[FwM] The Trotting Dead-Mlp without the Kiddy Thread XV

[Benson]

snappy title to come later


My Little Pony: Friendship Was Magic

In Equestria, the monsters are kept in safe places, and can be beaten off with hugs and clothing and angry stares.
In Equestria, a benevolent goddess raises the sun and the moon, and keeps the world in harmony.
In Equestria, the concept of danger is barely understood.

This is not that Equestria.

The town of Bridle Shores lies near a lake, and is one of the cities that survived the revolution. The heroic Moon Goddess, and her student, overthrew the Burning Hate of the Iron Hoof, saving Equestria from the searing, unending summer that raged for years. Even now, she tries to hold against the monsters, the literal armies of feral species that attack.

This is not the Equestria you know. Friendship has power, love may yet triumph. But evil is not just a word. Go out into the woods today, and be sure to take an axe, or make sure you have that fireball spell on a hair-trigger. If you want to keep your life... you'd better work for it.

Rules?


Q: So, how dark are we talking?
A: As dark as Exalted or a darkish d&d game, no more. The idea should be that things ARE fixable.

Q: What kind of RP is this?
A: More active than the non-grimdark. The added darkness makes actual adventure-style plots more viable. We could have wars against [unspecified villains], Celestial cults, and dungeoncrawling!

Q: Anything else?
A: Yes. Dark or no dark, keep within the board rules.

Q: Hullaballoo.
A: Calloo callay!

Q: Is that all?
A: No. Whatever you do, do NOT forget about spell 87. Or else. Now have fun.

Previous Main Thread Links
FwM Plot/Recruitment Thread (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=209474)
SoftLight Out of Character (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=198923)
SoftLight Recruitment (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=192140)
Main Pony Thread (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?p=11050271#post11050271)
FwM - Thread 1 (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=200312)
FwM - Thread 2 (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=204691)
FwM - Thread 3 (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?p=11439751#post11439751)
FwM - Thread 4 (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=209857)
FwM-Thread 5 (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=212519)
FwM-Thread 6 (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=218173)
FwM-Thread 7 (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=222561)
Thread 8 (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=228358)
Thread 9 (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=235541)
Thread 10 (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=240645)
Thread 11 (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=246172)


Thread 12 (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?p=13598028#post13598028)

Thread 13 (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=255343)
Thread 14 (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=265127)

FwM OOC (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=209475)

FwM Plot/Recruitment Thread (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=209474)

Miscellaneous forbidding adventures Thread/s (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=210597)[/QUOTE]


ya know the drill

[PurityIcekiller]

The unicorn seemed resigned. "So be it then." He nodded once at his companion and the two broke into a sudden charge uphill towards Blueshield, the earth pony's broadsword already out of its sheath and swinging, while the unicorn concentrated on projecting a light green forcefield to screen against Blueshield's crossbow.

The injured pony was left forgotten in their wake.

Blueshield fired the moment the unicorn began charging. "Duly noted." As the bolts flew, the one with the cyan tip started to crackle with magical electricity while the blue-tipped one trailed icy mist. She had no way of knowing about the armour's anti-magical properties.

She then flew a short distance back and reloaded. For now, she was mostly trying to gauge their strategies, strengths and weaknesses.


"Just a slight problem, really. Ah...we seem to be missing a hostile pony."

"You refer to the one previously inhabiting the clinic, I presume?"

"Yeah, actually. How'd you know?"

"I released him personally."

"I, ah...you what?!"

Night Jewel was relieved for a few seconds, then got another shock. "Wait. Did you really...? I hope there's a good explanation for this." She stepped away, not wanting to get caught too close to any trouble.

[Benson]

Guardhouse

At this point, Gearstride opted for the observer for the exchange between the Captain and Daniel.




Heavy Ale

Heavy turned his head toward Aubade and grinned. "Go." he ordered without losing his gaze.

The dogs darted in all directions, sniffing the cobblestones. One of the searching setters pawed at the edge of the road. Finally one pointed and barked along the street. "We should follow."

Aubade nodded and did so, following the dogs that is.

[Grif]

(Just to note, I'll have Silverpine speaking when he has something to say. Just not now.)


Blueshield fired the moment the unicorn began charging. "Duly noted." As the bolts flew, the one with the cyan tip started to crackle with magical electricity while the blue-tipped one trailed icy mist. She had no way of knowing about the armour's anti-magical properties.

She then flew a short distance back and reloaded. For now, she was mostly trying to gauge their strategies, strengths and weaknesses.


The first electrically charged bolt impacted against the green forcefield, sending out arcing trails of electricity fanning out across the surface of the magical field. The forcefield held for a second, then collapsed. The unicorn staggered in his steps, a pained look crossing his face. Shaking his head, he gamely recovered and withdrew his own sword, now trailing slightly behind the rampaging earth pony.

The second sailed right through and struck glancingly at the breastplate of the leading earth pony. Unfortunately, it just bounced right off; and whatever magical charge it held fizzled out.

From her vantage point, Blueshield might notice that these two were moving faster than one would expect for a plate armour user, and the magical effect of her blue tipped bolt or lack of it. They didn't seem to have any particular tactics at hoof either, seemingly charging towards her without hesitation. Probably something to do with the small fact that they outnumbered Blueshield two to one.

At any rate, Blueshield might have enough time to shoot off a few more bolts, or she try her hoof at close combat. Alternatively, retreat was still an option.

[MCerberus]

Meanwhile about town

There happens to be a couple of ponies walking around with not much to do. Obviously something catastrophic MUST happen since they've run out of romantic/useful activities.

[Kelvin360]

Night Jewel was relieved for a few seconds, then got another shock. "Wait. Did you really...? I hope there's a good explanation for this." She stepped away, not wanting to get caught too close to any trouble.

"Yeah, me too." Taylor remarks, eyeing Dawnstrider warily.

"To be more specific, it turned out that his injuries were not harmful enough to require a lengthy stay. He assumed I was one of his commanding officers, and I simply did not bother to contradict him, especially given that he proceeded to lead me directly to a transportation system that I presume leads between their base of operations and Bridle Shores." He takes out a folded piece of paper and continues blandly. "I drew a map."

"You...conned your way into the location of a hostile portal network?"

"Please, I prefer 'gambit' in this instance."

[PurityIcekiller]

The first electrically charged bolt impacted against the green forcefield, sending out arcing trails of electricity fanning out across the surface of the magical field. The forcefield held for a second, then collapsed. The unicorn staggered in his steps, a pained look crossing his face. Shaking his head, he gamely recovered and withdrew his own sword, now trailing slightly behind the rampaging earth pony.

The second sailed right through and struck glancingly at the breastplate of the leading earth pony. Unfortunately, it just bounced right off; and whatever magical charge it held fizzled out.

From her vantage point, Blueshield might notice that these two were moving faster than one would expect for a plate armour user, and the magical effect of her blue tipped bolt or lack of it. They didn't seem to have any particular tactics at hoof either, seemingly charging towards her without hesitation. Probably something to do with the small fact that they outnumbered Blueshield two to one.

At any rate, Blueshield might have enough time to shoot off a few more bolts, or she try her hoof at close combat. Alternatively, retreat was still an option.

Blueshield flew uphill further to draw the warriors away from their victim, then fired another electified bolt at the unicorn.

What with the darkness, the terrain and my wings, I have a clear advantage in manoeuvrability, and their strategy seems to be heavily reliant on straightforward melee combat. If I can disable the caster before he can pull off any strong spells or I run out of quarrels, the rest of the battle should go down like Manezikert.


"Yeah, me too." Taylor remarks, eyeing Dawnstrider warily.

"To be more specific, it turned out that his injuries were not harmful enough to require a lengthy stay. He assumed I was one of his commanding officers, and I simply did not bother to contradict him, especially given that he proceeded to lead me directly to a transportation system that I presume leads between their base of operations and Bridle Shores." He takes out a folded piece of paper and continues blandly. "I drew a map."

"You...conned your way into the location of a hostile portal network?"

"Please, I prefer 'gambit' in this instance."

"Oh!" Night Jewel grinned. "Nice work! Sounds like the kind of thing I'd do. Now we know how they're getting in and how to get to them. Perfect for sabotaging them. Know any good desert islands?"

[Kelvin360]

"Oh!" Night Jewel grinned. "Nice work! Sounds like the kind of thing I'd do. Now we know how they're getting in and how to get to them. Perfect for sabotaging them. Know any good desert islands?"

"I'd offer my standard, but Rigs isn't here to keep it going..."

Starbeam frowns. "'Sabotage' is heavily reliant on variety. I don't even know how it works yet. And depending on its complexity, it might take anywhere from minutes to days to find out."

"I see. And could the two of you at the least shut it down once you have?"

"I'm not sure I'm a good enough generalist or abjurer to-"

"You are not the second half of a pair I was referring to, father." Dawnstrider cuts him off, giving Jewel an aside glance.

[Orzel]

Captian

"You mean add them to the militia. If I knew more about this approaching army, I might allow that. Or I can call on some young well staffed nobles searching for glory to weaken this army before it reaches the gate." His hooves finally left in front of his face. They now reached for parchment and ink.

"At least, I will be sure the ponies I serve are not at risk of being prey. I do not mind them as citizen but if the stories are true, I don't want warriors blinded with bloodlust and cravings near my guard."

Heavy Ale

The hounds barked and ran much like a hunting party. It was a hunt but the target was not a criminal or rabid beast like most hunts. The goal was an living soul.

The trail was hot. Vampony stink was easy to pick up. Especially on these dog strides. But eventually the trail broke in two. Both leading out of the town. The hounds were confused and barked at Heavy now.

Heavy nodded at the dog's yelps. He understood. "Several hells. The trial forks. One way has a stronger smell but the other has a more correct scent"

[Kelvin360]

Captian

"You mean add them to the militia. If I knew more about this approaching army, I might allow that. Or I can call on some young well staffed nobles searching for glory to weaken this army before it reaches the gate." His hooves finally left in front of his face. They now reached for parchment and ink.

"At least, I will be sure the ponies I serve are not at risk of being prey. I do not mind them as citizen but if the stories are true, I don't want warriors blinded with bloodlust and cravings near my guard."

At the mention of callously sending nobility off to their deaths, Daniel looks supremely annoyed for some reason, though he keeps it out of his tone and his eyes are still hidden. "Understandable, if not my intention. They're ill-suited to being part of a militia by nature. I can provide details about the more important fiasco later, if you'd like. The most salient point I can bring up now is that calling on 'some young well staffed nobles' is just going to put casualties on your plate. And not the ones you want."

[Orzel]

The large earth pony begins to write. It was a letter to a private military contractor. "The sellsword companies and sworn armies of the nobility are excellent. This isn't Fetlock or Manehatten with standing armies located nearby. Adding ponies to the front line is common and these ponies jump at the chance for gold and glory. Besides they always fall back if the fight isn't in their favors."

He suddenly stopped composing the letter. "If the enemy is as dangerous as you say and I'd need vampiric reinforcement, I will have to call the nobles anyway. How dangerous is this approaching army? "

[Kelvin360]

The large earth pony begins to write. It was a letter to a private military contractor. "The sellsword companies and sworn armies of the nobility are excellent. This isn't Fetlock or Manehatten with standing armies located nearby. Adding ponies to the front line is common and these ponies jump at the chance for gold and glory. Besides they always fall back if the fight isn't in their favors."

He suddenly stopped composing the letter. "If the enemy is as dangerous as you say and I'd need vampiric reinforcement, I will have to call the nobles anyway. How dangerous is this approaching army? "

"My knowledge of the situation so far extends to 'extremely'. That being said, I've been busy with the vampire situation. My contacts can fill you in more than I."

[Benson]

Heavy Ale

The hounds barked and ran much like a hunting party. It was a hunt but the target was not a criminal or rabid beast like most hunts. The goal was an living soul.

The trail was hot. Vampony stink was easy to pick up. Especially on these dog strides. But eventually the trail broke in two. Both leading out of the town. The hounds were confused and barked at Heavy now.

Heavy nodded at the dog's yelps. He understood. "Several hells. The trial forks. One way has a stronger smell but the other has a more correct scent"

"Where are we at anyway?" She asked as she stopped and looked around, trying to gauge her surroundings.
================


"Thank you. I wanted to be sure it was nice and comfy for you." Soft says to her fillyfriend.


"Thank you." She said and made herself comfortable, as if though she herself owned it.

"So...pina coladas and cookies?" She asked.

[PurityIcekiller]

"I'd offer my standard, but Rigs isn't here to keep it going..."

Starbeam frowns. "'Sabotage' is heavily reliant on variety. I don't even know how it works yet. And depending on its complexity, it might take anywhere from minutes to days to find out."

"I see. And could the two of you at the least shut it down once you have?"

"I'm not sure I'm a good enough generalist or abjurer to-"

"You are not the second half of a pair I was referring to, father." Dawnstrider cuts him off, giving Jewel an aside glance.

Night Jewel chuckled. "Exactly! We could either break the portal or redirect it. I don't think it would be hard to disable it, assuming I had a little power boost; the more complicated a spell is, the more likely a small adjustment is to make it explode or something. I'd just need to be able to fiddle around. Now, rerouteing it would be much harder, but could also be more amusing."

[Kelvin360]

Night Jewel chuckled. "Exactly! We could either break the portal or redirect it. I don't think it would be hard to disable it, assuming I had a little power boost; the more complicated a spell is, the more likely a small adjustment is to make it explode or something. I'd just need to be able to fiddle around. Now, rerouteing it would be much harder, but could also be more amusing."

"I would say that with the two of us working together, nearly anything we could think of to try would be trivial in difficulty."

"A formidable combination, but 'trivial'..." Dawnstrider seems mildly uncertain.

Starbeam and Taylor both give him dry looks.

"...Would be accurate, yes."

"I'm partial to rerouting it, but not in the way that we're thinking. Maybe...reversing the start and stop points and cutting off a two-way connection if it exists? Make it so that it can only be accessed from this side, and that we can access it? I'd love to be able to just stroll right into their camp and blast away, myself."

"Tactically unsound, if we need an escape route."

"Then key it to a symbol, or something."

"I think we have a general idea." Starbeam, for her part, is still composed, but clearly at least somewhat excited at the prospect of the problem ahead of them. She directs her next words at Night Jewel. "The four of us could go now, if you didn't have anything else to attend to."

"Three. I need to get back to the ship, possibly browbeat a mad scientist, all that good stuff."

"Also, now that I think on it, it might be prudent for somepony to meet Snowstorm and Moonlight at the gate..."

Dawnstrider sighs softly. "That would be me, I suppose. I do wish you both the best of luck."

[Orzel]

Captian

"I will have to talk to these contacts of yours. Either way, I am weary of letting the vamponies defend the city. Them staying in town is a residential issue for the Mayor's Office." The stallion goes back to writing his letters.

Heavy Ale

The dark cream earth pony looked around. Then he looked down at his confused hounds. "Right outside of town. There's some spooky looking woods dhis way and a thick battle scarred shrublan dat way."

Heavy was describing two well known areas to the new adventurers who've come to town. One direction displayed the very tip top of a large dark tower hidden in the night sky. The other way shrouded the experiment airship Cirrus several yards into the flora.

[Grif]

Blueshield flew uphill further to draw the warriors away from their victim, then fired another electified bolt at the unicorn.

What with the darkness, the terrain and my wings, I have a clear advantage in manoeuvrability, and their strategy seems to be heavily reliant on straightforward melee combat. If I can disable the caster before he can pull off any strong spells or I run out of quarrels, the rest of the battle should go down like Manezikert.


(Manzikert. Snerk. Poitiers more like. :smallbiggrin:)

The duo continues to chase after Blueshield, the earth pony closing the gap with leaps and bounds while his unicorn friend was starting to hang back. Blueshield's bolt was again blocked by another application unicorn's forcefield, which again shattered on impact, leaving the pony gasping in pain.


Meanwhile about town

There happens to be a couple of ponies walking around with not much to do. Obviously something catastrophic MUST happen since they've run out of romantic/useful activities.

(So, time to run into Heavy Ale?)

[Benson]

Captian

"I will have to talk to these contacts of yours. Either way, I am weary of letting the vamponies defend the city. Them staying in town is a residential issue for the Mayor's Office." The stallion goes back to writing his letters.

"Weary of letting vamponies defend this town? Why exactly? You weren't weary when a certain group of adventurers with questionable tech used some just as even more questionable tech to take down a kaiju like beast." A small smile played on Gearstride's lips.

"Enough of this...You, Captain....I myself here, am a vampony and I've been defending this town since before you were even transferred here. Are you saying you wouldn't want me to continue helping my town?" Miss M snapped but kept her voice and tone in control.



Heavy Ale

The dark cream earth pony looked around. Then he looked down at his confused hounds. "Right outside of town. There's some spooky looking woods dhis way and a thick battle scarred shrublan dat way."

Heavy was describing two well known areas to the new adventurers who've come to town. One direction displayed the very tip top of a large dark tower hidden in the night sky. The other way shrouded the experiment airship Cirrus several yards into the flora.

"I think....I would try the less ominous area...eh heh.." Aubade forced a small smile on her pony lips.


(So, time to run into Heavy Ale?)


)Hmm, maybe, it could be interesting if Staccata gave her insight on this..)

[MCerberus]

((do it, brony))

[Kelvin360]

Daniel

"I can understand your hesitance to a degree, but frankly, they have solid points. Like I said, my intention isn't to put them on your payroll, which means that they aren't your responsibility to command if you don't want it. But every step closer we can take in here means the better we can help each other.

Look, Captain, I understand where you're coming from. But both parties have the exact same goals, here. We need to reach that understanding if we want to have a chance at cooperating. Should they be disbarred from defending their home, like you are now, due to circumstances out of their control? Is pushing away powerful allies at a time like this the best move?"

[Orzel]

"Vampire clans need a lord. Vampire lords have various temperments. I feel fortunately to have this one in Bridle Shores and have the other gone." The Captain replied. His hooves swept over a yellow folder which opened it. "I've torelated what I had no resources to alter. I don't have the authority nor will I risk the horsepower to make any of the vamponies residing in this city move. But I can ban unorganized vamponies from my battlefield."

He raised an eyebrow. "I am correct in my guess. You are not their leader, Miss? And Captain Gearstride. You are trained monster hunters, correct?"

[Grif]

"Weary of letting vamponies defend this town? Why exactly? You weren't weary when a certain group of adventurers with questionable tech used some just as even more questionable tech to take down a kaiju like beast." A small smile played on Gearstride's lips.

"Enough of this...You, Captain....I myself here, am a vampony and I've been defending this town since before you were even transferred here. Are you saying you wouldn't want me to continue helping my town?" Miss M snapped but kept her voice and tone in control.


"To be fair, Captain, we don't have the baggage of having a somewhat bad reputation compared to these vamponies," Silverpine remarked.


"Vampire clans need a lord. Vampire lords have various temperments. I feel fortunately to have this one in Bridle Shores and have the other gone." The Captain replied. His hooves swept over a yellow folder which opened it. "I've torelated what I had no resources to alter. I don't have the authority nor will I risk the horsepower to make any of the vamponies residing in this city move. But I can ban unorganized vamponies from my battlefield."

He raised an eyebrow. "I am correct in my guess. You are not their leader, Miss? And Captain Gearstride. You are trained monster hunters, correct?"
Silverpine smiled. "I believe the term, adventurers, would be more appropriate."



Heavy Ale

The dark cream earth pony looked around. Then he looked down at his confused hounds. "Right outside of town. There's some spooky looking woods dhis way and a thick battle scarred shrublan dat way."

Heavy was describing two well known areas to the new adventurers who've come to town. One direction displayed the very tip top of a large dark tower hidden in the night sky. The other way shrouded the experiment airship Cirrus several yards into the flora.

And so having nothing much to do, the hapless guard and rogue eventually blundered into this part of Bridle Shores and of course this particular group. Tyrol nudged Staccata as he spied the hounds and Heavy Ale. "... I don't think that pony are taking his dogs out for a walk."

[MCerberus]

And so having nothing much to do, the hapless guard and rogue eventually blundered into this part of Bridle Shores and of course this particular group. Tyrol nudged Staccata as he spied the hounds and Heavy Ale. "... I don't think that pony are taking his dogs out for a walk."

Staccata takes a short but intense sizing up of the situation. "Doesn't look that way. You want me to be visible while you figure out what's going on?"

Luna knows she'd disappear if and when he says yes. The dogs may giver her away eventually though.

[PurityIcekiller]

"I would say that with the two of us working together, nearly anything we could think of to try would be trivial in difficulty."

"A formidable combination, but 'trivial'..." Dawnstrider seems mildly uncertain.

Starbeam and Taylor both give him dry looks.

"...Would be accurate, yes."

"I'm partial to rerouting it, but not in the way that we're thinking. Maybe...reversing the start and stop points and cutting off a two-way connection if it exists? Make it so that it can only be accessed from this side, and that we can access it? I'd love to be able to just stroll right into their camp and blast away, myself."

"Tactically unsound, if we need an escape route."

"Then key it to a symbol, or something."

"I think we have a general idea." Starbeam, for her part, is still composed, but clearly at least somewhat excited at the prospect of the problem ahead of them. She directs her next words at Night Jewel. "The four of us could go now, if you didn't have anything else to attend to."

"Three. I need to get back to the ship, possibly browbeat a mad scientist, all that good stuff."

"Also, now that I think on it, it might be prudent for somepony to meet Snowstorm and Moonlight at the gate..."

Dawnstrider sighs softly. "That would be me, I suppose. I do wish you both the best of luck."

"Well... I don't have a plan yet, but I don't have a lot else to do, and we can't know what will work without trying anything." Night Jewel nodded to the others. "I'll hopefully see you again soon."

It was dawning on her just what she was getting into. Nice going there, girl. It looks like you volunteered for a suicide mission entirely for your precious morals. Here's hoping your escape skills are up to the task.

Well, it's too late to back down now. "Right. Where is the portal?"


The duo continues to chase after Blueshield, the earth pony closing the gap with leaps and bounds while his unicorn friend was starting to hang back. Blueshield's bolt was again blocked by another application unicorn's forcefield, which again shattered on impact, leaving the pony gasping in pain.

That seems somewhat effective. However, I've only got one more of those ones left...

Blueshield fired one last electrified bolt, hoping that would be enough to finally knock out the unicorn. Whatever the case, she then put away her crossbow and switched to her sword. The other pony was keeping up surprisingly well, and she wanted to be ready to parry immediately.

[Grif]

Staccata takes a short but intense sizing up of the situation. "Doesn't look that way. You want me to be visible while you figure out what's going on?"

Luna knows she'd disappear if and when he says yes. The dogs may giver her away eventually though.

"Well, they don't look dangerous. Why don't we just... ask them, y'know?" Tyrol said, resisting the urge to eyeroll. With that said, he trotted forward towards Heavy Ale. "Hey there! Need any help?" To Heavy, it looked like an ordinary pony offering help, though he might recognise Tyrol in off-duty.



That seems somewhat effective. However, I've only got one more of those ones left...

Blueshield fired one last electrified bolt, hoping that would be enough to finally knock out the unicorn. Whatever the case, she then put away her crossbow and switched to her sword. The other pony was keeping up surprisingly well, and she wanted to be ready to parry immediately.

Wisely enough, the unicorn decided to duck under cover this time, instead of trying to use brute force to block it. He darted into a conveniently place pile of boulders nearby instead, the bolt glancing off his armour again and apparently doing no damage, even it did make a loud sizzling noise for a moment. At least he was out of the fight for the moment.

With a great warcry, the earth pony leapt to within clear sight of Blueshield. He paused for a moment, breathing heavily, then charged the pegasus, sword raised. At close range, his heavy plate armour seemed to glimmer in the gloom. Glimpses of the earth pony's red coat could be seen underneath and green eyes filled with malice shone out of the helmet.

[Kelvin360]

"Well... I don't have a plan yet, but I don't have a lot else to do, and we can't know what will work without trying anything." Night Jewel nodded to the others. "I'll hopefully see you again soon."

It was dawning on her just what she was getting into. Nice going there, girl. It looks like you volunteered for a suicide mission entirely for your precious morals. Here's hoping your escape skills are up to the task.

Well, it's too late to back down now. "Right. Where is the portal?"

Taylor's quite cheery in expression, and Dawnstrider is morose (melancholy, even!) when they exit: stage left.

Starbeam, meanwhile, unfurls the piece of paper and looks it over personally before letting Jewel take a look. It's a fairly well-drawn map to a circled point on the outskirts of town, directions left deliberately vague due to memory loss on the part of someone that doesn't exist here.

"It doesn't look that far, but it'll give us the chance to have some fresh air. Unless you'd prefer I just transport us there right away."

---

Dawnstrider

He approaches the Eastern gate, stopping just short of leaving and addressing any guards there. "Might I sit a while? I am waiting for some friends of mine to arrive."

---

With Time Dippage - Taylor

Several minutes after departing the Civic Center, Taylor arrives at the foot (boot? hoof?) of the Cirrus. Whether it's open for his entry or not will dictate his course of action.

[Benson]

"Vampire clans need a lord. Vampire lords have various temperments. I feel fortunately to have this one in Bridle Shores and have the other gone." The Captain replied. His hooves swept over a yellow folder which opened it. "I've tolerated what I had no resources to alter. I don't have the authority nor will I risk the horsepower to make any of the vamponies residing in this city move. But I can ban unorganized vamponies from my battlefield."

He raised an eyebrow. "I am correct in my guess. You are not their leader, Miss? And Captain Gearstride. You are trained monster hunters, correct?"



Silverpine smiled. "I believe the term, adventurers, would be more appropriate."

"My Lieutenant is correct..ish. We do hunt monsters and we hunted one last night, however if you are trying to imply the rest fall into that category..well..that would be an uncomfortable subject." Gearstride said running her hoof lightly on the desk.

"If you choose not to employ these vamponies to assist in defending your town, then we, I, will organize the willing ones, making it therefore an un-bannable offense to your ruling." Her tone almost seemed to be challenging. "As for vampony lo--"

"Fine then...I will be..their vampony lord if they should accept me.." Miss M said impulsively and tensely. She had never really been a vampony lord, what she and Zephyr had had was anything but that sort of thing. But Daniel's words earlier and all this..she rassum frassum'd inside.
==============


"Well, they don't look dangerous. Why don't we just... ask them, y'know?" Tyrol said, resisting the urge to eyeroll. With that said, he trotted forward towards Heavy Ale. "Hey there! Need any help?" To Heavy, it looked like an ordinary pony offering help, though he might recognise Tyrol in off-duty.

"Oh....greetings...sir," Aubade said even though she wasn't addressed.

[PurityIcekiller]

[At The Smithy]

"...I'm very well acquainted, too, with matters mathematical,
I understand equations, both the simple 'n quadratical,
About binomial theorem I'm teemin' with a lot of news,
With many cheerful facts about the square of the hypotenuse,
With many cheerful facts about the square of the hypotenuse,
With many cheerful facts about the square of the hypotenuse,
With many cheerful facts about the square of the hypote-"

"AAAAARRRRRGGGGGHHHHH!" screamed Flare, her sanity rapidly slipping.

Blades rolled her eyes. "Everypony's a critic." She then went back to singing.

I'd hate to see what would happen if she were sealed as I were. Please, for the love of all things good in the world, let the others return before she drives me mad with her boredom...


Taylor's quite cheery in expression, and Dawnstrider is morose (melancholy, even!) when they exit: stage left.

Starbeam, meanwhile, unfurls the piece of paper and looks it over personally before letting Jewel take a look. It's a fairly well-drawn map to a circled point on the outskirts of town, directions left deliberately vague due to memory loss on the part of someone that doesn't exist here.

"It doesn't look that far, but it'll give us the chance to have some fresh air. Unless you'd prefer I just transport us there right away."

Night Jewel looked over the map carefully, then shook her head. "I think I can walk that far, unless any of your colleagues are interested in breaking my legs again. It's probably safer, too; we'll be able to see where we're going before we go there."

As she set off, her spirits started to return. "Say, out of curiosity, when you're not saving the world from various things, what do you do?"


Wisely enough, the unicorn decided to duck under cover this time, instead of trying to use brute force to block it. He darted into a conveniently place pile of boulders nearby instead, the bolt glancing off his armour again and apparently doing no damage, even it did make a loud sizzling noise for a moment. At least he was out of the fight for the moment.

