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

[Lycan 01]

[Woodland Road to Bridle Shores]



"Tell me something I ain't knowin already heheh," The griffoness continued to grin as she surveyed the mess. She puffed her feathery chest with a sense of pride. One confirmed nod later she glanced at the derped Lucky.

"I saved your life, ya old me it now." Because that is totally how it works, cough.

Lucky continues to be limply ragdolled around in the griffon's grasp, though he slowly returns to his senses. "Saved life... owe it... right... sure... whatever..." he grumbles blearily, slowly trying to blink his eyes back into focus. "Where's m'hat?" he mumbles mostly to himself, clearly disoriented. Most ponies would realize he needs to rest or get medical attention.

The griffon is likely not like most ponies.

[HalfTangible]

There was a slight annoyed grunt from Melon, though for the most part she kept herself fairly composed. "Well I had them try to get an audience since we had something to talk about with him, altogether."

I'll be sure to let him know when I go back. Now, can I get a parting (body) shot? Hay Bale stuck her tongue out and poured some salt on her neck.

[TheAmishPirate]

"Well a statue of me of course," He said as he did a little regal pose and then wet all Blue Steel for the cameras. The girls giggled and practiced their own Blue Steels in the background. "Money is no problem for whatever it may cost."

Sandy stood frozen, rather overwhelmed by the enormity of it all. "Well, er, I-I'll need a few pictures t'base it off of," he rattled off. With no other idea on how to respond, facts were a simple comfort. "I-I wouldn't want t'waste your time with modelin', a-an' I can get a good idea of shape with one from th' top an' a few from each side. Price is...um, er, I-I'll get back t'you on price when I figure that out."

[Benson]

Woodland Road


[Woodland Road to Bridle Shores]

Lucky continues to be limply ragdolled around in the griffon's grasp, though he slowly returns to his senses. "Saved life... owe it... right... sure... whatever..." he grumbles blearily, slowly trying to blink his eyes back into focus. "Where's m'hat?" he mumbles mostly to himself, clearly disoriented. Most ponies would realize he needs to rest or get medical attention.

The griffon is likely not like most ponies.


"On mah head, making me look quite the flank kicker," She grinned still and eventually dropped Lucky from her hold. "Name's Gwendolyn by the way, griffon extraordinaire and all around bad arse."
====

Balboa's Canterlot Estate

I'll be sure to let him know when I go back. Now, can I get a parting (body) shot? Hay Bale stuck her tongue out and poured some salt on her neck.

Melon rolled her eyes, however, Summer was more than happy to oblige. She quickly sidled up to Hay Bale's side with a shot of whiskey. "Ready and willing." She grinned.


Sandy stood frozen, rather overwhelmed by the enormity of it all. "Well, er, I-I'll need a few pictures t'base it off of," he rattled off. With no other idea on how to respond, facts were a simple comfort. "I-I wouldn't want t'waste your time with modelin', a-an' I can get a good idea of shape with one from th' top an' a few from each side. Price is...um, er, I-I'll get back t'you on price when I figure that out."

"Oooh....I wouldn't mind spending some time modeling for ya hun for a sculpture~" Peachy purred as she struck a seductress pose. Balboa chuckled and casually smooched her cheek and then looked at Sandy.

"Well then, I suppose we have ourselves a deal eh Mister Shores?" Balboa stuck out his hoof to shake as he lazily smiled.

[Merellis]

[Woodlands, probably close to Bridle Shores]

"Shortcut, she said. It'd save t-time she said," the brown unicorn muttered under her breath, as she continued to run ahead into the thick undergrowth. The fact that she was carrying two different saddlebags didn't even slow her, such was her fear. Her dusky red eyes flitted left and right, scanning frantically for any sign of the predators currently on their trail. Alas, even with the light spell, she couldn't anything out past her muzzle. "B-Bitter, we probably s-should hurry," she whined, glancing back to her companion.

No answer. And no sight of her friend either. The shadowy eaves of the trees stared silently back.

"B-Bits?" The mare fearfully called out again, slowing her speed, looking frantically for any sign of her companion. "Bitter Herb?" The unicorn gulped, as realisation dawned. "O-Oh no..." The snarling and howling only got louder.

Pulp Fiction was entirely alone. With a pack of timberwolves on her trail. This really wasn't going to be her day.

She started running.

Turns out Bitter had made the right decision by gradually slowing her stride. The timberwolves had made their decision leave the faster of the pair alone and dive for the other. Wrong choice on their part sadly, as the muscular pegasus soon revealed she was not going to be easy prey.

The first one to reach Bitter Herb gets quite a nasty surprise as the wooden claws meet a leg covered in metal that manages to just stop all it's momentum right there. The surprise continues as the rearing pony pulls another bit of fun from her bag of tricks and pushes the claw down at an angle that would be agonizing for a creature of flesh and blood. For now though, it's enough of a strain to let her pull back a hoof and smash right on through!

She hops up and spins in midair, her impressively large, and heavy, wings slapping against the poor things head to further knock it off balance. The victim of Bitter Herb starts to rise back up as she lands, only to have two hooves dig into it's neck and lift it with a snarled curse. Bitter wrenches the massive wolf of wood to the side and throws it into the onlooking crowd that had begun to circle around.

It lands in a heap, tangling itself in the limbs of the pack, with only one managing to escape and dive on the heavily breathing mare. It thought itself lucky as the mare seemed distracted, even taking her time to look around and curse to herself.

This was also a mistake it's face made contact with a skyblue hoof covered in steel and found itself being flipped onto it's back and then ripped from it's body.

Bitter tosses the head away with another snarl and gets galloping in the last direction she had seen her charge take, leaving the untangling pile of wolves to itself in her haste. "How in Luna's flank did I lose her again?" The mare takes a moment to adjust her silver-framed glasses before taking off in a full run again. "This has Manehatten written all over it..."

The pile of wolves manages to pull itself back together and get back to stalking their prey, while she seemed able to handle one at a time, they should still be able to nab one.

[HalfTangible]

Melon rolled her eyes, however, Summer was more than happy to oblige. She quickly sidled up to Hay Bale's side with a shot of whiskey. "Ready and willing." She grinned.

Hay Bale allowed her pheromones to wash over Summer as she placed a lime in her mouth. She then batted her eyelashes as the other mare, turning her neck a bit to expose the salt.

Come hither...

[Lycan 01]

Woodland Road




"On mah head, making me look quite the flank kicker," She grinned still and eventually dropped Lucky from her hold. "Name's Gwendolyn by the way, griffon extraordinaire and all around bad arse."


Lucky flops on the ground. "Weeeeee...." He rolls around a bit, still a bit dazed from the explosions and being swung around. "Miss Gweyndolyyyyn... Nice ta meet yaaaa... I'm Lucky Break... And heeeeey, yer arse don't look bad. At least not from here..." he mutters groggily from the ground, swirling eyes aimed in the general direction rump. "Or wuz you just sayin' that?"

Hopefully she takes that as a compliment, rather than giving him further cranial trauma.

[Benson]

Hay Bale allowed her pheromones to wash over Summer as she placed a lime in her mouth. She then batted her eyelashes as the other mare, turning her neck a bit to expose the salt.

Come hither...

Strawberry flushed as she looked away from the scene. Melon gave Hay Bale an exasperated look and exaggeratedly rolled her eyes a second time, though for a moment her eyes lingered a while on her neck before she shook her head, looked away and preoccupied herself with her magazine.

Though for Summer, she was easily effected by the pheromones, plus she was bored initially and wanted to have a little fun to stave off the boredom, so there was no real effort there. Body shot shenanigans were had.


============

Woodland Road



Lucky flops on the ground. "Weeeeee...." He rolls around a bit, still a bit dazed from the explosions and being swung around. "Miss Gweyndolyyyyn... Nice ta meet yaaaa... I'm Lucky Break... And heeeeey, yer arse don't look bad. At least not from here..." he mutters groggily from the ground, swirling eyes aimed in the general direction rump. "Or wuz you just sayin' that?"

Hopefully she takes that as a compliment, rather than giving him further cranial trauma.


