[Canterlot] A Night at the Great Library of Canterlot [Closed]

[Neoniie]

Flux was fairly sheepish after realizing just how foolish her question must have sounded. As Spectral Desire had pointed out, it was quite clear that she would have suffered injuries from being affected by the spell in such a manner. It seemed that even her fallbacks of logic had managed to fail her in this situation It only reinforced her belief that their escape from the archives was top priority. If nothing else, she wasn't going to enjoy their forced stay much more if even her most basic tendancies were being thrwated by it. She mumbled something along the lines of an 'of course' and stepped back slightly as she moved forward to examine Seeker. Spectral Desire's answer did perplex her slightly, though she was glad to hear that the dark pink mare had not been seriously injured. The travels that she spoke of must certainly be dangerous ones, she thought, lagging behind the unicorn in order to determine Seeker's state as well. Curiousity had still not abandoned her, though unfortunately that was a character trait of hers that usually was more trouble than it was worth.

When Seeker's eyes flickered open, Flux had reached his side as well and was quite pleased to see that the magical collision hadn't left long-lasting effects besides his brief loss of consciousness. Then, Pinstripe also was roused from her rest, drawing her attention momentarily. Assuming that the two unicorns would be mostly alright, even despite whatever physical injuries they may have sustained, Flux said, "I cannot say whether either of you are entirely 'fine', but Seeker's words do give us an interesting possibility." She trotted carefully over to the picture frame which Pinstripe had originally called her into this section of the archives for as she spoke. "It is quite possible, from what he has said, that this painting's disappearance and Seeker's odd magical state are connected somehow." The white unicorn titled her head minutely as she observed the frame, trying to notice anything peculiar about it and leaving the other three ponies to sort out what needed to be done about the possible repair of their injuries.

[RarityDash]

"Do not worry yourself over me," Arcana said the stallion in a dry cold voice. "My injuries are a trifling matter next to the greater mystery that now seems to be unfolding before us."

She nodded at him then added. "I saw no overwhelming darkness save the insides of my eyelids, but i believe I may have seen your light for a split second when our magics were in contact. It's curious, but I'm not sure what it might mean."

Arcana nodded to the other unicorn mare as she joined them and brought the attention the painting that had vanished. Arcana had almost forgotten about that detail. She had been so convinced it was inconsequential, merely stolen by somepony who may or may not still be among them.

"An intriguing supposition," she said with a nod to the mare. "Perhaps there is more to this missing painting then I thought?"

[Davroth]

"Yes, I feel alright, a little dazed maybe." He said, giving the earth pony a small smile. He looked around, trying to get an impression of what happened. There were book scattered on the floor, and from the looks of it, the dark pink unicorn mare called Spectral Desire had been thrown through the room. The dust was still in the process of settling.

"What happened while I was out?" He looked into the round. "It looks almost like a fight. Was this my doing?"

He gave them a concerned look. He never had a blackout like this, except when he was tinkering with the artifact. And even then, he was always in control. Now that he thought about it, he remembered this light, like something weirdly familiar. He would have to investigate.

[Rocky]

Pinstripe was glad Seeker was alright. She did not have to know a pony to feel for it.

Pinstripe would try to explain what had happened, but without much information.

"Well, you blacked out or something...", she began, "... And there was a lot of magic-related-things... I think everyone else has a better explaination than I do... Because they know magic... and I don't... Obviously..."

With that, she stopped, giving the others a chance to better her explaination.

She listened to Arcana, and with that strange question, of the missing painting, and all of the other strange things happening, she began to wonder once again if there was in fact a stranger among them, or this was all magic. Then another question filled her mind. When was it going to be morning? Why haven't we tried to figure out what time it is? She thought these things over, and began to speak out loud.

"I wonder what time it is...", she began thoughtfully, "I can't even remember what day it is... My head is all messed up..."

[Neoniie]

The white unicorn only half-registered the backgroundconversation between Pinstripe and Seeker. After having gained the knowledge thatany injuries sustained could wait, she directed her attentions back toward a subject that she was more equipped to handle. She may have been the foal of a doctor, but medicine was not her area of expertise. Nor were mysterious magical disturbances and painting theft, but they were things to which she could apply to more conventional powers of logic and reasoning, which were her tools of the trade. All of this mystery didn't sit quite right with the scientific unicorn, as most unexplainable phenonmenon did. Even magic had a certain science and system to it and Flux was certain that they could solve this by keeping a level head and a watchful eye. So, she mostly ignored everypony else unless they addressed the condundrum which she was currently working on.