With a great warcry, the earth pony leapt to within clear sight of Blueshield. He paused for a moment, breathing heavily, then charged the pegasus, sword raised. At close range, his heavy plate armour seemed to glimmer in the gloom. Glimpses of the earth pony's red coat could be seen underneath and green eyes filled with malice shone out of the helmet.

Well, there goes that idea. I'll have to deal with that one a little later.

Blueshield made a quick disarming attempt, taking advantage of her opponent's exhaustion. "Keep in mind that I shall only use lethal force if you make me." If she failed, she intended to dodge backward to avoid the counter-attack.

[Orzel]

Captain

"Very well. If you bear responsibliity for the actions of your new clan, I will clear them for engagements on the battlefield. It would clear up some of the budget." He went back to writing his letters. His face went hard as his took the quill to ink again. All this talk of armies and invasions made his brow low and stiff. He longed for days when burgulars and street punks were his own worries.

"I'm sure Lady Amber and her Swift Sisters would appreciate the support at the front lines. So will Lord Bolton but I'd advise you to keep distance from him just as a precaution."

Heavy Ale

For reasons, Heavy did not recognise Tyrol. And it was not all because he was bad at remembering faces of people he did not know. In fact he was suspicious of Tyrol. He could hear the low growl of one of the dogs, indicating that something or somepony was out there. "Greetings. We were just looking around. Walking. Letting the hounds stretch their paws." he said with all smiles in opposition of his feeling.

He sucked his teeth to recall the dogs. Collars that weren't there before were attached to leashes Heavy pulled from his bag. A look of false worry came to his mug. "By chance, did you see anything suspicious around here? Any lost ponies roaming around? There's been reports of missing ponies and my dogs are acting strange around here."

[TheAmishPirate]

Dawnstrider

He approaches the Eastern gate, stopping just short of leaving and addressing any guards there. "Might I sit a while? I am waiting for some friends of mine to arrive."

The guards eye him suspiciously, but one recognizes him from the last engagement at the gates. A few over-exaggerated tales of heroism later, and Dawnstrider is allowed to sit and wait.


With Time Dippage - Taylor

Several minutes after departing the Civic Center, Taylor arrives at the foot (boot? hoof?) of the Cirrus. Whether it's open for his entry or not will dictate his course of action.

(He would likely pass Heavy Ale and Co. on his way back. Just fyi.)

Provided Taylor does ignore the small gaggle of ponies and dogs, he'd find that the crew was thoughtful enough to allow him access.

[Kelvin360]

Night Jewel looked over the map carefully, then shook her head. "I think I can walk that far, unless any of your colleagues are interested in breaking my legs again. It's probably safer, too; we'll be able to see where we're going before we go there."

"...Excuse me, 'break your legs'?"


As she set off, her spirits started to return. "Say, out of curiosity, when you're not saving the world from various things, what do you do?"

"I research." Starbeam shrugs. "Occasionally I step out of my house to provide academic seminars or advice to a guild or two. Now that I think on it, my life is fairly dull when it isn't in mortal peril. What about you?"

---

Taylor

Having ruled out the unlikely possibility that Sandy will explode given a few extra minutes alone, Taylor stops to lean against a building near Heavy Ale and co. He's relatively conspicuous, but he isn't trying to play it off like he isn't listening in. In fact, he looks quite attentive while he's casually eavesdropping. Watching.

[Grif]

Well, there goes that idea. I'll have to deal with that one a little later.

Blueshield made a quick disarming attempt, taking advantage of her opponent's exhaustion. "Keep in mind that I shall only use lethal force if you make me." If she failed, she intended to dodge backward to avoid the counter-attack.

Not quite successful, her parry succeeding in making her opponent lose his balance momentarily, but not entirely losing grip of his weapon. The earth pony took a few precious seconds to right himself, a little bit in a daze.

Meanwhile, the unicorn peeked out of his handily found cover, seeing the hail of bolts finally ceasing. He slid out and quickly hurried to aid his compatriots.



Heavy Ale

For reasons, Heavy did not recognise Tyrol. And it was not all because he was bad at remembering faces of people he did not know. In fact he was suspicious of Tyrol. He could hear the low growl of one of the dogs, indicating that something or somepony was out there. "Greetings. We were just looking around. Walking. Letting the hounds stretch their paws." he said with all smiles in opposition of his feeling.

He sucked his teeth to recall the dogs. Collars that weren't there before were attached to leashes Heavy pulled from his bag. A look of false worry came to his mug. "By chance, did you see anything suspicious around here? Any lost ponies roaming around? There's been reports of missing ponies and my dogs are acting strange around here."

"Oh? Didn't seem to see such ponies around. Who do you think might be here?" Tyrol queried, his eyes glancing about as well in response.

[MCerberus]

"Oh? Didn't seem to see such ponies around. Who do you think might be here?" Tyrol queried, his eyes glancing about as well in response.

"Come now," Staccata takes a step forward and begins putting forth what she finds suspicious. "We haven't even been introduced, nor have we allowed him to explain why he's so interested in missing ponies."

[PurityIcekiller]

"...Excuse me, 'break your legs'?"

"Yes. A certain friend of Taylor is a little... trigger-happy. Don't worry; I'm fine now."


"I research." Starbeam shrugs. "Occasionally I step out of my house to provide academic seminars or advice to a guild or two. Now that I think on it, my life is fairly dull when it isn't in mortal peril. What about you?"

Night Jewel laughed and shook her head. "That doesn't sound dull to me. Learning new things, and sharing said knowledge, is often exciting.

"Now, me? I tinker with things, solve puzzles, and look for challenges." And, on occasion, go on robbing sprees. "I like to keep my mind moving, you know?"


Not quite successful, her parry succeeding in making her opponent lose his balance momentarily, but not entirely losing grip of his weapon. The earth pony took a few precious seconds to right himself, a little bit in a daze.

Meanwhile, the unicorn peeked out of his handily found cover, seeing the hail of bolts finally ceasing. He slid out and quickly hurried to aid his compatriots.

Blueshield ended up missing her best opportunity for a follow-up. She made a quick strike at her opponent's legs, but she had wasted some time anticipating a retaliation that didn't come.

[Kelvin360]

"Yes. A certain friend of Taylor is a little... trigger-happy. Don't worry; I'm fine now."

"To a certain extent, we all are. We all have to be." She says darkly. "I'm glad you're all right, though."



Night Jewel laughed and shook her head. "That doesn't sound dull to me. Learning new things, and sharing said knowledge, is often exciting.

"Now, me? I tinker with things, solve puzzles, and look for challenges." And, on occasion, go on robbing sprees. "I like to keep my mind moving, you know?"

"I do know. I'm glad to find a pony who enjoys those values as much as I do. Though...challenges...those I'm not sure of. They've been in short supply lately. This whole experience...it might be, but it feels too much like something I've done before. Time will tell, I suppose."

[Grif]

Blueshield ended up missing her best opportunity for a follow-up. She made a quick strike at her opponent's legs, but she had wasted some time anticipating a retaliation that didn't come.

(Assuming she meant wildly slashing out at the legs.)

Her sword would strike true... on the thickest part of the armoured legs, glancing off noisily, though the momentum was enough to again cause him to stagger. By now though, he recovered enough to counter-strike with his own sword, though it was a clumsy attempt and easily avoided.

[Benson]

Captain

"Very well. If you bear responsibliity for the actions of your new clan, I will clear them for engagements on the battlefield. It would clear up some of the budget." He went back to writing his letters. His face went hard as his took the quill to ink again. All this talk of armies and invasions made his brow low and stiff. He longed for days when burgulars and street punks were his own worries.

"I'm sure Lady Amber and her Swift Sisters would appreciate the support at the front lines. So will Lord Bolton but I'd advise you to keep distance from him just as a precaution."


"I don't even know who they are, just names that go over my head, I don't keep up with the affairs of nobles," Gear chuckled. Although she didn't think the Captain made sense with his comment about budget clearing since the vamponies would have been volunteers, she shrugged it off.

"Lieutenant, Daniel, Miss M, got anything to add?"

{Orzel, you're also up in the Wilds in FiM)

[Mindfreak]

Arvadraa

Well that's new. Horne thinks dully.

Meanwhile, Arvadraa herself stands stunned for...quite some time. When she can finally speak again, it's more of a disbelieving whimper. "No..."
Schoolhouse of Terror
The liquid splat that is Gak runs down the wall and collects into a puddle, before beginning to bubble.
The liquid flies up, forming into an equine shape. More and more details form until it's finally Gak once more.
She rubbed her head with a hoof.
"Ow...that hurt..."

[Mystic Muse]

"Where are we at anyway?" She asked as she stopped and looked around, trying to gauge her surroundings.
================




"Thank you." She said and made herself comfortable, as if though she herself owned it.

"So...pina coladas and cookies?" She asked.

Soft Serve got her fillyfriend all of the pina coladas and cookies. At least, all of the pina coladas and cookies she had made so far. She was expecting to have to make more over the course of the night. She put the cookies and the pitcher on the table, with various glasses for Gwyn to choose from.

[Kelvin360]

"I don't even know who they are, just names that go over my head, I don't keep up with the affairs of nobles," Gear chuckled. Although she didn't think the Captain made sense with his comment about budget clearing since the vamponies would have been volunteers, she shrugged it off.

"Lieutenant, Daniel, Miss M, got anything to add?"

Daniel shakes his head, letting his mind race silently.

Saaay, any chance a pony with around a year's political know-how recognizes those names?

---


Schoolhouse of Terror
The liquid splat that is Gak runs down the wall and collects into a puddle, before beginning to bubble.
The liquid flies up, forming into an equine shape. More and more details form until it's finally Gak once more.
She rubbed her head with a hoof.
"Ow...that hurt..."

...DOES NOT COMPUTE.

Rather than wasting time wondering when the universe broke down like her internal companion, Arvadraa races forward to support Gak. "Are you all right?"

[PurityIcekiller]

"I do know. I'm glad to find a pony who enjoys those values as much as I do. Though...challenges...those I'm not sure of. They've been in short supply lately. This whole experience...it might be, but it feels too much like something I've done before. Time will tell, I suppose."

"You're sure cheerier than Dawnstrider," said Night Jewel with a smile. "That's a nice change of pace.

"Honestly, I think it'll be hard for a time, but then somepony will find the weakness of these guys and completely obliterate their 'strategy', so to speak. They're not thinking; they're just using fancy powers and gear to get what they want. It;s awful. I look forward to seeing them when they learn that bullying will get them nowhere."


Her sword would strike true... on the thickest part of the armoured legs, glancing off noisily, though the momentum was enough to again cause him to stagger. By now though, he recovered enough to counter-strike with his own sword, though it was a clumsy attempt and easily avoided.

The retribution grazed Blueshield's greaves as she backed up again.

Sturdy armour. I had best either look for weak spots or make them.

She made a quick glance to see if the unicorn was doing something, then turned back to the task at hoof. She was focusing on the defensive for now, waiting for her chance to strike.

[Kelvin360]

"You're sure cheerier than Dawnstrider," said Night Jewel with a smile. "That's a nice change of pace."

"Hmm. Just hearing 'cheery' and 'Dawnstrider' in the same sentence sounds odd, doesn't it?" She remarks, returning the smile. "I sometimes wish we could help him more, but his demeanor is his choice. His version of penitence, or so I'm told, though I'd prefer he do something more constructive. Cadenza knows we've exchanged enough pain to last numerous lifetimes." She falls slowly towards the opposite end of the scale, grim.



"Honestly, I think it'll be hard for a time, but then somepony will find the weakness of these guys and completely obliterate their 'strategy', so to speak. They're not thinking; they're just using fancy powers and gear to get what they want. It;s awful. I look forward to seeing them when they learn that bullying will get them nowhere."

"We'll stop them." Starbeam says assuringly. "Magical weapons and armor haven't saved adversaries of their like before in history, and it won't do anything now. Especially with Taylor being a walking antithesis to the forces that give them power."

[Benson]

Soft Serve got her fillyfriend all of the pina coladas and cookies. At least, all of the pina coladas and cookies she had made so far. She was expecting to have to make more over the course of the night. She put the cookies and the pitcher on the table, with various glasses for Gwyn to choose from.

"...Thank you," The plum marebeast replied with as she levitated over a random glass and poured herself some pina colada.

"Soft, can you put on this movie thing of yours?" She asked.

[Grif]

The retribution grazed Blueshield's greaves as she backed up again.

Sturdy armour. I had best either look for weak spots or make them.

She made a quick glance to see if the unicorn was doing something, then turned back to the task at hoof. She was focusing on the defensive for now, waiting for her chance to strike.

The unicorn was nowhere to be seen, but that probably didn't mean anything in light of the fact that Blueshield was surrounded by rocky outcroppings and boulders, any of which could be used for cover. As for the armoured earth pony, he seemed to be wearing fairly typical plate armour, except for the fact it was glowing softly in the dark. There seemed to be exposed joints though, so protection was not complete.

Of course, the earth pony was not thinking of such, but more on how to off Blueshield as messily as possible. He swung again, this time more directly at her neck, risking overbalancing himself in the process if he missed.

[Orzel]

(Sorry 'bout the dely. Personal stuff. The noble names were just randomly created NPCs to use as you see fit)

Heavy Ale

He saw no point in secrecy. The truth could do no harm in a mystery case. "We are searching for a pony that matches this description. We have be contracted by her mother to find her whereabouts." A sketch of the missing young mare floated out Heavy's magic bag.

[PurityIcekiller]

"Hmm. Just hearing 'cheery' and 'Dawnstrider' in the same sentence sounds odd, doesn't it?" She remarks, returning the smile. "I sometimes wish we could help him more, but his demeanor is his choice. His version of penitence, or so I'm told, though I'd prefer he do something more constructive. Cadenza knows we've exchanged enough pain to last numerous lifetimes." She falls slowly towards the opposite end of the scale, grim.

"Naam. He still hasn't forgiven himself. And with what he did to that Stellar filly, it's easy to understand why." Night Jewel shook her head. "Still, he's completely different now. He knows it's ridiculous to do such a thing. He's learned his lesson. He doesn't need to be so hard on himself any more."


"We'll stop them." Starbeam says assuringly. "Magical weapons and armor haven't saved adversaries of their like before in history, and it won't do anything now. Especially with Taylor being a walking antithesis to the forces that give them power."

"Of course! I know we will!" Night Jewel chuckled. "If I can hold my own against strong adversaries who are actually smart, then these guys are hopeless."


The unicorn was nowhere to be seen, but that probably didn't mean anything in light of the fact that Blueshield was surrounded by rocky outcroppings and boulders, any of which could be used for cover. As for the armoured earth pony, he seemed to be wearing fairly typical plate armour, except for the fact it was glowing softly in the dark. There seemed to be exposed joints though, so protection was not complete.

Of course, the earth pony was not thinking of such, but more on how to off Blueshield as messily as possible. He swung again, this time more directly at her neck, risking overbalancing himself in the process if he missed.

Blueshield parried the attack, but staggered a bit from the force behind it. Right. I take this as authorization to use lethal force.

She recovered fairly quickly, and made a kick at her enemy's shoulder with her free hoof. Not as strong as a sword-strike, but definitely less expected.

[Kelvin360]

"Naam. He still hasn't forgiven himself. And with what he did to that Stellar filly, it's easy to understand why." Night Jewel shook her head. "Still, he's completely different now. He knows it's ridiculous to do such a thing. He's learned his lesson. He doesn't need to be so hard on himself any more."

Starbeam visibly winces when Jewel brings up Stellar. "Were it so easy..."



"Of course! I know we will!" Night Jewel chuckled. "If I can hold my own against strong adversaries who are actually smart, then these guys are hopeless."

Starbeam gives her an odd look at this. A combination of bemused and amused.

[PurityIcekiller]

Starbeam visibly winces when Jewel brings up Stellar. "Were it so easy..."

"I know. But him suffering won't undo those things either. The best we can do is try to make things better for her...

"Say, is that a familial resemblance I see?" Night Jewel looked over Starbeam again.

[Kelvin360]

"I know. But him suffering won't undo those things either. The best we can do is try to make things better for her...

"Say, is that a familial resemblance I see?" Night Jewel looked over Starbeam again.

Starbeam turns her head and exhales, letting her thoughts turn before responding. "I don't know anymore. I won't deny that there's a similar ulterior motive for my being here. But...there's only so much of the old I can see in the new.

"You've met her, I assume. Stellar Spark..." She shakes her head. "I'm glad she's found her talents, her individualism, her confidence, and I'll love her through the worst. But it's...hard to still think of her as my sister. Or vice versa. She doesn't even recognize me." Her voice cracks and she falls silent for a time.

[PurityIcekiller]

Starbeam turns her head and exhales, letting her thoughts turn before responding. "I don't know anymore. I won't deny that there's a similar ulterior motive for my being here. But...there's only so much of the old I can see in the new.

"You've met her, I assume. Stellar Spark..." She shakes her head. "I'm glad she's found her talents, her individualism, her confidence, and I'll love her through the worst. But it's...hard to still think of her as my sister. Or vice versa. She doesn't even recognize me." Her voice cracks and she falls silent for a time.

"You could try to rebuild what you had. I think it would be good for her; she'd be getting back one of the things she lost, at least."

Night Jewel sighed. "My own relations with her are complicated, though. I pity her, but she's also associated with an enemy of mine and she hates the only pony I can really consider a friend at this point. I don't know what to make of her, and I doubt she likes me much."

[Grif]

"I don't even know who they are, just names that go over my head, I don't keep up with the affairs of nobles," Gear chuckled. Although she didn't think the Captain made sense with his comment about budget clearing since the vamponies would have been volunteers, she shrugged it off.

"Lieutenant, Daniel, Miss M, got anything to add?"

{Orzel, you're also up in the Wilds in FiM)

(Yikes, forgot about this in my rush to get Purity's post up.)

"Hold on. You're going to send them out? To the frontlines? As soldiers?" Silverpine finally answered after a lull in conversation. "No offense, we're kinda hoping to just keep them here, and hopefully ease them into something resembling normal life. Most of them are not soldiers, and from what I seen, would never be."



Blueshield parried the attack, but staggered a bit from the force behind it. Right. I take this as authorization to use lethal force.

She recovered fairly quickly, and made a kick at her enemy's shoulder with her free hoof. Not as strong as a sword-strike, but definitely less expected.

He was expecting a blade to the helm. He didn't expect the kick. To make matter worse, the unexpected direction of attack jostled him sufficiently that his sword clattered to the floor, the earth pony reeling and tumbling backwards.

Just as well, for Blueshield might suddenly notice footsteps behind her. The unicorn was back, and his sword was already raised in preparation for a deadly stab.

[Benson]

(Yikes, forgot about this in my rush to get Purity's post up.)

"Hold on. You're going to send them out? To the frontlines? As soldiers?" Silverpine finally answered after a lull in conversation. "No offense, we're kinda hoping to just keep them here, and hopefully ease them into something resembling normal life. Most of them are not soldiers, and from what I seen, would never be."


"Lieutenant, were you paying attention to the conversation? If we had demerits, you just lost some. That is only for the vamponies who have freely volunteered to do so," Gearstride said giving her lieutenant a look. "Not what we're going to do to all of them."

[Mystic Muse]

"...Thank you," The plum marebeast replied with as she levitated over a random glass and poured herself some pina colada.

"Soft, can you put on this movie thing of yours?" She asked.

Soft put in the movie as per Gwyn's request. She turned down the lights so that it was somewhat easier to focus on the movie itself, and took a spot next to her on the couch, trying not to get too much in her way, though, she would significantly prefer just cuddling the marebeast.

[Grif]

"Lieutenant, were you paying attention to the conversation? If we had demerits, you just lost some. That is only for the vamponies who have freely volunteered to do so," Gearstride said giving her lieutenant a look. "Not what we're going to do to all of them."

"Huh. Must have zoned out." He held a hoof to his head and pinched the bridge of his nose, looking more than a little tired. "If so, then I don't think I have anything else to add."

[Kelvin360]

"You could try to rebuild what you had. I think it would be good for her; she'd be getting back one of the things she lost, at least."

Night Jewel sighed. "My own relations with her are complicated, though. I pity her, but she's also associated with an enemy of mine and she hates the only pony I can really consider a friend at this point. I don't know what to make of her, and I doubt she likes me much."

"You're right, of course. In point of fact, without the threat, she is the only reason I would still be here. I'm just...nervous. She doesn't seem to like other ponies much. Least of all a world-changing event horizon like myself."

[Mindfreak]

...DOES NOT COMPUTE.

Rather than wasting time wondering when the universe broke down like her internal companion, Arvadraa races forward to support Gak. "Are you all right?"
Schoolhouse of Less Terror Now
Gak nodded and smiled.
"Yes. I should be."
Half her face suddenly slumped down like silly putty before she pushed it back up, making it go back into place.
"I suppose you want an explaination?"

[Kelvin360]

Schoolhouse of Less Terror Now
Gak nodded and smiled.
"Yes. I should be."
Half her face suddenly slumped down like silly putty before she pushed it back up, making it go back into place.
"I suppose you want an explaination?"

Yes. Yeeeees. YEEEES!

Arvadraa shakes her head. "Not unless you want to explain. I'm alright with not knowing if it's a secret or similar."

[PurityIcekiller]

"You're right, of course. In point of fact, without the threat, she is the only reason I would still be here. I'm just...nervous. She doesn't seem to like other ponies much. Least of all a world-changing event horizon like myself."

"All the more reason to get her to warm up to you, right?" said Night Jewel with a grin. "She seems to get along okay with the smith and the ancient sorceress, at any rate, so I think you can manage it.

"Say, I've got an idea! How about, once we're through here, we go visit her together? It could make things easier for both of us."


He was expecting a blade to the helm. He didn't expect the kick. To make matter worse, the unexpected direction of attack jostled him sufficiently that his sword clattered to the floor, the earth pony reeling and tumbling backwards.

Just as well, for Blueshield might suddenly notice footsteps behind her. The unicorn was back, and his sword was already raised in preparation for a deadly stab.

Blueshield swiftly seized the fallen sword, but only noticed the other pony when it was too late to avoid the attack. By dodging, she was able to avoid her vital organs getting impaled, but not her wing.

Well, this is unpleasant. I won't be flying for weeks.

She turned to face her new opponent. "Understand that this means your life is forfeit." She then lashed out with her captured sword, aiming for the forehead, while keeping her own shortsword ready for parrying.

[Kelvin360]

"All the more reason to get her to warm up to you, right?" said Night Jewel with a grin. "She seems to get along okay with the smith and the ancient sorceress, at any rate, so I think you can manage it.

"Say, I've got an idea! How about, once we're through here, we go visit her together? It could make things easier for both of us."

"Well, I'm not adverse..." She stops and quirks a brow. "'Ancient sorceress'?"

[Mindfreak]

Yes. Yeeeees. YEEEES!

Arvadraa shakes her head. "Not unless you want to explain. I'm alright with not knowing if it's a secret or similar."

Schoolhouse of No Terror
Gak shook her head.
"No, it's fine. Ask whatever."

[MCerberus]

(Sorry 'bout the dely. Personal stuff. The noble names were just randomly created NPCs to use as you see fit)

Heavy Ale

He saw no point in secrecy. The truth could do no harm in a mystery case. "We are searching for a pony that matches this description. We have be contracted by her mother to find her whereabouts." A sketch of the missing young mare floated out Heavy's magic bag.

Staccata gives a glance over of this pony. Running around with intent trying to find somepony on behalf of somepony else. She doesn't say anything yet, but doesn't trust the new mystery stallion.

[Kelvin360]

Schoolhouse of No Terror
Gak shook her head.
"No, it's fine. Ask whatever."

"Alright. Can we leave?"

[Mindfreak]

Schoolhouse of Not-Terror
Gak looked around and nodded.
"Yeah. I'll just contact a janitor or something later to clean this place up...gosh darn spirit made a mess of it."
Indeed! The ectoplasm everywhere is kinda messy!

[Kelvin360]

Schoolhouse of Not-Terror
Gak looked around and nodded.
"Yeah. I'll just contact a janitor or something later to clean this place up...gosh darn spirit made a mess of it."
Indeed! The ectoplasm everywhere is kinda messy!

Arvadraa nods and leads the way back into the school proper quietly. Presumably, they'll meet Lemongrass out there. *cough*

[Benson]

Soft put in the movie as per Gwyn's request. She turned down the lights so that it was somewhat easier to focus on the movie itself, and took a spot next to her on the couch, trying not to get too much in her way, though, she would significantly prefer just cuddling the marebeast.

And so Gwynfillion and Soft Serve watched a ponyfied version of Megamind. The plum marebeast seemed oddly entranced by the film and its antagonist. "Ack..Epicbrain...you idiot...if you like the reporter don't be such a puntz about it..!" She yelled at the film.
============


"Huh. Must have zoned out." He held a hoof to his head and pinched the bridge of his nose, looking more than a little tired. "If so, then I don't think I have anything else to add."

Gearstride hid a small smile and forced down the urge to kiss her handsome dolt colt. She would have to wait.

"Very well. Any whom, well if our business is concluded, I suppose we'll go see the mayor," She said to the Captain, keeping it professional.



Heavy Ale

He saw no point in secrecy. The truth could do no harm in a mystery case. "We are searching for a pony that matches this description. We have be contracted by her mother to find her whereabouts." A sketch of the missing young mare floated out Heavy's magic bag.

"She is very worried for her daughter, and we fear the worse," Aubade said sadly as she pulled out some extra fliers and handed one to Tyrol. "Please, if you hear anything, you can contact the mother or me.." She said as she then pulled out a pen and scribbled down the address she was staying at.

[Mystic Muse]

And so Gwynfillion and Soft Serve watched a ponyfied version of Megamind. The plum marebeast seemed oddly entranced by the film and its antagonist. "Ack..Epicbrain...you idiot...if you like the reporter don't be such a puntz about it..!" She yelled at the film.
============



"Oh? And what do you think Epicbrain should do?" Soft asked Gwyn. She Enjoyed Metropolitan Mare's hamminess, and loved the interactions between her and Epic Brain.

[Benson]

"Oh? And what do you think Epicbrain should do?" Soft asked Gwyn. She Enjoyed Metropolitan Mare's hamminess, and loved the interactions between her and Epic Brain.

"Well she likes him right? The 'cute' reporter? She should just claim his as hers and be done with it rather than beat around the bush...at least I think that's the phrase," Gwynfillion nickered.

[Grif]

Gearstride hid a small smile and forced down the urge to kiss her handsome dolt colt. She would have to wait.

"Very well. Any whom, well if our business is concluded, I suppose we'll go see the mayor," She said to the Captain, keeping it professional.


Said dolt colt was still rubbing his head sheepishly at his error, though he snapped a quick salute for the captain, before turning to follow Gearstride out of the door.


Arvadraa nods and leads the way back into the school proper quietly. Presumably, they'll meet Lemongrass out there. *cough*

Lemongrass was indeed out there. More precisely, he nearly ran into the two of them. "Oh um, what happened? The monster just disappeared... wow you look like a mess."


(Sorry 'bout the dely. Personal stuff. The noble names were just randomly created NPCs to use as you see fit)

Heavy Ale

He saw no point in secrecy. The truth could do no harm in a mystery case. "We are searching for a pony that matches this description. We have be contracted by her mother to find her whereabouts." A sketch of the missing young mare floated out Heavy's magic bag.

Tyrol squinted at the picture, racking his head for any sign of said pony. "Sorry, friend. Didn't see her on the way. Where did was she last seen? Have you reported this to the Guard?"

[Kelvin360]

Daniel

"Well, we're not in irons; I'd say that's a win." Daniel murmurs to the group after they've left.

[Grif]

Blueshield swiftly seized the fallen sword, but only noticed the other pony when it was too late to avoid the attack. By dodging, she was able to avoid her vital organs getting impaled, but not her wing.

Well, this is unpleasant. I won't be flying for weeks.

She turned to face her new opponent. "Understand that this means your life is forfeit." She then lashed out with her captured sword, aiming for the forehead, while keeping her own shortsword ready for parrying.

"Mine? Try yours," the unicorn said triumphantly, parrying the blow, before retreating a step or two. "Surrender now and we'll make your end quick." He continued to hold a defensive stance, seemingly waiting for his earth pony companion to recover so that they can double team her. However, this meant Blueshield had the initiative.