"It is a perty nice one ain't it?" She grinned as she shook her rump for the fun of it. "Though hun, if ya keep starin I may have ta charge ya hahah." She then rustled through her bag and pulled out a flask. "Thirsty? It ain't water but it'll sure liven ya up hahah."

[Lycan 01]

[Wilderness Road]




"It is a perty nice one ain't it?" She grinned as she shook her rump for the fun of it. "Though hun, if ya keep starin I may have ta charge ya hahah." She then rustled through her bag and pulled out a flask. "Thirsty? It ain't water but it'll sure liven ya up hahah."

Lucky finally comes back to his senses.

Just as Gwendolyn is shaking and flaunting her rump in front of him. The pegasus' eyes go wide, and his scarred face turns bright red. "Eep!" He gives a strangled little yelp of awkward horror, before flailing about a bit and rolling away. Or trying to roll away, as he manages to only scramble a few feet before slamming his back against a tree. "Ow!" he yelps, writhing in pain on the ground rather pathetically.

"Dammit! That-" he freezes, and grins sheepishly at the griffon. "Oops, language. Er, s-sorry miss. N-name's Lucky," he stammers awkwardly, trying to gather his wits and keep his eyes far away from the griffon's rump. "Y-you said somethin' about a drink?" Yes, topic change. Topic change despite booze being a bad thing to mix with cranial trauma.

[Benson]

[Wilderness Road]





"I sure did say somethin' 'bout a drink," She shook the flask in front of him as its contents sloshed about. She then opened the flask and took herself a quick swig and then handed it to Lucky. She grinned, closing her eyes tight and shook her head and made some sort of satisfied noise. "Oh it burns nicely down the throat heheh."

[Grif]

[Woodland Roads— Or thereabouts]

Pulp Fiction lost track of how long she had been bowling into the forest at full speed, having long lost any sense of direction. All she knew was that the howling was getting softer. She fervently hoped that meant Bitter was getting the upper hand, that she would be alright.

The unicorn eventually slowed to a tired canter, the burning in her legs beginning to make itself felt. Panting softly, she glanced backwards again, hoping for a glimpse of familiar sky-blue fur. No such luck. Sighing softly, Pulp turned her head forward, only to bump nose-first into a tree. A moving tree. A moving tree that had glowing green eyes and shaped like a wolf.

"Eeep!" she whimpered, her eyes going wide and scrambling backwards as the timberwolf growled, bright green eyes shining with malice. "N-Nice doggy..." she whispered, slowly backing away. Her pathetic attempts was met with an irritated roar, the foetid stench of swamp lands causing Pulp to gag and cough.

Tired of the game, the timberwolf pounced, the slavering beast intent on rending its prey to pieces, which so happened to be one Pulp Fiction. The mare let out a terrified yelp and raised her forehooves to cover her face, much good as that'd do. Yet even as her conscious self cowered, memories flickered alive subconsciously into Pulp's mind. Memories of her practising magic in self-defense in the not-too distant past in Trottingham. Instinctively, her horn flared and momentarily interspersed a magical barrier.

The timberwolf slammed into the barrier with a painful yelp, splinters of its face scattering to the ground. The barrier quickly dissipated as Pulp opened an eye, the unicorn dimly aware that she wasn't losing any limbs yet. A loud part of her addled mind screamed at her to escape, and escape she did, the unicorn scrambling to her feet and quickly sidestepping the stunned wolf and deeper into the forest.

[Lycan 01]

[Wilderness Road]

The flustered pegasus accepts the flask with one of his wings, and knocks back a shot like a champ. He lets out a small sigh, before offering the flask back to the griffon. "Thanks. Nice choice. Good burn, but not too overwhelmin' an' properly compliments the favor..." he muses thoughtfully.

"So, uh," he shrugs, "What didja say yer name was? Gwendolyn, right?" He then takes a look around. "Where's my-" He then notices his hat on her head, and smiles awkwardly. "Oh. Uh. May I have that back, please?"









[b][Dive Bomb]
The Captain takes stock of his situation for a moment while keeping his focus on the slippery batpony before him. Missing wing, leaking all over, half-blind, and all I've done so far is create a disturbance. Dive sighs and raises his remaining eyebrow as a crazed semblance of a smirk crosses his face. That and get his attention.

"Not that dumb, Prose."

"... It is Purple Prose, right?" States the injured pony as he regains his composure, mind working towards a way out... or at least a way to continue his eternal service. "Retired Shadowbolt, intelligence area, and recognizable by both the missing eye and the very... flowery speech." He flexes his good wing, at least that still worked well enough. Legs were still working well enough, no broken bones to speak of. "Also noted in a few corners of Equestria as a pony to talk to if you want information from an enemy of the kingdom."

"But that's not important, what's important is that it really doesn't matter if I surrender or not, all that matters is if I keep you here." The pony cracks his neck and despite the wounds, the missing wing, the metal cooling on half his face, and the fact he'd been running around most of the day with burns, he looks just as menacing as when he was bringing down a ball of flame upon the town.

The odd thing to notice in the light of the fire is that the Captain isn't bleeding much at all, his damn wings off, he should be bleeding all over the place!


Prose just stands back and watches, expression impassive and eye narrowed at the blathering pegasus. He doesn't move a muscle, simply standing there with a neutral stance and stoic look on his face as he listens to Dive Bomb reveal everything there is to know about him.

Well, maybe not everything.



"So if you want to know what I do, you'll have to do a lot better than ripping out a wing!" He ends with a shout before moving to close the distance, moving far too spry for one who had just lost a wing, for one who was poisoned, burned, and slapped with liquid metal.

Just what in Tartarus is going on here?

"Okay," Prose shrugs aloofly as Dive lunges to close the distance.

He then gives a small kick with his hooves, throwing himself airborne, before reaching down, grabbing the quarrel of crossbow bolts strapped to his side...

...and flinging the quarrel's contents right into Dive Bomb's face.

It should be noted that the poisoning Dive experienced in the day resulted from one poisoned bolt slightly grazing him.

He's now being smacked in the face and neck with over a dozen of these pointy little crossbow bolts, each one covered in a fine layer of tetrodotoxin. Presumably, several of the bolts should draw blood, and even a few small nicks should be enough to send his body into shock from the toxins suddenly filling his systems.

And if that doesn't do the job, Prose follows it up with a lightning fast kick to the throat, just below the jaw, aiming to completely crush and collapse his windpipe and leave it impossible, or at least extremely difficult, for him to breath.

Presumably, Dive collapses to the dirt in a coughing, convulsing pile of feathers and blood. Prose lands next to him, and stares down with a faint frown. No snarky comment or pithy observation. Just a silent frown and a cold, cold stare, watching to make sure Drive stays down for the count.

[Benson]

[Wilderness Road]

The flustered pegasus accepts the flask with one of his wings, and knocks back a shot like a champ. He lets out a small sigh, before offering the flask back to the griffon. "Thanks. Nice choice. Good burn, but not too overwhelmin' an' properly compliments the favor..." he muses thoughtfully.

"So, uh," he shrugs, "What didja say yer name was? Gwendolyn, right?" He then takes a look around. "Where's my-" He then notices his hat on her head, and smiles awkwardly. "Oh. Uh. May I have that back, please?"



"Your hat? I dunno...it looks mighty fine on me hehe," Gwendolyn smirked as she gingerly ran the tips of her talon along the brim. She then struck a pose, tilting her head down, talons still on the brim. "Here's lookin at you kid." She said all dramatically. She then lifted the hat up with one swoop causing it to fly into the air, she then caught it and placed it neatly on Lucky's head.

"By the way since it looks yer head cleared up a bit, as a reminder, I saved yer life, so ya owe me," Grin.

[Lycan 01]

[Wilderness Road]

Lucky smirks wryly as Gwendolyn flaunts his hat. "Indeed, it does look good on ya, but I believe I wear it better since it matches my getup." Once he gets the hat back, he adjusts it a bit with a wry snicker. "Thank ya."

Then she mentions some sort of debt. "Er, wut?" Lucky tilts his head uncertainly. "Saved my life? All I remember was a bit explosion then lots of ringin' bells and you blabberin' at me. In fact I'm pretty sure yer the one who blew me up," he frowns.

