884/Pokemon Tower Visit

Pokemon Tower Visit
Date of Scene:	30 October 2014
Location:	Pokemon-2
Synopsis:	Nurse Joy takes a group through a haunted house sort of attraction set up in the Pokemon Tower.
Cast of Characters:	136, 516, 553, 589, 602

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Nurse Joy (553) has posed:
     The Pokemon Tower is the defining landmark of Lavender Town. It is the most famous monument built to honor departed Pokemon. Pokemon are cherished partners to many a people, so it is often a sad day when one leaves the mortal coil. But, despite the somber nature of the place (Or, perhaps, because of it?), it has become a bit of a tourist destination. Especially around Halloween. This is helped by the fact that a number of Ghost Pokemon have made the tower their home. While they don't torment the mourners, they still have fun freaking out the tourists. Or the goth kids who think places like this are awesome.

     Still, though, it's an obvious choice for a trip around Halloween, especially if you want a scare. Which is why Nurse Joy kind of put out the word for people to visit the place.

     She stands outside the Tower, waiting patiently for the others. She, like most of the random civilians visiting, has decided to come in costume. She's dressed up as a police officer! She looks just like Officer Jenny, aside the fact she didn't dye her hair. She waits rather patiently for everyone.

     It /is/ a little chilly this time of night, but it's still decently warm, especially for this time of year.

Rarity (136) has posed:
Rarity can't believe she got talked into this... No, not the 'field trip' somewhere else to see how other worlds celebrate their Holloween equivilent to Nightmare Night. Some cultural exposure would be a good thing.

It's that she let herself get talked into wearing contacts that made her eyes red instead of blue, while her mane and tail have been heavily gelled and sprayed into an wild, spiky updoo and then spray-dyed red and yellow. She's already white and has a horn, so it's a really good choice, despite her annoyance.

But what's one pokemon without more?! Following behind the 'Rapidash' is a Clefairy, an Eevee, and a Vulpix! ... Or more accurately, it's the Cutie Mark Crusaders in pokemon costumes! Sweetie Belle already had the curly locks to go with Clefairy, while Scootaloo and Applebloom have hoods pulled up on their heads with the ears and hair tuffs to make them look like a Vulpix and Eevee respectively.

"Now I expect you girls to be on your best behavior. No running off on your own." Rarity pauses to turn and look at the three sternly. "And no trying to earn 'Eat All The Candy In One Night' cutie marks this year, either!"

At the accusation the trio just sits and gives her innocent looks, which is 20 percent more adorable than usual thanks to the costumes.

Ferham (516) has posed:
     Getting into this whole 'Halloween' thing had been a bit of an adventure so far. Ferham had done researched, talked to people of various locales, and even gone as far to experiment a little herself. It turns out it led to some... interesting costume choices. At first, she wasn't even sure what would actually look interesting or fun, but it would appear she'd got some inspiration from a very unlikely source! Well, unlikely perhaps due to the style of it. First stop she wanted to make however was to do just a bit more research, which brought her here.

     Thus, stepping into the tower proper was a black caped woman who seemed to have shown up in full costume, or the like. Or maybe she was just from castlevania and this was how they normally dressed, it was vague!

Princess Paladin (589) has posed:
Halloween is not a big thing in Japan. Trick-or-treating is not something every neighborhood does, and it is mostly a commercial holiday. It is a day to throw parties on in some cases, but that is about it. Miko Fujimoto, being from Japan, has thus not had a ton of exposure to this holiday. But there was no missing the decorations and commercials and candy stores and movie marathons and Halloween activities that have been going on all month long, and it has sparked interest in her. One idea she had is to attend a tour of Pokemon Tower. She is still not entirely sure what pokemon are, but she has heard the term many times now. She thinks it might be some kind of collectable card game. So some kind of spooky tour of a tower, with a rare card at the end or something, is about the most extreme possibility in her mind when she shows up in a classic Halloween costume. A witch! Her hat has a little stuffed black cat peeking over the rim, with an orange band around the middle part. Orange trim adorns her psuedo-bat-like cloak with the pattern of the night sky adorning the interior. A pleated purple skirt hangs about her lower half, with black tights on her legs. Bat-boots with one wing each and glowing battery-powered 'eyes' complete her attire.

Oh, and a big plush pumpkin bag for all the candy and/or collectible cards she is hoping to get.

She could really use some candy with how things have been going recently. Getting her mind off of her problems by visiting this famous (or so she has heard it described) Halloween destination should be just what she needs! And... Ponies in costume is definitely a good first step in that regard. When she is toddling along hugging her giant, felt pumpkin bag to her chest, and sees more of those talking ponies like the one she saw at the mall, she feels the same sense of unreality she was hit with several times there, and since. She is still adjusting to some aspects of the Multiverse, it seems.