[Orzel]

Heavy Ale

The dark cream stallion frowned for a moment. His hooves stuffed a stack of fliers back in his bag. The lips of which seems to open and gobble up the paper on it's own. "The Guard was their hooves full with the number of missing ponies. the young mare's mother has contacted them but I could not refuse helping her find her daughter. If you see anything..."

[Mindfreak]

Lemongrass was indeed out there. More precisely, he nearly ran into the two of them. "Oh um, what happened? The monster just disappeared... wow you look like a mess."
Schoolhouse
"Well...taking care of an angry spirit isn't sunshine and rainbows.":smalltongue:
Gak rubbed her face with a hoof.
"You guys want to go get some drinks with me?"

[Kelvin360]

Arvadraa

She nods. "Abso-"

It was then, at this particularly convenient moment, that a certain filly charged in, horn aglow. She slides to a stop and examines the trio. "Oh, hey Brains. ...I missed everything, didn't I."

[Mindfreak]

Schoolhouse
Gak gave her a blank stare.
"Erm, and you are?"

[Grif]

Schoolhouse
"Well...taking care of an angry spirit isn't sunshine and rainbows.":smalltongue:
Gak rubbed her face with a hoof.
"You guys want to go get some drinks with me?"


Schoolhouse
Gak gave her a blank stare.
"Erm, and you are?"

Lemongrass stared at the newcomer, spear sagging slightly. "What she said," he finally echoed.


Heavy Ale

The dark cream stallion frowned for a moment. His hooves stuffed a stack of fliers back in his bag. The lips of which seems to open and gobble up the paper on it's own. "The Guard was their hooves full with the number of missing ponies. the young mare's mother has contacted them but I could not refuse helping her find her daughter. If you see anything..."

Tyrol blinked. "The Guard always looks into matters, especially such serious ones. We may be busy but we'll find time. Where do you think she is now?"

[Kelvin360]

Arvadraa/Stellar

"Stellar." The filly says simply, pointing at Arvadraa. "I'm with her."

Arvadraa nods softly, looking slightly confused. "Why...?"

"Makin' sure you don't get yourself killed. Which, hey - mission accomplished, looks like."

[MCerberus]

Tyrol blinked. "The Guard always looks into matters, especially such serious ones. We may be busy but we'll find time. Where do you think she is now?"

"Is she local or otherwise?" Staccata responds seemingly out of the blue. She's caught up in her roguish thoughts about what his response would imply and whether this deserves some coin to the usual contacts to find out just how untrustworthy Heavy Ale is.

[PurityIcekiller]

"Well, I'm not adverse..." She stops and quirks a brow. "'Ancient sorceress'?"

"Oh, you weren't told about that? Basically, there's a several-hundred-year-old unicorn who can control earth, and she's currently working for the blacksmith. It's a bit of a long story."


"Mine? Try yours," the unicorn said triumphantly, parrying the blow, before retreating a step or two. "Surrender now and we'll make your end quick." He continued to hold a defensive stance, seemingly waiting for his earth pony companion to recover so that they can double team her.

"I will..." Blueshield brought her original sword around to attempt another disarming. "...when the stars turn black, canine's offspring." She then slashed at the unicorn's forehead with the captured sword.

[Kelvin360]

"Oh, you weren't told about that? Basically, there's a several-hundred-year-old unicorn who can control earth, and she's currently working for the blacksmith. It's a bit of a long story."

You know that old line about how it's hard to impress someone who's seen everything? Well, that did the trick. "I've researched immortality before, but I never considered using earth magic as a support...I don't suppose you had an opportunity to quiz her?" Starbeam asks wryly.

[Grif]

"She is very worried for her daughter, and we fear the worse," Aubade said sadly as she pulled out some extra fliers and handed one to Tyrol. "Please, if you hear anything, you can contact the mother or me.." She said as she then pulled out a pen and scribbled down the address she was staying at.

(Retcon ninja time.)

"Uh, sure." Tyrol absent-mindedly took one and stuffed it down into his bags. "Don't suppose you knew how she disappeared and all?"



"Is she local or otherwise?" Staccata responds seemingly out of the blue. She's caught up in her roguish thoughts about what his response would imply and whether this deserves some coin to the usual contacts to find out just how untrustworthy Heavy Ale is.



"I will..." Blueshield brought her original sword around to attempt another disarming. "...when the stars turn black, canine's offspring." She then slashed at the unicorn's forehead with the captured sword.

(Again, I presume you don't intend to take his head off, since you stated you were aiming for the forehead. Correct me if I'm wrong and I'll adjust appropriately.)

The first he swiftly deflected, having expected the very same counterstroke. His lips curled up into the beginnings of a triumphant smile, his horn lighting up dangerously. "Hah, you—" whatever vindictive response he had was interrupted by a harsh whine of pain as the second sword struck true onto his helm, sending it flying. (Let's just say the unicorn wasn't wearing a full helm, unlike the earth pony, who is wearing a great helm.) The unicorn immediately stumbled backwards, one hoof going up to his face to shield it; his sword clattering to ground as the magic field faded.

"You *****," he said in disbelief, looking at her with both a hint of anger and fear. The unicorn began retreating, stumbling a little in his steps.

[PurityIcekiller]

You know that old line about how it's hard to impress someone who's seen everything? Well, that did the trick. "I've researched immortality before, but I never considered using earth magic as a support...I don't suppose you had an opportunity to quiz her?" Starbeam asks wryly.

Night Jewel chuckled. "Oh, it was other ponies that prolonged her lifespan, not her. She was placed under a sealing spell for centuries. I guess whoever did it wanted her to keep."


(Again, I presume you don't intend to take his head off, since you stated you were aiming for the forehead. Correct me if I'm wrong and I'll adjust appropriately.)

The first he swiftly deflected, having expected the very same counterstroke. His lips curled up into the beginnings of a triumphant smile, his horn lighting up dangerously. "Hah, you—" whatever vindictive response he had was interrupted by a harsh whine of pain as the second sword struck true onto his helm, sending it flying. (Let's just say the unicorn wasn't wearing a full helm, unlike the earth pony, who is wearing a great helm.) The unicorn immediately stumbled backwards, one hoof going up to his face to shield it; his sword clattering to ground as the magic field faded.

"You *****," he said in disbelief, looking at her with both a hint of anger and fear. The unicorn began retreating, stumbling a little in his steps.

(No worries. That was correct.)

Blueshield nodded, kicked the fallen sword aside. "I try to be honest."

She would have charged him there and then, but remembered something. Paying too much attention to one thing was his mistake, and also mine. I would do best not to repeat it.

She quickly checked for the earth pony, making sure she wouldn't be ambushed. If needed, she'd made a quick kick backwards. In any case, she advanced on the unicorn immediately afterwards.

"Your offer now applies to yourself. Will you take it?"

[Grif]

(No worries. That was correct.)

Blueshield nodded, kicked the fallen sword aside. "I try to be honest."

She would have charged him there and then, but remembered something. Paying too much attention to one thing was his mistake, and also mine. I would do best not to repeat it.

She quickly checked for the earth pony, making sure she wouldn't be ambushed. If needed, she'd made a quick kick backwards. In any case, she advanced on the unicorn immediately afterwards.

"Your offer now applies to yourself. Will you take it?"

It was quite fortunate, Blueshield did so. The earth pony had recovered enough to be creeping towards the pegasus. The subsequent swift kick sent the poor guy staggering in pain again, having received the buck square in the great helm. Turned out armour, even heavy ones, wasn't really much of a deterrent against blunt force. Properly applied blunt force anyway.

The unicorn stared up at the pegasus with wide eyes, fear beginning to grip his heart. "You... you wouldn't dare! Get back." He tried a telekinetic force shove to sweep Blueshield off or possibly unbalance her, though his efforts are wild and unfocused.

[Mindfreak]

Arvadraa/Stellar

"Stellar." The filly says simply, pointing at Arvadraa. "I'm with her."

Arvadraa nods softly, looking slightly confused. "Why...?"

"Makin' sure you don't get yourself killed. Which, hey - mission accomplished, looks like."
Schoolhouse -> Bar
"Alright then. Then shall we go get drinks? I could use one."
They could all use one after that ghoulish adventure.

[Kelvin360]

Night Jewel chuckled. "Oh, it was other ponies that prolonged her lifespan, not her. She was placed under a sealing spell for centuries. I guess whoever did it wanted her to keep."

"Well that's...torture." She clearly meant to say something else, but her real feelings sort of...slipped out. "I hope the perpetrators faced justice." She pauses in her words momentarily. "Hm. That was a bit Moonshine-y. Though 'I hope the nags got what was comin' to 'em' is a bit more crass than I intended, so I'd rather use the former statement."



Schoolhouse -> Bar
"Alright then. Then shall we go get drinks? I could use one."
They could all use one after that ghoulish adventure.

"Most certainly." Arvadraa levels a brief challenging look at Stellar.

"Yeah, yeah. No magic sauce for me, relax." Stellar rolls her eyes. "You grown-ups don't build your liver-filtered hallucinogenic tranquilizers for taste, anyway."

[Orzel]

"Is she local or otherwise?" Staccata responds seemingly out of the blue. She's caught up in her roguish thoughts about what his response would imply and whether this deserves some coin to the usual contacts to find out just how untrustworthy Heavy Ale is.


(Retcon ninja time.)

"Uh, sure." Tyrol absent-mindedly took one and stuffed it down into his bags. "Don't suppose you knew how she disappeared and all?"
\

Heavy Ale avoided eye contact with the roguish mare. He called a dog over for a chin scratch. These lowered his head so he could sneak peeks at the pair.

He didn't understand why he felt the need to hide his eyes. Something deep inside him urged him to be deceptive all of a sudden. It encouraged him to avoid describing the scents of the room the colt showed them and to avoid speaking of the stallion the boy saw the mare with. "We've looking around and the last time anyone saw her was in the part of town wwhere the clouds down get moved and stays dark. You know.. near Downtown... near the clubs and discos."

[Grif]

"Most certainly." Arvadraa levels a brief challenging look at Stellar.

"Yeah, yeah. No magic sauce for me, relax." Stellar rolls her eyes. "You grown-ups don't build your liver-filtered hallucinogenic tranquilizers for taste, anyway."

Schoolhouse -> Bar
"Alright then. Then shall we go get drinks? I could use one."
They could all use one after that ghoulish adventure.

"Drinks? Hell yes. Let's go. Ain't eveyday I get to fight a tentacle monster and walk out almost alive." Just as he begins trotting towards the entrace, the pegasus suddenly stops in mid-step. "Oh and um... could ya take this shadow armour thing off? It kinda itches." He squirmed a little.


Heavy Ale avoided eye contact with the roguish mare. He called a dog over for a chin scratch. These lowered his head so he could sneak peeks at the pair.

He didn't understand why he felt the need to hide his eyes. Something deep inside him urged him to be deceptive all of a sudden. It encouraged him to avoid describing the scents of the room the colt showed them and to avoid speaking of the stallion the boy saw the mare with. "We've looking around and the last time anyone saw her was in the part of town wwhere the clouds down get moved and stays dark. You know.. near Downtown... near the clubs and discos."

Tyrol scratched his chin. "Downtown huh? Not exactly the best to be after evening."

[Kelvin360]

"Drinks? Hell yes. Let's go. Ain't eveyday I get to fight a tentacle monster and walk out almost alive." Just as he begins trotting towards the entrace, the pegasus suddenly stops in mid-step. "Oh and um... could ya take this shadow armour thing off? It kinda itches." He squirmed a little.

"Oh! Right, sorry." Arvadraa makes a slicing motion with her hoof, ever so casually ripping the shadowskin right off of Lemongrass. No skin or coat goes with it, of course, but having that odd feeling slide off so quickly could qualify as both relieving and incredibly disturbing.

Stellar coughs and motions are Arvadraa's own coat, which the Flutter Pony then also tears off. She rolls the combined shadowstuff into balls and tosses it over her shoulder, where it slides around for a time, getting back into the corners from which it came.

[PurityIcekiller]

"Well that's...torture." She clearly meant to say something else, but her real feelings sort of...slipped out. "I hope the perpetrators faced justice." She pauses in her words momentarily. "Hm. That was a bit Moonshine-y. Though 'I hope the nags got what was comin' to 'em' is a bit more crass than I intended, so I'd rather use the former statement."

"Does Dawnstrider telling off the ghost of one of them count?" asked Night Jewel. "Well, in any case, I wouldn't worry too much. They were mortals. They probably died within half a century."


It was quite fortunate, Blueshield did so. The earth pony had recovered enough to be creeping towards the pegasus. The subsequent swift kick sent the poor guy staggering in pain again, having received the buck square in the great helm. Turned out armour, even heavy ones, wasn't really much of a deterrent against blunt force. Properly applied blunt force anyway.

The unicorn stared up at the pegasus with wide eyes, fear beginning to grip his heart. "You... you wouldn't dare! Get back." He tried a telekinetic force shove to sweep Blueshield off or possibly unbalance her, though his efforts are wild and unfocused.

Blueshield jumped, using her wings for an extra boost, to avoid the main force of the spell. "Believe me, you give reasons to." She then hurled her shortsword pommel-first at the unicorn's head. It seemed her death threats were a little exaggerated.

[MCerberus]

Tyrol scratched his chin. "Downtown huh? Not exactly the best to be after evening."

For her part, there... might be some awkwardness involved in resolving this situation if that location is really the last known spotting. The... previous night had shown that certain characters liked the club scene and downtown.

"And when was that?" Staccata asks casually, trying not to betray any reason to mention the 'v' world.

[Kelvin360]

"Does Dawnstrider telling off the ghost of one of them count?" asked Night Jewel. "Well, in any case, I wouldn't worry too much. They were mortals. They probably died within half a century."

Once more with the surprise! " Zar-...Dawnstrider was there? And he only told them off? I'd have thought it more likely for him to relapse and go berserk after finding out about that."

[Benson]

"Uh, sure." Tyrol absent-mindedly took one and stuffed it down into his bags. "Don't suppose you knew how she disappeared and all?"

"I fear she may have been abducted," She said softly and sadly.


Heavy Ale avoided eye contact with the roguish mare. He called a dog over for a chin scratch. These lowered his head so he could sneak peeks at the pair.

He didn't understand why he felt the need to hide his eyes. Something deep inside him urged him to be deceptive all of a sudden. It encouraged him to avoid describing the scents of the room the colt showed them and to avoid speaking of the stallion the boy saw the mare with. "We've looking around and the last time anyone saw her was in the part of town wwhere the clouds down get moved and stays dark. You know.. near Downtown... near the clubs and discos."



Tyrol scratched his chin. "Downtown huh? Not exactly the best to be after evening."


For her part, there... might be some awkwardness involved in resolving this situation if that location is really the last known spotting. The... previous night had shown that certain characters liked the club scene and downtown.

"And when was that?" Staccata asks casually, trying not to betray any reason to mention the 'v' world.

"Her mother told us she went out with her friends to hit up the clubs and well have fun, around some time after dark," The pegasus frowned. As for the flyer itself, there was a small identifying cutie mark, a nightingale, the same cutie mark of the mare Daniel had killed in their first encounter with the civvy vamps, if Staccata recalled her.
================================================== =

The mayor's office

And so with that, Daniel, Silverpine, Miss M, and Gearstride made their way to townhall to speak with the mayor, hopefully the Captain did forward a message that these four were coming.

They entered the building.

[Mystic Muse]

"Well she likes him right? The 'cute' reporter? She should just claim his as hers and be done with it rather than beat around the bush...at least I think that's the phrase," Gwynfillion nickered.

"Well, that actually works with very few people." Soft says to her. "Would that work with you? Could I just claim you as mine and it would be over and done with?" Soft asked the marebeast.

[Benson]

"Well, that actually works with very few people." Soft says to her. "Would that work with you? Could I just claim you as mine and it would be over and done with?" Soft asked the marebeast.

The marebeast narrowed her eyes as it dawned on her logic in the words she had spoken moments before. She sputtered and looked flabbergasted. "O-of course not...! Like I would make it easy for you..or something. If anything I should be the one making claims...like over you!" Oh Gwynny, just admit your UST for Soft and be done with it.

[Mystic Muse]

The marebeast narrowed her eyes as it dawned on her logic in the words she had spoken moments before. She sputtered and looked flabbergasted. "O-of course not...! Like I would make it easy for you..or something. If anything I should be the one making claims...like over you!" Oh Gwynny, just admit your UST for Soft and be done with it.

"Why Gwynny, are you proposing to me? I can't say I'd object." Soft says, deciding to tease the marebeast.

Yeah Gwyn, just admit you love the Paladin and be done with it.

[Mindfreak]

"Oh! Right, sorry." Arvadraa makes a slicing motion with her hoof, ever so casually ripping the shadowskin right off of Lemongrass. No skin or coat goes with it, of course, but having that odd feeling slide off so quickly could qualify as both relieving and incredibly disturbing.

Stellar coughs and motions are Arvadraa's own coat, which the Flutter Pony then also tears off. She rolls the combined shadowstuff into balls and tosses it over her shoulder, where it slides around for a time, getting back into the corners from which it came.
Bar
Gak will lead them forward to some bar.
And then she'll order a pint of ale.
"So how did the tentacle beast fiasco go, Lemongrass?"

[Grif]

"Her mother told us she went out with her friends to hit up the clubs and well have fun, around some time after dark," The pegasus frowned. As for the flyer itself, there was a small identifying cutie mark, a nightingale, the same cutie mark of the mare Daniel had killed in their first encounter with the civvy vamps, if Staccata recalled her.



The mayor's office

And so with that, Daniel, Silverpine and Gearstride made their way to townhall to speak with the mayor, hopefully the Captain did forward a message that these three were coming.

They entered the building.

Unlike the guard house, the town hall was clearly a civilian building. No security checks, armed ponies wandering around or criminals awaiting judgement. Instead, it was a place of quiet bustle. Ponies going about on their business, carrying on with their daily lives as if the proverbial dark army next door wasn't threatening to invade any week now. One of the many things one had to get used to living in Bridle Shores, after all.

The group would find themselves in the reception hall, where a couple of municipal workers could be seen attending to the never-ending complains of the townsfolk. Should they ask for Emerald, they would be directed to hallway leading further into the building, and up a few flights of stairs until they reached the Mayor's office. Along the way, Silverpine commented, "Huh. They seem pretty... calm about this whole town-in-danger thing."


Bar
Gak will lead them forward to some bar.
And then she'll order a pint of ale.
"So how did the tentacle beast fiasco go, Lemongrass?"

"I survived. Details aren't really important," Lemongrass said nonchalantly, ordering a mug of cider himself. He needed to forget the events of the past hour. They felt like months. "So the schoolhouse is safe now? The monster won't come back, right?"



Blueshield jumped, using her wings for an extra boost, to avoid the main force of the spell. "Believe me, you give reasons to." She then hurled her shortsword pommel-first at the unicorn's head. It seemed her death threats were a little exaggerated.

And with that solid knock on the head, the unicorn fell to the ground, knock out cold. Behind her, the earth pony was still stomping about noisily, though he seemed to be recovering. She would have to act fast.

[Orzel]

"I fear she may have been abducted," She said softly and sadly.


"Her mother told us she went out with her friends to hit up the clubs and well have fun, around some time after dark," The pegasus frowned. As for the flyer itself, there was a small identifying cutie mark, a nightingale, the same cutie mark of the mare Daniel had killed in their first encounter with the civvy vamps, if Staccata recalled her.
================================================== =

The mayor's office

And so with that, Daniel, Silverpine and Gearstride made their way to townhall to speak with the mayor, hopefully the Captain did forward a message that these three were coming.

They entered the building.


For her part, there... might be some awkwardness involved in resolving this situation if that location is really the last known spotting. The... previous night had shown that certain characters liked the club scene and downtown.

"And when was that?" Staccata asks casually, trying not to betray any reason to mention the 'v' world.



Tyrol scratched his chin. [COLOR="PaleGreen"]"Downtown huh? Not exactly the best to be after evening."

Heavy Ale continued to avoid eye contact with the two new ponies. It was noticeable now."Yeah. She went to hang out... and did not return home. If you see anything, her mother would appreciate this. She has a bird as a cutie mark."

[Kelvin360]

The mayor's office

And so with that, Daniel, Silverpine and Gearstride made their way to townhall to speak with the mayor, hopefully the Captain did forward a message that these three were coming.

They entered the building.

Daniel raises a brow when Miss M up and disappears, but doesn't comment.

Just a tongue-in-cheek poke in case you only forgot about her.



Bar
Gak will lead them forward to some bar.
And then she'll order a pint of ale.
"So how did the tentacle beast fiasco go, Lemongrass?"


"I survived. Details aren't really important," Lemongrass said nonchalantly, ordering a mug of cider himself. He needed to forget the events of the past hour. They felt like months. "So the schoolhouse is safe now? The monster won't come back, right?"

For her part, Arvadraa asks politely for some whiskey (the hard stuff, though Luna only knows why). After, no doubt, a disbelieving look from the bartender, she and Stellar take seats as well.

"Monster, huh?" Stellar asks. "Is that usual for schools around here? Seems like kind of a security oversight. What kind was it, anyway?"



Unlike the guard house, the town hall was clearly a civilian building. No security checks, armed ponies wandering around or criminals awaiting judgement. Instead, it was a place of quiet bustle. Ponies going about on their business, carrying on with their daily lives as if the proverbial dark army next door wasn't threatening to invade any week now. One of the many things one had to get used to living in Bridle Shores, after all.

The group would find themselves in the reception hall, where a couple of municipal workers could be seen attending to the never-ending complains of the townsfolk. Should they ask for Emerald, they would be directed to hallway leading further into the building, and up a few flights of stairs until they reached the Mayor's office. Along the way, Silverpine commented, "Huh. They seem pretty... calm about this whole town-in-danger thing."

"I doubt most of them even know. They probably know something's going on, but putting a hoof on the exacts...well, maybe that's a blessing. I don't much fancy mass panic." He brushes past a pure-white Pegasus as they make for the Town Hall, and stops mid-sentence, doing a double-take. "...Snow??"

"Oh, hey Daniel." She raises a hoof and grins at the lot. "Didn't expect to see you here."

"Uhh, dark things, information business, official stuff. What're you here for?"

"Same, really. I think dad and I are going to see whoever runs then guard after this about security, but I thought I'd stop by." He dips her head a little bit at the rest of the Cirrus crew. "Sorry, I'm a bit off track from normal introductions. I'm Snowstorm. Are you all with Daniel?"

Daniel coughs. "Actually, I'm with them." Snowstorm flashes him a brief spread of her smile, like they're sharing a private joke.

[PurityIcekiller]

And with that solid knock on the head, the unicorn fell to the ground, knock out cold. Behind her, the earth pony was still stomping about noisily, though he seemed to be recovering. She would have to act fast.

One down, one to go.

Blueshield turned and swished the swords as a warning. "Now, I advise you to stand down while you are still upright."


Once more with the surprise! " Zar-...Dawnstrider was there? And he only told them off? I'd have thought it more likely for him to relapse and go berserk after finding out about that."

"He was pretty angry, but he seemed controlled. The ghost, on the other hoof, lost it completely." Night Jewel smiled as she recalled the incident underground. "It was awesome to watch..."

Then she fell silent as that unease hit her again. She stopped in her tracks and thought. "...Do perceived evildoers always get judged so swiftly and harshly around here?"

[Kelvin360]

"He was pretty angry, but he seemed controlled. The ghost, on the other hoof, lost it completely." Night Jewel smiled as she recalled the incident underground. "It was awesome to watch..."

Then she fell silent as that unease hit her again. She stopped in her tracks and thought. "...Do perceived evildoers always get judged so swiftly and harshly around here?"

"I'm not the one to ask. Honestly, I don't think the others are, either. Our enemies are all either accomplished mass murderers or attempting to become such. We make absolutely certain of a course before we take it. Minor things; the questions of semi-guilt or wrongful prosecution or similar concepts are, frankly, beneath us. The world spins on and society makes those decisions, however flawed. But we focus on ensuring that there is a society to do so.

Why do you ask?"

[PurityIcekiller]

"I'm not the one to ask. Honestly, I don't think the others are, either. Our enemies are all either accomplished mass murderers or attempting to become such. We make absolutely certain of a course before we take it. Minor things; the questions of semi-guilt or wrongful prosecution or similar concepts are, frankly, beneath us. The world spins on and society makes those decisions, however flawed. But we focus on ensuring that there is a society to do so.

Why do you ask?"

Smooth, girl. Real smooth. Are you trying to tell everypony you're a fugitive or something?

"Because I believe all ponies deserve a chance at redemption. Simply killing them off may seem easier, but it creates more problems. I prefer other solutions."

...That'll do. But remember, other ponies' gullibility will only get you so far. Don't be surprised when you get into trouble.

Night Jewel calmed down a bit, but not completely. "So, what is the worst you would ever do to a pony who never killed, or even tried to kill, in their life?"

[Kelvin360]

Smooth, girl. Real smooth. Are you trying to tell everypony you're a fugitive or something?

"Because I believe all ponies deserve a chance at redemption. Simply killing them off may seem easier, but it creates more problems. I prefer other solutions."

...That'll do. But remember, other ponies' gullibility will only get you so far. Don't be surprised when you get into trouble.

"Taylor seems to believe the same, sometimes. I used to. But don't mistake our methods for heedless brevity. Some things...some things are just too terrible to consider anything else. And more often than not, there isn't reason to think about it. Not every pony accepts a new path like Dawnstrider did. And he still had to die first. The things he did...par for the course. Sometimes we'd face worse."



Night Jewel calmed down a bit, but not completely. "So, what is the worst you would ever do to a pony who never killed, or even tried to kill, in their life?"

"The odds are good that I wouldn't even notice them. Dawnstrider and Moonshine may be prone to glaring at an individual who, say, steals candy from foals, but I don't often concern myself with minor transgressions. If I saw something happening, I'd probably alert the authorities. Maybe put up a harmless barrier if I'm feeling playful.

That being said, there are worse things you can do without causing a single death. In those cases..." She looks back at her flank, and the previously-unremarkable (in such a way that oddly, it would be extremely hard to remember what exactly it used to be) cutie mark shows its true form. A single star, with numerous points that seem to change in number when one tries to count them, and points between even those. Each point seems to be mimicking some sort of element, or concept, or magical effect. A myriad of colors, evershifting.

"My special talent is magical versatility." Starbeam explains. "I can do quite a few things, if I feel the need. I often operate on spur-of-the-moment. But I don't kill without cause, if that's what you're trying to get at. And I don't...I don't torture. Only once. And that was..." The cutie mark fades back under the illusory haze and she looks away. "A special case."

[Grif]

One down, one to go.

Blueshield turned and swished the swords as a warning. "Now, I advise you to stand down while you are still upright."


Mooks. They never learn to heed a warning. :smalltongue:

The earth pony just let out another ear-splitting warcry and charged Blueshield again, his heavy footsteps echoing across the desolate mountain, intending to tackle the pegasus and negate her weapon advantage. Intimidating as the charge might be, it was actually remarkably predictable.



For her part, Arvadraa asks politely for some whiskey (the hard stuff, though Luna only knows why). After, no doubt, a disbelieving look from the bartender, she and Stellar take seats as well.

"Monster, huh?" Stellar asks. "Is that usual for schools around here? Seems like kind of a security oversight. What kind was it, anyway?"

"No, it's not usual for schools... anywhere really," Lemongrass replied, raising an eyebrow. "And I think the monster is magical? They all are anyway."



"I doubt most of them even know. They probably know something's going on, but putting a hoof on the exacts...well, maybe that's a blessing. I don't much fancy mass panic." He brushes past a pure-white Pegasus as they make for the Town Hall, and stops mid-sentence, doing a double-take. "...Snow??"

"Oh, hey Daniel." She raises a hoof and grins at the lot. "Didn't expect to see you here."

"Uhh, dark things, information business, official stuff. What're you here for?"

"Same, really. I think dad and I are going to see whoever runs then guard after this about security, but I thought I'd stop by." He dips her head a little bit at the rest of the Cirrus crew. "Sorry, I'm a bit off track from normal introductions. I'm Snowstorm. Are you all with Daniel?"

Daniel coughs. "Actually, I'm with them." Snowstorm flashes him a brief spread of her smile, like they're sharing a private joke.

Silverpine gave Snowstorm a small bow. "A pleasure to meet you. Name's Lieutenant Silverpine, of the airship Cirrus." He gestured at Gearstride. "This lovely lady over here is my captain, Lady Adventura Gearstride. And... huh, where did our friend go? Anyways, you'd probably meet her later. She can make herself scarce if she wants to." He flashed a thin smile. "So, anyway, I suppose you're here to fight evil as well."