[Benson]

[Wilderness Road]


"If I blew ya up, ya would be pieces like them timberwolves ya goof," She shook her head. "Those timberwolves were a'ready ta gobble ya up all nice like, but of course, I the amaaaaaazing Gwen, bad arse griffon extraordinaire, saved the day, oh yeeeeaaa."

[Lycan 01]

[Wilderness Road]




"If I blew ya up, ya would be pieces like them timberwolves ya goof," She shook her head. "Those timberwolves were a'ready ta gobble ya up all nice like, but of course, I the amaaaaaazing Gwen, bad arse griffon extraordinaire, saved the day, oh yeeeeaaa."

The roguish pegasus gives her a flat look, his scarred expression deadpan. After a moment of silence, though, Lucky gives a small snicker, and rolls his eyes in amusement. "Fair enough, I s'ppose. So, Miss Amazin' Gwen, how might I go about payin' ya back fer savin' my life from them oh-so-terrible Timberwolves?" he asks with a wry smirk. "Since I apparently owe ya despite the ringin' ears and killer headache I'm sportin' right now..."

[Benson]

[Wilderness Road]



"Eeeh, I'll figure that out as I go along, so, Lucky boy, what brings ya to these road less traveled for good reasons? Didja git looooooost?" She sing-sang teased.

[Lycan 01]

[Wilderness Road]

Lucky gives the griffon a dour frown, before harumphing and turning to start trotting down the road. "Actually, I'm headin' fer Bridle Shores. Figured I might be able ta find some work in town. Got tired of the Badlands, and thought I'd try my luck further up north in greener pastures an' whatnot. Plus, y'know, nice change of scenery. So no," he rolls his eyes, "I did not get lost."

A small pause.

"Uh, which way is it to Bridle Shores from here?" he deadpans.

[Benson]

[Wilderness Road]

Lucky gives the griffon a dour frown, before harumphing and turning to start trotting down the road. "Actually, I'm headin' fer Bridle Shores. Figured I might be able ta find some work in town. Got tired of the Badlands, and thought I'd try my luck further up north in greener pastures an' whatnot. Plus, y'know, nice change of scenery. So no," he rolls his eyes, "I did not get lost."

A small pause.

"Uh, which way is it to Bridle Shores from here?" he deadpans.

"Uuuhhh..." Gwen looked around with her beak open. "Wait a minute, you're a pegasus, why don't we just fly?" She then grinned and jumped up as her large grey-ish wing fanned out as she began to flap and lift herself up to the tree tops.

[TheAmishPirate]

Balboa's Canterlot Estate

"Oooh....I wouldn't mind spending some time modeling for ya hun for a sculpture~" Peachy purred as she struck a seductress pose. Balboa chuckled and casually smooched her cheek and then looked at Sandy.

"Well then, I suppose we have ourselves a deal eh Mister Shores?" Balboa stuck out his hoof to shake as he lazily smiled.

Sandy flushed a deep red and strove to look at the stallion in front of him instead of the posing mare. "Ah, uh, I-I'll see what I can do a-after Mister Balboa's sculpture i-if that's alright. Er, which is t'say, s-sir..."

He gulped nervously, steeled himself, and shook the offered hoof. "I-I'll do what I can."

[Benson]

Sandy flushed a deep red and strove to look at the stallion in front of him instead of the posing mare. "Ah, uh, I-I'll see what I can do a-after Mister Balboa's sculpture i-if that's alright. Er, which is t'say, s-sir..."

He gulped nervously, steeled himself, and shook the offered hoof. "I-I'll do what I can."

"Great," He said with a grin as he then glanced around. "I wonder what is taking Hay Bale so long..."

<Cut to the lounge as body shot shenanigans happen.>
<Cut back to Balboa and Co>

"Do you mind Mister Shores?" Balboa asked as he gestured to follow along. "Maybe it was best I checked on what going on?..." A small smile appeared on his face. "Maybe the girls would like to meet a real hero eh?"



"Oooh

[TheAmishPirate]

"Great," He said with a grin as he then glanced around. "I wonder what is taking Hay Bale so long..."

<Cut to the lounge as body shot shenanigans happen.>
<Cut back to Balboa and Co>

"Do you mind Mister Shores?" Balboa asked as he gestured to follow along. "Maybe it was best I checked on what going on?..." A small smile appeared on his face. "Maybe the girls would like to meet a real hero eh?"

"A-ain't they already met you, sir?" Sandy replied with a nervous gulp, falling into line behind Balboa. Maybe he could just...hide behind the larger stallion, say his salutations, and get out of the mansion before something else went wrong.

[Benson]

"A-ain't they already met you, sir?" Sandy replied with a nervous gulp, falling into line behind Balboa. Maybe he could just...hide behind the larger stallion, say his salutations, and get out of the mansion before something else went wrong.


"Oh enough of that nonsense Mister Shores, learn to accept a compliment," He said as he lead the way. Berry Tart followed at Balboa's side while the flirty Peachy sidled up against Sandy.

"Hey Suga', ya know I was bein' serious about that sculpture of little ol me," She purred as she winked and then just picked up her pace to walk along side Balboa as well.
--

In the foyer, the four would come across the sight of Summer plucking a shot of booze with her teeth from Hay Bale's stomach.

"So this why it took a while, tsk tsk," Balboa shook his head and raised a playful brow.

[HalfTangible]

"Oh enough of that nonsense Mister Shores, learn to accept a compliment," He said as he lead the way. Berry Tart followed at Balboa's side while the flirty Peachy sidled up against Sandy.

"Hey Suga', ya know I was bein' serious about that sculpture of little ol me," She purred as she winked and then just picked up her pace to walk along side Balboa as well.
--

In the foyer, the four would come across the sight of Summer plucking a shot of booze with her teeth from Hay Bale's stomach.

"So this why it took a while, tsk tsk," Balboa shook his head and raised a playful brow.

Hay Bale looked up at Balboa and cocked an eyebrow. Has it been THAT long? I was only gonna get the one shot...

[TheAmishPirate]

"Oh enough of that nonsense Mister Shores, learn to accept a compliment," He said as he lead the way. Berry Tart followed at Balboa's side while the flirty Peachy sidled up against Sandy.

"Hey Suga', ya know I was bein' serious about that sculpture of little ol me," She purred as she winked and then just picked up her pace to walk along side Balboa as well.

Sandy stood slack-jawed, stricken with complete and utter confusion.

"What."

He scampered after the trio of ponies, trying to catch up...


In the foyer, the four would come across the sight of Summer plucking a shot of booze with her teeth from Hay Bale's stomach.

"So this why it took a while, tsk tsk," Balboa shook his head and raised a playful brow.

...and froze in the doorway. Though his eyes took in the scene before him, he could scarce believe what he was seeing.

"What."

[HalfTangible]

Poor Sandy.

Hay Bale stood up and sighed, straightening her suit and shades. Could've sworn that was the first shot... Yeah. The girls had something "important" to talk to you about and were doing body shots while they waited. I wanted one.

[Benson]

"Hey hey, do not lump me in with the body shots group," Melon Squeeze grumbled as she put down her magazine and shot Hay Bale a look. Meanwhile Strawberry just watched with a small smile just sort of content to be a wallflower at the moment.

Summer Tea still took the shot and grinned as the liquid burned nicely down her throat, woo alcohol. She casually walked over to Balboa. "Hey babe....who's your friend? He's adorable heheh *hic*"

"Now now suga'....I saw him first," Peachy smirked and put a leg over Sandy.

"Hey, no fair," Summer stuck out her tongue.

Balboa playfully rolled his eyes again. He gave Hay Bale a nod and 'hmm'd'. "Seems some distractions were had, but alas, I do not blame you Hay Bale, body shots are fun after all." He gave her a little wink before addressing the sorta question.

"Right, this is my associate, Sandy Shores, a member of the Cirrus Crew and bona fide hero." He grinned and gave Sandy a nudge.

[TheAmishPirate]

They flirt but they ain't serious. They flirt but they ain't serious. They flirt but they ain't serious...

