  

 

 

Further questioning of the front desk pony didn't get much, but the manager showed up a little later, with some more information.  "The one mirror was there already; all the rooms without windows have them, in order to maximize the amount of illumination in them.  We keep a few replacements in the basement in case of accidents; that's probably where he got them from.  As for how he got them there..."  The business pony shrugged.  "Well, I don't expect ponies to steal wall-length mirrors, so I don't really guard against it.  That may have been an oversight, but really, who does that sort of thing?"

 

 

~***~

The Manehattan library wouldn't be open until the next morning, so the investigators would have to get a good night's sleep before continuing their investigation.  And as they slept, they dreamed...

 

~***~

Naj's Dream:

 

You are walking through a misty forest that is always on the verge of rain that never comes.  There is water on the trees, oozing out of the rotting wood.  A chill wind touches the back of your neck, sending a shiver down your whole body.  This is a place with a long memory.

 

~***~

 

Foxglove's Dream:

 

You are at the slowest and dullest party you can remember.  It is, in a quite literal sense, dead.  Your parlor is filled with ponies covered head to hoof in bandages, all holding glasses of red wine.  There is no talking.  Occasionally, one of them coughs.

 

~***~

 

Night Watcher's Dream:

 

Under your hooves, you feel the rocking of a boat.  The sky above you is void of any lights, and only dim illumination comes from the candles on the mast.  You grab the railings to steady yourself, while a barely audible voice breathes in your ear... "North....North..."

 

~***~

 

Flux's Dream:

 

You stand in the middle of a dark room, with only a candle held in your magic to light your way.  Ahead, you can feel objects on a shelf, books.  Lifting the flame to read the spines, you accidentally catch the edge of another.  In one minute, you are standing in the middle of a burning library, lighted pages fluttering like moths around you.

 

~***~

 

Swift's Dream:

 

You stand in the middle of an empty square.  To your right and to your left are identical clock towers, each with their small hands pointed skyward, and their long hands nearly so.  You should be elsewhere when they strike, but your hooves are heavy.

[DerpRavener]

'Sure Strike' supposed that if the rest of the group, particularly Squall and Night, were okay with Foxglove joining the investigation then she wouldn't be the sole dissenter.  She had some reservations about bringing a civilian into things, but Swift Squall seemed to be vouching for her somewhat, and what they hay, they weren't a particularly organized group anyways.

'Sure Strike' was significantly less comfortable with some of Foxglove's comments.  Though she was in many ways fine with the earth pony's presence, the comments that 'Sure Strike' was interesting and worth following gave some cause for concern.  This disguise was supposed to be run-of-the-mill and uninteresting, and yet here she was attracting attention, limited though it may be.

Something she could worry about later she supposed, she seemed to be getting by for the moment, and there were more pressing issues to deal with.

 

Swift Squall criticized 'Sure Strike's logic arguing that by using magic Mr. Glass could obscure his intentions, and claiming her own response as proof of the idea.  Something about that argument didn't quite seem right, though 'Sure Strike' couldn't put her hoof on why at first.  It took her a few moments thought, only half listening to the remaining conversation as a result, to realize the problem.  Magic was Swift Squall's first tirst thought, even if she herself had dismissed it.  So it was clearly not reliable.  But more than that, “It's a question of perspective...” she muttered, as the realization started to hit.  She'd already seen evidence that Mr. Glass knew they were on the trail, which was most likely to say he knew Swift Squall was on the trail.  Glass might have predicted he would check for magic, which would mean either that the deception was that there was no magic used, or Squall was right but missed a key detail: maybe there was a message sent through the use of magic, though 'Sure Strike' couldn't guess what it would mean just yet.  The conversation had moved on before she could speak her mind however, so she kept her thoughts to herself for now.  There were still a few other possibilities, and she felt she just didn't have enough information to reach a solid conclusion anyways.

 

---

 

Naj awoke with a bit of a start.  She'd had a very vivid dream, even if she couldn't pick out any details as significant, and it made her want to take a look through the book again.  She'd dropped her disguise shortly after their arrival in Squall's safehouse.  The building was safe enough and its interior secluded enough that she wasn't worried about outside observers or causing a panic, and when given the option she preferred to sleep undisguised.  Three of the four other ponies in the group already knew what she was, and as for the fourth she could always hope her nature would dissuade Foxglove a little.  She didn't expect to be so lucky, but a mare could dream.