Heavy Ale continued to avoid eye contact with the two new ponies. It was noticeable now."Yeah. She went to hang out... and did not return home. If you see anything, her mother would appreciate this. She has a bird as a cutie mark."

Tyrol stared a little at Heavy Ale, wondering just why this pony was avoiding him. "Sir, I'm afraid I have to ask you to be honest with me. Are you hiding something?"

[Benson]

"Why Gwynny, are you proposing to me? I can't say I'd object." Soft says, deciding to tease the marebeast.

Yeah Gwyn, just admit you love the Paladin and be done with it.

"What?..Nooo..I...damnit Soft Serve," She wrinkled her muzzle as the faintest of pink crept up on her plum cheeks in which she immediately buried herself into the couch arm near her.
==============================


Unlike the guard house, the town hall was clearly a civilian building. No security checks, armed ponies wandering around or criminals awaiting judgement. Instead, it was a place of quiet bustle. Ponies going about on their business, carrying on with their daily lives as if the proverbial dark army next door wasn't threatening to invade any week now. One of the many things one had to get used to living in Bridle Shores, after all.

The group would find themselves in the reception hall, where a couple of municipal workers could be seen attending to the never-ending complains of the townsfolk. Should they ask for Emerald, they would be directed to hallway leading further into the building, and up a few flights of stairs until they reached the Mayor's office. Along the way, Silverpine commented, "Huh. They seem pretty... calm about this whole town-in-danger thing."




"I doubt most of them even know. They probably know something's going on, but putting a hoof on the exacts...well, maybe that's a blessing. I don't much fancy mass panic." He brushes past a pure-white Pegasus as they make for the Town Hall, and stops mid-sentence, doing a double-take. "...Snow??"

"Oh, hey Daniel." She raises a hoof and grins at the lot. "Didn't expect to see you here."

"Uhh, dark things, information business, official stuff. What're you here for?"

"Same, really. I think dad and I are going to see whoever runs then guard after this about security, but I thought I'd stop by." He dips her head a little bit at the rest of the Cirrus crew. "Sorry, I'm a bit off track from normal introductions. I'm Snowstorm. Are you all with Daniel?"

Daniel coughs. "Actually, I'm with them." Snowstorm flashes him a brief spread of her smile, like they're sharing a private joke.




Silverpine gave Snowstorm a small bow. "A pleasure to meet you. Name's Lieutenant Silverpine, of the airship Cirrus." He gestured at Gearstride. "This lovely lady over here is my captain, Lady Adventura Gearstride. And... huh, where did our friend go? Anyways, you'd probably meet her later. She can make herself scarce if she wants to." He flashed a thin smile. "So, anyway, I suppose you're here to fight evil as well."


Miss M is there, it was just an error on my part. Gearstride glanced over at his little snuck in compliment about her and smiled. She then gave a formal yet also theatrical bow at Snow. "A pleasure Miss Snow." As for Miss M she just stood in the background, watching and nodded her head in acknowledgement.



Tyrol stared a little at Heavy Ale, wondering just why this pony was avoiding him. "Sir, I'm afraid I have to ask you to be honest with me. Are you hiding something?"

Aubade fretted and forced an awkward smile, she was assuming he was trying to hide his connections to the fey so she butted in and figured to use the truth about their investigation since it sounded absurd enough to get this guard off their backs.

"No sir..not really...its just...don't laugh but we think it may have been the work of...vamponies.." She said nibbling on her lower lip.

[Kelvin360]

Miss M is there, it was just an error on my part. Gearstride glanced over at his little snuck in compliment about her and smiled. She then gave a formal yet also theatrical bow at Snow. "A pleasure Miss Snow." As for Miss M she just stood in the background, watching and nodded her head in acknowledgement.


Silverpine gave Snowstorm a small bow. "A pleasure to meet you. Name's Lieutenant Silverpine, of the airship Cirrus." He gestured at Gearstride. "This lovely lady over here is my captain, Lady Adventura Gearstride. And... huh, where did our friend go? Anyways, you'd probably meet her later. She can make herself scarce if she wants to." He flashed a thin smile. "So, anyway, I suppose you're here to fight evil as well."

"Well, we always are. I didn't expect this to be a hotspot, but at least this place looks mildly defensible, so that's a nice change of pace."

"Please tell me we scored some help."

"Yep. Rigs is bringing a group right now. It's why I'm here, actually; I doubt he needs permission to come in, but it can't hurt to ask."

[MCerberus]

Tyrol stared a little at Heavy Ale, wondering just why this pony was avoiding him. "Sir, I'm afraid I have to ask you to be honest with me. Are you hiding something?"

Speaking of hiding something, yah... looks like there is something that needs hidden. Especially this time of day...

Casually, Staccata moves to excuse herself. "In the meantime I must go check on something."

Hopefully without too much additional attention, she'd be off to the Cirrus to check if the missing pony is there drinking blood.

[Orzel]

Tyrol stared a little at Heavy Ale, wondering just why this pony was avoiding him. "Sir, I'm afraid I have to ask you to be honest with me. Are you hiding something?"


Aubade fretted and forced an awkward smile, she was assuming he was trying to hide his connections to the fey so she butted in and figured to use the truth about their investigation since it sounded absurd enough to get this guard off their backs.

"No sir..not really...its just...don't laugh but we think it may have been the work of...vamponies.." She said nibbling on her lower lip.


Speaking of hiding something, yah... looks like there is something that needs hidden. Especially this time of day...

Casually, Staccata moves to excuse herself. "In the meantime I must go check on something."

Hopefully without too much additional attention, she'd be off to the Cirrus to check if the missing pony is there drinking blood.

Heavy saw his chance to deflect his suspicious nature. A distraction. ""Yeah... I was afraid you'd think we 'ere... not serious by mentioning vamponies. the stallion laughed nervously. The hoof once petting a hound now reached for the back off his head.

His eyes flashed from brown to gold for just a moment behind his light chuckling. A thin streak of gold trailing down his mane as a highlight. It was the marks of oathbreakers flaring in his lack of control. To the hounds, Heavy shined like the sun sickeningly. But to ponies these changes would be barely noticeable.

[Kelvin360]

Taylor

A majority of his impromptu investigation concluded, Taylor pushes himself off the wall and departs the area. Though it probably seems like exactly the opposite, his going in the same direction as Staccata is, in fact, coincidence. He has his own matter to resolve.

[TheAmishPirate]

[Outside the Cirrus]

As special guests, the ship would open up for both rogue and healer. And not fill them with holes before, during, or after said opening.

[Grif]

Aubade fretted and forced an awkward smile, she was assuming he was trying to hide his connections to the fey so she butted in and figured to use the truth about their investigation since it sounded absurd enough to get this guard off their backs.

"No sir..not really...its just...don't laugh but we think it may have been the work of...vamponies.." She said nibbling on her lower lip.


Speaking of hiding something, yah... looks like there is something that needs hidden. Especially this time of day...

Casually, Staccata moves to excuse herself. "In the meantime I must go check on something."

Hopefully without too much additional attention, she'd be off to the Cirrus to check if the missing pony is there drinking blood.

"Vamponies? Huh, Staccata, I guess..." He trailed off as he realised the rogue was now missing. "... she'll be back soon."


"Well, we always are. I didn't expect this to be a hotspot, but at least this place looks mildly defensible, so that's a nice change of pace."

"Please tell me we scored some help."

"Yep. Rigs is bringing a group right now. It's why I'm here, actually; I doubt he needs permission to come in, but it can't hurt to ask."

"Help? A group? What kind of help?" Silverpine asked, raising an eyebrow.


Heavy saw his chance to deflect his suspicious nature. A distraction. ""Yeah... I was afraid you'd think we 'ere... not serious by mentioning vamponies. the stallion laughed nervously. The hoof once petting a hound now reached for the back off his head.

His eyes flashed from brown to gold for just a moment behind his light chuckling. A thin streak of gold trailing down his mane as a highlight. It was the marks of oathbreakers flaring in his lack of control. To the hounds, Heavy shined like the sun sickeningly. But to ponies these changes would be barely noticeable.

Tyrol blinked. He wasn't sure if he imagined those flashes. Maybe he was more tired than he thought... :smallconfused:

[MCerberus]

The Cirrus

Staccata is moving with purpose. Not knowing where any of the crew ponies are, she goes around looking. The order of preference being: the captain, Miss M, Silverpine, but likely she'll run into a certain engineer if anypony.

Or any of the wandering vamponies if they're allowed to have the run of the ship.

[PurityIcekiller]

Mooks. They never learn to heed a warning. :smalltongue:

The earth pony just let out another ear-splitting warcry and charged Blueshield again, his heavy footsteps echoing across the desolate mountain, intending to tackle the pegasus and negate her weapon advantage. Intimidating as the charge might be, it was actually remarkably predictable.

"Obstinate lackwit," muttered Blueshield.

She took a step to the side, extending one of the swords into his path to trip him. If he didn't change course, his momentum would cause him trouble. If he did, this was going to be rather painful.


"Taylor seems to believe the same, sometimes. I used to. But don't mistake our methods for heedless brevity. Some things...some things are just too terrible to consider anything else. And more often than not, there isn't reason to think about it. Not every pony accepts a new path like Dawnstrider did. And he still had to die first. The things he did...par for the course. Sometimes we'd face worse."

"Worse? I don't think I want to know about that."


"The odds are good that I wouldn't even notice them. Dawnstrider and Moonshine may be prone to glaring at an individual who, say, steals candy from foals, but I don't often concern myself with minor transgressions. If I saw something happening, I'd probably alert the authorities. Maybe put up a harmless barrier if I'm feeling playful.

That being said, there are worse things you can do without causing a single death. In those cases..." She looks back at her flank, and the previously-unremarkable (in such a way that oddly, it would be extremely hard to remember what exactly it used to be) cutie mark shows its true form. A single star, with numerous points that seem to change in number when one tries to count them, and points between even those. Each point seems to be mimicking some sort of element, or concept, or magical effect. A myriad of colors, evershifting.

"My special talent is magical versatility." Starbeam explains. "I can do quite a few things, if I feel the need. I often operate on spur-of-the-moment. But I don't kill without cause, if that's what you're trying to get at. And I don't...I don't torture. Only once. And that was..." The cutie mark fades back under the illusory haze and she looks away. "A special case."

Night Jewel stared for a moment, then nodded. "Quite impressive. I admire flexibility far more than power."

Well, you've confirmed that you'll survive, whatever they do. Better not share any secrets until it's clear she can keep them, though.

"Well, I'm glad to hear that. I didn't meant to bother you; I just wanted to know where you stood."

[Kelvin360]

[Outside the Cirrus]

As special guests, the ship would open up for both rogue and healer. And not fill them with holes before, during, or after said opening.

Before long, Sandy's got a holy visitor. Taylor steps into the med bay looking slightly troubled, but ready for whatever comes next. "Hey Sandy." He flashes his patient a reassuring grin. "Anything happen while I was gone?"


"Help? A group? What kind of help?" Silverpine asked, raising an eyebrow.


"The minute we got wind of these dark forces, Taylor sent Starbeam to Canterlot. Moonbringer Moonlight and Lunar Champion Moonshine should be coming along with whatever military forces a certain alicorn could spare." Daniel explains. "My father the healer, whom you've met, our archmage friend, Senior priest of House Lunatic and Holy Avenger, respectively."

At this, Snowstorm looks extremely apprehensive and guilty. "Ah...Daniel? We should...talk." She flicks an apologetic look at the Cirrusites. "In private-ish."



"Worse? I don't think I want to know about that."

"You are absolutely correct."



Night Jewel stared for a moment, then nodded. "Quite impressive. I admire flexibility far more than power."

Well, you've confirmed that you'll survive, whatever they do. Better not share any secrets until it's clear she can keep them, though.

"Well, I'm glad to hear that. I didn't meant to bother you; I just wanted to know where you stood."

"It's not a bother. I'm used to the concern, actually. Some of the risks we take and things we do put ponies ill at ease. Feel free to doubt the lengths of my morality - Cadance knows I do - you can't know the truth if you don't question, and a lack of truth in the world just makes more lies." Her smile returns somewhat. "But I can assure in greater depth that we are most certainly here to help the good cause. That one isn't as disprovable."

[TheAmishPirate]

[Cirrus - Wandering the Halls]


The Cirrus

Staccata is moving with purpose. Not knowing where any of the crew ponies are, she goes around looking. The order of preference being: the captain, Miss M, Silverpine, but likely she'll run into a certain engineer if anypony.

Or any of the wandering vamponies if they're allowed to have the run of the ship.

Sadly, her first three choices were absent. Said engineer was in the medbay, if she cared to remember his current medical status. Other than that, her best bets were the pilot, the Private, or the sniper.

Either way, the more directed cleric arrives at the medbay first.

[Cirrus - Back at the Medbay]


Before long, Sandy's got a holy visitor. Taylor steps into the med bay looking slightly troubled, but ready for whatever comes next. "Hey Sandy." He flashes his patient a reassuring grin. "Anything happen while I was gone?"

From outside, he could be forgiven for thinking his patient was asleep with his eyes open. Sandy lay unmoving on his cot, save for the gentle rise and fall of his chest, gaze staring off someplace far beyond the confined walls of the sick bay. He didn't even react to the approaching hoofsteps, only flicking his ears in surprise when Taylor spoke to him. "Huh? Oh. Hey...Doc."

Names; always the first thing to go.

The engineer rolls over to better see his solitary visitor, but his eyes hardly focus on the medic. They keep looking off into the distance, his head and limbs splayed out on the cot. "No...nothin' much. Rainbow an' I are givin' it another chance. Restin' ever since that." he says quietly and with hardly a flicker of emotion.

[Kelvin360]

[Cirrus - Wandering the Halls]


Sadly, her first three choices were absent. Said engineer was in the medbay, if she cared to remember his current medical status. Other than that, her best bets were the pilot, the Private, or the sniper.

Either way, the more directed cleric arrives at the medbay first.

[Cirrus - Back at the Medbay]


From outside, he could be forgiven for thinking his patient was asleep with his eyes open. Sandy lay unmoving on his cot, save for the gentle rise and fall of his chest, gaze staring off someplace far beyond the confined walls of the sick bay. He didn't even react to the approaching hoofsteps, only flicking his ears in surprise when Taylor spoke to him. "Huh? Oh. Hey...Doc."

Names; always the first thing to go.

The engineer rolls over to better see his solitary visitor, but his eyes hardly focus on the medic. They keep looking off into the distance, his head and limbs splayed out on the cot. "No...nothin' much. Rainbow an' I are givin' it another chance. Restin' ever since that." he says quietly and with hardly a flicker of emotion.

"Mmhmm. Anything you feel I should go over? Wait, strike that. Clearly something's bothering you, but do you want to talk about it or should I get started on the physical?"

[TheAmishPirate]

"Mmhmm. Anything you feel I should go over? Wait, strike that. Clearly something's bothering you, but do you want to talk about it or should I get started on the physical?"

Sandy mouth opens...then closes in a flat, drawn-out line. His gaze casts down to the foot of his cot, and the engineer remains quiet for some time. "...just get on with th' exam, Doc." he finally says, shaking his head and shutting his eyes.

[MCerberus]

Cirrus

Wonderfully unaware at anything important going on with Sandy and his myriad of health concerns, Staccata pokes her head into the med bay.

"I need to see if a particular... new vampony is here. There might be an issue."

[Grif]

"Obstinate lackwit," muttered Blueshield.

She took a step to the side, extending one of the swords into his path to trip him. If he didn't change course, his momentum would cause him trouble. If he did, this was going to be rather painful.


It was remarkably difficult to change course once you're already sprinting towards somepony. Even more so when you're wearing a full suit of armour. The earth pony duly tripped over the extended blade and fell face first into the dirt, kicking up a not-so-small cloud of dust as he landed with a clunk. The fallen warrior twitched, and despite all the abuse he had suffered so far, again was doing his best to get back on his hooves.



"The minute we got wind of these dark forces, Taylor sent Starbeam to Canterlot. Moonbringer Moonlight and Lunar Champion Moonshine should be coming along with whatever military forces a certain alicorn could spare." Daniel explains. "My father the healer, whom you've met, our archmage friend, Senior priest of House Lunatic and Holy Avenger, respectively."

At this, Snowstorm looks extremely apprehensive and guilty. "Ah...Daniel? We should...talk." She flicks an apologetic look at the Cirrusites. "In private-ish."


Silverpine nodded and took a few steps backwards, allowing the two some privacy. "Of course, ma'am." Well, they could move further away if necessary.

[Kelvin360]

Sandy mouth opens...then closes in a flat, drawn-out line. His gaze casts down to the foot of his cot, and the engineer remains quiet for some time. "...just get on with th' exam, Doc." he finally says, shaking his head and shutting his eyes.

Taylor nods, vastly unsurprised. "Now just mo-"


Cirrus

Wonderfully unaware at anything important going on with Sandy and his myriad of health concerns, Staccata pokes her head into the med bay.

"I need to see if a particular... new vampony is here. There might be an issue."

Taylor turns to look back at her. "Uh-huh, so I heard. Nightingale mark, right? Haven't seen one like that, though I barely even paid attention to the procession."


Silverpine nodded and took a few steps backwards, allowing the two some privacy. "Of course, ma'am." Well, they could move further away if necessary.

Once they've found themselves a secure position, Snowstorm starts recount details of...something. Her expression isn't visible, but Daniel's face swaps rapidly between confusion, anger, surprise, gratification, anger again, mild despair, and the kind of half-angrish-half-surprised look you get when your mortal enemy punches you in the face apropos of nothing.

Oh, and he asks "WHAT?!" loudly, no less than three times, each time increasing in volume. At the end of the expressional tirade, he makes to run off, but gets held back. Whatever he's being told, he doesn't like it at all, and Snowstorm's next words only seem to make it worse. He doesn't run off again, but by the time they step back, Snowstorm looks like someone just killed her puppy and Daniel's entire body is shaking. It's hard to tell whether that's still anger or pure nerves, though.

"Next....stop?" He asks through gritted teeth.

[TheAmishPirate]

Cirrus

Wonderfully unaware at anything important going on with Sandy and his myriad of health concerns, Staccata pokes her head into the med bay.

"I need to see if a particular... new vampony is here. There might be an issue."


Taylor nods, vastly unsurprised. "Now just mo-"


Taylor turns to look back at her. "Uh-huh, so I heard. Nightingale mark, right? Haven't seen one like that, though I barely even paid attention to the procession."

Sandy's ears prick up in the greatest sign of interest to date. "Nightingale...mark?" he asks slowly, tilting to glance at the rogue. Had there been a vampony like that in the hold? So hard to tell. With lights off and the vamponies sleeping in a heap, marks were hard to spot. No way to tell if that one had made it, or if they were one of...one of the ones...who...

*BANG*

*SPLURT*

"Glurk!!!" Sandy lurches and heaves on the cot, clutching at his stomach. Only the lack of...well, anything in his belly kept the engineer from hurling his guts onto the floor again. Once the intense wave of nausea had passed, he falls back onto the cot, moaning miserably. "C-cargo...hold...check wi'...Rainbow...urghhhh..." he manages to groan out.

[Kelvin360]

Sandy's ears prick up in the greatest sign of interest to date. "Nightingale...mark?" he asks slowly, tilting to glance at the rogue. Had there been a vampony like that in the hold? So hard to tell. With lights off and the vamponies sleeping in a heap, marks were hard to spot. No way to tell if that one had made it, or if they were one of...one of the ones...who...

*BANG*

*SPLURT*

"Glurk!!!" Sandy lurches and heaves on the cot, clutching at his stomach. Only the lack of...well, anything in his belly kept the engineer from hurling his guts onto the floor again. Once the intense wave of nausea had passed, he falls back onto the cot, moaning miserably. "C-cargo...hold...check wi'...Rainbow...urghhhh..." he manages to groan out.

"Woah there, now." Taylor instinctively grabs hold of Sandy to keep him from moving around too much. "Relax, all right? Best you can, anyway. Can you stand?"

[Benson]

"Vamponies? Huh, Staccata, I guess..." He trailed off as he realised the rogue was now missing. "... she'll be back soon."

Tyrol blinked. He wasn't sure if he imagined those flashes. Maybe he was more tired than he thought... :smallconfused:

"Yes, vamponies...it sounds silly but then again there are other more crazy beings that exist in this world eh?" She said with an awkward laugh. She herself didn't quite take notice of Heavy Ale's subtle light show.



Silverpine nodded and took a few steps backwards, allowing the two some privacy. "Of course, ma'am." Well, they could move further away if necessary.


-snip-
Oh, and he asks "WHAT?!" loudly, no less than three times, each time increasing in volume. At the end of the expressional tirade, he makes to run off, but gets held back. Whatever he's being told, he doesn't like it at all, and Snowstorm's next words only seem to make it worse. He doesn't run off again, but by the time they step back, Snowstorm looks like someone just killed her puppy and Daniel's entire body is shaking. It's hard to tell whether that's still anger or pure nerves, though.

"Next....stop?" He asks through gritted teeth.

"Are you alright Daniel?" Gearstride asked in a manner that requested for not a BS response.

[Kelvin360]

"Are you alright Daniel?" Gearstride asked in a manner that requested for not a BS response.

"No, not at all. But let's get this over with, huh?"

[MCerberus]

Sandy's ears prick up in the greatest sign of interest to date. "Nightingale...mark?" he asks slowly, tilting to glance at the rogue. Had there been a vampony like that in the hold? So hard to tell. With lights off and the vamponies sleeping in a heap, marks were hard to spot. No way to tell if that one had made it, or if they were one of...one of the ones...who...

Seemingly detached from the medical proceedings, Staccata is still in coverup mode. It does seem to be something she's a bit better at than... whatever is going on here.

"Yah, poines are asking questions. Tracking hounds and all that. Need to find her."

[TheAmishPirate]

"Woah there, now." Taylor instinctively grabs hold of Sandy to keep him from moving around too much. "Relax, all right? Best you can, anyway. Can you stand?"

Sandy pants for breath, held relatively still by the careful doctor's hooves. His coat grows paler, and he swallows hard. Little by little, his legs push against the cot, testing their strength and steadiness. After a little experimenting, he nods slowly. "A-aye. C'n stand alright."


Seemingly detached from the medical proceedings, Staccata is still in coverup mode. It does seem to be something she's a bit better at than... whatever is going on here.

"Yah, poines are asking questions. Tracking hounds and all that. Need to find her."

Another hard swallow, and his head feels light and loose, not screwed on right. "Ch-check th' cargo hold..." he repeats. "Rainbow's there...vamponies too..."

[Kelvin360]

Taylor

Taylor lets Sandy handle the informing of Staccata during an interval in which he repeats his previous examinations to check for change. Pulse, muscle stability, sorcery, all that.

[Orzel]

"Vamponies? Huh, Staccata, I guess..." He trailed off as he realised the rogue was now missing. "... she'll be back soon."

Tyrol blinked. He wasn't sure if he imagined those flashes. Maybe he was more tired than he thought... :smallconfused:



"Yes, vamponies...it sounds silly but then again there are other more crazy beings that exist in this world eh?" She said with an awkward laugh. She herself didn't quite take notice of Heavy Ale's subtle light show.

Heavy Ale scrunched his face for a moment. he had to focus to suppress his fey hints physically. The strands of golden hair would be trouble in his mind but he was confident his eyes should remain gold if not stirred. "Kipnapping of a young mare at night with no obvious hints of foul play. The stories always said werewolves, fey, and zombies leave evidence you could see or hear. All we have is the smell."

[PurityIcekiller]

"It's not a bother. I'm used to the concern, actually. Some of the risks we take and things we do put ponies ill at ease. Feel free to doubt the lengths of my morality - Cadance knows I do - you can't know the truth if you don't question, and a lack of truth in the world just makes more lies." Her smile returns somewhat. "But I can assure in greater depth that we are most certainly here to help the good cause. That one isn't as disprovable."

Night Jewel smiled back. "Great! I've got a habit of questioning this kind of thing, but you can take it well, which in and of itself is a sign that you're good. Acknowledging that you might be wrong is one of the best ways to be right."

With that, she started walking again, eager to get to the portal site.


It was remarkably difficult to change course once you're already sprinting towards somepony. Even more so when you're wearing a full suit of armour. The earth pony duly tripped over the extended blade and fell face first into the dirt, kicking up a not-so-small cloud of dust as he landed with a clunk. The fallen warrior twitched, and despite all the abuse he had suffered so far, again was doing his best to get back on his hooves.

Blueshield sighed and shook her head. "Will nothing get through to you?"

She tossed her original sword away from both of them, and used her now-free hoof to retrieve another crossbow bolt. This time, she chose a green-headed one, where damaging the fragile tip would release a spray of acid, and thrust it at her enemy's side as hard as she could.

[Mystic Muse]

"What?..Nooo..I...damnit Soft Serve," She wrinkled her muzzle as the faintest of pink crept up on her plum cheeks in which she immediately buried herself into the couch arm near her.
==============================



Soft gives Gwyn a quick kiss before saying "Whoops, out of cookies, better go make some more." and heading off for the kitchen so that Gwyn can't object.

[TheAmishPirate]

Taylor

Taylor lets Sandy handle the informing of Staccata during an interval in which he repeats his previous examinations to check for change. Pulse, muscle stability, sorcery, all that.

(Waiting for Mcerberus, but this all happens while Sandy and Staccata are chatting. If you need any clarifications/other, more specific things to check, feel free to ask.)

Sandy's pulse raced beneath Taylor's hoof, as if he'd just been sprinting, and sweat had started to break out on his brow. His muscles were tight, tense, and trembling, regardless of where the cleric checked. The pupils were only slightly focused, and seemed to have a habit of wandering aimlessly around the room before getting blinked back into position. The stomach was - as expected - rather sensitive. The engineer winced slightly whenever Taylor poked at it, and a hoof resting on it could easily feel the churning and gurgling within. As far as sorcery went, things were relatively unchanged. Blood still high in magical potency, horn still relatively piddly. No evil magic or curses had their hold on him, at least as far as he could tell.

And as mentioned previously, his coat was taking on a dull, sickly-looking pallor.

[Benson]

"No, not at all. But let's get this over with, huh?"

And so they went into the townhall building even if Gearstride was kinda worried about Daniel. She looked around (how does it look inside?)
=================


Soft gives Gwyn a quick kiss before saying "Whoops, out of cookies, better go make some more." and heading off for the kitchen so that Gwyn can't object.

Gwyn's tail straighten stiffly when Soft did what she did. She quickly whipped her head to gripe at Soft, but the other had disappeared into the kitchen and Gwyn didn't want to off the couch, it was comfortable. So she rassum frassum and watched the movie.

[Grif]

Night Jewel smiled back. "Great! I've got a habit of questioning this kind of thing, but you can take it well, which in and of itself is a sign that you're good. Acknowledging that you might be wrong is one of the best ways to be right."

With that, she started walking again, eager to get to the portal site.


The portal site would as Zaros remembered it. A little off the main road, half-hidden by the brush and undergrowth, a clump of innocuous looking boulders, somehow arranged in a semi-circle away from the deserted cobbled road.

Those magically inclined might feel the faint presence of magic and those with even more sensitive senses might be able to sense the faint signatures of magical wards scattered haphazardly around the site. Careful study of said wards might yield the fact that they were primitive alarm wards, designed first and foremost to alert somepony that intruders were approaching. Easily disarmed though.

Still, no telling what lay closer to the portal site.



Blueshield sighed and shook her head. "Will nothing get through to you?"

She tossed her original sword away from both of them, and used her now-free hoof to retrieve another crossbow bolt. This time, she chose a green-headed one, where damaging the fragile tip would release a spray of acid, and thrust it at her enemy's side as hard as she could.

The spray of acid melted through the plate armour easily enough, though slower than Blueshield would have expected. But melt it did. The earth pony gave an agonising howl of pain as the acid lanced the vulnerable flesh underneath, collapsing and squirming. "Yield! Yield!" he screams.


Heavy Ale scrunched his face for a moment. he had to focus to suppress his fey hints physically. The strands of golden hair would be trouble in his mind but he was confident his eyes should remain gold if not stirred. "Kipnapping of a young mare at night with no obvious hints of foul play. The stories always said werewolves, fey, and zombies leave evidence you could see or hear. All we have is the smell."