Sandy turned his focus on the here and now, and not the past and scandalous. It was the only way he might escape without exploding. He gulped and forced out a smile, blushing furiously under the weight of so many stares. "W-well, hero m-might be overdoin' it a lil'; a-all I do is fix th' ship an' help out on m-missions. B-but it's a pleasure t'meet ya'll." He turned his grin up and tried to slowly, casually slink away from the too-friendly attention. The door was so close. He was almost free...

[Lycan 01]

[Wilderness Road, heading skyward]



"Uuuhhh..." Gwen looked around with her beak open. "Wait a minute, you're a pegasus, why don't we just fly?" She then grinned and jumped up as her large grey-ish wing fanned out as she began to flap and lift herself up to the tree tops.

Lucky frowns a bit. "Never said I was a clever pony..." he mutters, before flapping his wings and taking off after her.

"What brings you out here, anyway?" he asks as he catches up with the griffon. "You from Bridle Shores, or what?"

[HalfTangible]

"Hey hey, do not lump me in with the body shots group," Melon Squeeze grumbled as she put down her magazine and shot Hay Bale a look. Meanwhile Strawberry just watched with a small smile just sort of content to be a wallflower at the moment.

Summer Tea still took the shot and grinned as the liquid burned nicely down her throat, woo alcohol. She casually walked over to Balboa. "Hey babe....who's your friend? He's adorable heheh *hic*"

"Now now suga'....I saw him first," Peachy smirked and put a leg over Sandy.

"Hey, no fair," Summer stuck out her tongue.

Balboa playfully rolled his eyes again. He gave Hay Bale a nod and 'hmm'd'. "Seems some distractions were had, but alas, I do not blame you Hay Bale, body shots are fun after all." He gave her a little wink before addressing the sorta question.

"Right, this is my associate, Sandy Shores, a member of the Cirrus Crew and bona fide hero." He grinned and gave Sandy a nudge.Hay Bale stuck her tongue out at Melon. Well maybe if you'd told me what you wanted to talk about I wouldn't have assumed body shot shenanigans.

Peachy, A, I saw him first. B, he doesn't like to be touched and anyone looking at his face right now can see it. Hooves off. Hay Bale finished her shot and then walked back up to Balboa.

[Benson]

They flirt but they ain't serious. They flirt but they ain't serious. They flirt but they ain't serious...

Sandy turned his focus on the here and now, and not the past and scandalous. It was the only way he might escape without exploding. He gulped and forced out a smile, blushing furiously under the weight of so many stares. "W-well, hero m-might be overdoin' it a lil'; a-all I do is fix th' ship an' help out on m-missions. B-but it's a pleasure t'meet ya'll." He turned his grin up and tried to slowly, casually slink away from the too-friendly attention. The door was so close. He was almost free...


Hay Bale stuck her tongue out at Melon. Well maybe if you'd told me what you wanted to talk about I wouldn't have assumed body shot shenanigans.

Peachy, A, I saw him first. B, he doesn't like to be touched and anyone looking at his face right now can see it. Hooves off. Hay Bale finished her shot and then walked back up to Balboa.

Peachy just looked to ignore Hay Bale as she only saw her being a fun sucker right now.

Balboa glanced at Sandy and faintly smiled. "Hmmm....you know what girls.....it may just be best for whatever your question to be addressed at a later time. It has been a long meeting for Mister Shores, best we not keep him from his heroics." There was some minor whining from two certain mares though Balboa put up a hoof to shush them. He then placed his hoof on Sandy and corralled him back the direction they just came.


[Wilderness Road, heading skyward]



Lucky frowns a bit. "Never said I was a clever pony..." he mutters, before flapping his wings and taking off after her.

"What brings you out here, anyway?" he asks as he catches up with the griffon. "You from Bridle Shores, or what?"

"Naw...I'm from out of ways," She pointed in opposite directions with her talons, crossing them over her chest as they gained altitude. "Just traveling the lands really, looking for work, going wherever the breeze takes me. I am a merc by trade but I'll take all kinds of work, whatever buys me the whiskey hehehe." She continued with her wide grin.

[TheAmishPirate]

Hay Bale stuck her tongue out at Melon. Well maybe if you'd told me what you wanted to talk about I wouldn't have assumed body shot shenanigans.

Peachy, A, I saw him first. B, he doesn't like to be touched and anyone looking at his face right now can see it. Hooves off. Hay Bale finished her shot and then walked back up to Balboa.

If an angel descended from the heavens at this very moment, Sandy was fairly certain she'd be wearing those sunglasses.


Peachy just looked to ignore Hay Bale as she only saw her being a fun sucker right now.

Balboa glanced at Sandy and faintly smiled. "Hmmm....you know what girls.....it may just be best for whatever your question to be addressed at a later time. It has been a long meeting for Mister Shores, best we not keep him from his heroics." There was some minor whining from two certain mares though Balboa put up a hoof to shush them. He then placed his hoof on Sandy and corralled him back the direction they just came.


And like a miracle, all the pretty mares stopped staring so strangely at him. Well, Miss Peachy still had her leg around his shoulders, but she was just taking her sweet time in removing it. Nothing to worry about. Nothing serious. "G-g-goodbye, everypony. Nice meetin' ya'll." He waved timidly, before following Mister Balboa out of the room.

[Lycan 01]

[Skies Over the Wilderness]




"Naw...I'm from out of ways," She pointed in opposite directions with her talons, crossing them over her chest as they gained altitude. "Just traveling the lands really, looking for work, going wherever the breeze takes me. I am a merc by trade but I'll take all kinds of work, whatever buys me the whiskey hehehe." She continued with her wide grin.

Lucky cracks a crooked grin, hovering up alongside her. "Aaah, a merc, huh? I'm in the same boat, really. I've done bounty hunting, merc work, bodyguarding, tomb raiding... Basically every job under the sun down in the Badlands. Except gardening," he frowns. "I don't garden. Not after the incident with the carnivorous flowers."

He then gives an idle wave of his hoof. "But yeah, I'm a general jack of all trades, but best with mercenary sorta stuff. Strictly legal, of course," he smirks wryly. "Oh, and I also do a fair amount of gambling. Strictly legal too."

He pauses, and averts his gaze a bit with a small shrug.

"Generally."

[Benson]

Balboa's Estate

"My apologies for all the uh...ruckus, Mister Shores, hopefully this won't complicate our business together, correct sir?" Balboa questioned with a seemingly fretful expression once they were out of sight and near the entrance.

AIDA would be seen standing by the massive double wide door next to some guards who stood there more still and quiet then the English Queen's Guard, who paid little regard to the weirdness of the clockwork robot, they've seen weirder, Hay Bale lived here after all.

========

Flying over the Woods

"Gamblin eh? That so...heheh...." Her grin widened. "Wanna bet I can reach the town before you? Loser buys the winner a drink in town. Flight only?" She started to flap her wings more strongly, awaiting his response.

[Lycan 01]

[Up in the Clouds]

Lucky grins crookedly - but confidently - at the griffon. "Alright. Flight only, loser buys winner a drink of their choice. On yer mark..." He gives a few strong flaps of his wings, to properly stretch and warm up. "Get set..." He adjusts his hat, and narrows his eyes.

"Go."

And they're off! Turns out Lucky's actually a speedy little devil. Not Wonderbolt levels of fast, of course, but a bit above the average pegasus. Of course, being from the Badlands, ponies in his line of work are one of two things: quick, or dead.

[Benson]

Race Time!

Gwen found herself on the rather impressed side as the pegasus darted off so quickly. She smirked and took to going after not willing to lose no matter how cool he kinda looked taking off. She flapped her powerful wings and brought herself up to his speed.

"Not too shabby a start!" She said with a thumbs up sort of gesture. "But yer gonna have ta do better than that!" She said as she pulled up ahead a foot.

As they flew something...big would catch their eyes, a massive airship just sitting out there in a clearing, towering over some of the trees. It looked like a metal beast with its plating that did not seem functional for an airship.

"Woah..what is that?" She glanced back and slowed her pace considerably. "We should totally check that out!" Regardless of his answer, she changed her course and began to head towards the airship.

[Lycan 01]

[Racing!]