She considers asking the costumed quadrupeds if this is the right place, but is not sure if there is a proper procedure or rules of conduct for speaking to ponies, so instead turns her attention on a caped woman, and-Wait, no, maybe she is weird too. Um.

She turns her attention on the police officer who is there and probably will be glad to give directions! "Good evening, officer!" Miko calls out as she fast-walks forward on her toes in her bat-slipper-boots. "Is this the Pokemon Tower?"

There are probably signs in the area stating that it is, but she is a bit frazzled, okay?

Nurse Joy (553) has posed:
     Joy is at least familiar wtih the Ponyfolk. At least a handful are in the Union, so she isn't overly surprised. She's heard Rarity's voice over the radio before as well, though has yet to meet her in person. And as for the other two... she has absolutely no idea who they are. She waves to all of them. Though she chuckles at Miko.

     "Oh, I'm not actually an officer! This is just a costume. I'm a nurse. Though I can see why that would be confusing. Sorry about that!"

     She is way too apologetic sometime.

     "Anyways, I'm Nurse Joy. It's nice to meet all of you."

     She bends her knees to put herself at the same level as the crusaders, and smiles. "You all have such cute costumes! Now, I know you're excited for candy, but, well. The Pokemon Tower is kind of like a haunted house. It's only once you get to the /top/ that they give you candy!"

     She smiles and looks at everyone, "I hope no one gets too scared..."

Rarity (136) has posed:
"A haunted house?" "Coooool!" "Y'all know what this means girls?
The trio of foals rear up to slap their forehooves together. "CUTIE MARK CRUSADERS GHOST BUSTI--" "ACHEEM!" Then stop mid-chant when Rarity clears he throat and glares at them. Resume their overly innocent looks. Rarity just sighs and starts after Joy. "Don't mind the kids, they just get way too into the season."

There was still the promise of candy at the end so the three are quick to hustle after her. "Y'know that'd be a great idea fer costumes next year. We could invite Babs to come for the fourth spot."

Rarity is so going to regret this...

Ferham (516) has posed:
     The cadre of various pokemon pony outfits are admired, as is the girl in the interesting witch outfit. Guess more people than just her were costumed, Ferham guessed. Extending a gloved hand, she waved and bowed a little. "Just a costume here as well, the fangs aren't real," Ferham smiled a little, indeed sporting two long ivory ones over her ruby red painted lips.

     "So, this is like some sort of exhibition? but isn't this place actually used to houes the remains of Pokemon?" she had done her homework a bit, at least, and the place did have actual grave markers in it. Peering over at Rarity, she blinked a little. "Have I seen you somewhere before? Are you... Rarity? /The/ Rarity?" Ferham blinked and seemed to be entirely distracted by this fact. Had she seen the pony and her line of clothing before? There just might be a fangirling about to break out here! Which would be a bit odd considering how she's dressed. She's dressed like Dracula's girlfriend, or something.

     Speaking of, there is a sudden pause as Ferham appears to be getting a transmission, it's unseen and unheard, but it's there. "Whoops, I think I might need to go, apologies," Ferham bowed, turning and quickly hovering back out. Hey, least her powerset fit the costume!

Princess Paladin (589) has posed:
"Oh," Miko says. That would make Nurse Joy a 'medical officer' then! Haha. Haaaa... She does not make that joke out loud. "Well, that is okay. Just so you know, I am not actually a witch. I am a high school student. So you do not have to worry about being hexed into a toad or anything." She smiles at Joy. It is unclear whether she was seriously concerned about the nurse thinking she is a real witch or not, but either way she bends down a bit, still hugging her plush pumpkin bag, to see if she can make out what the ponies are dressed as.

Okay, in reality she is just trying to find an excuse to gawk at talking ponies without seeming like she's gawking. They are certainly cute! And... Completely outside her experience! She hugs her pumpkin a bit higher to cover her face somewhat, and conceal her expression of 'omgosh cute!'

"So, um, what exactly is pokemon? I have heard it might be a card game, but you can not believe everything you hear--Wait, what!?" This is a... Graveyard!? Or gravetower, rather!? Did she hear that right!?! She straightens up and looks a bit less eager to be here, upon that revelation from the caped woman. "Haha!" she forces a laugh. "I guess pokemon is not a game after all then." Oh god. What is a pokemon? Is it some kind of terrible nightmare monster? It is a zombie? Is she going to die here!? Oh god, oh god!

She is not sure if candy is worth dying for. Maybe it's really good candy though, and she can always slip away and transform if she has to. But really, this is a place of rest for the departed, that does not mean it is inhabited by ghosts or anything! She should be perfectly safe.