"I heard of vamponies. Well, reports of them anyway. So they aren't as far-fetched as you think they are. So... you're tracking the mare with her smell?" Tyrol said, directing the question at Heavy Ale.


And so they went into the townhall building even if Gearstride was kinda worried about Daniel. She looked around (how does it look inside?)


(Reposting earlier description)


Unlike the guard house, the town hall was clearly a civilian building. No security checks, armed ponies wandering around or criminals awaiting judgement. Instead, it was a place of quiet bustle. Ponies going about on their business, carrying on with their daily lives as if the proverbial dark army next door wasn't threatening to invade any week now. One of the many things one had to get used to living in Bridle Shores, after all.

The group would find themselves in the reception hall, where a couple of municipal workers could be seen attending to the never-ending complains of the townsfolk. Should they ask for Emerald, they would be directed to hallway leading further into the building, and up a few flights of stairs until they reached the Mayor's office.

[Kelvin360]

Snowstorm/Daniel

Both Lightbringers let the Cirrus command handle the intricacies of actually getting in to a meeting. Daniel's too busy seething, and Snow looks far too hesitant to actually open her mouth.

---

Starbeam

Well, what good archmage goes into a situation like this without forming a divination to detect magical auras first? Certainly not this one. Starbeam takes her time in examining each alarm ward, though almost no time in dispelling them once she's discerned what they are.

((How many wards are there, exactly? I want to know what to mark her mana as. She's using the unicorn equivalent of Lesser Dispel with its maximum caster level (+5) or regular Dispel Magic if that's not enough.))

[Benson]

Unlike the guard house, the town hall was clearly a civilian building. No security checks, armed ponies wandering around or criminals awaiting judgement. Instead, it was a place of quiet bustle. Ponies going about on their business, carrying on with their daily lives as if the proverbial dark army next door wasn't threatening to invade any week now. One of the many things one had to get used to living in Bridle Shores, after all.

The group would find themselves in the reception hall, where a couple of municipal workers could be seen attending to the never-ending complains of the townsfolk. Should they ask for Emerald, they would be directed to hallway leading further into the building, and up a few flights of stairs until they reached the Mayor's office.

"I am here to speak with the mayor, The Captain should have informed you that members of the Cirrus and associates would be coming over for a meeting." Gearstride announced when they reached the mayor's office.

[PurityIcekiller]

The portal site would as Zaros remembered it. A little off the main road, half-hidden by the brush and undergrowth, a clump of innocuous looking boulders, somehow arranged in a semi-circle away from the deserted cobbled road.

Those magically inclined might feel the faint presence of magic and those with even more sensitive senses might be able to sense the faint signatures of magical wards scattered haphazardly around the site. Careful study of said wards might yield the fact that they were primitive alarm wards, designed first and foremost to alert somepony that intruders were approaching. Easily disarmed though.

Still, no telling what lay closer to the portal site.

Night Jewel sniffed the air and smiled. Seems they're not as dumb as we thought. They know enough to make traps, at least. But they couldn't count on somepony experienced with traps, both mundane and magical.

She joined Starbeam in disarming the wards. If they were that crude, it would be a simple matter to jam them up.


The spray of acid melted through the plate armour easily enough, though slower than Blueshield would have expected. But melt it did. The earth pony gave an agonising howl of pain as the acid lanced the vulnerable flesh underneath, collapsing and squirming. "Yield! Yield!" he screams.

Blueshield stepped back, looked over her enemy again, and nodded. "Very well. Let us have no more unnecessary bloodshed."

She pointed to the fallen unicorn with the sword, then down to the valley. "Take your companion and go. Return to where you came from. Treat your wounds. Any attempts to, if I may use the vernacular, 'pull a fast one' will have serious consequences for you." She then set about gathering the fallen swords. "I shall take these weapons and your victim, and then I will leave. But do not forget this encounter. You may not survive the next."

[Mindfreak]

"I survived. Details aren't really important," Lemongrass said nonchalantly, ordering a mug of cider himself. He needed to forget the events of the past hour. They felt like months. "So the schoolhouse is safe now? The monster won't come back, right?"
Bar
Gak nodded.
"Yes. I put the spirit to rest." she said, answering both questions at once.
"But...the strange thing is...why now? 3 weeks ago the school was in perfect order. No ghost at all. And a spirit like that isn't exactly made in a day..."

[Kelvin360]

Stellar/Arvadraa

"Uh, do we care? Are we caring about the why? Spooky's gone, it doesn't exactly matter now."

"Stellar..."

[Grif]

(I just realised I am way in over my head here. Running four scenes. :smalltongue: )



"I am here to speak with the mayor, The Captain should have informed you that members of the Cirrus and associates would be coming over for a meeting." Gearstride announced when they reached the mayor's office.
"Sorry, Mayor's not in at the moment. You'll have to speak with me. My name's Emerald, his assistant," a ruby-red unicorn greeted them behind her overflowing desk. Her sapphire blue mane was done up tightly in a bun, and her obsidian eyes seemed to stare into the soul of each of the group. "Now, what seems to be the matter?"


Night Jewel sniffed the air and smiled. Seems they're not as dumb as we thought. They know enough to make traps, at least. But they couldn't count on somepony experienced with traps, both mundane and magical.

She joined Starbeam in disarming the wards. If they were that crude, it would be a simple matter to jam them up.

All in all, there would be a dozen wards scattered all around. However, as they disarmed the last of the flimsy wards, a surge of magic might flare in their senses, and a new ward activated around the group of innocuous-looking boulder. A stronger one, and evidently a failsafe for the initial ring of sentry wards. This particular one however, has a switch that would trigger should any normal dispel spells are used against it. Nothing saying they couldn't jam the magical signal...

As for traps of the non-magical variety... well, there appeared to be none... yet.



Blueshield stepped back, looked over her enemy again, and nodded. "Very well. Let us have no more unnecessary bloodshed."

She pointed to the fallen unicorn with the sword, then down to the valley. "Take your companion and go. Return to where you came from. Treat your wounds. Any attempts to, if I may use the vernacular, 'pull a fast one' will have serious consequences for you." She then set about gathering the fallen swords. "I shall take these weapons and your victim, and then I will leave. But do not forget this encounter. You may not survive the next."

"Weakling." The earth pony stared up with an expression of pure hatred, then spat into the ground beside Blueshield. Though, he seemed content to have his life prolonged, at least for a little longer. "Better start runnin', lil' bird." He got shakily to his feet and groans a little in pain. Hobbling over to his fallen companion, he slung the unicorn over his back. If Blueshield does not attempt to stop them at this point, he'd disappear into the darkness.

As for the injured pony, he still lay where he was. On closer inspection, the pony appeared to be female... and pegasi. Her wings seemed to be bent in sort of unnatural shapes and missing a fair few feathers, including most of her primaries, rendering her unable to fly for at least a few weeks. Her dark blue coat showed many bruises and her chest rose and fell shallowly. At the very least, she didn't appear to be on the verge of dying, but she would needing medical treatment soon.


Bar
Gak nodded.
"Yes. I put the spirit to rest." she said, answering both questions at once.
"But...the strange thing is...why now? 3 weeks ago the school was in perfect order. No ghost at all. And a spirit like that isn't exactly made in a day..."

"So... you're saying someone planted that thing there?" Lemongrass asked with a blink.

[Kelvin360]

All in all, there would be a dozen wards scattered all around. However, as they disarmed the last of the flimsy wards, a surge of magic might flare in their senses, and a new ward activated around the group of innocuous-looking boulder. A stronger one, and evidently a failsafe for the initial ring of sentry wards. This particular one however, has a switch that would trigger should any normal dispel spells are used against it. Nothing saying they couldn't jam the magical signal...

As for traps of the non-magical variety... well, there appeared to be none... yet.

Starbeam looks towards her companion with an upraised eyebrow. "Despite that they actually managed to have a backup, are you as unimpressed as I am?"

[Benson]

(I just realised I am way in over my head here. Running four scenes. :smalltongue: )


"Sorry, Mayor's not in at the moment. You'll have to speak with me. My name's Emerald, his assistant," a ruby-red unicorn greeted them behind her overflowing desk. Her sapphire blue mane was done up tightly in a bun, and her obsidian eyes seemed to stare into the soul of each of the group. "Now, what seems to be the matter?"

Well first Gearstride wanted to ask why she was named Emerald as she looked the mare over and smirked. "Its a matter of vamponies....but before we get deeper into that, what has the Captain told you, assuming you take all the calls for the mayor."

[PurityIcekiller]

All in all, there would be a dozen wards scattered all around. However, as they disarmed the last of the flimsy wards, a surge of magic might flare in their senses, and a new ward activated around the group of innocuous-looking boulder. A stronger one, and evidently a failsafe for the initial ring of sentry wards. This particular one however, has a switch that would trigger should any normal dispel spells are used against it. Nothing saying they couldn't jam the magical signal...

As for traps of the non-magical variety... well, there appeared to be none... yet.


Starbeam looks towards her companion with an upraised eyebrow. "Despite that they actually managed to have a backup, are you as unimpressed as I am?"

Night Jewel nodded. "It's unsurprising, given what their armour is like. Stay back; I'm experienced with breaking and entering."

She first checked for anything else the spell was linked to, wanting to make sure there weren't more than two layers of redundancy. Then she set about the sabotage. With a bit of care, she could rewire the signal to itself, causing a loop instead of a proper alarm.


"Weakling." The earth pony stared up with an expression of pure hatred, then spat into the ground beside Blueshield. Though, he seemed content to have his life prolonged, at least for a little longer. "Better start runnin', lil' bird." He got shakily to his feet and groans a little in pain. Hobbling over to his fallen companion, he slung the unicorn over his back. If Blueshield does not attempt to stop them at this point, he'd disappear into the darkness.

It seemed for some reason, Blueshield wasn't tempted to take potshots at the two. Maybe she had standards. In any case, all they received from her was scornful looks. Somepony is a rather poor sport, it seems.


As for the injured pony, he still lay where he was. On closer inspection, the pony appeared to be female... and pegasi. Her wings seemed to be bent in sort of unnatural shapes and missing a fair few feathers, including most of her primaries, rendering her unable to fly for at least a few weeks. Her dark blue coat showed many bruises and her chest rose and fell shallowly. At the very least, she didn't appear to be on the verge of dying, but she would needing medical treatment soon.

"Barbaric. And I thought the street rat's crimes were troublesome." Blueshield sighed and lifted the other pegasus onto her back. Unlike a certain smith, she visibly strained as she did so. "We had best head for Bridle Shores before they decide to finish the brutalization."

In the interest of preventing Grif from having headaches, she simply took the fallen half-helm before setting off.

[Some Time Later, With Luka]

And that is the story for how a certain fleeing crusader colt ran into two injured pegasus ponies, one of whom was carrying the other.

Upon seeing him, the knight raised her crossbow. "Halt! As Commander of the Thousand and One Knights, I order you to halt!" Despite her encumbered state, she had a strong tone. "State your name and business."

[Orzel]

Heavy Ale scratched his head. His voice was trailed by a light echo. Exposure to the other supernatural beings was making his warlock traits flare. "Actually we're following the strange smell we found Downtown. I think it's vampony blood."

[MCerberus]

Cirrus

"Yes... The vampony lady there too? We need to have more than one head thinking about how to handle this."

Staccata begins to slowly de-poke her head out of the med-bay.

[Kelvin360]

Night Jewel nodded. "It's unsurprising, given what their armour is like. Stay back; I'm experienced with breaking and entering."

She first checked for anything else the spell was linked to, wanting to make sure there weren't more than two layers of redundancy. Then she set about the sabotage. With a bit of care, she could rewire the signal to itself.

Starbeam gives her an unseen odd look, but takes a step back. However, as a precaution, she produces an invisible shield around both of them, and harmonizes it to help resist magical feedback in addition to softening their magical 'hoofsteps' during the course of an exam...or disruption.



Cirrus

"Yes... The vampony lady there too? We need to have more than one head thinking about how to handle this."

Staccata begins to slowly de-poke her head out of the med-bay.

"Which one? Last I checked there were a few of 'em."

[TheAmishPirate]

[Medbay]

"Miss M?" Sandy licks at his lips and smacks them; his mouth feels like a desert. "I...I don't recall...didn't see her there...ughhh..." He winces and wrinkles his brow. Thinking is hard work.

[MCerberus]

Cirrus

Staccata almost has to roll her eyes as Taylor doesn't know which one she needs to talk to. Sandy seems to get it though. "Bingo. She's the one best suited to know about information control. Hopefully she's down there."

And with that note, the mare's off to the hold... still armed to the teeth.

[Kelvin360]

Taylor

"All right. I was hoping not to have to do this to you, but..." He shakes his head. "I have good news and bad news. The good news is, you get your wish; some fresh air and a brisk pace. The bad news is, that's necessary. Do you think you could point out the home of the pony who gave you that experimental boost before if we took a trek across town?"

[TheAmishPirate]

[Sandy - Medbay]

In response, Sandy slowly hobbles to his hooves, heavily leaning on Taylor for support. It's bumpy, it's shaky, and it's not altogether structurally sound, but he manages to get himself upright without feeling too ill. "I...I think I can do this." he says after testing his legs a little more. "Just...leave a Doc's note for Rainbow, will you? She said...to rest and I don't...don't want her thinkin' I ran off...again..."

[Luka]

[Some Time Later, With Luka]

And that is the story for how a certain fleeing crusader colt ran into two injured pegasus ponies, one of whom was carrying the other.

Upon seeing him, the knight raised her crossbow. "Halt! As Commander of the Thousand and One Knights, I order you to halt!" Despite her encumbered state, she had a strong tone. "State your name and business."

The colt would be too focused with flying away, when she calls over he would just slow down a bit andnotice it's not of the dark army.
"Stay away!" He would just yell, then try to continue fleeing, maybe she would need to use warning bolts.
Stopping for longer would possibly mean him staying near yet another one and possibly bring out even more trouble.

[Kelvin360]

Taylor

"You got it." He murmurs, bringing out a quill and paper from his bags (hey, preparedness is apparently genetic).

Rainbow -

Brought Sandy to

He pauses. "Whose house are we going to, again?"

[TheAmishPirate]

[Medbay]

"Mach's." Sandy replies, trying to maintain his bearings. Leg feel unsteady, but he could get them moving long enough to make it to town.

[Grif]

Starbeam looks towards her companion with an upraised eyebrow. "Despite that they actually managed to have a backup, are you as unimpressed as I am?"


Night Jewel nodded. "It's unsurprising, given what their armour is like. Stay back; I'm experienced with breaking and entering."

She first checked for anything else the spell was linked to, wanting to make sure there weren't more than two layers of redundancy. Then she set about the sabotage. With a bit of care, she could rewire the signal to itself, causing a loop instead of a proper alarm.

With Starbeam screening for magical feedback and Night Jewel's skill in disarming traps, the ward was soon rendered useless. There appeared to be no more magical traps remaining and they were free to proceed.

On closer inspection, the clump of boulders hid from view a complicated sequences of runes etched onto the ground itself. Again, those with magical training might recognise these. They were command runes, designed to activate something when touched in the correct sequence. The consequences of failing this step was anypony's guess. :smallwink:

What that sequence was however... well, that was up to Zaros to remember.



It seemed for some reason, Blueshield wasn't tempted to take potshots at the two. Maybe she had standards. In any case, all they received from her was scornful looks. Somepony is a rather poor sport, it seems.

"Barbaric. And I thought the street rat's crimes were troublesome." Blueshield sighed and lifted the other pegasus onto her back. Unlike a certain smith, she visibly strained as she did so. "We had best head for Bridle Shores before they decide to finish the brutalization."
Unfortunately for Blueshield, not one hundred paces away, a flare flew high into the sky as she clambered down the mountains. Whoever the two were working for, they were not alone and had evidently alerted more of them. She would have to move quickly.



[Some Time Later, With Luka]

And that is the story for how a certain fleeing crusader colt ran into two injured pegasus ponies, one of whom was carrying the other.

Upon seeing him, the knight raised her crossbow. "Halt! As Commander of the Thousand and One Knights, I order you to halt!" Despite her encumbered state, she had a strong tone. "State your name and business."


The colt would be too focused with flying away, when she calls over he would just slow down a bit andnotice it's not of the dark army.
"Stay away!" He would just yell, then try to continue fleeing, maybe she would need to use warning bolts.
Stopping for longer would possibly mean him staying near yet another one and possibly bring out even more trouble.
They were alone for the moment, at least. The pony that she had rescued earlier was beginning to stir as well, mumbling under her breath.


Well first Gearstride wanted to ask why she was named Emerald as she looked the mare over and smirked. "Its a matter of vamponies....but before we get deeper into that, what has the Captain told you, assuming you take all the calls for the mayor."

"That it's a matter of urgency that involves vamponies and that I should listen to whatever you have to say. Also that they require some sort of accommodation should they wish to stay," Emerald said, driving straight into the heart of the matter. "Now then, I think you know what my next question would be. Tell me why Bridle Shores should allow these unnatural creatures to stay?"


Heavy Ale scratched his head. His voice was trailed by a light echo. Exposure to the other supernatural beings was making his warlock traits flare. "Actually we're following the strange smell we found Downtown. I think it's vampony blood."

Again, Tyrol blinked. There it was again. Something was odd about this stallion. He scratched his chin, and glanced in the direction of the downtown, surreptitiously studying Heavy Ale. "Nasty thing. Well, could we wait for my companion to return before we go on? I'm sure she's just picking up supplies for our little trip."

[Benson]

"That it's a matter of urgency that involves vamponies and that I should listen to whatever you have to say. Also that they require some sort of accommodation should they wish to stay," Emerald said, driving straight into the heart of the matter. "Now then, I think you know what my next question would be. Tell me why Bridle Shores should allow these unnatural creatures to stay?"


Miss M's eye visibly twitched at Emerald's question. "Well first, most of them already are citizens who live here already becoming vamponies against their will, they just need help in getting back to their old lives, help with their jobs for those who had them."

"As for our second group, well none of them have made any indication that they want to stay, but then again we didn't have long talks on the subject...there are those who might want a chance at a new normal unfettered by danger, simple life. Something that everypony is entitled to am I right?" Gearstride asked as she relaxed her body but looked at Emerald with a raised brow.

[Mindfreak]

"So... you're saying someone planted that thing there?" Lemongrass asked with a blink.
Bar
Gak looked at Stellar.
"The why is always important."
She looked at Lemongrass and shrugged.
"I'm not saying that persay...I mean, it could have just suddenly felt like acting up, but it's just a tad odd."
Or it could have even been the magical essence that Gak exudes constantly that awakened the spirit!

[Kelvin360]

[Medbay]

"Mach's." Sandy replies, trying to maintain his bearings. Leg feel unsteady, but he could get them moving long enough to make it to town.

"Right."

Rainbow -

Brought Sandy to Mach's in an effort to fix his physical condition. Mental hopefully to follow. Will send message if our investigation is to take more than a few hours.

-Sunshine

The note is then left on the cot. Taylor adjusts himself to allow Sandy more room to lean heavily against him, and then they're off.


Miss M's eye visibly twitched at Emerald's question. "Well first, most of them already are citizens who live here already becoming vamponies against their will, they just need help in getting back to their old lives, help with their jobs for those who had them."

"As for our second group, well none of them have made any indication that they want to stay, but then again we didn't have long talks on the subject...there are those who might want a chance at a new normal unfettered by danger, simple life. Something that everypony is entitled to am I right?" Gearstride asked as she relaxed her body but looked at Emerald with a raised brow.

Meanwhile, at the back, the siblings are busy with a rather one-sided whispered conversation.

"Well this is new."

"Yeah."

"You're with her on this, I'm guessing?"

"Yeah."

"You know what he's going to say."

"Yeah."

"But A, you're our resident freedom guy, and B, he doesn't have to find out the depths of your commitment."

"Yeah."

"...Good talk."


Bar
Gak looked at Stellar.
"The why is always important."
She looked at Lemongrass and shrugged.
"I'm not saying that persay...I mean, it could have just suddenly felt like acting up, but it's just a tad odd."
Or it could have even been the magical essence that Gak exudes constantly that awakened the spirit!

Unfortunately, the only three magically-sensitive ponies in the room were unable to detect this on account of ignorance, apathy, and stacking, respectively.

"Well in any case, the school should be safe now. And, well, that's what matters." Ignorance supplies happily.

No, what really matters is the scientific method of which you apparently have a crippling dislike. Apathy mopes, completely silent to all except she whose mind's eye he occupies.

"Sheesh, at least he gets paid to be selfless." Stacking motions idly at Lemongrass. "But between you two," She squints at Gak and Arvadraa. "I'm tasting sugar like, all the time. What's your excuse?"

"I can't speak for Gabriel, but I feel that helping ponies is its own reward."

"Well, sure, but what do you get out of it? Tangibly?"

"I think you need to research the definition of 'selfless'."


With Starbeam screening for magical feedback and Night Jewel's skill in disarming traps, the ward was soon rendered useless. There appeared to be no more magical traps remaining and they were free to proceed.

On closer inspection, the clump of boulders hid from view a complicated sequences of runes etched onto the ground itself. Again, those with magical training might recognise these. They were command runes, designed to activate something when touched in the correct sequence. The consequences of failing this step was anypony's guess. :smallwink:

What that sequence was however... well, that was up to Zaros to remember.

Starbeam takes the opportunity to have another crack at seeing what her counterpart can do. With ideas already whirling through her mind, she puts on a dramatic frown of concentration, puts another shield on hair-trigger in case something goes wrong, and opens the stage for Night Jewel.

[PurityIcekiller]

With Starbeam screening for magical feedback and Night Jewel's skill in disarming traps, the ward was soon rendered useless. There appeared to be no more magical traps remaining and they were free to proceed.

On closer inspection, the clump of boulders hid from view a complicated sequences of runes etched onto the ground itself. Again, those with magical training might recognise these. They were command runes, designed to activate something when touched in the correct sequence. The consequences of failing this step was anypony's guess. :smallwink:

What that sequence was however... well, that was up to Zaros to remember.

"Right. We don't know what to do next, but our options seem to consist of 'poke those things until they do something' or 'poke these things with magic until they do something." Night Jewel glanced over at Starbeam. "Hopefully, they have some way of dealing with their own troops who forget the 'password'. I'm going to try touching one, unless you have a better idea."


Unfortunately for Blueshield, not one hundred paces away, a flare flew high into the sky as she clambered down the mountains. Whoever the two were working for, they were not alone and had evidently alerted more of them. She would have to move quickly.

"Blast. We'll see if I ever accept a surrender from them again."

Blueshield hurried along parallel to the slope, but stopped briefly to load a red-tipped quarrel into her crossbow. She then fired it back at the loosest-looking rocks near where she had been, where it exploded upon impact.

Half the special heads gone. I had better be more careful from now on. She continued running, hoping a small avalanche would be enough to cover her tracks.


The colt would be too focused with flying away, when she calls over he would just slow down a bit andnotice it's not of the dark army.
"Stay away!" He would just yell, then try to continue fleeing, maybe she would need to use warning bolts.
Stopping for longer would possibly mean him staying near yet another one and possibly bring out even more trouble.

Blueshield did open fire. The bolt flew wildly, given the weight of the pony on her back messing up her aim, but hopefully it had the right message.

"I'm warning you, I do not have any patience for funny business. Stop!"


They were alone for the moment, at least. The pony that she had rescued earlier was beginning to stir as well, mumbling under her breath.

"Oh, you're awake," she whispered. "At least that's one good thing."

[TheAmishPirate]

"Right."

Rainbow -

Brought Sandy to Mach's in an effort to fix his physical condition. Mental hopefully to follow. Will send message if our investigation is to take more than a few hours.

-Sunshine

The note is then left on the cot. Taylor adjusts himself to allow Sandy more room to lean heavily against him, and then they're off.

And lean Sandy does, propping himself upright with Taylor's assistance. The going is slow, the engineer can hardly walk a straight line without help, and they're forced to stop a few times when his churning stomach can take no more. But he's well acquainted with the simple act of putting one hoof in front of the other, and eventually the two of them reach town, and Sandy picks out the large house with the active tesla coils.

(Tag: Mcerberus for Mach)

[Kelvin360]

"Right. We don't know what to do next, but our options seem to consist of 'poke those things until they do something' or 'poke these things with magic until they do something." Night Jewel glanced over at Starbeam. "Hopefully, they have some way of dealing with their own troops who forget the 'password'. I'm going to try touching one, unless you have a better idea."

"I feel as though I should, but that's probably just egomania talking." Starbeam remarks. One shield goes up, then she immediately and firmly places her hoof down on a random section of the rune. "And personal shielding is easier to maintain."

[Luka]

Blueshield did open fire. The bolt flew wildly, given the weight of the pony on her back messing up her aim, but hopefully it had the right message.

"I'm warning you, I do not have any patience for funny business. Stop!"

"Gah!"
When the bolt went past him, the colt would just go wide eyes, attach his shield to his foreleg and dive down for cover.
"What the-?
If Blueshield approaches, she would find the colt just staying low, taking cover with the shield, she would just see the shield facing her way, not exactly the colt himself.
"what's wrong with you?..... Unless you are part of them, the army, looking for me already? for the last target?"
He would say, challenging slightly from behind the shield.

[MCerberus]

Cirrus

Staccata would now be in the cargo bay seeing if Miss M is about.


Mach's Workshop

Well Mach would still be present, tinkering away at something. The Trotsla coils were busy harvesting ambient power from clouds he brought over. He isn't actively watching the door, so knocking would be required.

Also, Taylor may want to go light on the Celestia stuff.

[Kelvin360]

Mach's Workshop

Well Mach would still be present, tinkering away at something. The Trotsla coils were busy harvesting ambient power from clouds he brought over. He isn't actively watching the door, so knocking would be required.

Fun fact - knocking and supporting a destabilized unicorn at the same time is harder than it looks. Not impossible, as the successful act of actually knocking indicates, but difficult.

[TheAmishPirate]

[Outside Mach's Workshop]

Said destabilized unicorn stares blearily at the door in front of him. Between his stomach, his head, and his aching muscles, leaning against Taylor is about all he can manage right now. The cleric will have to handle the talking.

[Grif]

Unfortunately, the only three magically-sensitive ponies in the room were unable to detect this on account of ignorance, apathy, and stacking, respectively.

"Well in any case, the school should be safe now. And, well, that's what matters." Ignorance supplies happily.

No, what really matters is the scientific method of which you apparently have a crippling dislike. Apathy mopes, completely silent to all except she whose mind's eye he occupies.

"Sheesh, at least he gets paid to be selfless." Stacking motions idly at Lemongrass. "But between you two," She squints at Gak and Arvadraa. "I'm tasting sugar like, all the time. What's your excuse?"

"I can't speak for Gabriel, but I feel that helping ponies is its own reward."

"Well, sure, but what do you get out of it? Tangibly?"

"I think you need to research the definition of 'selfless'."
"Money is a pretty good motivator for putting my life on the line, if you must know. Plus, mares love these sort of stuff," Lemongrass remarked with a smirk. "Of course, that also depends on stayin' alive."



Starbeam takes the opportunity to have another crack at seeing what her counterpart can do. With ideas already whirling through her mind, she puts on a dramatic frown of concentration, puts another shield on hair-trigger in case something goes wrong, and opens the stage for Night Jewel.


"Right. We don't know what to do next, but our options seem to consist of 'poke those things until they do something' or 'poke these things with magic until they do something." Night Jewel glanced over at Starbeam. "Hopefully, they have some way of dealing with their own troops who forget the 'password'. I'm going to try touching one, unless you have a better idea."


"I feel as though I should, but that's probably just egomania talking." Starbeam remarks. One shield goes up, then she immediately and firmly places her hoof down on a random section of the rune. "And personal shielding is easier to maintain."

The selected rune lighted up and glowed dimly. Seemed like it was a sequence of runes to be selected. There were six more runes to go, all etched in fancy symbols.



"Blast. We'll see if I ever accept a surrender from them again."

Blueshield hurried along parallel to the slope, but stopped briefly to load a red-tipped quarrel into her crossbow. She then fired it back at the loosest-looking rocks near where she had been, where it exploded upon impact.

Half the special heads gone. I had better be more careful from now on. She continued running, hoping a small avalanche would be enough to cover her tracks.
Well, that at least explains how Blueshield managed to get as far as she did. :smalltongue:



"Oh, you're awake," she whispered. "At least that's one good thing."
The mare mumbled again in response. Perhaps Blueshield could aid in her recovery of consciousness a little there.