Lucky puts up a good fight! He tries to keep neck-and-neck with Gwen, and manages to keep the race close... until she suddenly slows down a bit. He slows as well, and turns to see what's suddenly causing her to pause. "Huh?" He looks off at what she's looking at. "I dunno, it-"

And then she flies off after it. "Hey!" Lucky protests, before darting after her with a determined grin. "No fair!"

[Benson]

Gwen just shot him a raspberry at his /no fair/ comment whilst of course still grinning. She flew around the perimeter trying to find some sort of door. "This is so coooool...but how in the pecan pie do ya git in..."
---


Gearstride sat in the bridge, alone, going over some files, particularly Sandy's, including a few papers confiscated from that one now defunct underground lab. Only the hum of the consoles and machinery kept her company, so one could only imagine her startled-ness when the next happened.

"You have company outside Captain," Miss M suddenly announced standing right behind her as Gearstride let out a surprised wahaha and fell out of her chair.

"You really need to not do that..." She said grimacing and rubbing her flank.

The vampony just stared at her and then continued. "From the sounds of it, two flyers. Two pegasi?...No....just one....the oher..." She paused with a concentrating look. "A griffon maybe."

"Hmmm?.....who'd be visiting us? You don't think it has anything to do with the battle going on in town do you?" Gear asked only to receive a shrug. "Well....I suppose we should be prepared for the worse....."

"Well you do have a cabal of vamponies who have been kept in a cramp place for a long while, make of that what you will."

"Erm....right....eh uhm.....ahem..." She brought out her communicator and started it up. "Lieutenant? Do you copy? We have unidentified guests flying around the airship, possibly a pegasus and griffon, I am going to initiate the O.Z protocol." Her tone even and totally serious. To Silverpine, she was speaking nonsense as there was no such protocol.
=============

"IDENTIFY YOURSELVES INTRUDERS. WHO DARES DISTURB THE PROXIMITY OF THE GREAT AND POWERFUL CIRRUS AIRSHIP??"

Gwen let out a startled squawk and stopped in mid-air. "Wut?....Did that airship just talk?..Pfffthjk."

[Lycan 01]

[Airship Awkwardness]

Lucky lets out a surprised yelp, so caught off guard that he flails backwards and cuts an accidental backflip in the air. "Wuh?! I, uh, I'm Lucky Break?" he offers, startled and clearly nervous about being yelled at by an airship. "J-just a wanderin' pegasus lookin' for work! Wasn't plannin' on doin' no harm, I promise!" he squawks, flailing about a bit in a rather unflattering and unprofessional manner. "Sorry for disturbin' ya, uh, Miss Cirrus?"

[Benson]

"APOLOGY ACCEPTED FROM THE UH HOLD ON----How can you even tell who is who with just your ears?....Oh...right...vid screen on....yeaaa....uh ahem!---THE PEGASUS---He's kinda cute- AHEM, AND WHO ARE YOU MISS GRIFFON??" The 'ship' questioned Gwen who sorta just froze in place with her talons gesturing at herself in the awkwardness.

"Uhm....Gwendolyn is my name?"

"WHAT? YOU DON'T KNOW FOR SURE?"

"Uh wha...'course I know...I uhm...hey hey hey....I ain't gonna take no sass from no fancy ship nu uh," Her feathers got riled up as she pointed an accusing talon at the ship. "Right Lucky? No sassafrasan sass!" She sported a self satisfied grin and glanced at Lucky for support, despite only knowing each other for a short while.
----

Gearstride pushed the mute button on the console and then proceeded to roll on the floor laughing.

[Lycan 01]

[Airship Antics]

Lucky fidgets a bit, looking back and forth between Gwen and the ship. "Sass? Sassafras? Well I dunno, I don't think airships can really give sassafras, so technically no, we won't take any sassafras from it," the pegasus replies back with a goofy grin, answering-but-not-answering the question.

[Benson]

The Apparently Sassy Ship

"Ya hear that ship? No sass but yer ass shall be grass, word," Gwen puffed up her chest and tapped the hull of the ship with her talon. "!!!"
--

Gearstride got up and wiped a tear from her face and sniggered a bit as she tried to compose herself. Miss M just stared at her and raised a brow.

"What? I'm just having some fun hahah....oooh ooh I know what I will do next..." That mute button then went un-muted.
---

"AH HA HA HA HA THAT TICKLES STHAP!" The ship then appeared to have rumbled a bit.

"Whut?..." Gwendolyn raised a brow and stopped tapping the ship in a threatening manner.

[Lycan 01]

[Airship Antics]

Lucky tilts his head curiously. "Either you just tickled an airship, or somepony in charge of the speaker system is havin' some technical difficulties." Knowing his luck, it could seriously be a case of the former.

He then coughs, and hovers a bit closer to the ship. "So, uh, what are you doin' out here anyhoo? An' do you know how far it is to Bridle Shores from here?"

[Grif]

The Apparently Sassy Ship

"Ya hear that ship? No sass but yer ass shall be grass, word," Gwen puffed up her chest and tapped the hull of the ship with her talon. "!!!"
--

Gearstride got up and wiped a tear from her face and sniggered a bit as she tried to compose herself. Miss M just stared at her and raised a brow.

"What? I'm just having some fun hahah....oooh ooh I know what I will do next..." That mute button then went un-muted.
---

"AH HA HA HA HA THAT TICKLES STHAP!" The ship then appeared to have rumbled a bit.

"Whut?..." Gwendolyn raised a brow and stopped tapping the ship in a threatening manner.

The intercom finally responded, Silverpine sounding quite bleary. Apparently the lieutenant was napping. "Captain... what in the name of Luna's royal flank is going on? And what's protocol O.Z.? Twas' an internal intercom, so those outside couldn't hear.

[Benson]

"THAT THERE IS CLASSIFIED INFORMATION, IF I TOLD YOU I WOULD HAVE TO KILL YOU AND I WOULD NOT WANT TO SEE SUCH A CUTIE GET CUT DOWN FOR SUCH A NOSY REASON."
--

Gearstride snerked as she spun around on her chair and faced Miss M. "Yea, I am just going to go, you have fun with this...whatever you're doing." The red vampony said as she made her way out of the bridge.

Twas then Gearstride received the message from Silverpine.

"Hauh....oh uh that, don't worry about that sweetcheeks, you back to doing whatever it is that you were doing, I am just having a little fun heheheh." That should have been a warning sign enough for Silverpine. :smalltongue:
====

"THE TOWN IS LESS THAN A MILE AWAY BUT I DO ADVISE GOING THERE RIGHT NOW. IT IS ON THE UH...BEING COMPROMISED SIDE."

[Grif]

"THAT THERE IS CLASSIFIED INFORMATION, IF I TOLD YOU I WOULD HAVE TO KILL YOU AND I WOULD NOT WANT TO SEE SUCH A CUTIE GET CUT DOWN FOR SUCH A NOSY REASON."
--

Gearstride snerked as she spun around on her chair and faced Miss M. "Yea, I am just going to go, you have fun with this...whatever you're doing." The red vampony said as she made her way out of the bridge.

Twas then Gearstride received the message from Silverpine.

"Hauh....oh uh that, don't worry about that sweetcheeks, you back to doing whatever it is that you were doing, I am just having a little fun heheheh." That should have been a warning sign enough for Silverpine. :smalltongue:
====

"THE TOWN IS LESS THAN A MILE AWAY BUT I DO ADVISE GOING THERE RIGHT NOW. IT IS ON THE UH...BEING COMPROMISED SIDE."

Definitely warning enough. Silverpine knew that tone of voice anywhere. It usually meant something was about to blow up. Or she was about to yet plunge the entire ship into some disaster. Sometimes both.

He swung off the bed, and quickly put on his uniform. "Oh no, Captain. I think I better head up there and see for myself," he replied back into the intercom, and headed out towards the bridge,

[Lycan 01]

[Airship Antics]

Lucky blushes a bit after being called a cutie again. However, when the loudspeaker mentions the town being in trouble, he frowns. "Wait, what? Bein' compromised? What do you mean by that?"