Shiro Kurosawa (602) has posed:
    Anybody call for a rat? Maybe, maybe not. But there's one here. In fact, there's a BUNCH here. They're not Rattata/Raticate. They're just... rats. Common wharf rats. Three of them. They're not getting into anything. Pets maybe? Probably, since there's a kid there, a mousy-looking kid who's with the rats. One of them's on each shoulder, and the third is crawling into a pocket.

    It's Shiro! Not the swordmagus Shirou. The wererat one. He's dressed like a ninja. The commercially-accepted version, of course-- a long-sleeved shirt with dragons silk-screened on the front, red belt around his waist, black pants, tabi-style shoes with red ties wrapped around his calves, and a hood. He doesn't currently have it covering his face though.

    He's been near the back of the group, not wanting to freak anybody out with the rats. But they sort of follow him. And they're not really pets, so he can't really tell them to scram. But he does at least respect that some people might get freaked out by a kid dressed as a ninja, with rats all over him.

Rarity (136) has posed:
"Pokemon are awesome!" Scootaloo butts in. As you would expect from a bunch of kids they don't wait for the experienced adult to answer. But they have had experience with pokemon too thanks to some of Equestria's visitors. "They have like super powers and stuff." She tugs down the hood of her costume. "I'm a vulpix, they breath fire." Fortunately Rarity took away the lighter she tried to smuggle with.

"I'm a Clefairy." Sweetie Belle does a little twirl on a back leg. "They like to sing and dance, and they're pink and snuggly."

"And Ah'm an Eevee. They... uh..." Applebloom's moment of posing proudly faulters after a moment. ".. Err, act'ally, Ah ain't entirely sure..." She sits down sheepishly. The ears of her costume even sag a bit as if embarassed.

Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle just snicker a bit to themselves. They can't help if if the irony of Applebloom, the one of the trio the most uncertain of what her special trait will be, dressed as the pokemon that has 8 possible futures, is a little over the farmpony's head.

Nurse Joy (553) has posed:
     Well, looks like Joy is going to have to do a bit of explaining to Miko. She smiles, looking at her. "Well. Pokemon are creatures that humans partner with. Most people on my world at least have one. They are companions, and can be used for battle, too."

     She looks at the tower, a bit sadly. "And... yes, this is a place where Pokemon are buried and memorialized. It might seem strange to come to such a place on Halloween, but. It's good to remember that even the Pokemon who have passed on enjoyed such holidays in life. Plus, it makes the Ghost Pokemon in the tower more... Peaceful."

     She doesn't mention that Ghost Pokemon are a specific type, and aren't /real/ ghosts. Hey, with these being newbies to this world, it'll improve the experience.

     As Shiro comes, she smiles. Despite the rats. Hey, they're just normal rats, but perhaps he's a person who can control animals, or raises animals instead of Pokemon. She's heard of stranger things.

     "Hello, there. It's nice to meet you, mister...?"

     She hadnt noticed the kid before.

     A glance at the younger ponies, and she smiles, "You know, off worlders can raise Pokemon too. Maybe you three kids could raise Pokemon, eventually. Even some really young kids raise Pokemon, before they're even in school!"

     Oh god she's encouraging them.

     Either way, she's beginning to lead everyone in now. The bottom floor is decorated with cobwebs, Jack-o-Lanterns, fake spiders, and similar. Joy leads the group to a /very/ frightening looking staircase. Normally it doesn't look this bad or broken down, but it's just /really/ good decorations.

     "So. Who is the bravest?"

Rarity (136) has posed:
"--When you've had time to learn more, maybe," Rarity shiftly steps into the conversation before the trio get any ideas. Even if you can just picture the image spots of them as totally awesome and cool pokemon trainers, or contest coordinators, or rangers or so forth going on in their heads. "Besides, I don't think Applejack, or Scootaloo's family, would approve if I let you bring random pets home."

Then pauses as she realizes what she said, and rubs the back of her head with a forehoof. "Not that they are just pets, of course. Do forgive me dahling, but I couldn't provide a better comparison an--whaah!"

Cue three costumed foals running past suddenly enough to spin her around as they rush to the stairs. "I'll be the bravest!" "Not if I am first!" "Ah'll be braverest than you both!" "That's not a real word." "Don't be a dictionary Sweetie."