Miss M's eye visibly twitched at Emerald's question. "Well first, most of them already are citizens who live here already becoming vamponies against their will, they just need help in getting back to their old lives, help with their jobs for those who had them."

"As for our second group, well none of them have made any indication that they want to stay, but then again we didn't have long talks on the subject...there are those who might want a chance at a new normal unfettered by danger, simple life. Something that everypony is entitled to am I right?" Gearstride asked as she relaxed her body but looked at Emerald with a raised brow.

"Unless I'm sorely mistaken, these vamponies require blood to feed on daily. Even those who were converted against their will. I cannot in good conscience, allow them to stay next to helpless civilians that cannot defend themselves unless there is some sort of guarantee they would pose no harm," Emerald states firmly.

[PurityIcekiller]

The selected runes lights up and glows dimly. Seemed like it was a sequence of runes to be selected.

"Interesting. Well, ideas can only be tested by experimentation."

Night Jewel examined the runes, seeing what each one looked like more closely, before deciding which to press first.


"Gah!"
When the bolt went past him, the colt would just go wide eyes, attach his shield to his foreleg and dive down for cover.
"What the-?
If Blueshield approaches, she would find the colt just staying low, taking cover with the shield, she would just see the shield facing her way, not exactly the colt himself.
"what's wrong with you?..... Unless you are part of them, the army, looking for me already? for the last target?"
He would say, challenging slightly from behind the shield.

"I should be asking what is wrong with you." Blueshield stepped closer to the shielded colt, her expression even sterner. "Your rapid locomotion and present attitude bring to mind a criminal."


The mare mumbled again in response. Perhaps Blueshield could aid in her recovery of consciousness a little there.

With a sigh, the Knight Commander set her charge on the ground. "This is really becoming overcomplicated."

She stood over the wounded mare, much of her attention still on Luka. "Look here. I've been tracking a particularly infuriating fugitive for the past several days, I fought against two black-armoured barbarians at once to save this pony from being beaten to death, and her survival is still uncertain. You had better make this good."

[Kelvin360]

The selected rune lighted up and glowed dimly. Seemed like it was a sequence of runes to be selected. There were six more runes to go, all etched in fancy symbols.


"Interesting. Well, ideas can only be tested by experimentation."

Night Jewel examined the runes, seeing what each one looked like more closely, before deciding which to press first.

Meanwhile, Starbeam is going a little more in-depth as far as magic goes, making an attempt to more specifically divine what type of magic the runes are using, and if any of them have discrepancies.


"Unless I'm sorely mistaken, these vamponies require blood to feed on daily. Even those who were converted against their will. I cannot in good conscience, allow them to stay next to helpless civilians that cannot defend themselves unless there is some sort of guarantee they would pose no harm," Emerald states firmly.

Daniel sighs softly. "I think I can offer help with that one."

"No." Snowstorm cuts in.

"Thought you'd say no."

"He'll literally punt you to the moon." She says warningly.

"And reuse my ashes as a hot new fuel source, yadda yadda." Another sigh, then he turns his gaze upon Emerald. "If the lot could be reliably supplied with enough blood to keep them from going stir-crazy, would you consider it in more amenable terms?"

"He means to add an 'in theory' and a few 'maybes' in there somewhere, I'm sure."

[Luka]

"I should be asking what is wrong with you." Blueshield stepped closer to the shielded colt, her expression even sterner. "Your rapid locomotion and present attitude bring to mind a criminal."

She stood over the wounded mare, much of her attention still on Luka. "Look here. I've been tracking a particularly infuriating fugitive for the past several days, I fought against two black-armoured barbarians at once to save this pony from being beaten to death, and her survival is still uncertain. You had better make this good."

"Wait what?"
The colt would peek a bit above the shield
"Two black attackers?.... Maybe you're not part of them"
"I'm Luka Stormshield, a Crusader, I'm.... Running away, I'm luring them away from the town, but I don't know about a criminal or anything, sorry. Please, just stay away, or they could try to attack you too"
He would say, still just slightly peeking from the shield, he isn't mentioning how he believes them to be the main target though, trying to not let her know it's him specifically and get her marked as target for meeting or seeing him too.

[Mystic Muse]

Gwyn's tail straighten stiffly when Soft did what she did. She quickly whipped her head to gripe at Soft, but the other had disappeared into the kitchen and Gwyn didn't want to off the couch, it was comfortable. So she rassum frassum and watched the movie.

Soft was in the kitchen, actually making more cookies, but also taking her sweet time to a degree. She was going to wait it out just a little bit until Gwyn began to wonder where she went. After all, shenanigans is what these dates are really about, right?

[Benson]

Cirrus
Staccata would now be in the cargo bay seeing if Miss M is about.


She would not find the Miss M she sought. Instead she would come across the currently displaced residents of Bridle Shores that were turned into vamponies. They were currently trying to entertain themselves because it was really, really boring waiting in here. Some were hitting their heads over on the walls, some were napping because it was better than being awake, and some were playing a pathetic game of charades.

"Oh someone's here maybe we'll get to go home!" One of them happily shouted when they saw Staccata enter.

"Hey you, is that what you're here for? Are we gonna finally get to leave?" Another asked hopefully.


"Unless I'm sorely mistaken, these vamponies require blood to feed on daily. Even those who were converted against their will. I cannot in good conscience, allow them to stay next to helpless civilians that cannot defend themselves unless there is some sort of guarantee they would pose no harm," Emerald states firmly.

"Well--"


Daniel sighs softly. "I think I can offer help with that one."

"No." Snowstorm cuts in.

"Thought you'd say no."

"He'll literally punt you to the moon." She says warningly.

"And reuse my ashes as a hot new fuel source, yadda yadda." Another sigh, then he turns his gaze upon Emerald. "If the lot could be reliably supplied with enough blood to keep them from going stir-crazy, would you consider it in more amenable terms?"

"He means to add an 'in theory' and a few 'maybes' in there somewhere, I'm sure."

"Exactly what he said, a sort of synthetic blood I'm wagering and uh maybe incorporate the use of bloodbanks." Gearstride said, hopefully while Miss M kept it to herself how she lived here just fine without murderfying anyone as it just would have came out rudely.
===============

Soft was in the kitchen, actually making more cookies, but also taking her sweet time to a degree. She was going to wait it out just a little bit until Gwyn began to wonder where she went. After all, shenanigans is what these dates are really about, right?

Gwyn laid on the couch on her back and cradled a glass of pina colada in her magic. "Soft! Are you still there?...!" She yelled/called out from the living room.

[Orzel]

Cirrus

Staccata would now be in the cargo bay seeing if Miss M is about.





She would not find the Miss M she sought. Instead she would come across the currently displaced residents of Bridle Shores that were turned into vamponies. They were currently trying to entertain themselves because it was really, really boring waiting in here. Some were hitting their heads over on the walls, some were napping because it was better than being awake, and some were playing a pathetic game of charades.

"Oh someone's here maybe we'll get to go home!" One of them happily shouted when they saw Staccata enter.

"Hey you, is that what you're here for? Are we gonna finally get to leave?" Another asked hopefully.

Rainbow is in the hanger. Her mane is seriously frizzled by the constant talking required to record everything. "I'm sorry. You cannot leave until I have recorded all of your information and entrance to the town is approved." she whispers not noticing Staccata.

[PurityIcekiller]

"Wait what?"
The colt would peek a bit above the shield
"Two black attackers?.... Maybe you're not part of them"
"I'm Luka Stormshield, a Crusader, I'm.... Running away, I'm luring them away from the town, but I don't know about a criminal or anything, sorry. Please, just stay away, or they could try to attack you too"
He would say, still just slightly peeking from the shield, he isn't mentioning how he believes them to be the main target though, trying to not let her know it's him specifically and get her marked as target for meeting or seeing him too.

Blueshield looked sceptical. "I see, 'Luka Stormshield'. So you're saying you're trying to bait an entire army away."

That story is so transparent, you could use it as a window. Oh well, I'll humour you enough to expose all the holes.

"So, let's assume you're telling the truth. If your adversaries pursue you at all, and they send their whole army after you instead of a small strike team more suited to the task, and you survive long enough to lure them a significant distance away - and I highly doubt that most of said possibilities will come to pass - then where will you lead them?" She gestured around. "Canterlot, to see if Princess Luna wants to clean up your mess? Maybe you think the inhabitants of Ponyville deserve a little surprise? Or are you hoping they'll be stupid enough to follow you into a deadly desert?

"No. That is preposterous." She flared her good wing for emphasis. "Even if that plan works, they will still be a problem. It'll just be for somepony else. That is either one of the worst ideas I've heard in months, or the worst alibi I've heard in an equal time. And believe me, I've heard some bad ones."

[MCerberus]

Cirrus Cargo Bay

"Actually I'm looking for a filly with a nightengale mark, to tell her mom that she's coming back."

Well that was the intention any way. In a roundabout way it's not likely that will turn into a lie. "Is miss M around?"

Mach's Workshop

After a few seconds Mach comes up to open the door. Sandy is familiar. Whoever this was... not so much. Considering the shape the good engineer is in, the second unicorn seems like a good idea.

"um, what happened?"

[Kelvin360]

Mach's Workshop

After a few seconds Mach comes up to open the door. Sandy is familiar. Whoever this was... not so much. Considering the shape the good engineer is in, the second unicorn seems like a good idea.

"um, what happened?"

"I was hoping you could tell me." Taylor says simply. "Does your experimental rejuvenation technology mix adversely with, say, cursed magical substances?"

[Luka]

Blueshield looked sceptical. "I see, 'Luka Stormshield'. So you're saying you're trying to bait an entire army away."

That story is so transparent, you could use it as a window. Oh well, I'll humour you enough to expose all the holes.

"So, let's assume you're telling the truth. If your adversaries pursue you at all, and they send their whole army after you instead of a small strike team more suited to the task, and you survive long enough to lure them a significant distance away - and I highly doubt that most of said possibilities will come to pass - then where will you lead them?" She gestured around. "Canterlot, to see if Princess Luna wants to clean up your mess? Maybe you think the inhabitants of Ponyville deserve a little surprise? Or are you hoping they'll be stupid enough to follow you into a deadly desert?

"No. That is preposterous." She flared her good wing for emphasis. "Even if that plan works, they will still be a problem. It'll just be for somepony else. That is either one of the worst ideas I've heard in months, or the worst alibi I've heard in an equal time. And believe me, I've heard some bad ones."

"I'm their main target, they have attacked several times near where I was and been specifically targetting me, I know where exactly they are and they don't want that to spread out, if they send small forces, they would start sending more when they don't get results, nor Canterlot nor anything, I'm not going to put anyone else on risk, so I'm doing it myself, ok?" He would stand up, still holding the shield there though
"I don't care if you think it's a bad idea, they did send those against me, so I'm taking them to the wilderness with me and not going to keep making matters worse for the others"
And after saying that he would put his shield back, if Blueshield doesn't interrupt he would pretty much start to go away.

[PurityIcekiller]

"I'm their main target, they have attacked several times near where I was and been specifically targetting me, I know where exactly they are and they don't want that to spread out, if they send small forces, they would start sending more when they don't get results, nor Canterlot nor anything, I'm not going to put anyone else on risk, so I'm doing it myself, ok?" He would stand up, still holding the shield there though
"I don't care if you think it's a bad idea, they did send those against me, so I'm taking them to the wilderness with me and not going to keep making matters worse for the others"
And after saying that he would put his shield back, if Blueshield doesn't interrupt he would pretty much start to go away.

"Sir Stormshield, will you listen and stop being so self-centred?" Blueshield reached out to grab his tail before he could run. "You are not the only one who knows, not the only one they threaten, and not going to change anything by running off alone. If they even bother with you, it will only take a force of... six, at most, to kill you by surprise.

"If you really want to help, you can do something about this pony here." She pointed at the wounded pegasus. "She was assaulted and brutalized by said soldiers for 'trespassing'. And you won't magically make her get better if you go off to get yourself killed. You can't prevent what has already happened. So let me ask you this: Would you rather be a selfish coward or actually helpful?"

[TheAmishPirate]

"I was hoping you could tell me." Taylor says simply. "Does your experimental rejuvenation technology mix adversely with, say, cursed magical substances?"

To punctuate the point, Sandy coughed miserably and turned a lovely shade of green.

[Luka]

"Sir Stormshield, will you listen and stop being so self-centred?" Blueshield reached out to grab his tail before he could run. "You are not the only one who knows, not the only one they threaten, and not going to change anything by running off alone. If they even bother with you, it will only take a force of... six, at most, to kill you by surprise.

"If you really want to help, you can do something about this pony here." She pointed at the wounded pegasus. "She was assaulted and brutalized by said soldiers for 'trespassing'. And you won't magically make her get better if you go off to get yourself killed. You can't prevent what has already happened. So let me ask you this: Would you rather be a selfish coward or actually helpful?"

"I'm not a "Sir".... I'm just Luka. I AM the only one who knows and caused enough trouble to be a threat, I'm the the only one they threaten, exactly why I'm going away, anything close to me becomes threatened. just 6 of them? after surviving what they thrown at me that would be an unfair fight even if I were using my sword alone, without the shield, left hoofed"
But when she mentions the wounded pegasus, he would stop being defensive, he initially thought sticking around and escorting to the town would just make more dark forces appear and attack them, but it seems that if he stays close maybe he could speed it up until they're safe and he can go back to going away and stopping to be a big dark-army-calling beacon to the town.
He would be in thought for a while before just sighing and reluctantly accepting.
"Sure, selfish coward, didn't know people cared so much about getting the frags to be selfish and a coward, but ok, I'll help with that...."

[PurityIcekiller]

"I'm not a "Sir".... I'm just Luka. I AM the only one who knows and caused enough trouble to be a threat, I'm the the only one they threaten, exactly why I'm going away, anything close to me becomes threatened. just 6 of them? after surviving what they thrown at me that would be an unfair fight even if I were using my sword alone, without the shield, left hoofed"
But when she mentions the wounded pegasus, he would stop being defensive, he initially thought sticking around and escorting to the town would just make more dark forces appear and attack them, but it seems that if he stays close maybe he could speed it up until they're safe and he can go back to going away and stopping to be a big dark-army-calling beacon to the town.
He would be in thought for a while before just sighing and reluctantly accepting.
"Sure, selfish coward, didn't know people cared so much about getting the frags to be selfish and a coward, but ok, I'll help with that...."

"In that case, 'just Luka', I suggest easing up on the bravado," snapped Blueshield as she lifted up the wounded pegasus. "You have not shown me anything worth boasting about. Now help me carry her to town."

Looks like a certain pubescent felon will have to wait. There are only so many headaches I can take right now.

[Luka]

"In that case, 'just Luka', I suggest easing up on the bravado," snapped Blueshield as she lifted up the wounded pegasus. "You have not shown me anything worth boasting about. Now help me carry her to town."

Looks like a certain pubescent felon will have to wait. There are only so many headaches I can take right now.

"Not like I care much about showing it.... Let me help there"
He would try to carry part of the wounded pegasus weight, either by using a wing to help lifting her or by carrying her too.

[Benson]

Rainbow is in the hanger. Her mane is seriously frizzled by the constant talking required to record everything. "I'm sorry. You cannot leave until I have recorded all of your information and entrance to the town is approved." she whispers not noticing Staccata.

Well she'd be in the cargo hold actually since the hanger and cargo hold are different things. Anyways! A few of the civilian vamponies groaned. "I can't believe we need to gain citizenship again..we live there already! I have a home with a mortgage!" Flambe shouted, new fangs bared in frustration.

"I still got my cats to feed!" Bear Hugs exclaimed as she clung to Flambe who just looked annoyed even more.

The vampony couple nicknamed Stone Hurler and Stone Shifter kept very quiet throughout the entire ordeal.



Cirrus Cargo Bay

"Actually I'm looking for a filly with a nightengale mark, to tell her mom that she's coming back."

Well that was the intention any way. In a roundabout way it's not likely that will turn into a lie. "Is miss M around?"


Most of the vamponies looked at Staccata in confusion, some shaking their heads. "I didn't see a mare with a nightingale cutie mark among our group." Flambe said. "As for your Miss M, no, she's probably with your lady captain or something."

[Grif]

"Interesting. Well, ideas can only be tested by experimentation."

Night Jewel examined the runes, seeing what each one looked like more closely, before deciding which to press first.
On closer inspection, they actually resemble runic alphabets. More precisely, they looked like these (http://www.tha-engliscan-gesithas.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/runepic2.jpg).

There were ten in total, arranged in a concentric circle, just big enough to fit one pony comfortably. Clockwise, the runes were arranged as thus:

GH B D E O NG Æ T H A

Really anypony's guess as to what they meant. :smallwink:


Meanwhile, Starbeam is going a little more in-depth as far as magic goes, making an attempt to more specifically divine what type of magic the runes are using, and if any of them have discrepancies.

The runes themselves were emitting weak abjuration magic, and were linked directly to a more powerful evocation conjuration spell that was buried deep within as well as the spell that Starbeam would recognise as a teleportation spell.

She wouldn't find any discrepencies, but she would note that it appeared that only four runes seemed to be needed to activate the whole system.



Daniel sighs softly. "I think I can offer help with that one."

"No." Snowstorm cuts in.

"Thought you'd say no."

"He'll literally punt you to the moon." She says warningly.

"And reuse my ashes as a hot new fuel source, yadda yadda." Another sigh, then he turns his gaze upon Emerald. "If the lot could be reliably supplied with enough blood to keep them from going stir-crazy, would you consider it in more amenable terms?"

"He means to add an 'in theory' and a few 'maybes' in there somewhere, I'm sure."




"Well--"



"Exactly what he said, a sort of synthetic blood I'm wagering and uh maybe incorporate the use of bloodbanks." Gearstride said, hopefully while Miss M kept it to herself how she lived here just fine without murderfying anyone as it just would have came out rudely.


The ruby-red unicorn looked first at Snowstorm, then at Daniel, then finally back at Gearstride. "So... in theory, you're saying that you're able to supply the need of a whole host of vamponies." Emerald's lips tightened. "In theory. The entire thing sounds ideal. But what proof you have that it'll actually work?"



"I should be asking what is wrong with you." Blueshield stepped closer to the shielded colt, her expression even sterner. "Your rapid locomotion and present attitude bring to mind a criminal."

With a sigh, the Knight Commander set her charge on the ground. "This is really becoming overcomplicated."

She stood over the wounded mare, much of her attention still on Luka. "Look here. I've been tracking a particularly infuriating fugitive for the past several days, I fought against two black-armoured barbarians at once to save this pony from being beaten to death, and her survival is still uncertain. You had better make this good."
The mare whimpered a little as she was set onto the ground, her battered wings fluttering slightly. "... Dust Feather... don't go..." she murmured under her breath.


"Sir Stormshield, will you listen and stop being so self-centred?" Blueshield reached out to grab his tail before he could run. "You are not the only one who knows, not the only one they threaten, and not going to change anything by running off alone. If they even bother with you, it will only take a force of... six, at most, to kill you by surprise.

"If you really want to help, you can do something about this pony here." She pointed at the wounded pegasus. "She was assaulted and brutalized by said soldiers for 'trespassing'. And you won't magically make her get better if you go off to get yourself killed. You can't prevent what has already happened. So let me ask you this: Would you rather be a selfish coward or actually helpful?"


"In that case, 'just Luka', I suggest easing up on the bravado," snapped Blueshield as she lifted up the wounded pegasus. "You have not shown me anything worth boasting about. Now help me carry her to town."

Looks like a certain pubescent felon will have to wait. There are only so many headaches I can take right now.


"Not like I care much about showing it.... Let me help there"
He would try to carry part of the wounded pegasus weight, either by using a wing to help lifting her or by carrying her too.
Unfortunately, it looked like Blueshield would have to deal with more headaches. In the distance, the sound of heavy galloping could be heard and closing fast. They appeared to be from the direction of where Blueshield had escaped. Unfortunately, it was rather hard to make out just how many were approaching under the moonlight.

[MCerberus]

Mach's Workshop

Mach sort of looks there stunned by the question. What the hay was going on? Meanwhile, the seemingly cursed piece of magic in the form of the gem in the workshop would giggle if it were sentient.

"What... what, uh, happened?" The pegasus opens the door and allows the two to move in towards the basement.

[PurityIcekiller]

On closer inspection, they actually resemble runic alphabets. More precisely, they looked like these (http://www.tha-engliscan-gesithas.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/runepic2.jpg).

There were ten in total, arranged in a concentric circle, just big enough to fit one pony comfortably. Clockwise, the runes were arranged as thus:

GH B D E O NG Æ T H A

Really anypony's guess as to what they meant. :smallwink:

Night Jewel looked over the runes. "Enough to spell 'death'... I really hope that one combined letter isn't used... Hmm. No 'M'. Any insights?"


The mare whimpered a little as she was set onto the ground, her battered wings fluttering slightly. "... Dust Feather... don't go..." she murmured under her breath.

Dust Feather? Who is-


Unfortunately, it looked like Blueshield would have to deal with more headaches. In the distance, the sound of heavy galloping could be heard and closing fast. They appeared to be from the direction of where Blueshield had escaped. Unfortunately, it was rather hard to make out just how many were approaching under the moonlight.

Blueshield didn't even both to look. "Luka, no arguing. Run!" She was off almost immediately. With the burden of the semi-conscious mare divided between them, they would hopefully be fast enough to make it to town.

[Kelvin360]

Daniel/Snowstorm

"This is an if-then situation. All I'm asking is if your answer will change in the event that I can make it work."

---

Starbeam

"Yes...'death' won't work, unless whoever made this is dyslexic. It looks as though the system activates on the triggering of four runes, not five." She frowns deeply. "I wish I'd paid more attention to runic studies...and I feel like I should remember something, here."

She taps her hoof and stares intently at the circle of runes, like she's waiting for them to spell out the answer.

---

Taylor

"If I knew that, I don't think I'd be here." Taylor steps (all right, leads Sandy in and THEN steps) inside. "The best I can tell so far is that whatever he got pumped full of is failing or succeeding a little too well. He's ingested vampire blood for on-the-spot healing-" He looks more than a little miffed at that. "-And apparently some sort of invention of yours has accomplished much the same thing in the past. Problem is, the blood shouldn't be having affects this adverse. He's having a mental breakdown, that I understand, but his body is going through unexplainable havoc as well. I'm hoping we can put our heads together and figure out how to fix this."

[Benson]

The ruby-red unicorn looked first at Snowstorm, then at Daniel, then finally back at Gearstride. "So... in theory, you're saying that you're able to supply the need of a whole host of vamponies." Emerald's lips tightened. "In theory. The entire thing sounds ideal. But what proof you have that it'll actually work?"


Daniel/Snowstorm

"This is an if-then situation. All I'm asking is if your answer will change in the event that I can make it work."

Bureaucracy. Blegh. Gearstride sputter-nickered.

Gearstride shook her hoofless leg. "Yes, in theory and, no we don't have proof, that's why it is a theory. But we can't really do anything more than theorize unless we have a guarantee that we have a shot at letting ponies return to their homes here, in Bridle Shores and letting ponies have a second shot at a better life."

[Luka]

Blueshield didn't even both to look. "Luka, no arguing. Run!" She was off almost immediately. With the burden of the semi-conscious mare divided between them, they would hopefully be fast enough to make it to town.

The colt would slightly seem to want to turn, but when Blueshield talks he just goes along.

[TheAmishPirate]

Taylor

"If I knew that, I don't think I'd be here." Taylor steps (all right, leads Sandy in and THEN steps) inside. "The best I can tell so far is that whatever he got pumped full of is failing or succeeding a little too well. He's ingested vampire blood for on-the-spot healing-" He looks more than a little miffed at that. "-And apparently some sort of invention of yours has accomplished much the same thing in the past. Problem is, the blood shouldn't be having affects this adverse. He's having a mental breakdown, that I understand, but his body is going through unexplainable havoc as well. I'm hoping we can put our heads together and figure out how to fix this."

"'M not sick..." Sandy weakly interjects as he's carried into the workshop.

(Beyond the odd summary from me of his symptoms and whatnot, Sandy will be pretty listless in this scene. Feel free to continue to discuss without his input.)

[Grif]

Night Jewel looked over the runes. "Enough to spell 'death'... I really hope that one combined letter isn't used... Hmm. No 'M'. Any insights?"



Starbeam

"Yes...'death' won't work, unless whoever made this is dyslexic. It looks as though the system activates on the triggering of four runes, not five." She frowns deeply. "I wish I'd paid more attention to runic studies...and I feel like I should remember something, here."

She taps her hoof and stares intently at the circle of runes, like she's waiting for them to spell out the answer.
The runes stared back, silently. :smalltongue: Looked like they'd have to chance guessing the password.



Dust Feather? Who is-

Blueshield didn't even both to look. "Luka, no arguing. Run!" She was off almost immediately. With the burden of the semi-conscious mare divided between them, they would hopefully be fast enough to make it to town.


The colt would slightly seem to want to turn, but when Blueshield talks he just goes along.

(I assume for my own clarity that they're still some distance away from Bridle Shores, around two-to-three hours as the bird flies.)

Wise choice. The thunderous gallop only increased in volume as the trio (or rather, duo with one dead weight) begin to make their way towards the town. To their left, was some rather thick woodlands. To their right, lay a series of well-tended corn and oat fields, with the roof of a farmstead barely visible over in the distance. Either might serve to facilitate their escape from their pursuers. Or they could even take their chances on the open road.


Bureaucracy. Blegh. Gearstride sputter-nickered.

Gearstride shook her hoofless leg. "Yes, in theory and, no we don't have proof, that's why it is a theory. But we can't really do anything more than theorize unless we have a guarantee that we have a shot at letting ponies return to their homes here, in Bridle Shores and letting ponies have a second shot at a better life."


Daniel/Snowstorm

"This is an if-then situation. All I'm asking is if your answer will change in the event that I can make it work."
"If." Emerald echoed. "If you can make it work, then I would reconsider. Until such proof is brought before me, however, consider any proposal to resettle the vamponies here denied."

[Kelvin360]

"If." Emerald echoed. "If you can make it work, then I would reconsider. Until such proof is brought before me, however, consider any proposal to resettle the vamponies here denied."

Daniel opens his mouth, only to quickly be cut off by Snowstorm. "Great! Now, I have my own question to ask, fairly separate from that matter. I'm guessing you've already heard of the impending invasion threat? Well, reinforcements from Canterlot are on the way, but I felt it might be necessary to measure out the exact details, at least as far as the connection between them and Bridle Shores goes."

[Grif]

Daniel opens his mouth, only to quickly be cut off by Snowstorm. "Great! Now, I have my own question to ask, fairly separate from that matter. I'm guessing you've already heard of the impending invasion threat? Well, reinforcements from Canterlot are on the way, but I felt it might be necessary to measure out the exact details, at least as far as the connection between them and Bridle Shores goes."
"Issues of security would fall under the purview of the Captain," Emerald replied flatly.

[Kelvin360]

"Issues of security would fall under the purview of the Captain," Emerald replied flatly.

She nods like it was expected. "Figured that, yeah. Pretty literally didn't hurt to check, too."

[MCerberus]

Mach's Workshop

Despite not being the most physically imposing stallion, Mach would help bring Sandy into the basement workshop. The working space still has the usual assortment of hoofblade crafting materials, tools, spare parts, electrical whatsits and the large healing machine where it's always been.

"What um, sort of magic? I'm talking schools, effects, did you check that sort of stuff when it's fresh? If it's still lingering then we may get a read on it."

[Kelvin360]

Mach's Workshop

Despite not being the most physically imposing stallion, Mach would help bring Sandy into the basement workshop. The working space still has the usual assortment of hoofblade crafting materials, tools, spare parts, electrical whatsits and the large healing machine where it's always been.

"What um, sort of magic? I'm talking schools, effects, did you check that sort of stuff when it's fresh? If it's still lingering then we may get a read on it."

"The most I've been able to glean so far is that it's left a power generation effect in his bloodstream. If I had to guess, I'd say Transmutation, to accelerate his natural healing process. Depending on its composition, it's pretty easy to see why it'd interfere with a separate regenerative substance.

I don't know what you mean by 'fresh', but I'd wager 'no'. The reaction is recent, the magic isn't."

[Orzel]

Cirrus Cargo Bay

"Actually I'm looking for a filly with a nightengale mark, to tell her mom that she's coming back."

