applesaucedream | Paper Faces on Parade

Current Music: March 1, 2013

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Paper Faces on Parade

The residents of Manhattan will once again find themselves drawn into the currents of the rift when they sleep tonight. Once again, too, the rift is drawing in people from other worlds, both those who might one day find themselves pulled through in waking life and those who might yet escape its grasp.

Tonight, it seems, a celebration is in order. The ballroom of a country manor is the setting for tonight's gathering. Wood and marble gleam in the gas lighting, and a bar at one end of the room provides the, ahem, social lubricant some guests may require. At the other end, a staircase leads to a walkway that runs the entire parameter of the room, allowing guests to watch the dancing from above. While the party is localized in the ballroom, who knows what secret passages and hidden ways a grand old house like this one might conceal?

Those who appear here will find themselves wearing a disguise on arrival. Should the rift cause one to appear in a costume not of their liking (as it is fairly likely to do), an enormous wardrobe can be found through a door near the bar. In it, guests will find a seemingly infinite assortment of costumes and masks of all sizes and varieties ready for their use.

[Mod note: Usual dream-party rules apply. Both members and non-members are welcome to use any character, be they already in the game or no, and players can choose whether to have their characters remember this in the morning.]

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"Pony, then," Daine cheerfully concedes, though he's really nothing like the ponies she's worked with in the past, either. She can easily imagine what Cloud would have to say about him, if she was here. It might be just as well that she isn't. "And no, we're not - this is dream, actually. A big, shared, group dream. They happen every now and again."

At least he's not in Manhattan, from the sounds of things. "Where's Equestria?" she asks, intrigued. Is it some sort of pony universe? Because if so, she wants to visit.

"Ahhhh." He tilts his head back, touching his tongue behind his upper front teeth in a thoughtful gesture that might be familiar to her. "It's off in its own universe, as far as I can tell -- and that's not far; I don't think most of the locals have much concept of science at all. It's all magic with them, and you have to be a unicorn to have any magic."

And he's still sore about being a boring old earth pony, thanks. Whether he'd want to fly or have magic he's not sure -- though he certainly wouldn't have minded being an alicorn.

"Sorry," he says suddenly, realizing he doesn't know her name. "I'm the Doctor -- and you are?"

Okay, yes, this is starting to look and sound very familiar, but her jaw still drops when he introduces himself.

"You're the Doctor?" she repeats, thoroughly baffled by this turn of events. Why in Mithros's name is he a pony? And, perhaps more worrisomely, why is he asking for her name as if they're perfect strangers? Her hand goes to her head to make sure her mask hasn't somehow slipped down without her noticing, but it's still atop her head, so her face isn't hidden. Brow furrowed, she ventures, "You don't recognize me?"

He was expecting some question about unicorns, since they're really sort of impossible when you really think about them. He gives her a startled look, ears pricked forward. "Should I?"

"Well, yes," Daine says, frowning uncertainly at him. Maybe whatever turned him into a pony mucked with his memory somehow. "Why are you a pony all of a sudden?" she asks, hoping the answer might help clarify things.

Handy frowns uncertainly right back. "I've been a pony for months," he replies. "Everyone who winds up in Equestria turns into some sort of native creature -- nearly everyone there's a pony. There's some sort of rift pulling people in from different universes."

"We've got a rift, too!" Daine exclaims, eyes widening. "Only it's pulling folk into New York... and it's not turning anyone into ponies, as far as I know. But that's how I met you - you're in New York, too."

And how can he be in two places at once? Unless there's time travel involved... but even that doesn't make sense. If he's going to be a pony, then he ought to still remember her, and if he has been a pony... then he should've recognized her when they first met, because he's meeting her now, right? Odd's bobs, what a headache. Daine pinches the bridge of her nose and mutters, "I don't s'pose you're another clone..."

"Blimey." He sucks in a breath. "Really? Am I here right now, too?" He's not sure if he wants the answer to be yes or no -- while he dreads meeting up with the Doctor while at a disadvantage (like, say, being a pony), if anyone's likely to know what's going on and how to fix it, it's a version of himself.

"I'm not a clone," says Handy more sharply than he needs to. Softening, he mutters, "Sorry. But what do you mean another?"

Daine shrugs. "I haven't seen you - the two-legger you, I mean - but that doesn't mean you're not here. Should we look?"

His reaction to the clone comment makes her wince a little. Perhaps she shouldn't have mentioned it? But then he asks for elaboration, and she flounders. "I don't... should I not have mentioned it?"

"Is there more than one Doctor here?" asks Handy, finally getting to the point. "More than one Doctor other than me? You said...."

He trails off, looking uncomfortable.

If she shouldn't be telling him, he wouldn't ask, right? He's the expert on time travel and all that complicated nonsense, after all. "Well, there's you, and there's the Doctor that came through the rift to New York. And then there's Andrew, who used to be the Doctor but isn't anymore."

"Andrew?" Handy looks baffled. "If he's the Doctor, why is he going around calling himself Andrew?" Has the Doctor gone off and made more copies of himself? The one that's currently a unicorn never said anything about that. Then again, who knows how far this Doctor is in his future? It's not like Daine recognized him by anything other than his name, is it?