Princess Paladin (589) has posed:
Miko nods as she listens with first confusion and then fascination to the foals and the nurse, respectively. Hmm. So they're like animal companions. And yet not quite pets? Well, she is sure she will find out more as they go alon--Wait! Ghosts!? Miko turns around when some ninja behind her is addressed and jumps slightly, having not expected to see a ninja covered in rats there and also because she is on edge about ghosts. She has fought demons, monsters, cat people, and more, but ghosts are still an unknown to her. "Oh, um..." she starts, before just bowing to the young man. Then she turns back around and bows to Nurse Joy as well. "By the way, I am Fujimoto Miko. I apologize for not giving my name sooner." She moves to follow after Joy and her staircase of certain death by falling, and hesitantly puts a bat-booted foot on the first step, testing it several times. If it so much as creaks loudly, she's going to squeak and back up until she can gather her nerves. In either case, she tries to hold her fear at bay through the tried and tested method of talking.

"So, us being here makes these ghosts more peaceful? So, um... They are not dangerous when people are around?"

Shiro Kurosawa (602) has posed:
    "Shiro Kurosawa. 'Shiro' is fine, Ma'am," he offers politely. He bows as best as he can without tipping the rats off his shoulders. He has a quiet voice that borders on being androgynous, but has just enough depth to tell he's male. Sounds like a teenager, yeah. Y'know what's weird? He acts like a rat too. A little. His nose twitches every so often, as if he's sniffing around.

    Nurse Joy's mention of making the Ghost Pokemon more peaceful gets a slow nod of his head. "'Honor the pacts with the spirit world', 'let no one or nothing violate the sacred places'," he says very quietly, as if he's quoting from something. He undertands paying respects to the dead.

    He nods. "The dead like to be remembered fondly by the living," he observes. "At least, in my world. It shows that they still matter to us. No one likes to be forgotten." He smiles and then heads for the stairs, walking with a bit of a hunched-over posture. Though he's not going to head up before Joy does.

Nurse Joy (553) has posed:
     The Cutie Mark Crusaders, hopefully, are not total chickens. Okay, one of them is a chicken (fandom joke), but the other two aren't. So they should hopefully be able to deal with the fact that they're rushing into a haunted house relatively easily, right?

     Well, as the Cutie Mark Crusaders go upstairs, the room is dark. /Very/ dark. Candles are on the walls, flickering. And suddenly, the candles blow out. Completele darkness.

     At least, until a purple-glowing frightening and gigantic transparent face bursts out of the wall, letting loose a horrible screech. It shows its fangs, opening them wide.

     It's a ghost Pokemon getting in on the fright stuff, it seems, trying its best to terrify the ponies.

Princess Paladin (589) has posed:
Regardless of if the ponies are scared or not, the sound of the Ghost Pokemon is frightening enough that Miko is terrified right out of the Tower. She turns and runs, yelling only a little bit, and abandoning all hope of receiving candy as she flees! At least she escapes with her life! Even if such was never really in danger.

Too spooky for Miko when she is not transformed and full of powers to fight things with. She really needs to work on that timidness, but this night, in this place, is not the time for it.

Rarity (136) has posed:
"Girls! I said not to run off on your own!" Rarity shouts after the trio in exasperation, but it falls upon unlistening ears. With a huff she turns back to Joy. "There's not anything -too- dangerous here, right?"

The three are too busy arguing over who's going to be 'the braverest' as they hurry up the stairs that they don't even notice the candles. Or the candles going out.

It's the screech that stops their little friendly agruement, all three stopping mid-scuffle and slowly turning their heads towards the eyes glowing in the darkness.
And then the argument goes in the other direction as Sweetie Belle and Applebloom try to push each other in front. "On second thought, you are the bravest." "Nah, y'all braverest." "That's still not a word." "And ya still ain't no dictionary!"
Finally Scootaloo pushes them apart and stands between them. "It's okay girls. I got this." She rears up on her back legs and holds up her front hooves like a boxing pose. "Rainbow Dash has totally been giving me pointers, and she's the bravest, bestest hero ever. This ain't nothing compared to the horse with the rusty horseshoe!"

Up until the ghost opens its mouth to show those fangs, and a good reminder than the three little ponies are -bite sized- to it.

"... She's also the FASTEST!" Scootaloo spins around to bolt, only to run smack into her two friends.

And all three come tumbling back down the stairs to land in a heap. "So much fer ghost bustin' cutie marks." "Look at the bright side." "Oh yeah, what?" "No tree sap and pine needles this time."

Shiro Kurosawa (602) has posed:
    The screech gets Shiro's attention, and he jumps, emitting a suspiciously rodentlike squeak! And then quickly shifts into a stance that shows he's ready to defend himself. The rats on his shoulder hiss and screech right back in the direction of the purple face, too. HSSS!

    But after a moment Shiro thinks. Kids wouldn't have been invited if there was something really dangerous, right? But then, what is it? Blink. Curious nosetwitch.