Well that was the intention any way. In a roundabout way it's not likely that will turn into a lie. "Is miss M around?"




Well she'd be in the cargo hold actually since the hanger and cargo hold are different things. Anyways! A few of the civilian vamponies groaned. "I can't believe we need to gain citizenship again..we live there already! I have a home with a mortgage!" Flambe shouted, new fangs bared in frustration.

"I still got my cats to feed!" Bear Hugs exclaimed as she clung to Flambe who just looked annoyed even more.

The vampony couple nicknamed Stone Hurler and Stone Shifter kept very quiet throughout the entire ordeal.




Most of the vamponies looked at Staccata in confusion, some shaking their heads. "I didn't see a mare with a nightingale cutie mark among our group." Flambe said. "As for your Miss M, no, she's probably with your lady captain or something."

"I've seen beither of those vamponies. And I've seen a lot of Vamponies lately." mummbles Rainbow. She was not good at this at all. She's a shooter not a writer. The sniper longs for a shot of tequila. "Now. How many cats where there?"

[PurityIcekiller]

"Yes...'death' won't work, unless whoever made this is dyslexic. It looks as though the system activates on the triggering of four runes, not five." She frowns deeply. "I wish I'd paid more attention to runic studies...and I feel like I should remember something, here."

She taps her hoof and stares intently at the circle of runes, like she's waiting for them to spell out the answer.

"Well, that puts a damper on things. It's got to be something clichéd, given who made it, but what? There aren't the right letters for most of the typical words..."

Hold that thought, girl. Do you remember the things you've overheard? You know, from that paladin?

Night Jewel then brightened up a bit. "Wait. I think I remember something Dawnstrider mentioned. A strange syllable, and it was related to these guys. What do you think?"


Wise choice. The thunderous gallop only increased in volume as the trio (or rather, duo with one dead weight) begin to make their way towards the town. To their left, was some rather thick woodlands. To their right, lay a series of well-tended corn and oat fields, with the roof of a farmstead barely visible over in the distance. Either might serve to facilitate their escape from their pursuers. Or they could even take their chances on the open road.

Blueshield chose to turn left. Thick trees would be far easier to evade pursuers in.

This will be difficult. If we're really lucky, we'll find a river to ditch them with, but otherwise, we'll just have to risk getting lost ourselves to escape them.

[Grif]

Blueshield chose to turn left. Thick trees would be far easier to evade pursuers in.

This will be difficult. If we're really lucky, we'll find a river to ditch them with, but otherwise, we'll just have to risk getting lost ourselves to escape them.

The woodlands were predictably, full of trees. Large hulking trees that seemed almost ancient, dating back to even before the time of Discord. Blueshield and Luka would quickly find themselves losing all sense of direction in the thick undergrowth and the darkened eaves of the massive trees. Even the moonlight was obscured by the thick foliage. Let's hope the two brought a navigational equipment or two. On the bright side, the sound of pursuit seemed to have died down, to be replaced by the gentle singing of the night creatures.

[Benson]

"I've seen neither of those vamponies. And I've seen a lot of Vamponies lately." mumbles Rainbow. She was not good at this at all. She's a shooter not a writer. The sniper longs for a shot of tequila. "Now. How many cats where there?"

"Ten, oh my poor babies!" Bear Hugs squeezed Flambe who let out a throaty choking sound and tried to wiggle his way out of the hug to no avail.


"If." Emerald echoed. "If you can make it work, then I would reconsider. Until such proof is brought before me, however, consider any proposal to resettle the vamponies here denied."


If Gearstride could clench her hoof like a fist she'd be doing it right now. The spirited captain just saw this as an unfairness. She didn't want to speak to Emerald anymore, she just felt she would get into a shouting match. She tagged teamed her lieutenant for the rest of this.

[Mindfreak]

Unfortunately, the only three magically-sensitive ponies in the room were unable to detect this on account of ignorance, apathy, and stacking, respectively.

"Well in any case, the school should be safe now. And, well, that's what matters." Ignorance supplies happily.

No, what really matters is the scientific method of which you apparently have a crippling dislike. Apathy mopes, completely silent to all except she whose mind's eye he occupies.

"Sheesh, at least he gets paid to be selfless." Stacking motions idly at Lemongrass. "But between you two," She squints at Gak and Arvadraa. "I'm tasting sugar like, all the time. What's your excuse?"

"I can't speak for Gabriel, but I feel that helping ponies is its own reward."

"Well, sure, but what do you get out of it? Tangibly?"

"I think you need to research the definition of 'selfless'."
Bar
Gak thinks for a moment.
"I just do good things because it feels natural."^_^
She telekinesises her drink up to her mouth as she takes a deep gulp.
She silently wondered if Arvaada still wanted an explanation for that puddle thing back at the school.

[Luka]

The woodlands were predictably, full of trees. Large hulking trees that seemed almost ancient, dating back to even before the time of Discord. Blueshield and Luka would quickly find themselves losing all sense of direction in the thick undergrowth and the darkened eaves of the massive trees. Even the moonlight was obscured by the thick foliage. Let's hope the two brought a navigational equipment or two. On the bright side, the sound of pursuit seemed to have died down, to be replaced by the gentle singing of the night creatures.

Luka doesn't, he planned to get lost, not travel around.
"Did you bring something to guide? like a map?"
He would ask, but if stuff got too hard he would just fly up and try to guide himself with the moon, assuming it goes East-to-west on this planet.
He also would try to look around for the plants, maybe he would find some medicinal plant or something he could find to help the wounded one a bit, like a willow or something until they can get to a town where she could recover.

[TheAmishPirate]

[Mach's Workshop]

Between the two ponies, Sandy is half-led, half-dragged down into the basement workshop. The exhausted pony looks around for a bed or something to lie on, just to rest his hooves a moment...

(Mcerberus: If you need a refresher, I can pull up the details of what Mach noticed with Sandy after he used the blood-power-ma-jigger healy thing.)

[MCerberus]

Cirrus Cargo Bay

Well now that it appears that this is a dead-end, Staccata can only roll her eyes at the crazy cat lady action going on. "And does anypony know where I could find either of the two?"

Mach's Workshop

Ah yes, unusual power drain. Still, for what Mach knows about healing magic, it doesn't explain what's going on with Sandy. The unicorn would be lead over to the healing machine to lay down and wait for his 'shots'.

"The magic here is instantaneous. With the current system set up it would be wise or, uh, possible to leave residue in line with what it does." The pegasus hoofs over a needle assuming Sandy has filled in Taylor about the transfusion thing. Any further questioning along this lines may or may not end in a long theoretical discussion of flash-healing.

"But has Sandy uh, taken anything else with magic involved... drugs or potions?"

[Kelvin360]

"Well, that puts a damper on things. It's got to be something clichéd, given who made it, but what? There aren't the right letters for most of the typical words..."

Night Jewel then brightened up a bit. [COLOR="Purple"]"Wait. I think I remember something Dawnstrider mentioned. A strange syllable, and it was related to these guys. What do you think?"

"Dark? Evil, clichéd, and moron are all multiple syllables."



Bar
Gak thinks for a moment.
"I just do good things because it feels natural."^_^
She telekinesises her drink up to her mouth as she takes a deep gulp.
She silently wondered if Arvaada still wanted an explanation for that puddle thing back at the school.

"...Altruism isn't natural. Self-preservation as a defense mechanism is formed around the necessity of the opposite. If anything, 'good ponies' are an aberration."

"Stellar." Arvadraa growls warningly. Then she sighs and addresses the other two. "Sorry. She has a...trust complex." Looks like the entire issue has all but slipped her mind.


Mach's Workshop

Ah yes, unusual power drain. Still, for what Mach knows about healing magic, it doesn't explain what's going on with Sandy. The unicorn would be lead over to the healing machine to lay down and wait for his 'shots'.

"The magic here is instantaneous. With the current system set up it would be wise or, uh, possible to leave residue in line with what it does." The pegasus hoofs over a needle assuming Sandy has filled in Taylor about the transfusion thing. Any further questioning along this lines may or may not end in a long theoretical discussion of flash-healing.

"But has Sandy uh, taken anything else with magic involved... drugs or potions?"

Taylor gives him a flat look. "...You want to inject him with more magical fluids after what I just told you. I was adverse about the sedatives and surface mending I gave him, let alone in-depth treatment. To answer your question, unless he has a sorlaic hisperamine addiction that he's been indulging while I wasn't looking, the only things I gave him were direct contact regenerative spells and nervous anesthetics. Both unicorn magic."

Yes. I just now made up the phrase 'sorlaic hisperamine' to make 'healing potion' sound more science-y. Sue me.

[TheAmishPirate]

Mach's Workshop

Ah yes, unusual power drain. Still, for what Mach knows about healing magic, it doesn't explain what's going on with Sandy. The unicorn would be lead over to the healing machine to lay down and wait for his 'shots'.

"The magic here is instantaneous. With the current system set up it would be wise or, uh, possible to leave residue in line with what it does." The pegasus hoofs over a needle assuming Sandy has filled in Taylor about the transfusion thing. Any further questioning along this lines may or may not end in a long theoretical discussion of flash-healing.

"But has Sandy uh, taken anything else with magic involved... drugs or potions?"

Sandy lies down on the table by the healing machine, limp as a ragdoll. The voices of the two other ponies drift and meld into a steady background hum, but sleep does not take the little unicorn just yet. The thought of being stuck full of needles tends to do that to a pony.


Taylor gives him a flat look. "...You want to inject him with more magical fluids after what I just told you. I was adverse about the sedatives and surface mending I gave him, let alone in-depth treatment. To answer your question, unless he has a sorlaic hisperamine addiction that he's been indulging while I wasn't looking, the only things I gave him were direct contact regenerative spells and nervous anesthetics. Both unicorn magic."

Yes. I just now made up the phrase 'sorlaic hisperamine' to make 'healing potion' sound more science-y. Sue me.

If Taylor knew the amount of information not being told to him, he would not be faulted for strangling the unicorn on the spot.


Sandy had given Taylor the briefest of briefs on the flash-healing device. In other words, he told the cleric he'd been hooked up to a blood-magic-healy machine and called it a day. He or another crewmember might've been able to let him in on how the transfusion process worked, but that is mere speculation at this point.


Additionally, there were those peculiar drugs - both the combat stimulants and the depressants - from the Backers injected during the vampony fight...but Taylor had also not been made privy to that information. Either by negligence, an effort to keep classified materials classified, or just forgotten in the wake of that awful mission.


And who could forget that one time when he'd been foalnapped? True, they found no odd trace of chemicals in his system, but that Sleepwalker's Ring was rather difficult - and painful-looking - to remove.


Oops!

[MCerberus]

Mach's Workshop

It takes a moment to register that Taylor wasn't filled in on exactly how the machine works, with the blood cycling and all. "I need to run blood through the system to impart the effect. Sandy I uh, it doesn't look like he's exactly strong at this point. Due to the nature of the device it has to be a match for the magic matrices of the receptiant, so unicorn to unicorn and uh, all that."

"But with the instantaneous effect, any corruption would have to occur at the point of application. Nothing seemed to happen while his magic reserves where being restored, nor has anypony else reported side-effects." Mach's just going to source the earlier anomaly to Sandy's drained status then. That does leave an interesting experiment on the table. Observe what's happening while Sandy's being healed.

[Kelvin360]

Mach's Workshop

It takes a moment to register that Taylor wasn't filled in on exactly how the machine works, with the blood cycling and all. "I need to run blood through the system to impart the effect. Sandy I uh, it doesn't look like he's exactly strong at this point. Due to the nature of the device it has to be a match for the magic matrices of the receptiant, so unicorn to unicorn and uh, all that."

"But with the instantaneous effect, any corruption would have to occur at the point of application. Nothing seemed to happen while his magic reserves where being restored, nor has anypony else reported side-effects." Mach's just going to source the earlier anomaly to Sandy's drained status then. That does leave an interesting experiment on the table. Observe what's happening while Sandy's being healed.

Taylor shakes his head. "Kid's been through a lot. Wouldn't surprise me if this is just a matter of stacking trauma all of a sudden. Of course, there's the most likely scenario that it's just the inherent danger in using the life essence of evil undead as an impromptu healing potion," He enunciates it clearly. Whether in hopes that Sandy can hear or just because he's still really sore about it is unclear. "But I'm ranting."

He pauses to consider the needle. "Mine, huh? ...Don't suppose there's another way? Using mine might not be...safe. Mind you, I'm not entirely sure that it isn't, but at the very least it could sting."

[TheAmishPirate]

Taylor shakes his head. "Kid's been through a lot. Wouldn't surprise me if this is just a matter of stacking trauma all of a sudden. Of course, there's the most likely scenario that it's just the inherent danger in using the life essence of evil undead as an impromptu healing potion," He enunciates it clearly. Whether in hopes that Sandy can hear or just because he's still really sore about it is unclear. "But I'm ranting."

He pauses to consider the needle. "Mine, huh? ...Don't suppose there's another way? Using mine might not be...safe. Mind you, I'm not entirely sure that it isn't, but at the very least it could sting."

Sandy groans at the sudden intrusion into his personal mentality bubble. "Nghh...ain't true...Miss M an' Zephyr ain't...Z-Zephyr ain't...urghh..." The engineer curls up and shivers, his eyes screwed shut.

[MCerberus]

Taylor shakes his head. "Kid's been through a lot. Wouldn't surprise me if this is just a matter of stacking trauma all of a sudden. Of course, there's the most likely scenario that it's just the inherent danger in using the life essence of evil undead as an impromptu healing potion," He enunciates it clearly. Whether in hopes that Sandy can hear or just because he's still really sore about it is unclear. "But I'm ranting."

He pauses to consider the needle. "Mine, huh? ...Don't suppose there's another way? Using mine might not be...safe. Mind you, I'm not entirely sure that it isn't, but at the very least it could sting."

That would illicit a raised eyebrow from the pegasus. Sandy's rambling doesn't even register. "Unless you've got another unicorn around here somewhere... there something wrong with you? Except for a spellplague I, uh, don't think there's much that gets in the way."

[PurityIcekiller]

"Dark? Evil, clichéd, and moron are all multiple syllables."

"No, no. What I meant was... something that isn't a word I've heard before." Night Jewel sighed. "I don't know what exactly it was. Maybe we should have brought Dawnstrider; he'd be able to explain. But do you know anything that isn't a common word which could be related to this army?"


The woodlands were predictably, full of trees. Large hulking trees that seemed almost ancient, dating back to even before the time of Discord. Blueshield and Luka would quickly find themselves losing all sense of direction in the thick undergrowth and the darkened eaves of the massive trees. Even the moonlight was obscured by the thick foliage. Let's hope the two brought a navigational equipment or two. On the bright side, the sound of pursuit seemed to have died down, to be replaced by the gentle singing of the night creatures.


Luka doesn't, he planned to get lost, not travel around.
"Did you bring something to guide? like a map?"
He would ask, but if stuff got too hard he would just fly up and try to guide himself with the moon, assuming it goes East-to-west on this planet.
He also would try to look around for the plants, maybe he would find some medicinal plant or something he could find to help the wounded one a bit, like a willow or something until they can get to a town where she could recover.

Blueshield shook her head. "I have a compass, but the map I have wouldn't be particularly helpful. You see, the thing about maps is you need some reference points to actually use them.

"Of course, the forest itself is a reference point. According to my geographic knowledge, there's a rather large and dangerous forest to the north of Bridle Shores. If this is that forest, then proceeding south would be the optimal course of action, and we had best be cautious. I am unfamiliar with this place, but considering my fortune, I suspect we will run afoul of something unpleasant."

[Kelvin360]

That would illicit a raised eyebrow from the pegasus. Sandy's rambling doesn't even register. "Unless you've got another unicorn around here somewhere... there something wrong with you? Except for a spellplague I, uh, don't think there's much that gets in the way."

"I just figured that my blood might cause problems if he still has the vampiric stuff circulating. I'm....kind of overflowing with light magic."


"No, no. What I meant was... something that isn't a word I've heard before." Night Jewel sighed. "I don't know what exactly it was. Maybe we should have brought Dawnstrider; he'd be able to explain. But do you know anything that isn't a common word which could be related to this army?"

She shakes her head. "I'm sorry. I spent a majority of my time in Canterlot researching methodology and defense, not their history."

[MCerberus]

Mach's Workshop

Mach flips a switch to cut off the machine from the town's systems and it begins to charge up. To Taylor's concerns, the pegasus, seemingly as a reflex, spits back something from back at school learning about this.

"The magical effect is not the method." Healing in particular has a lot of different ways to skin that cat.

[Kelvin360]

Mach's Workshop

Mach flips a switch to cut off the machine from the town's systems and it begins to charge up. To Taylor's concerns, the pegasus, seemingly as a reflex, spits back something from back at school learning about this.

"The magical effect is not the method." Healing in particular has a lot of different ways to skin that cat.

"I don't think you quite understand...if the majority...or even a sufficient minority...of his blood is still vampirically enhanced, I could roast him from the inside out. You'll have to be very quick on the draw, here. And exact. Are you at least one hundred percent certain you can make this work?"

[MCerberus]

Mach's Workshop

Mach goes through the files in his mind trying to figure out what the concern about. Positive and negative energy seem to cancel each other out. It wouldn't really be an issue unless it was some sort of radiant energy powering Taylor.

"If you want we can take a small sample from Sandy. Then you can, uh, zap it with some of your energy or something."

[Kelvin360]

Mach's Workshop

Mach goes through the files in his mind trying to figure out what the concern about. Positive and negative energy seem to cancel each other out. It wouldn't really be an issue unless it was some sort of radiant energy powering Taylor.

"If you want we can take a small sample from Sandy. Then you can, uh, zap it with some of your energy or something."

He nods. "Whatever has the least chance of hurting him."

[Luka]

Blueshield shook her head. "I have a compass, but the map I have wouldn't be particularly helpful. You see, the thing about maps is you need some reference points to actually use them.

"Of course, the forest itself is a reference point. According to my geographic knowledge, there's a rather large and dangerous forest to the north of Bridle Shores. If this is that forest, then proceeding south would be the optimal course of action, and we had best be cautious. I am unfamiliar with this place, but considering my fortune, I suspect we will run afoul of something unpleasant."

"Then let's go there, running into trouble could put her [the wounded] in even worse danger than us"
He would try turning with the compass, but still looking around for a willow or something.

[Grif]

"Then let's go there, running into trouble could put her [the wounded] in even worse danger than us"
He would try turning with the compass, but still looking around for a willow or something.



Blueshield shook her head. "I have a compass, but the map I have wouldn't be particularly helpful. You see, the thing about maps is you need some reference points to actually use them.

"Of course, the forest itself is a reference point. According to my geographic knowledge, there's a rather large and dangerous forest to the north of Bridle Shores. If this is that forest, then proceeding south would be the optimal course of action, and we had best be cautious. I am unfamiliar with this place, but considering my fortune, I suspect we will run afoul of something unpleasant."

The dark, dense forest awaited. The pair would find progress to be slow-going, what with Blueshield having injured a wing, and the fact that Luka's heavy armour keep getting encumbered in the dense undergrowth. And the fact that they had to take care of one wounded mare wasn't helping things. At least their pursuers were nowhere to be heard.

Eventually though, they would reach a small stream, which seemed to be flowing in a westernerly direction. They could either follow the stream or press southwards.

At this point too, the mare finally stirred awake, her body nearly slipping off Blueshield's and Luka's grasp in the process. Her violet eyes blinked open, unfocused and confused. "W-where... who are you?" she whispered. In the dim moonlight, her battered ochre coat was visible, the dark brown of her mane hanging free.



If Gearstride could clench her hoof like a fist she'd be doing it right now. The spirited captain just saw this as an unfairness. She didn't want to speak to Emerald anymore, she just felt she would get into a shouting match. She tagged teamed her lieutenant for the rest of this.

Silverpine took it as his cue to take over. "What kind of proof would you require then?"

"It's simple. Demonstrate to me, preferably in a setting where I can observe it myself, but photographic evidence or the sort would do just as well, that this process of yours works, within acceptable safety standards and in sufficient enough quantity to feed these... vamponies."

Silverpine glanced at Daniel and Snowstorm for confirmation.

[Kelvin360]

Mayor's Office

"Wait, you...you think he's talking about bloodbinding?"

"I-I was just going to get a hold of a whole lot of spare blood, not mass produce it."

"And if you thought just doing that sounded...hmm..."

"We'll....have to think on plan B. But everypony here should know for certain that just regular blood works plenty fine. It's the getting it that's trouble."

[MCerberus]

Mach's Workshop

And so Mach would go to take a small blood sample from Sandy. He takes the sample over to a workbench and finds some strips that change color if different kind of magic interact with each other, because he's a pegasus and they always seem to have a mechanical answer for magic issues.

"If you want to zap it with anything. Just, uh, nothing destructive."

[Kelvin360]

Mach's Workshop

And so Mach would go to take a small blood sample from Sandy. He takes the sample over to a workbench and finds some strips that change color if different kind of magic interact with each other, because he's a pegasus and they always seem to have a mechanical answer for magic issues.

"If you want to zap it with anything. Just, uh, nothing destructive."

Taylor spends a few moments considering how to go about this predicament. Eventually, he decides on a balancing point between his two techniques. He exhales, softly, letting a bit of magical energy out with the air, but not anything substantial.

Then, his horn lights up, gathering up the glowing aura of light that follows him around from the end of his tail to the tip of his horn. At this point it's likely that the room is starting to get substantially darker. Gingerly, a small tendril of what looks like sunlight makes its way from the magical appendage on to the bench, like a miniature tentacle, but glowier. Its tip touches the blood, and then the whole thing starts funneling in.

It's worth noting that this is a harmless bit of sun/light magic, but has the same properties as actually standing outside on a clear day. It remains dark for a bit afterwards, and then Taylor's natural passive channeling starts to kick back in, and he goes back to glowing.

[PurityIcekiller]

She shakes her head. "I'm sorry. I spent a majority of my time in Canterlot researching methodology and defense, not their history."

"Then maybe we need somepony who does know these things. Do you have a communication spell?"


The dark, dense forest awaited. The pair would find progress to be slow-going, what with Blueshield having injured a wing, and the fact that Luka's heavy armour keep getting encumbered in the dense undergrowth. And the fact that they had to take care of one wounded mare wasn't helping things. At least their pursuers were nowhere to be heard.

Eventually though, they would reach a small stream, which seemed to be flowing in a westernerly direction. They could either follow the stream or press southwards.

At this point too, the mare finally stirred awake, her body nearly slipping off Blueshield's and Luka's grasp in the process. Her violet eyes blinked open, unfocused and confused. "W-where... who are you?" she whispered. In the dim moonlight, her battered ochre coat was visible, the dark brown of her mane hanging free.

"Easy, easy." Blueshield struggled to keep the mare from falling. "I am Knight Commander Blueshield. You're... in no immediate danger, at least."

She decided to stick with their current course. Faster movement wasn't really worth the risk of getting even more lost. "So who are you, and what were you doing before those ruffians attacked you?"

[Kelvin360]

"Then maybe we need somepony who does know these things. Do you have a communication spell?"

She nods. "Something like that. I can inscribe a series of symbols in the sky visible - under most circumstances, that is - only to whom I choose. Everypony on the team is familiar with them."

She looks up, and her horn glows. Then, absolutely nothing happens.

Not there, anyway.

---

The Gates

While standing nigh-perfectly still like a disturbing sort of statue with quite the interest in the horizon, something draws Dawnstrider's attention upwards. He stares into the sky for a long while, then sighs. He mutters something like 'I must depart' or possibly 'mustard darts' and trots off.

[Luka]

The dark, dense forest awaited. The pair would find progress to be slow-going, what with Blueshield having injured a wing, and the fact that Luka's heavy armour keep getting encumbered in the dense undergrowth. And the fact that they had to take care of one wounded mare wasn't helping things. At least their pursuers were nowhere to be heard.

Eventually though, they would reach a small stream, which seemed to be flowing in a westernerly direction. They could either follow the stream or press southwards.

At this point too, the mare finally stirred awake, her body nearly slipping off Blueshield's and Luka's grasp in the process. Her violet eyes blinked open, unfocused and confused. "W-where... who are you?" she whispered. In the dim moonlight, her battered ochre coat was visible, the dark brown of her mane hanging free.

More than getting "encumbered" would be the fact he's kind of slowed down trying to properly carry the mare; armor does not slow him down.
"Call me Luka, we're just trying to get you safe, away from whoever attacked you"
He would still look around in case there's a willow or something.

[TheAmishPirate]

Mach's Workshop

And so Mach would go to take a small blood sample from Sandy. He takes the sample over to a workbench and finds some strips that change color if different kind of magic interact with each other, because he's a pegasus and they always seem to have a mechanical answer for magic issues.

"If you want to zap it with anything. Just, uh, nothing destructive."

Sandy - upon seeing the needle - screws his eyes shut tight. The ordinarily hardy stallion actually winces when it pierces skin, and doesn't let out his breath until it leaves him again.

Needles. Worst invention of all ponykind...


Taylor spends a few moments considering how to go about this predicament. Eventually, he decides on a balancing point between his two techniques. He exhales, softly, letting a bit of magical energy out with the air, but not anything substantial.

Then, his horn lights up, gathering up the glowing aura of light that follows him around from the end of his tail to the tip of his horn. At this point it's likely that the room is starting to get substantially darker. Gingerly, a small tendril of what looks like sunlight makes its way from the magical appendage on to the bench, like a miniature tentacle, but glowier. Its tip touches the blood, and then the whole thing starts funneling in.

It's worth noting that this is a harmless bit of sun/light magic, but has the same properties as actually standing outside on a clear day. It remains dark for a bit afterwards, and then Taylor's natural passive channeling starts to kick back in, and he goes back to glowing.

As the aura of sunlight pours into the vial, the blood within starts to ripple, as if disturbed by some invisible force. Mach's little papers show strong interactions on Light and Darkness-aligned magics, with just a fraction of a reaction on the Fire-aligned magics. The blood within certainly does not appear to boiling, nor does it even look to have undergone any drastic temperature change. Should either of the two ponies actually touch the vial, it would feel just as cool as it did a moment ago.

[Kelvin360]

Mach's

Taylor frowns. He looks unconvinced, but slightly relenting. "I guess I'll just have to have a little faith that we can fix anything that goes wrong." He then levitates the needle he was given earlier and casually drives it straight into a vein.

---

Several Minutes Later...

The crack and thud of heavy footfalls echoes around the sigil's clearing. Brush twists, the ground shakes slightly, and birds take flight. A pony clad in black, spiked plate surveys the area with his glowing green eyes.

"...You called?"

[PurityIcekiller]

She nods. "Something like that. I can inscribe a series of symbols in the sky visible - under most circumstances, that is - only to whom I choose. Everypony on the team is familiar with them."

She looks up, and her horn glows. Then, absolutely nothing happens.

Not there, anyway.

"Something like my Fox Fire spell? Intriguing." Night Jewel looked up, trying to figure out what the secret was...


The crack and thud of heavy footfalls echoes around the sigil's clearing. Brush twists, the ground shakes slightly, and birds take flight. A pony clad in black, spiked plate surveys the area with his glowing green eyes.

"...You called?"

She then gave Starbeam a perplexed look. "I didn't mean I wanted to bring him out here...

"Anyway, yes. We need your help. It seems this thing's password-protected. We know it;s four of those symbols, and I think it might be a... name? Something that you mentioned to that Luka colt. Anyway, can you deal with this?"

[Kelvin360]

"Something like my Fox Fire spell? Intriguing." Night Jewel looked up, trying to figure out what the secret was...

True to her word, it looks like whatever she's inscribing (If it's anything at all) isn't visible to most prying eyes. That would defeat some of the purpose, after all.


She then gave Starbeam a perplexed look. "I didn't mean I wanted to bring him out here..."

She responds with an equally perplexed expression. "The message is one-way, and he's an Earth Pony."


"Anyway, yes. We need your help. It seems this thing's password-protected. We know it;s four of those symbols, and I think it might be a... name? Something that you mentioned to that Luka colt. Anyway, can you deal with this?"

"Possibly." He strides over to take a look at the runes. "Do you two need to take any precautions before I make my attempt?"

[Grif]

"Easy, easy." Blueshield struggled to keep the mare from falling. "I am Knight Commander Blueshield. You're... in no immediate danger, at least."