Therefore, her answer to Spectral Desire ended up much less detailed and focused than she would have liked. "It is still only a hypothesis, but I would be surprised if the painting wasn't entirely uninvolved," she murmured, scrutinizing the empty frame as she spoke. From what she knew of magic, if this was a curse of some sort, it would have to have been cast either by a unicorn within a certain proximity to the group or there was some form of remote spellcasting or tripwire type sprll that the thief had cast to draw attention away from his own actions. The unicorn couldn't be certain of either until she had more information and any traces of such a spell would have vanished if this thief was anywhere near competent.

With these final observations, Flux turned to the dark pink mare, attentive entirely to her quarry this time. "I doubt we'll find many physical traces of any tampering, but there may be some residual magical energy of the like. Though, again, merely hypothesis. Additionally, is there some way that one would be able to contain a spell for later use or future triggering, like a glyph or curse of some sort?" The white pony paced back and forth in front of the frame as she spoke, eyes fixed on it once again and intently looking for any clue that it was indeed involved in Seeker's strange magical burst.

[RarityDash]

Arcana nodded to the other unicorn mare and gave a small amused chuckle. "Of course," she said. "Magic can be applied in any number of ways. Objects can be charged with magic, traps and triggers can be set. With the right kind of spells a unicorn can get quite creative when it comes to how and when to get the desired effect."

"However it's kind of hard to accurately feel any sources of magic in this room now," Arcana said, stepping toward where the picture had been. "Thanks to that magical explosion earlier there are trace amounts of magical energy all over the place."

Sure enough, Arcana couldn't pinpoint any unusual magical energy in the area no matter how she tried. It made sense to her though. Somehow this was all connected. It had to be.

[Davroth]

The gray stallion shook his head, trying to get rid his dizziness. He tried his hardest to remember what had happened, but no matter how hard he tried, he drew a blank.

Seeker cleared his throat. "...maybe we should take a little break?" His eyes glowed up for a moment as he tried to sense the magic fields in the room. "I'll have to agree with miss Spectral Desire. The magic residue in the room is too thick at the moment."

He sighed, turning his head to his workplace, his bags and notes still in place like nothing had happened. "I've got a few apples and some bread. I know you are not supposed to eat in a library, but considering our current situation..."

Freezing in mid trot, Seeker shivered violently. "W.. w.. we are t-trapped in here, aren't we...?"

[Rocky]

Pinstripe watched and listened to Seeker. As he began to trot, he suddenly froze and asked a question, which was by this time, had a very obvious answer in Pinstripe's mind.

"We are.." she began, "We are trapped... And we have no real way of telling what time it is... And... It could be a very long time before they open the doors here... And... With that painting missing... And... We don't know how it disappeared... And... And... And..."

Pinstripe then sat down, hugging herself once again, in worried fear. This had become, as of quite recently, a more common thing for her to do. She did not know how to get a hold of herself in times like this.

[Neoniie]

As loathe as the unicorn was to halt the hunt for clues about both the painting and Seeker's strange reaction, she had to admit that it was likely a good idea. She had been so intently focused on the mystery at hoof and her previous studies in the scientific barnch of the Archives that she hadn't noticed the grogginess that lack of sleep had inflicted on her. Though she often did stay up long into the night on the testing of one principle or another, Flux did need sleep every once in a while, just like any other pony. Of course, tonight just happened to be one that followed a particularly grueling all-nighter, so she couldn't truthfully say that the break wouldn't benefit her. So, she stepped back from the painting with a nod, being sure to keep an eye on it in case the culprit of the painting theft returned while they were unawares.

"I'm sure some bending of the rules wouldn't be problematic in this case," she agreed, having already technically bent the rules to actually make it down to the Archives in the first place. However, no sooner had Flux spoken than the grey unicorn asked his question. It wasn't so much as question as an unwelcome reminder, but with both Pinstripe and Seeker semming worried, the mare found herself struggling for an answer. Panic and worry wouldn't help them in their current situation and it probably would just make things more difficult for them. So, she tried to be as reassuring as possible, though discussion of emotional matters were not exactly her forte and she was fairly concerned herself. "We all need to keep level heads if this is going to work. There's always an answer and always an outcome, it's just a matter of time."