Nurse Joy (553) has posed:
     Joy smiles at Rarity, rather pleasantly. "Of course there is nothing dangerous in here. I wouldn't take everyone dangerous. Though, well. It might scare them a lot."

     And yeah, they come running down almost immediately.

     She smiles again, as she looks at the others. "Are you two scared of ghosts, though?"

Rarity (136) has posed:
A flicker of unicorn magic seperates the three foals, sets them back down proper, and straightens out their costumes. As much as Scootaloo and Applebloom try to figit. "We weren't scared!" "It just surprised us!" "Same thing." "You ain't a thesaurus either!" "Dinosaurs have nothing to do with this, Applebloom." This time it's Sweetie and AB's turn to facehoof at Scootaloo.

Rarity just smiles a bit at the trio. "Dahling, I would say I've dealt with much worse than ghosts already in my time," she pauses to tilt her head back and gaze at the unseen upper floors of the tower, "but I wish not to tempt this place in proving me wrong."

Nurse Joy (553) has posed:
     Joy decides not to mention what appears to be a transparent white hand resting on Rarity's back. She simply smiles. And does everything she can to pretend it's not here.

     "Well... Ghosts here aren't something to be afraid of, usually. I didn't mention this, but Ghost Pokemon are not /real/ ghosts, they just resemble them."

     A pause. She looks at white hand again.

     "...Of course there are rumors that real ghosts might exist too. Which I somewhat believe in."

Rarity (136) has posed:
"Hmm?" Rarity notices where Joy is looking and turns her head just enough to see the hand on her shoulder. Now that is a little spooky. But not really -scary- as far as she's concerned.

Though that doesn't seem to stop her from doing a double-take, and then clutching her forehooves to her chest as she teeters and twirls away from the hand. "Oh. Oh! How utterly dreadful!" Then one foreleg goes to splay across her forehead. "Why I do believe I'm feeling ill..."

Instead of ruining the moment by summoning her fainting couch Rarity just flops over backwards on the Crusaders, whom wobble a bit as they hold her up. Applebloom and Scootaloo turn their heads. "Sweetie Belle your sister is being a drama queen again." "She's just playing up the night is all." "She's also *grunt* putting on a few pounds by the feel of i--ow!" Without breaking the rest of her 'faint' Rarity 'accidentally' drops her hoof on Scootaloo's head to bop her.

Princess Paladin (589) has posed:
Okay. Okay, she had her scare, but she is not scared enough to go running all the way to the Warp Gate. Because while she is fairly healthy, she is not feeling up to sprinting in floppy-toed bat slippers, in a cape, while hanging onto both her bag and her hat. When she gets back, it seems the group has gathered in one place again, even if some had tried to run ahead. Chewing her lower lip nervously, Miko makes her way to the foot of the steps and then starts climbing again, doing her best to stick with the group. Safety in numbers. Also, that nurse was too nice-seeming to subject children. Or... Ponydren. Or... ...Little Ponies, or whatever to danger. Miko shouldn't have overreacted.

But the fact of the matter is she is not back home, she is out in the weird Multiverse where she doesn't know what to expect, and her ignorance of other worlds leaves her in a various precarious position - emotionally, if nothing else.

"Um, hi again," she calls nervously. "I am back. I had to... Step out for some fresh air. Without ghosts in it."

She may have missed the explanation of what exactly the true nature of the Ghost Pokemon is, but she is still willing to try to face them anyway! Kind of! She's still shaking all over, but she tries to conceal this by keeping her plush pumpkin in front of her.

Also the larger pony faints. "Oh my gosh!" Miko says. Ordinarily she might have been able to tell a dramatic faint from an actual one, but afer all she has been through so far, in this environment... Her eyes go wide and she hides the lower half of her face behind her bag. "Is she okay-" the 'accidental' kick causes Miko to catch on. She's timid, not stupid. "-Oh. Uh, do not worry. I am sure some brave individual will protect us!" Miko says, playing along. She pauses and then says, "Like Miss Joy, who should go first from now on."

Nurse Joy (553) has posed:
     Nurse Joy, honestly, is completely surprised at how much of a drama queen that Rarity is. She's not going to judge it, obviously, but still. Quite surprising. She smiles though!

     "Oh, don't worry, Rarity. If you faint, or something, while we're in there, we'll help you get out."

     A glance at Miko.

     "...And I suppose I can go first. Do the kids still want to come along, or...? ...Actually, if they want to stay here, there are some kid friendly areas over there."

     She points to a little area with various Halloween themed games set up. Like bobbing for apples!

     Either way, Joy leads on. And the giant frightening jump-scare face happens.

     And she barely even reacts to it, just smiling.