She decided to stick with their current course. Faster movement wasn't really worth the risk of getting even more lost. "So who are you, and what were you doing before those ruffians attacked you?"


More than getting "encumbered" would be the fact he's kind of slowed down trying to properly carry the mare; armor does not slow him down.
"Call me Luka, we're just trying to get you safe, away from whoever attacked you"
He would still look around in case there's a willow or something.

(Not sure what's up with the willow. Care to explain?)

Fortunately, the mare decided not to make life difficult for the two. She lays back quietly, whimpering a little at all the strange new sights and sounds. "We... me and brother..." She choked a little on the mention of her brother. "...we were travelling merchants, see? We make these trinkets to sell. So, about two weeks ago, we decided to stop by Rusty Falls. But then these armed thugs ambushed us at the mouth of the valley and confiscated our wagon! They gave us a choice, either die, or work for them. We choose the latter at first, not knowing what lay ahead. But then, we were forced to work in these horrible, dark... mines." She sniffled, seemingly unwilling to continue her tale.

[MCerberus]

Mach's Workshop

Poor Sandy being needlephobic... going to the convenient plot device healing machine that has always involved needles. Taylor's blood would begin to be drawn as the humming of the pegasus device growing ever louder. After a few moments mach would hit the button. Sandy would then get the expected jolt of pick-me-up.

[Luka]

(Not sure what's up with the willow. Care to explain?)

Fortunately, the mare decided not to make life difficult for the two. She lays back quietly, whimpering a little at all the strange new sights and sounds. "We... me and brother..." She choked a little on the mention of her brother. "...we were travelling merchants, see? We make these trinkets to sell. So, about two weeks ago, we decided to stop by Rusty Falls. But then these armed thugs ambushed us at the mouth of the valley and confiscated our wagon! They gave us a choice, either die, or work for them. We choose the latter at first, not knowing what lay ahead. But then, we were forced to work in these horrible, dark... mines." She sniffled, seemingly unwilling to continue her tale.

(Medicinal plant, willows have painkiller stuff, thought the previous mention of "medicinal plant" would give out a hint, but ok)
The colt would just slightly lower his head, he would guess that would happen to pretty much most of the others he knew there.
"I'm.... Sorry, hopefully he could escape too"
He would say in a someway low tone, almost a whisper, though.... 2 weeks ago? their attack was.... 5 days to a week ago? maybe she was ambushed right before she entered the town, but who knows? Whatever.
He would try to resist asking her how everyone inside was, trying to not reveal that he escaped from there, he just wanted to get her to the town's safety, THEN run away to continue his "beacon" lure plan. He would still continue to search for a willow or some other medicinal plant to help her until they reached the town

[TheAmishPirate]

[Mach's Workshop]

Poor Sandy bites his lip as the needle sticks into his side, hard enough to draw a small trickle of blood. The few moments of the machine warming up feel like hours, his skin crawling with revulsion and discomfort. But soon enough, magically-charged blood surges through the tubes and into his body.

The engineer gasps and his eyes shoot open, the small cut on his lip sealing in an instant. The physical exhaustion, the churning of his stomach, all his aches and pains dissolve in an electrifying jolt that leaves a refreshing sensation in its wake. His horn sparks and fizzes, filled to the brim with fresh magic. "Woah...tingles..." He holds up a shaking hoof and watches with fascination as it trembles.

To Taylor and Mach, nothing immediately appears to be out of the ordinary.

[Kelvin360]

[Mach's Workshop]

Poor Sandy bites his lip as the needle sticks into his side, hard enough to draw a small trickle of blood. The few moments of the machine warming up feel like hours, his skin crawling with revulsion and discomfort. But soon enough, magically-charged blood surges through the tubes and into his body.

The engineer gasps and his eyes shoot open, the small cut on his lip sealing in an instant. The physical exhaustion, the churning of his stomach, all his aches and pains dissolve in an electrifying jolt that leaves a refreshing sensation in its wake. His horn sparks and fizzes, filled to the brim with fresh magic. "Woah...tingles..." He holds up a shaking hoof and watches with fascination as it trembles.

To Taylor and Mach, nothing immediately appears to be out of the ordinary.

Taylor immediately sends a burst of energy into his own eyes, flicking on that evil/magic detector spell again, because at this point, 'extreme caution' is a cute, underkill concept.

[PurityIcekiller]

"Possibly." He strides over to take a look at the runes. "Do you two need to take any precautions before I make my attempt?"

"Yes. One of said precautions is knowing exactly what you are doing. Could you explain? We shouldn't be hiding important things from each other like this."


Fortunately, the mare decided not to make life difficult for the two. She lays back quietly, whimpering a little at all the strange new sights and sounds. "We... me and brother..." She choked a little on the mention of her brother. "...we were travelling merchants, see? We make these trinkets to sell. So, about two weeks ago, we decided to stop by Rusty Falls. But then these armed thugs ambushed us at the mouth of the valley and confiscated our wagon! They gave us a choice, either die, or work for them. We choose the latter at first, not knowing what lay ahead. But then, we were forced to work in these horrible, dark... mines." She sniffled, seemingly unwilling to continue her tale.

"I have heard enough." Blueshield got a look of fury. "Honourless barbarians! I never should have spared their miserable lives. So help me, I shall go back..."

She took a moment to regain her composure. "...Anyway, I am most sincerely apologetic. I will do everything in my power to ensure that retribution and compensation are done. Your losses will be made up for as best we can. For now, though, we must make haste to Bridle Shores before our situation becomes more grim."

[Kelvin360]

"Yes. One of said precautions is knowing exactly what you are doing. Could you explain? We shouldn't be hiding important things from each other like this."

He blinks. Or, at least, the eyes go out briefly behind the helmet. "I was simply going to press down on the runes in a certain order according to my suspicions."

Starbeam scowls. "And if something goes terribly wrong, better you than us, right?"

"That was the princi-"

"Except that the two of us have multitudes more ways of escaping magical traps than you do. Just tell us what you think the code is, and we can go from there."

"...Very well. When discussing this connection and words of only four letters, aside from the obvious series of expletives that spring to mind, their leader, Doth, was what I had thought."

"...Wait, really? They're lead by the archaic equestrian third-pony singular present tense of do?"

"Yes."

"Right..." Starbeam looks at Jewel. "I'd like to volunteer for the actual prodding, if you don't mind. If it activates and we can't disable to redirect it, I can most likely escape from the inside via space transfer. I think some sort of shield might block my usual direct access to the astral plane, but I have that backup."

[PurityIcekiller]

He blinks. Or, at least, the eyes go out briefly behind the helmet. "I was simply going to press down on the runes in a certain order according to my suspicions."

Starbeam scowls. "And if something goes terribly wrong, better you than us, right?"

"That was the princi-"

"Except that the two of us have multitudes more ways of escaping magical traps than you do. Just tell us what you think the code is, and we can go from there."

"...Very well. When discussing this connection and words of only four letters, aside from the obvious series of expletives that spring to mind, their leader, Doth, was what I had thought."

"...Wait, really? They're lead by the archaic equestrian third-pony singular present tense of do?"

"Yes."

"Right..." Starbeam looks at Jewel. "I'd like to volunteer for the actual prodding, if you don't mind. If it activates and we can't disable to redirect it, I can most likely escape from the inside via space transfer. I think some sort of shield might block my usual direct access to the astral plane, but I have that backup."

You could have told us earlier... And my word, that's a ridiculous name. How did they choose it, rolling dice?

"That makes sense. Given what we know of this Doth's personality, why wouldn't he use his own name?" Night Jewel nodded and stepped back a bit. "...And yes, maybe you'd better go first. I don't really have a lot of ways to deal with walking blindly into an ambush."

[Orzel]

Rainbow

"Ten cats, you say. I will need your address to send food." Rainbow mumbled and go a quill ready to jot it all down. "Haven't seen those two vamps." she mumbled aside to Staccata. Then her attention refocused. "Now where is that house?"

[Grif]

"Yes. One of said precautions is knowing exactly what you are doing. Could you explain? We shouldn't be hiding important things from each other like this."



"I have heard enough." Blueshield got a look of fury. "Honourless barbarians! I never should have spared their miserable lives. So help me, I shall go back..."

She took a moment to regain her composure. "...Anyway, I am most sincerely apologetic. I will do everything in my power to ensure that retribution and compensation are done. Your losses will be made up for as best we can. For now, though, we must make haste to Bridle Shores before our situation becomes more grim."

"Br... Bridle Shores? the mare repeated slowly.


(Medicinal plant, willows have painkiller stuff, thought the previous mention of "medicinal plant" would give out a hint, but ok)
The colt would just slightly lower his head, he would guess that would happen to pretty much most of the others he knew there.
"I'm.... Sorry, hopefully he could escape too"
He would say in a someway low tone, almost a whisper, though.... 2 weeks ago? their attack was.... 5 days to a week ago? maybe she was ambushed right before she entered the town, but who knows? Whatever.
He would try to resist asking her how everyone inside was, trying to not reveal that he escaped from there, he just wanted to get her to the town's safety, THEN run away to continue his "beacon" lure plan. He would still continue to search for a willow or some other medicinal plant to help her until they reached the town

There wouldn't be any handy medicinal plants about, none he could easily see anyway. The darkened eaves continued to loom overhead, as they forged on ahead southwards. Along the way though, their ears might pick up something. Or rather, the lack of something. The woods were now deathly still.

That probably didn't bode well. To stop or continue?

[Kelvin360]

"That makes sense. Given what we know of this Doth's personality, why wouldn't he use his own name?" Night Jewel nodded and stepped back a bit. "...And yes, maybe you'd better go first. I don't really have a lot of ways to deal with walking blindly into an ambush."

"Now, I don't know if I'll be able to alter any effects if I get enveloped, so it'll be generally up to you to deactivate the magic involved. Hopefully we can rework it after it's been turned off."

[Benson]

Cirrus Cargo Bay

Well now that it appears that this is a dead-end, Staccata can only roll her eyes at the crazy cat lady action going on. "And does anypony know where I could find either of the two?"


"My ears caught bits of conversation about seeing.. The Captain," Replied Flambe the town native who seemed to have taken over as spokespony, since no one else has really taken it up.



Mayor's Office

"Wait, you...you think he's talking about bloodbinding?"

"I-I was just going to get a hold of a whole lot of spare blood, not mass produce it."

"And if you thought just doing that sounded...hmm..."

"We'll....have to think on plan B. But everypony here should know for certain that just regular blood works plenty fine. It's the getting it that's trouble."

"Why don't we utilize the use of blood banks for the time being, donations and what not," Miss M finally spoke up and looked at Emerald with slightly narrowed eyes and deadpan expression, revealing her fangs and nature for the first time to that mare. "I know I have been."
============


Rainbow

"Ten cats, you say. I will need your address to send food." Rainbow mumbled and go a quill ready to jot it all down. "Haven't seen those two vamps." she mumbled aside to Staccata. Then her attention refocused. "Now where is that house?"

She then gave her, her address, which was some where in the suburbs of town.

[PurityIcekiller]

"Br... Bridle Shores? the mare repeated slowly.

"Yes. A town I believe to be nearby."


There wouldn't be any handy medicinal plants about, none he could easily see anyway. The darkened eaves continued to loom overhead, as they forged on ahead southwards. Along the way though, their ears might pick up something. Or rather, the lack of something. The woods were now deathly still.

That probably didn't bode well. To stop or continue?

"Ominous," whispered Blueshield. "Stay close and keep quiet."

When faced with the choice of stopping or continuing, she chose the third option: Take a detour. She made a turn to the west, intending to keep going until things livened up again, and then start southwards again. Better to take a little longer getting out than to run into a threat they were not prepared to deal with.


"Now, I don't know if I'll be able to alter any effects if I get enveloped, so it'll be generally up to you to deactivate the magic involved. Hopefully we can rework it after it's been turned off."

"Understood. Good luck." With that, Night Jewel watched the gate, ready to act.

[Kelvin360]

"Why don't we utilize the use of blood banks for the time being, donations and what not," Miss M finally spoke up and looked at Emerald with slightly narrowed eyes and deadpan expression, revealing her fangs and nature for the first time to that mare. "I know I have been."

"That was the general idea..." Daniel says, while looking like he's getting ready to jump in the middle of them in case a brawl breaks out. "But Bridle Shores along probably doesn't have near enough for all of them."

"So he's going to lie straightfaced to a representative of House Solace." Snowstorm says, rather more loudly than is strictly necessary. "Who I might add are mortal enemies to vampires? Yeah, those guys."

Daniel looks a bit embarrassed...but he doesn't deny it, either.

---


"Understood. Good luck." With that, Night Jewel watched the gate, ready to act.

"Eyes peeled, Dawnstrider. Make sure the chains don't keep after a fourth." She exhales, moving ahead. She places herself in the center of the runes, and begins tapping firmly, one at a time.

In the back of her mind, a part of her is instinctively translating, trying to find patterns.

D

'Homeland'. Possibly for, against, or from.

O

'A god'. Does that involve the fighting of, the becoming of, or the worshipping of?

T

'A god'. Repetition. This part is very important. It's a part of the name. Part of the concept. Something either is...or relies on a wish.

She hesitates only briefly, readying herself to put one of her favorite spells on hair-trigger.

H

'Hail'. A salute. A promise of the following.

Hail Doth, he who is and shall become a god, from the homeland and to the homeland, within and without the end.


((In D&D terms, she's readying an action to cast her equivalent of Dimension Door in order to teleport next to the others if Jewel can't disable the thing. In FwM terms...pretty much exactly the same thing. It's worth noting that she's still detecting magic, though; if she detects a strong anti-transportation abjurative enchantment, she's probably not going to risk it.))

[Luka]

"Br... Bridle Shores? the mare repeated slowly.

"Yes, it's a nearby town" the colt would respond in a small tone again.



There wouldn't be any handy medicinal plants about, none he could easily see anyway. The darkened eaves continued to loom overhead, as they forged on ahead southwards. Along the way though, their ears might pick up something. Or rather, the lack of something. The woods were now deathly still.

That probably didn't bode well. To stop or continue?

The colt would just remain silent and follow Blueshield.

[MCerberus]

The Cirrus

"Lovely. It seems I need to track down the captain then," Staccata quips before making herself scarce. If this mare didn't know where either of the two are, perhaps a different crewpony did. Yes, the rogue is officially on the hunt for untamed waterfowl.

Mach's Workshop

Good news! Mach isn't evil. The machine isn't evil. In fact, the only thing evil Taylor could find is if he turned towards some mementos from the adventuring life. It would be one of the gems.

The machine hums down and the needles are taken away for disposal. The whole magic thing is actually the interesting part Mach in no way has tested the long-term side effects of... or even planned for.

"Can you walk or do you, uh, not want to try?"

[Kelvin360]

Mach's Workshop

Good news! Mach isn't evil. The machine isn't evil. In fact, the only thing evil Taylor could find is if he turned towards some mementos from the adventuring life. It would be one of the gems.

The machine hums down and the needles are taken away for disposal. The whole magic thing is actually the interesting part Mach in no way has tested the long-term side effects of... or even planned for.

"Can you walk or do you, uh, not want to try?"

"You know, I've done this so many times I think my body has just started to give up on trying to punish me for blood loss." Taylor shakes his head wildly to get some more blood flow going in his head. "Think I'll be fine. Question is, will he?"

[TheAmishPirate]

Taylor immediately sends a burst of energy into his own eyes, flicking on that evil/magic detector spell again, because at this point, 'extreme caution' is a cute, underkill concept.

Taylor is treated to a rather interesting lightshow.

He first notices the usual white-hot glow of Sandy's blood, brimming with neutral magical energy. Faint traces of dark, evil magics are mixed in as well, but given the imbibing of vampony blood, that's to be expected.

As for where the needle had been inserted, a massive stream of magically supercharged blood blossoms out into the engineer's system. Tinged with light magic, it bleeds healing energy into any weary muscles it passes as it makes a beeline for the stomach and head. But as the fresh blood races through his body, it undergoes a subtle, almost imperceptible change. The farther it goes from the entry point, the more the blood comes to resemble the rest of Sandy's tainted blood. Still supercharged, still hinting of Taylor's light magic, but slowly picking up the magical markers he detected earlier. By the time it reaches the head or stomach, the new blood looks almost identical to the old blood, barring Taylor's own aura and the magical overcharge.

Additionally, as the light-aligned effects spread out, the dark-aligned bits separate out. Like oil and water, the two refuse to mix, holding to either sides of his veins.


Mach's Workshop

Good news! Mach isn't evil. The machine isn't evil. In fact, the only thing evil Taylor could find is if he turned towards some mementos from the adventuring life. It would be one of the gems.

The machine hums down and the needles are taken away for disposal. The whole magic thing is actually the interesting part Mach in no way has tested the long-term side effects of... or even planned for.

"Can you walk or do you, uh, not want to try?"

Sandy eases himself off the cot, testing each leg in turn before letting go of the machine. "I...I think I can?" Sure enough, his knees felt steady, his stomach had calmed, and his headache had finally subsided. He was about to take a step, when he set his leg back down and frowns. "Nghh...itches a bit..." He scratches irritably at one leg, then the other, then whips his tail over his back to scratch that, then switches back to the first leg...

[Mindfreak]

"...Altruism isn't natural. Self-preservation as a defense mechanism is formed around the necessity of the opposite. If anything, 'good ponies' are an aberration."

"Stellar." Arvadraa growls warningly. Then she sighs and addresses the other two. "Sorry. She has a...trust complex." Looks like the entire issue has all but slipped her mind.
Bar
"It's okay."
She looked down at her drink.
"So...what now?"
She had nothing planned for the rest of the day, and as such she was going to be bored.

[Grif]

"Eyes peeled, Dawnstrider. Make sure the chains don't keep after a fourth." She exhales, moving ahead. She places herself in the center of the runes, and begins tapping firmly, one at a time.

In the back of her mind, a part of her is instinctively translating, trying to find patterns.

D

'Homeland'. Possibly for, against, or from.

O

'A god'. Does that involve the fighting of, the becoming of, or the worshipping of?

T

'A god'. Repetition. This part is very important. It's a part of the name. Part of the concept. Something either is...or relies on a wish.

She hesitates only briefly, readying herself to put one of her favorite spells on hair-trigger.

H

'Hail'. A salute. A promise of the following.

Hail Doth, he who is and shall become a god, from the homeland and to the homeland, within and without the end.


((In D&D terms, she's readying an action to cast her equivalent of Dimension Door in order to teleport next to the others if Jewel can't disable the thing. In FwM terms...pretty much exactly the same thing. It's worth noting that she's still detecting magic, though; if she detects a strong anti-transportation abjurative enchantment, she's probably not going to risk it.))

(I seemed to have mistaken teleportation for evocation spells. My bad. D&D actually refers to it specifically as conjuration, and I'll refer it as such from this point forward. Will be editing my previous posts to reflect this.)

The chosen runes glowed a bright red as each are touched and activated in turn, a low humming sound emanating from the circle that increased in pitch and volume with each rune. Starbeam might detect the abjurative elements feeding back onto the inscribed circle as the whole. Just as the last rune was activated, tendrils of magic reached into the core of very being, enveloping her entire form. Then the circle flared white, probably blinding the two watching at the moment, and then just as quickly, reverted into its previous inactive state. Starbeam was nowhere to be found.

The teleportation circle lay silent.

[Unknown]

When Starbeam regained her senses in the next, the first thing that would register was the dank, musty stench of an underground cave. Dimly lit torches adorned the rough walls in the small chamber, the only way out was a corridor leading onwards.

If she strained her hearing, she might also make out the sounds of urgent conversation, accompanied by hurried hoofsteps. Heavy hoofsteps as could only be made by somepony clad in armour.

"I thought we don't have anymore ponies out near Bridle Shores!"

"Well, so did I. Maybe it's one of our spies in the town. Whatever it is, we better drag his sorry arse in before he bleeds out or something."

Uh oh. :smalltongue:


"Yes. A town I believe to be nearby."

"Ominous," whispered Blueshield. "Stay close and keep quiet."

When faced with the choice of stopping or continuing, she chose the third option: Take a detour. She made a turn to the west, intending to keep going until things livened up again, and then start southwards again. Better to take a little longer getting out than to run into a threat they were not prepared to deal with.



"Yes, it's a nearby town" the colt would respond in a small tone again.

The colt would just remain silent and follow Blueshield.

The gentle singing of the forest nocturnal creatures soon returned as the group trekked westward. Interestingly enough, just as they were to turn south, the sound of an angry snarl, followed by a series of heavy thuds erupted from the direction they came from. Whatever it was, it was large, and probably not very friendly to wandering ponies. Looked like they dodged a bullet there.

The rest of the journey was mostly uneventful, though the injured mare spoke little, probably not keen in disturbing her saviours.


"That was the general idea..." Daniel says, while looking like he's getting ready to jump in the middle of them in case a brawl breaks out. "But Bridle Shores along probably doesn't have near enough for all of them."

"So he's going to lie straightfaced to a representative of House Solace." Snowstorm says, rather more loudly than is strictly necessary. "Who I might add are mortal enemies to vampires? Yeah, those guys."

Daniel looks a bit embarrassed...but he doesn't deny it, either.





"Why don't we utilize the use of blood banks for the time being, donations and what not," Miss M finally spoke up and looked at Emerald with slightly narrowed eyes and deadpan expression, revealing her fangs and nature for the first time to that mare. "I know I have been."

Emerald, to her credit, took the revelation of Miss M's nature rather calmly. She looked the vampony square in the eye, not even flinching. "One. You were only one. We're talking about several dozens here. We're not a large town, vampony, and we cannot possibly spare blood to feed all of them. Not when the threat of another invasion looms."

She pushed the stack of paper she was working on to one side and steepled her hooves. "Now, is there anything else I can help you with?"


Bar
"It's okay."
She looked down at her drink.
"So...what now?"
She had nothing planned for the rest of the day, and as such she was going to be bored.

"Well, whatever y'all decide, I probably won't be joining. Duty calls, and I think I'll need to notify the Guard about the monster." Lemongrass drained the last of his cider, and then placed the required bits on the table. "If you'd excuse me, ladies." The pegasus slipped away from the table, and back out onto the street.

[Kelvin360]

Taylor

"Hmm." Taylor leans forward a bit, peering at Sandy in an almost spot-on Filly Fry impersonation. "Yeah. Thought so. My magic and the sludge that got dumped into you earlier aren't going to play nice with each other. I have a theory on what's going on here, but let's get the obvious out of the way, first."

He turns to Mach. "Do you have a reliable way to filter out just a specific kind of blood? We should really get either the evil bits or my bits out of him before the not-reaction turns violent."

---

Arvadraa/Stellar

"Oh hey, that reminds me, the Boss wanted you back soon as you could be." Stellar remarks offhandedly.

"What? Why didn't you mention this earlier?"

She shrugs. "Forgot."

"Mm-hmm. I should go, then. Gabriel, would you like to come with us?"

---

Starbeam

((Just kidding! Gonna wait on Purity's reaction first))

---

Daniel/Snowstorm

"'S all I can think of." Daniel murmurs, clearly eager to evacuate everyone from the office before Emerald or M start catfights.

[MCerberus]

Mach's Workshop

"Histamine reaction?" Mach counters to the theory on why Sandy is itching. "His system, may, uh, not like the reaction if there is one."

Filtering though, that may get odd. The way the machine is set up... no that wouldn't work. "The closest I can get is running his own blood through on cycle until he's bouncing off the walls. Really odd effect. All the colors get, uh, more vivid and everything."

[Kelvin360]

Mach's Workshop

"Histamine reaction?" Mach counters to the theory on why Sandy is itching. "His system, may, uh, not like the reaction if there is one."

Filtering though, that may get odd. The way the machine is set up... no that wouldn't work. "The closest I can get is running his own blood through on cycle until he's bouncing off the walls. Really odd effect. All the colors get, uh, more vivid and everything."

Taylor shakes his head. "Immunity has nothing to do with it, from what I can tell. His body is fine with it...a little too fine. My main issue is that, for now, the Dark and Light halves of his hemoglobin," At this point, he's resorting to medical/science jargon, because as intimidating as big words are, he'd rather not freak poor Sandy out any worse by being blunt. "Are reacting as per Octane and Dihydrogen Oxide. But naturally, they're a lot more likely to act as sodium and Dihydrogen Oxide. Whatever is causing a balancing act is what my aforementioned theory revolves around. But if the symbiotic effect's power wanes any, we might have a serious problem..."

"...I may have to purge him. Any other suggestions? I'd prefer it be a last resort."

[PurityIcekiller]

The chosen runes glowed a bright red as each are touched and activated in turn, a low humming sound emanating from the circle that increased in pitch and volume with each rune. Starbeam might detect the abjurative elements feeding back onto the inscribed circle as the whole. Just as the last rune was activated, tendrils of magic reached into the core of very being, enveloping her entire form. Then the circle flared white, probably blinding the two watching at the moment, and then just as quickly, reverted into its previous inactive state. Starbeam was nowhere to be found.

The teleportation circle lay silent.

Night Jewel simply watched. Seeing as she had no means of detecting what was happening on the other side of the portal, she'd simply have to wait to find out.


The gentle singing of the forest nocturnal creatures soon returned as the group trekked westward. Interestingly enough, just as they were to turn south, the sound of an angry snarl, followed by a series of heavy thuds erupted from the direction they came from. Whatever it was, it was large, and probably not very friendly to wandering ponies. Looked like they dodged a bullet there.

The rest of the journey was mostly uneventful, though the injured mare spoke little, probably not keen in disturbing her saviours.

Blueshield was relieved. "A harrowing experience, almost over. But not quite.

"Firstly, we need to get medical attention for our friend here." She turned to Luka. "Then, Sir Luka, seeing as you seem to know the place, perhaps you could show me around. I shall need to know the locations of the guardhouse, the local smithy, and, if possible, a chemist's workshop."

With that, she took out the appropriate paperwork and approached the gate.

[Kelvin360]

Starbeam

*spy movie action music starts playing*

Incapacitation, limited magical expenditure, no suspicion. That last one will be difficult. Unless...

She flips on her detect magic spell (letting her, for example, see the magical flow within a unicorn or...oh...the outlines of ponies wearing magically-infused armor) and waits. When she sees a pony coming down the corridor, she waits a little more for them to come fully into view and then telekinetically extinguishes the torches, and plants a forcefield right behind them of exactly the corridor's dimensions to block an escape (and, conveniently, sound).

That being her set of actions for her surprise 'round' and first 'round', now we get to see what the mook squad does.

[Grif]

Blueshield was relieved. "A harrowing experience, almost over. But not quite.

"Firstly, we need to get medical attention for our friend here." She turned to Luka. "Then, Sir Luka, seeing as you seem to know the place, perhaps you could show me around. I shall need to know the locations of the guardhouse, the local smithy, and, if possible, a chemist's workshop."

With that, she took out the appropriate paperwork and approached the gate.

Today, the two guards at the gate were on high alert. Both raised their weapons at the sight of Blueshield and Luka, despite the obvious sight of the battered mare on their backs. Bridle Shores definitely tightened their security after the last two incursions.

"Halt! State your names and purpose!" one shouted out.


Starbeam

*spy movie action music starts playing*

Incapacitation, limited magical expenditure, no suspicion. That last one will be difficult. Unless...

She flips on her detect magic spell (letting her, for example, see the magical flow within a unicorn or...oh...the outlines of ponies wearing magically-infused armor) and waits. When she sees a pony coming down the corridor, she waits a little more for them to come fully into view and then telekinetically extinguishes the torches, and plants a forcefield right behind them of exactly the corridor's dimensions to block an escape (and, conveniently, sound).

That being her set of actions for her surprise 'round' and first 'round', now we get to see what the mook squad does.

There were two ponies, if it wasn't obvious from the conversation earlier, both non-unicorns. The heavy-armour clad ponies soon emerged from the doorway, both sporting remarkably similar looks to the pair Blueshield had faced off earlier in the timeline: plate armour, dark hues, a hint of magical infusion throughout.

Unfortunately, for Starbeam, these two were brighter than the average mooks. The stopped in their tracks as Starbeam came into view, seconds before the lights went out. "Hey, she's not one of ours!" one of them shouted.

The leftmost of the pair reached immediately for his spear, his companion slower to react, but also pulling out his warhammer. Both, however, stumbled a little in the sudden darkness, their eyes slow to adjust. Another thing Starbeam might note was how their armour seemed to glimmer in the gloom.