Sitting next to a window with the curtains mostly pulled closed, so a sliver of morning light got through to read by, Naj flipped through the pages of the book until she got to the marked passage.  “...Hmm, decay maybe...” she mumbled to herself, before going back and reading the chapter from the beginning.  She wasn't sure there were any clues to find here, but now that she was maybe more personally involved and this was what she had for the moment, she wanted to check again.  She was sufficiently absorbed in her reading that she couldn't tell if she was the first one up or if she just hadn't noticed the rest going about their business.

[PyroBlaze]

(sorry, forgot I was supposed to wait for Presteza)

[Pretzelparty]

 

~***~

 

Foxglove's Dream:

 

You are at the slowest and dullest party you can remember.  It is, in a quite literal sense, dead.  Your parlor is filled with ponies covered head to hoof in bandages, all holding glasses of red wine.  There is no talking.  Occasionally, one of them coughs.

 

~***~

 

Eventually the Group had decided to turn in for the night at the very motel they had been investigating, in a way it made sense; they could come back to look around more and might be able to catch Mr. Glass shoudl he see fit to return. When it seemed like he wasn't in fact going to return, everypony seemed to choose for the option of hitting the metaphorical hay, to which A certain Horror writer agreed. She really had to get her sleep schedule back on track, like that kindly Mr. Weaver back in ponyville had said; Falling asleep for weeks at a time was not necessarily healthy or normal.. but then again most people who have met this mysterious mistress of the mysterious macabre would probably consider her anything but normal.

 

...  In all honesty, this kind of creepy dream was par for the course for the horror loving mare... but usually they had a but more tension and flourish to them than this. Although that idea changed when she heard that periodic cough and grinned ear to ear in her dreamy state until she awoke, feeling fully rested and raring to go. "Ah... Such a fascinating dream. Seems the themes of burial are in my mind tonight..." she said to nopony in particular as she stretched herself out and slipped on her bracelets and boots, but decided to forego her skirt and top today.

[PyroBlaze]

Flux had no idea what to make of the differing reflections, and she was so distracted by them that everything else seemed to fade away, even the conversations as she watched the reflections. She broke out of her sort of contemplative trance as she suddenly found the book in her hooves. She blinked a bit, looking down at the closed book for a second before shrugging and putting it away. She then turned back to the mirrors, or rather, mirror, since Swift had covered almost all of them back up, which got rid of the differing reflections. She gave a small hum at that, but said nothing.

 

In fact, she was rather quiet through the rest of the evening, simply listening to her friends, real and imaginary, as they puzzled over what could be going on.

 

-------

 

"I'msorryIdidn'tmeantoburnyourlibrarydown!" Flux cried as she sat bolt upright from her bed. She sat there, blinking a bit as she looked around, no longer in the burning building. She gave a sigh of relief as she looked at her undisguised body, or at least what was visible above the sheets. If Spring was going to sleep as herself, Flux figured she may as well too. Eventually, she climbed out of the bed and began walking around the hotel, not really feeling like sleeping any more. She peeked into a room to find Spring reading the book, and she walked in, sitting beside her friend. She remained quiet for a bit, finally deciding to speak.

 

"So... How was your night, Spring?" She asked simply, sitting there. "I had a weird dream... Accidentally set a library on fire... So that was exciting, at least..."

[Lux]

The Lunar Guard didn't like hearing that the book still had the possibility of carrying some spell with it, so it was good that Swift decided to keep it closed as they proceeded. Night was about to head out of the room with the group when Swift decided to test the mirror to see if they were portals using paper clips. To her surprise they simply just bumped off and landed on the ground. 

 

"Ok, so they're not a portal but they are still an illusion to them. Could be a practice of some type of spell, a forerunner to the type we saw at the show."

 

It appeared that the group was ok with the fact of letting Foxglove join the search for Mr. Glass, so Night felt it was best to bring her up to speed with some of the events that took place. 

 

"Well Foxglove, if you're going to join, you might as well know what happened. All of us saw a strange advertisement for an illusion demonstration at the Manehattan Film School being put on by Mr. Glass. There was something strange about his illusions but we couldn't put our hooves on it until he caused a panic at the school. In order to continue the search we donned military outfits and spoke to the dean of the school who gave us the name of the hotel where he stayed, which brings to now. At any rate it is getting late, so I'll go check with the receptionist pony before getting a room here." 

 

Night proceeded down to the lobby knowing that the others were safe enough. It was a risk if Glass was near but she thought that he was long gone from Manehattan. 

 

 "The one mirror was there already; all the rooms without windows have them, in order to maximize the amount of illumination in them.  We keep a few replacements in the basement in case of accidents; that's probably where he got them from.  As for how he got them there..."  The business pony shrugged.  "Well, I don't expect ponies to steal wall-length mirrors, so I don't really guard against it.  That may have been an oversight, but really, who does that sort of thing?"