Rarity (136) has posed:
"Pfff, she's totally faking it." "I am not!" Of course the sitting up to snap at her sister just gives it away. "... Oh bother." Eheh. "Well I did not want to ruin the fun of the ghosts on their big holiday, is all." She's just being a good sport, is all. "Come along girls." It's not so scary when you've got a big sister with, right? At least Sweetie Beel seems to think so, and the other two follow along for the sake of not looking lame in comparison.

Suddenly, ghost face!

"Oh, that will not do at all." Out of nowhere Rarity pulls a giant powerpuff and swats it at the 'face'. "Just because you are a phantom doesn't mean you need to have such a dull complextion."

"Of course the best stylist in Ponyville wouldn't be scared of a face~" And just to bring things full circle you now have Applebloom and Scootaloo facefaulting at Sweetie Belle's fawning.

Princess Paladin (589) has posed:
Oh geez! Ghost used Scary Face! It was super effective! Miko's pace slows considerably when she sees it, even with Nurse Joy in front. However, she draws courage from the lack of reaction from the nurse-dressed-as-an-officer, and the fact that Rarity is 'awake' now, and applying make-up instead of running away in terror also helps. Miko is almost 17! It's time for her to grow up! And that includes acting brave in front of ghosts even if she is actually scared, just like she assumes Rarity is.

Yes, she will pretend to not be totally freaked out! For the children! Also she is sort of calming down now for reals. These are decorations, and there is no danger here. Even if she gets scared now... It is more like a haunted house attraction than a haunted house where something comes out of the mirror and tears your face off with glass-shard fingers. Actually, she should stop thinking about that.

"So, how many ghosts are there? Or um... Ghost Pokemon, I mean? Just one? Two? Maybe three?" Surely there can't be THAT many ghosts here!

Nurse Joy (553) has posed:
     The frightening face pauses. It is being... given makeup. It reverts back to a more normal shape for it, looking just like a normal Gengar, and tries to wipe teh stuff off of its face, before bursting back through a wall again.

     Nurse Joy chuckles. "Well. That's /one/ way to handle Ghost Pokemon. I've never seen them handled quite like that before. Even the people who use them in Pokemon Beauty Contests don't usually think of that, I think."

     A glance at Miko.

     "Well, the Tower has a number of ghosts, depending on the time of year.... If it gets to be too many, Pokemon Trainers are called in to deal with it. But it can hold a healthy number of Ghost Pokemon, enough that if a Trainer wants to find one, they can come here any time to try and catch one."

     She keeps walking along to the next stairway. The next floor is a bit different. It's not as shock-creepy. Instead, there are a bunch of women of various ages, wearing strange white outfits. Various channelers. They all look like they're in trances, and many of them are muttering strange chants that don't even seem to translate. Not real words, just chants.

Rarity (136) has posed:
That's not scary, but it's certainly still got a creepy aire to it. Just with the blank stares and ominous chanting. "My, Zecora would probably get a kick out of this display." Rarity's seen the zebra in a similar state a few times when she's been asked for advice. Just with more rhyming and less incoherent muttering. The trio of fillies huddles together behind her, though now none of them want to be the ones to actually run off and look lame by this point. "It's weirder when you can't understand them..."

Princess Paladin (589) has posed:
Ah-hah! Nothing to be scared of here! It's just creepy people doing weird chanting while possibly possessed by ghosts! That's nothing compared to the ghosts themselves, right? Except that this means maybe the ghosts can possess Miko and the ponies as well. But Nurse Joy seems totally calm about this. The news that there may be a whole bunch of Ghost Pokemon is somewhat distressing, but the information that 'Pokemon Trainers' come and clear them out somehow by 'catching' them kind of makes up for it? All in all, the schoolgirl is feeling very out of her element here. She should study up on pokemon when she gets out of here. It seems they are common enough across multiple worlds, and her lack of understanding could prove to be dangerous if she comes across them.

...Or goes up against someone who uses them.

But for now, she is calm! Yes, she just follows after Joy, looks back at the clustered foals to make sure they're okay also, and then to Rarity. "Is Zecora a pokemon?" She has a LOT to learn.

Nurse Joy (553) has posed:
     Joy doesn't know what Zecora is, so she doesn't answer that.

     Instead, she talks on Pokemon a bit more.

     "Well. These people aren't meant to be understood... I actually didn't know they were doing this, this year. Those are actually channelers and mediums. People who try and channel Ghosts, either to get rid of them, or to use them. It's.. Best not to bug them while they're trying to trance."

     She knows it's not /super/ dangerous or they wouldn't be here, but. Still. She leads the way on a bit slowly, though gives everyone time to keep observing.