[Benson]

Airship Brouhaha

"Ah butts...here comes the lieutenant to be a kill-joy to my fun," She grumbled to no one and pouted. "Oh well! Time to make the most before he gets here!"
---

"YES, COMPROMISED, OUTSIDE BAD FORCES TRYING TO INVADE, APPARENTLY THIS TOWN GETTING INVADED AT A REGULAR INTERVAL IS A THING. UNFORTUNATELY, DUE TO SOME RED TAPE BULL HONKEY, WE ERR I MEAN I THE CIRRUS IS FORBIDDEN FROM INTERFERING. IT PISSES ME OFF TO BE HONEST BUT ALAS WOEFUL SIGH."

"So...yer just being a useless load?" Gwen bluntly asked.

"WELL WHEN YOU PUT IT THAT WAY........YES."

[Grif]

Airship Brouhaha

"Ah butts...here comes the lieutenant to be a kill-joy to my fun," She grumbled to no one and pouted. "Oh well! Time to make the most before he gets here!"
---

"YES, COMPROMISED, OUTSIDE BAD FORCES TRYING TO INVADE, APPARENTLY THIS TOWN GETTING INVADED AT A REGULAR INTERVAL IS A THING. UNFORTUNATELY, DUE TO SOME RED TAPE BULL HONKEY, WE ERR I MEAN I THE CIRRUS IS FORBIDDEN FROM INTERFERING. IT PISSES ME OFF TO BE HONEST BUT ALAS WOEFUL SIGH."

"So...yer just being a useless load?" Gwen bluntly asked.

"WELL WHEN YOU PUT IT THAT WAY........YES."

"Captain, please tell me you're not pranking visitors to our ship again," Silverpine said, as he came through the door. "It took days to persuade the mayor of Rainbow Falls not to throw us out of the town."

He went over to Gear's side and took the intercom over before she could protest further. "*ahem* Lieutenant Silverpine here, of the good ship Cirrus. Don't mind the Captain, she likes pulling these things on visitors. How may we help you?" Of course, Gearstride might cut Silverpine off at any time during this period.

[Lycan 01]

[Airship Antics]

Lucky kinda gives the ship a flat look for a moment, before looking at it uncertainly. "Uh, I dunno, actually. I mean, we were just passin' by, and wondered what this thing, uh, was. Now... uh... Honestly, I ain't sure what to do or ask about now. I mean, I was gonna head to Bridle Shores, but if it's having issues that a big airship ain't allowed to get involved with, a weedy pegasus merc like me would probably be even more unwelcome. Uh..."

He looks over at Gwen and shrugs. "Yeah I dunno what to do."

[TheAmishPirate]

Balboa's Estate

"My apologies for all the uh...ruckus, Mister Shores, hopefully this won't complicate our business together, correct sir?" Balboa questioned with a seemingly fretful expression once they were out of sight and near the entrance.

AIDA would be seen standing by the massive double wide door next to some guards who stood there more still and quiet then the English Queen's Guard, who paid little regard to the weirdness of the clockwork robot, they've seen weirder, Hay Bale lived here after all.

Fresh air. Sweet, merciful fresh air, and not a single mare in sight.

Well, apart from Miss Hay Bale. And the one still clinging to his shoulders. But at least it was an improvement.

"I-I, uh, don't rightly see how a few, um, p-p-p-pretty mares have anythin' t'do with our business." Sandy replied, wiping at his brow.

[Benson]

Dat Cirrus

"Boo lieutenant, boo," Gearstride playfully hissed as she smooched his cheek. "Ruining my fun, harumph, hehe." She then just sat back and let Silverpine take the wheel so to speak with just a lazy smirk on her face.
--

"What?....Aww it ain't a talkin' airship? Well my hopes and dreams are ruined forever somehow," Gwen chuckled. She then tapped her chin. "Well if the town is all hurr durr durr right now..............do ya think we can check out the airship? I ain't never seen an airship on the inside and this one looks plenty 'a cool talkin or not." She grinned and nudged Lucky.
--

Gearstride glanced at Silverpine and shrugged. "I don't see why not." Plus she also did like showing off the airship when she could. "I don't think the vamponies in here will actually be an issue."
=======

Balboa's Estate

Peachy would have eventually disbanded lest she get on Balboa's annoyed side leaving Sandy one less flirty mare clinging onto him.

"Perfect. Well then my good Shores, I will keep in contact with you and I await your eventual reply," He stuck out his hoof for a farewell shake plus mutual agreement shake.

[HalfTangible]

Balboa's estate

Hay Bale adjusted her sunglasses slightly but said nothing.

[Grif]

Dat Cirrus

"Boo lieutenant, boo," Gearstride playfully hissed as she smooched his cheek. "Ruining my fun, harumph, hehe." She then just sat back and let Silverpine take the wheel so to speak with just a lazy smirk on her face.

Silverpine couldn't help but smile a little, annoyed as he was from her breach of protocol.


[Airship Antics]

Lucky kinda gives the ship a flat look for a moment, before looking at it uncertainly. "Uh, I dunno, actually. I mean, we were just passin' by, and wondered what this thing, uh, was. Now... uh... Honestly, I ain't sure what to do or ask about now. I mean, I was gonna head to Bridle Shores, but if it's having issues that a big airship ain't allowed to get involved with, a weedy pegasus merc like me would probably be even more unwelcome. Uh..."

He looks over at Gwen and shrugs. "Yeah I dunno what to do."

"Well, I'm quite sure the townsfolk would appreciate the thought at least." Silverpine debated whether or not to say the real reason they aren't allowed was more due to politics than anything else.




"What?....Aww it ain't a talkin' airship? Well my hopes and dreams are ruined forever somehow," Gwen chuckled. She then tapped her chin. "Well if the town is all hurr durr durr right now..............do ya think we can check out the airship? I ain't never seen an airship on the inside and this one looks plenty 'a cool talkin or not." She grinned and nudged Lucky.
--

Gearstride glanced at Silverpine and shrugged. "I don't see why not." Plus she also did like showing off the airship when she could. "I don't think the vamponies in here will actually be an issue."

Silverpine hummed thoughtfully. "I suppose. Why don't you go and greet them at the entrance, while I check on our guests to make sure they're alright?" Then he turned to the intercom. "Captain says okay. Welcome aboard the Cirrus then. Sit tight while we come down to open the door."

[Lycan 01]

[Airship Antics]

Lucky figures the reason in politics or some weird legal technicalities, which is exactly why he's not interested in getting directly involved right now. Getting potentially killed is bad enough, but potentially killed and potentially arrested? Screw that.

He just kinda hovers alongside Gwen for now, waiting for the door to open and warm introductions to be had. Hopefully the crew is nice?

It's not like the ship is full of monsters or anything...

[Benson]

Presuming Gwen and Lucky found the door, which was a massive steel door, they would hear the sounds of mechanical unlocking and then finally a loud hiss as the door slid open. They would see a black maned xanadu mare sporting a swanky cap and military styled jacket standing in the door way.


"Salutations sweet cheeks," She gave the two a wink and proceeded to walk towards them. "Captain Aventura Gearstride I at your service, but just call me Captain, I like the ego boost there hehe."

"Yo heheh." Gwen gave the mare a lazy salute

[Grif]

In the meantime, Silverpine made his way down to the cargo bay, where the various civilian vamponies were rooming, and peeked in.

[Lycan 01]

[Airship Antics]

Lucky just kinda smiles meekly, and gives a polite tip of his hat, trying to be properly courteous. "Er, afternoon then, Captain. Thanks fer extendin' such hospitality to us?" he says, looking a bit past her to try to peer into the airship itself. "Really fancy ship ya got here..."

[Benson]

Silverpine and the Civilian Vamponies

Immediately when he poked his head he would soon find himself accosted by the vamponies who heard him coming down to the cargo bay due to of course their new super-hearing. Sure it was not as fine tune like Miss M's, but they are learning still. Anyways, he was bombarded with questions, each from a different vampony.

"Hey, uhm...so...how long are we gonna be down here?"

"I'm gettin kinda hungry."

"So when do I get to see my mommy? Does she know I am here?"

"Do we gotta stay in here? I mean....can't we be in the other areas of the ship? Kinda spread out? Somepony threw a fart earlier and we all smelled it, it was bad."