 

Well the mystery was solved as to where they came from butt how he got them from the basement to his room unnoticed was anypony's guess. For now it was time to turn in for the night and awake refreshed the next day. The dream that night was strange, now very scary but odd as Night found herself on a boat in the middle of the ocean in a dim light with a voice telling her "North." As she awoke the mare wondered if this was one of glass's tricks or an omen as to where to go. 

 

"North huh," Night said as she got ready, "Well there are many towns and cities north of Manehattan, but where?"

 

She then went down to where the hotel served a light breakfast, hoping to meet up with the others there

[Ciraxis]

Squall wasn't terribly keen on getting story-so-far explained to Foxglove. They were, after all supposed to keep whole thing under wraps - especially since he and Night had to keep an eye on two changeling's as well. For this reason unicorn decided against bringing the group to his safe-house....at least for the time being.

Besides the hour started to get late, and it was logical to stay close to the investigation scene as well. Squall honestly doubted that Glass would return to hotel at all, but it didn't hurt to be prepared for such possibility. Stallion couldn't help but respect this magician on some level, even if he loathed the way he used his skills.

 

 

Nobelpony choose room next to the one's that changeling's took. It was the matter of caution, one clear enough that it would be obvious for both Flu and Naj that he still didn't trust them. Well that, and as the pony that was sponsoring the stay, he had right to pick up whatever room he pleased.

Squall didn't slept peacefully this night. Not because the familiar nightmare was haunting him, opposite in fact. Usually Swift either didn't dream at all, or was tormented by burning landscape from his past. However what he saw neither - and as such, Swift realized that he was dreaming instantly. It was over quickly, and swordpony found himself waking up early. It was still third AM and he wasn't feeling sleepy anymore, with all the questions ringing in his head.. As such stallion sneaked outside through the window. His safe-house was close and unicorn judged it would be good time as any to ditch unneeded gear and picking up some new surprises. He was back before the hour had passed to find window as open as he left it. After climbing back to the room, Squall sat down on his bed and started...to think.

 

Clock towers....what that was that about? Swift knew better then to ignore such a dream, he read and heard enough tales to not doubt existence of prophetic dreams. What was special about the noon? Or maybe it was midnight? Squall knew that certain spells expired at exactly that hours. Was he supposed to understand that as the warning? If he were to be at wrong place, at wrong time...would he expire? But that didn't explained why there was two of them.  Or he could interpret it all wrong. Well seeing that they were going to the Manhattan Library he could very well keep eye on the dream-book.

 

Even through his resting time was short, Squall emerged from his room looking fresh as if he snored through the whole night.

"Slept well?" he asked all of them. The girls couldn't not notice that he was dressed completely different from yesterday. Gone was the huge cape and body armor. Instead, stallion was now wearing black trench coat with high collar and eye drawing red outlines. The flaps had distinctive feather like design, and the sleeves on the front legs seemed to have similar looking 'fins'. The front of the clothing was open exposing his muscular chest, crossed only by single belt. The only protective parts were round, mythril pauldrons on shoulders, and yet the clothing somehow seemed sturdier then the body armor he wore yesterday. Not to mention that it looked so much more stylish! If he had any weaponry it was hidden under the flaps.

"Unless any of you want breakfast we can move on right away." Squall said, in slightly chivvy tone.

[Blueblood]

The dreams all fade in the waking, but the sensations provoked linger, as if a seed had been planted in each of your brains.  What fruit shall it bear?  

 

~***~

 

Naj's investigation of the chapter reveals things of possible interest, if one's interest is in dreams.  There is a marked difference, the author notes, between what he calls individual dreams and common dreams.  Individual dreams are often nothing more than reconstructed memories of waking life, combined with one's own anticipations of the future.

 

Common dreams, however, are different.  They are not memories, but visions of something else, beyond our waking experience.  The adjective "Parabolan" is used to describe them, but the word is not defined.  Their meaning is not obvious, but they can be sorted into different sets, based on common imagery, hence their name.  Often, there is no logical connection between the things shown and the emotions they provoke, and often the more unreasonable one's response in the midst of a dream, the less nightmarish they become.

 

Besides that, however, there is little to indicate what set of dreams specifically attach to particular symbols.  A few more nights will have to pass, it seems, before anything more useful will be found.

 

 

If you want to learn anything more about the book itself, however, perhaps you'd better head to the library....