Rarity (136) has posed:
Rarity turns her head to answer Miko, "No, Zecora is a like one of us, but a zebra rather than a unicorn or pegasus or such. She's into this," she gives a vage hoofwave at the mediums as to not actually interrupt anyone, "spiritual type of activity."

Princess Paladin (589) has posed:
Miko is startled by the implication that this lady-unicorn comes from horse-planet or something, rather than just being a mutant pony or something. "Oh!" On horse-planet, everything is horses, apparently. Miko sort of has weird magical spirit dreams herself, so she can not judge this Zecora when it comes to that. Or these Channelers for that matter. She nods soberly to Joy's assertion they should not bother them, and follows after her, careful to keep her bag from swinging when she walks. She doesn't want to hit any of these women with it. Even if it is presently empty. For some reason she expected she would have a lot more candy by now.

Nurse Joy (553) has posed:
     Up the stairs, it leads to a long hallway. It's too dark to see anything. As Joy continues to lead the way, she walks a bit slowly.

     she knows about this floor. she doesn't want to ruin it. Going slower would be more fun.

     for as they walk through, the walls seem to reach out and /grab/ them. And though the end of the hallway seemed empty in teh dark, there is now a flash of someone. A woman in a wedding dress. A woman who seems to be holding her own head in her hands, looking terrified.

     A woman who looks /identical/ to Nurse Joy.

     The woman at the end of the hallway begins to moan. Is... Is that blood dripping from her head?

     Yeah, they went all out with the effects this year.

Rarity (136) has posed:
Walls! With grabby hands! What are a bunch of kids to do?... Freak out, mainly. "Bad touch! Bad touch!" "What do they want?" "Pro'ly want Scootaloo fer all the walls she's knocked down with her head." "Hey if Rainbow Dash can do it!"

Rarity on the other hand deftly ducks and jukes out of the way of the attempts to grab onto her. "Come now dahlings, I've dealt with dodging dragons and paparazzi, you'll have to do better than that to catch this unicorn!"

Except all the fancy hoofwork brings her to a stop directly in front of the beheaded bride. "... I've heard of losing your head over wedding planning, but that's a bit too literal." Peeeer. Joy has a lot of identical relatives, so that wouldn't be hard to pull off. It'd especially fool those not familiar with that family trait. Headless, difficult costuming to pull off but it is possible.

But before she can get to scrutinizing possible makeup, she notices the blood. THAT of all things is what gets her to quickly backpedal from the ghastyl display. "Oh no no nope nu-uh DO YOU KNOW HOW BADLY BLOOD STAINS?!"

... It counts as being scared even if its for entirely different reasons, right?

Princess Paladin (589) has posed:
So far, she has been assured over and over that nothing truly dangerous is here. That this is all just decorations and maybe some of the innate weirdness of this world - and of the Multiverse at large. When they enter a long dark hallway where she can not see anything, however, Miko's pace slows considerably. She shrieks despite the assurances of a lack of danger when the walls reach out towards her. This is too much. Especially when she thinks she sees someone at the end of the hall. Some kind of monstrous ghost. And for a moment, everything becomes totally and completely clear for Miko. Nurse Joy is calm throughout all of this, because she is dead. She is possessed by a ghost, and she has led them here to be possessed as well.

It is all so perfectly clear. It is also terrifying. And in the darkness, Miko acts without thinking, and a prayer rod that was hidden in her Halloween-pattern umbrella, tucked inside her pumpkin bag, is drawn in one swift, frightened movement. Miko Fujimoto is pale, without any thought, eyes wide, and acting in perceived self-defense. The prayer rod begins to glow with holy magic, as Miko prepares to transform and start blasting everything around her.

If she can just get her joints to unlock, and her mouth to open and say the words, instead of just quiverring.

Nurse Joy (553) has posed:
     Luckily, for Rarity, it's not real blood. Most everything here has to be clened up in time for the next group coming through, after all! So it has to be easily washable. So no, it won't stain.

     And fortunately for Miko, Joy simply smiles.

     "Oh, hi sis."

     She can tell that Miko is freaking out, so time to break the illusion. They're near the last room anyways. The other Nurse Joy smiles.

     "Oh, hi. Not really supposed to break character, but hi! Taking some friends through?"

     "Yeah, they've never been to this world before, either."

     And Joy smiles, motioning towards the headless Joy.

     "I want to assure all of you this is just a costume. Don't worry."

     She's too nice and too worried about freaking everyone out.

Rarity (136) has posed:
Whew, not real blood. Crisis adverted. And Rarity was right about it being another Joy in costume after all. "Well you're doing a splendid job of being spooky. Come along, girls. And try not to be too scared next time?"