He gives his head a little shake. "We should prooobably go talk to me," he sighs, not exactly looking forward to it.

"Used to be," Daine repeats a bit defensively. She doesn't know what Andrew would think of her discussing his existence with a pony version of the Doctor, but she's fair certain he'd take issue with being referred to as 'The Doctor,' as if there isn't any difference between them. "He started off as a copy, but he's his own person."

And that's... easier said than done. Daine stands back up so she can scan the crowd for the Doctor, though between the costumes and the masks, she's certain he won't be easy to pick out. "Want to try the walkway? We might be able to see him from up there."

Frooown. If one is a copy of the Doctor, one is always the Doctor. Right? That has to be right. The idea that he might be expected to be someone else makes Handy more than a little uneasy. Best not to tell Daine he's a duplicate himself; it'd only confuse the issue.

"You might be able to see him," he snorts, fairly amused. "I didn't realize everyone in Equestria was this titchy."

Daine glances between the pony and the walkway. "I don't know - you could probably fit your head between the bars. Even if you couldn't, I expect you could still see a fair amount."

An idea strikes her, and she grins. "More importantly, he could see us. All we'd have to do is get his attention, and that'll be easy. Come on." She leads the way towards the staircase at an easy pace, not wanting him to lose her in the crowd.

Handy looks up and eyes the walkway -- or tries to, since it's hard to see through all the people around them. That does sound better; at least he'll be able to see something and maybe stop feeling like he's about to be stepped on.

"What, do you think he hasn't seen a blue pony before?" he chuckles, trotting after her. "Come to think of it, I don't think I had, actually."

"Then all we'll have to do is get him to look up at us," Daine says, glancing back every few steps to make sure he's still with her. "And I think I can just about handle that."

And here's the staircase. Biting back an anticipatory grin, she starts to climb.

Perhaps surprisingly, the staircase doesn't give him any trouble. The ponies of Equestria seem to have better range of motion than -- he wouldn't say real ponies, but ponies from Earth.

"You said you were in New York?" he asks, careful not to trip on his robe.

"Yes. Manhattan," she clarifies as she climbs. "They're trying to keep everyone who's come through the rift on the island."

Once she reaches the top of the stairs, she moves a little to one side before turning to lean against the railing and survey the guests below. This is as good a spot as any; she can see clear across to the bar and most of the area beneath the balcony on either side.

"Who's 'they'?" Because that doesn't sound sinister or anything. "All the newponies have just sort of...dispersed. Mostly we're around Ponyville, but no one's keeping us there. Nopony would want to keep the ones who showed up as dragons in town, either -- if they even could."

He slips around behind her to get further from the stairs and pokes his head between the rails to get a clearer view. "See him?"

"Romac, the government..." she shrugs irritably. "Sounds like the rift might be keeping people close, too, but I haven't been able to test it, yet." Letting out a little sigh, she adds, "Ponyville sounds a lot nicer."

She scans the crowd for a few moments, then shrugs. "No, but that's all right. He'll see us in a second." Glancing down at him, she warns, "I'm going to make a bit of noise, just so you know."

Daine shuts her eyes, concentrating, and a moment later her head, chest, and arms have shifted into the those of a tiger. Bracing her new forepaws against the railing, she lets out a roar that everyone in the room is sure to notice before shifting back. The whole process is quick enough that she hopes folk were only startled and not genuinely worried.

And, okay, whoops, there's a shriek or two from the dance floor. But mostly folk just turn their heads to look up at them, many raising their masks for good measure. "Sorry!" Daine calls, a bit embarrassed by the attention now that she actually has it. To the pony, she adds, "See him now?"

Sorry, Daine, he wasn't watching for the Doctor because when he glanced up, it turned out you were in the middle of transforming into a tiger. The pony stares up at her, mouth agape (and ears still pinned back in response to the noise). "What?" he asks, dumbfounded.

There's a slight tinge of desperation to the way she's glancing between the various upturned faces, because if she made that fuss for nothing, she's going to be really embarrassed. But then she finally spots him and waves, relieved. "Doctor!"

And then she spares a glance for the poor pony beside her, belatedly realizing that he's only just met her and doesn't know about her magic. "Oh, sorry - I can shapeshift," she sheepishly explains. "Forgot you didn't know."

"As things to forget to mention go, that's a pretty big one," comments Handy, ears finally lifting again. He turns to look down at the crowd, trying to spot the Doctor and see if he's been spotted in return. He can't help but feel a few misgivings now that it's coming down to actually meeting with the Time Lord.

The Doctor turns his head up at the sound just like pretty much everyone else. His initial surprise and worry abates quickly when he realises it's just Daine, and a moment later he realises why exactly she was roaring. He grins up at her and waves back, then makes his way up the stairs towards them, figuring she was getting his attention for a reason.

As he walks up to him, he pushes his mask up and grins in greeting. "Well, that's a pony of a different colour," he comments cheerfully.

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