"Yea, that was me, my bad."
===

Gearstride, Gwendolyn, and Lucky Break

She smirked, catching his line of sight. "You wanna come inside kinda badly don'tcha? Heheh...well loves, perhaps I can give you a tour." She gave the two a wink and gesture that they follow behind her.

Gwendolyn eagerly hovered over and began following, noting how it felt kinda cramped on the inside.

[TheAmishPirate]

Balboa's Estate

Peachy would have eventually disbanded lest she get on Balboa's annoyed side leaving Sandy one less flirty mare clinging onto him.

"Perfect. Well then my good Shores, I will keep in contact with you and I await your eventual reply," He stuck out his hoof for a farewell shake plus mutual agreement shake.

Sandy gingerly shook the stallion's hoof, feeling like it might swallow up his own if he wasn't careful. "Th-thankee kindly for all this, Mister Balboa. It's been, erm, b-been an honor beyond words, it has."


Balboa's estate

Hay Bale adjusted her sunglasses slightly but said nothing.

The little stallion caught sight of Hay Bale standing off to the side. "Um, M-Miss Hay Bale?" he called out hesitantly. Though once he'd spoken, he quite forgot to bring along the rest of his thoughts. He hemmed and hawwed and pawed at the ground as his troublesome thoughts sorted themselves out. "I-I wanted to...that was a...it's, um...th-thankee. For watchin' m-my back."

[Grif]

Silverpine and the Civilian Vamponies

Immediately when he poked his head he would soon find himself accosted by the vamponies who heard him coming down to the cargo bay due to of course their new super-hearing. Sure it was not as fine tune like Miss M's, but they are learning still. Anyways, he was bombarded with questions, each from a different vampony.

"Hey, uhm...so...how long are we gonna be down here?"

"I'm gettin kinda hungry."

"So when do I get to see my mommy? Does she know I am here?"

"Do we gotta stay in here? I mean....can't we be in the other areas of the ship? Kinda spread out? Somepony threw a fart earlier and we all smelled it, it was bad."

"Yea, that was me, my bad."


Silverpine quickly raised his hooves, trying to placate the vamponies. "Um, we're still ... ahhh... arranging matters with the town. In the meantime, it's probably best to stay here until all the paperwork is sorted out. You know how these things go." He chuckled, a little nervously, then rubbed the back of head. "I'm not sure when we could get the next... ah... supply of blood either." So many evasions, so many questions going unanswered. But it was the only thing he could do until the town itself was clear.

[Benson]

Silverpine quickly raised his hooves, trying to placate the vamponies. "Um, we're still ... ahhh... arranging matters with the town. In the meantime, it's probably best to stay here until all the paperwork is sorted out. You know how these things go." He chuckled, a little nervously, then rubbed the back of head. "I'm not sure when we could get the next... ah... supply of blood either." So many evasions, so many questions going unanswered. But it was the only thing he could do until the town itself was clear.

There was a collective groan of disappointment.

"This ain't fair...I never asked to become this....I just wanna go back to my home..."

"So we can't even leave this....cargo hold? Somehow that just feels really insulting..." This one, in their annoyance, hissed and bared their fangs.

[HalfTangible]

Sandy gingerly shook the stallion's hoof, feeling like it might swallow up his own if he wasn't careful. "Th-thankee kindly for all this, Mister Balboa. It's been, erm, b-been an honor beyond words, it has."



The little stallion caught sight of Hay Bale standing off to the side. "Um, M-Miss Hay Bale?" he called out hesitantly. Though once he'd spoken, he quite forgot to bring along the rest of his thoughts. He hemmed and hawwed and pawed at the ground as his troublesome thoughts sorted themselves out. "I-I wanted to...that was a...it's, um...th-thankee. For watchin' m-my back."

Not a problem at all. She gave him a half-hug. Sorry if my own flirting made you uncomfortable.

[Lycan 01]

[Airship Antics]

Lucky just kinda follows along, trotting inside behind the mare and griffon. He's not too keen on the cramped quarters, though, and his feathers ruffle in annoyance as his wings fidget for space and breathing room. "Guessin' this ship wasn't build with pegasi in mind..." he mutters dryly.

[Benson]

Sandy gingerly shook the stallion's hoof, feeling like it might swallow up his own if he wasn't careful. "Th-thankee kindly for all this, Mister Balboa. It's been, erm, b-been an honor beyond words, it has."

"You honor me," Balboa dramatically bowed. In the background, AIDA beeped and booped and whirred some gears readying itself.



[Airship Antics]

Lucky just kinda follows along, trotting inside behind the mare and griffon. He's not too keen on the cramped quarters, though, and his feathers ruffle in annoyance as his wings fidget for space and breathing room. "Guessin' this ship wasn't build with pegasi in mind..." he mutters dryly.

"Claustrophobic folk won't do well in here," Gearstride casually commented as she lead them down the tight corridor and eventually to a flight of iron stairs leading a short way up. "That entrance is usually used as a formal entrance, most of the time we use the cargo bay doors. You may like the cargo bay, tis huge since it houses our mecha." She grinned there, usually the mecha robot suits were the piece di resistance when she gave tours, she liked mentioning it early to get ponies excited for when they finally got to see them at the end.

And Gwen fell for it hook line and sinker. "Waaaaat?....Really? Ohmahgerd....that's so cool....I didn't think they really made functional ones."

"Yep, really. They are company prototypes, unique in their existence." She continued to grin as she watched Gwen's expression.

[TheAmishPirate]

Not a problem at all. She gave him a half-hug. Sorry if my own flirting made you uncomfortable.

"Y-y'didn't do nothin' t'be ashamed of," Sandy reassured her, blushing faintly. "I think a kiss on th' forehead's allowed, b-but only if I don't ask for it. I think. I'll have t'check with...er, y'see, I've a special somepony back on th' ship. I'd just...I wouldn't know what I'd...I-I couldn't look her in th' eye again if'n I fooled around here." He accepted her half-hug, then returned it with a big, squeezing hug; as big as his little legs could muster. "Th-thank you. F-from me an' her."

[Lycan 01]

[Airship Antics]

Lucky grins. "A mecha? As in, big ol' robotic exo-suit made of metal an' machinery? Oh, this I gotta see. I'd love to take a look under the hood, too, if possible," he says with excitement. It seems the pegasus is a bit of a gearhead.

[Benson]

[Airship Antics]

Lucky grins. "A mecha? As in, big ol' robotic exo-suit made of metal an' machinery? Oh, this I gotta see. I'd love to take a look under the hood, too, if possible," he says with excitement. It seems the pegasus is a bit of a gearhead.

"Yep, but that be til the end of the tour," She chuckled to herself and continued leading the two up a short staircase and past some utility closets. She would then lead them into what she introduced as the bridge. It was a fairly large room with seating for five at different station, she then plopped her flank in what could only be the Captain's chair. "Welcome to where most of the action happens."

The room itself was filled with blinking lights, buttons, encased buttons and levers. Along with radio equipment and showy screen galore. Rather than windows, screens flickered showing green glowy video live footage of what was going on outside, so it just really showed trees and more surrounding trees, wee.

"I want ta push a button so much now," Gwen crookedly grin as she looked around at the consoles.

[Grif]

There was a collective groan of disappointment.

"This ain't fair...I never asked to become this....I just wanna go back to my home..."

"So we can't even leave this....cargo hold? Somehow that just feels really insulting..." This one, in their annoyance, hissed and bared their fangs.

Silverpine held up his hooves in an attempt to calm the vampony down. "I'm sorry if that sounded like an insult. But it's really the best we can do... for both sides until we work out something. Believe me when I say I don't like this anymore than you do."

[Lycan 01]

[Airship Antics]

Lucky looks around the command center rather curiously, interest and inquisitiveness alight in his eyes. "Wow. Fancy." He'd be more interested in the engines and mechanical guts of the ship, but still, interesting stuff!

He frowns at Gwen, though. "Pushin' a button prolly ain't the best idea. With my luck, you'd find the self destruct command or somethin'..."

[Benson]

Silverpine held up his hooves in an attempt to calm the vampony down. "I'm sorry if that sounded like an insult. But it's really the best we can do... for both sides until we work out something. Believe me when I say I don't like this anymore than you do."