"I wasn't scared!" Scootaloo protests as expected. "I just can't use my wings in this costume."
"Ya can't fly fully anyways."
"The ghosts didn't know that until you opened your big mouth!"
Sweetie Belle just prances after them, now humming what could be Pinkie Pie's anti-scary song.

Princess Paladin (589) has posed:
Even after the illusion is broken, and everything is explained, Miko remains frozen where she is, arms and legs locked, back straight, taking several seconds before she relax her fingers. But the glow of the prayer rod fades long before Miko herself is able to pull herself together. She feels embarassed and pathetic and also angry. She is furious at the Joy twins, of course, and this is a girl who has taken to breaking things and people to vent her anger. But she is mostly mad at herself for falling for something like this. She'll get over it though. She isn't going to blame anyone here. They did a good job with their special effects.

But Miko is still reminded of how weak she is, and how much she is still reliant upon magic powers to make her able to deal with things that even talking ponies can handle (no offense to the talking ponies). Still, she takes several deep, calming breaths, and slips the rod back inside of her umbrella, and the umbrella back into her bag. "I think you almost made my heart explode," she offers quaveringly, though with a few halting, breathless laughs at the end.

Hey, at least there was no real danger after all. She should view this as training. By exposing herself to scary things, she can make herself braver when she faces real scary things. Hopefully.

Nurse Joy (553) has posed:
     Joy smiles at the group as a whole. The kids (yes she is including Miko in that) have all gotten fairly scared. So she smiles. "That's part of the fun of Halloween, of course. Being scared can be fun, in its own ways. Plus, what better way to build courage than facing what you are afraid of?"

     ...To be fair, that last bit about building courage might apply to Rarity and her fear of stains as well. Though she doesn't say that out loud.

     "Come on, just one room left!"

     And she leads up the stairs.

     The next room is a lot more empty. A lot more people, more casual. It's pretty definately the last room of the haunted house. A sign saying 'EXIT' is near the back, and most of the people are talking about how scared they got, and things like that.

     Also, there are bowls of candy for all of the kiddos who managed to get through and not turn back!

Nurse Joy (553) has posed:
     Of note, there are some Pokemon around too. Mostly ghost types, though none are actively trying to scare. Most are playing with kids. Some Gastly, Haunter, and Gengar, and a few Litwicks are around. All of them seem a lot friendlier when not trying to scare you!

Rarity (136) has posed:
Naturally the Crusaders beeline for the candy after getting through all that. "Remember what I said about not trying to eat it all in one night!" Oi, kids. Rarity slumps down in a spot to wait for them. "Next year is Applejack's turn to take the kids, I swear, or this is going to be the end of me... oh hello, what's this?" Rarity picks up a small ghost with big gemstone-like eyes. "Look at those eyes! Oh you are just the most adorable bedazzled thing evah, yes you are~"

The poor Sableye looks like it has no idea what to make of this. The girl over there giving the unicorn odd, potentially dirty looks must be its trainer or something.

"Rarity, you said no pets!" Sweetie Belle has to get the moment to get a shot back at her sister in.

Princess Paladin (589) has posed:
Miko frowns slightly when she realizes one of the Joys is voicing her own thoughts out loud. She isn't going to jump to a crazy conclusion like 'mind reading'. She isn't paranoiad like that, and has no experience with mind readers. But she does wonder if she looked THAT scared and acted like THAT much of a wimp. Hmmm... Well, it's true either way. And there are the 'Crusaders' as well who might have been the subject. Miko looks towards them, finding the coincidence odd, as she follows their tour guide into a more well-lit area, with more friendly-looking ghosts. She, the girl who turns into Princess Paladin, who is literally a magical girl crusader, has shared a tour of a haunted tower with some others who call themselves crusaders.

Does she really have to fight alone as much as she has been? Are there others out there with the determination to see their goal through to the end, no matter what? And if they don't need magic to gain that determination, what can she learn from them to gain that determination when she is just 'normal' as well. Maybe she should talk to these ponies some more in the future.

But for now, it is time to relax, to calm her still rapidly-beating heart, and stuff her face with candy.

Well, there's one crusade she has plenty of determination for even as merely Miko Fujimoto. She would do just about anything for some really good candy.

She smiles finally when she gets to it, and before she starts eating, she turns back to Joy - however many may be present, along with the assortment of other kids, and pokemon, and more. Then she says, "Thank you very much."

NOW she eats all the candy she's allowed to.

Nurse Joy (553) has posed:
     And then everyone eats candy far into the night.

     Aside Rarity who is obsessing over a gem-eyed Pokemon.

     ...She probably shouldn't take it home. I mean imagine if Spike thought its eyes were snacks.

     Okay that'd not likely happen.

     But either way, fun time had by all.