The vampony growled and hissed in annoyance and sharply turned away muttering some obscenities. Overall, the atmosphere in her was tense and kinda depressing.


[Airship Antics]

Lucky looks around the command center rather curiously, interest and inquisitiveness alight in his eyes. "Wow. Fancy." He'd be more interested in the engines and mechanical guts of the ship, but still, interesting stuff!

He frowns at Gwen, though. "Pushin' a button prolly ain't the best idea. With my luck, you'd find the self destruct command or somethin'..."

"Don't worry, we don't have a self destruct button, this ship is far too expensive to blow it up," Gearstride chuckled as she slid off the chair. She then put her forelegs over the both of them and pulled them in towards with a mischievous looking grin on her face.

"Who wants to sit in the captain's chair? Heheh."

[Grif]

The vampony growled and hissed in annoyance and sharply turned away muttering some obscenities. Overall, the atmosphere in her was tense and kinda depressing.



Silverpine sighed and bowed his head as he turned to leave the room. At least he can be certain they won't be making any rash moves in the near future. Still, they'll need to resolve this quickly.

The lieutenant started to make his way to the bridge, where hopefully the captain and the guests were.

[Lycan 01]

[Airship Antics]

Lucky studies the chair suspiciously, and narrows his eyes warily. "I dunno. I ain't the Captain, so it ain't too right fer me to go sittin' in that seat. Besides, uh, I'm fine standin' for now. Thanks anyway though." He subtly tries to wiggle out of Gearstride's grasp.

[Benson]

The Bridge

"Well if he ain't wantin ta I will hahah!" Gwen laughed and hip checked Lucky over to the side and hopped up onto the captain's seat and firmly planted her perky butt on it and made herself comfortable. "HoooWEEE set gun turrets onto the target!" She whooped and got all into it. "You!" She pointed at Lucky. "Yer gonna be my second."

Gearstride laughed at the antics and grinned. When Silverpine came on in she walked over to him and greeted him with a small kiss on his cheek forgetting a moment about professionalism. "Everything alright lieutenant?"

[Grif]

The Bridge

"Well if he ain't wantin ta I will hahah!" Gwen laughed and hip checked Lucky over to the side and hopped up onto the captain's seat and firmly planted her perky butt on it and made herself comfortable. "HoooWEEE set gun turrets onto the target!" She whooped and got all into it. "You!" She pointed at Lucky. "Yer gonna be my second."

Gearstride laughed at the antics and grinned. When Silverpine came on in she walked over to him and greeted him with a small kiss on his cheek forgetting a moment about professionalism. "Everything alright lieutenant?"

"Our guests are getting restless. Whatever we decide, we better do it quick," the lieutenant replied, in a hushed voice so that the other two wouldn't quite hear what he was saying. Then he lifted his head and offered a smile. "Ah, welcome to the Cirrus. I'm Lieutenant Silverpine. How are you finding it so far?"

[HalfTangible]

"Y-y'didn't do nothin' t'be ashamed of," Sandy reassured her, blushing faintly. "I think a kiss on th' forehead's allowed, b-but only if I don't ask for it. I think. I'll have t'check with...er, y'see, I've a special somepony back on th' ship. I'd just...I wouldn't know what I'd...I-I couldn't look her in th' eye again if'n I fooled around here." He accepted her half-hug, then returned it with a big, squeezing hug; as big as his little legs could muster. "Th-thank you. F-from me an' her."

Well alright. She ruffled his mane. Stay safe out there.

[Lycan 01]

[The Bridge]

"Eep!" Lucky gives an indignant little yelp as he's hip-checked and flung aside. Probably right into Silverpine and/or Gearstride. Talk about awkward introductions.

[Benson]

Cirrus

Gearstride reflexively caught Lucky in her forearms in that cool sempai sort of way, complete with bishoujo sparkles as she playfully grinned at him. "Careful there 'hun." She winked and help him steady himself while in the background Gwen just guffawed.

"Did anyone else see the sparkles? Hauh? Hauh? Hahah." Gwen chuckled and then glanced at Silverpine. "Well right now I'm finding it pretty cool.....pew pew pew pew...lieutenant, enter warp speed!" She made a grand gesture with her forearm.

[Grif]

[The Bridge]

"Eep!" Lucky gives an indignant little yelp as he's hip-checked and flung aside. Probably right into Silverpine and/or Gearstride. Talk about awkward introductions.


Cirrus

Gearstride reflexively caught Lucky in her forearms in that cool sempai sort of way, complete with bishoujo sparkles as she playfully grinned at him. "Careful there 'hun." She winked and help him steady himself while in the background Gwen just guffawed.

"Did anyone else see the sparkles? Hauh? Hauh? Hahah." Gwen chuckled and then glanced at Silverpine. "Well right now I'm finding it pretty cool.....pew pew pew pew...lieutenant, enter warp speed!" She made a grand gesture with her forearm.

Silverpine just chuckled a little, and walked forward to join Gwen; Gear seemed to be handling Lucky well enough for the moment. "Liking the ship, are you? Too bad we can't actually do warp speed. Best we can do is Mach One." :smallwink:

[Lycan 01]

[The Bridge]

Lucky steadies himself, before smiling sheepishly. "Ehe... thanks..." He then tries to slink away with a slight blush, before turning his attention back to the security cameras and whatnot. He looks at all the different monitors, trying to see what all is going on outside the ship. Or, if possible, what there may be to see aboard the ship itself. Perhaps the cargo hold, and that fancy mech-suit...?

[Benson]

Silverpine just chuckled a little, and walked forward to join Gwen; Gear seemed to be handling Lucky well enough for the moment. "Liking the ship, are you? Too bad we can't actually do warp speed. Best we can do is Mach One." :smallwink:

"Now yer just pullin mah wing.....as much as I want ta believe this ship is fast...it's hard ta believe this big ol heavy set lookin air boat moves at the speed of sound," Gwen raised her brow incredulously.



[The Bridge]

Lucky steadies himself, before smiling sheepishly. "Ehe... thanks..." He then tries to slink away with a slight blush, before turning his attention back to the security cameras and whatnot. He looks at all the different monitors, trying to see what all is going on outside the ship. Or, if possible, what there may be to see aboard the ship itself. Perhaps the cargo hold, and that fancy mech-suit...?


Unfortunately there were no monitors depicting the going ons within the ship herself. On the outside there was not much going on, it was, quiet.

"Kinda cool huh? Heh...oooh...the engine, the big ol heart of this ship...now that is a sight I gotta show ya two," Gear practically squeed a little and patted Lucky on the back.

[Grif]

"Now yer just pullin mah wing.....as much as I want ta believe this ship is fast...it's hard ta believe this big ol heavy set lookin air boat moves at the speed of sound," Gwen raised her brow incredulously.

"Well... technically, we only went past Mach 1 twice," the lieutenant admitted with a chuckle. "But she can go pretty fast when we want it to be. And there's always places where we need to get to fast."




Unfortunately there were no monitors depicting the going ons within the ship herself. On the outside there was not much going on, it was, quiet.

"Kinda cool huh? Heh...oooh...the engine, the big ol heart of this ship...now that is a sight I gotta show ya two," Gear practically squeed a little and patted Lucky on the back.

"... why don' we show you how it all works?" Silverpine winked at Gearstride.

[Lycan 01]

[The Bridge]

Lucky grins excitedly. "Oooo, engine? Hell yeah, I'd love to see that. Always happy to see mechanical tech at work, though I promise to keep my hooves to myself," he observes with playful slyness.

[Benson]

"Ooooh, well then shall we?" Gearstride continued to grin and also glanced at Silverpine and gestured at him.

[Grif]

[The Bridge]

Lucky grins excitedly. "Oooo, engine? Hell yeah, I'd love to see that. Always happy to see mechanical tech at work, though I promise to keep my hooves to myself," he observes with playful slyness.


"Ooooh, well then shall we?" Gearstride continued to grin and also glanced at Silverpine and gestured at him.

Nothing to do but follow the two towards the engine room, with Gwen in tow, hopefully.

[TheAmishPirate]

Well alright. She ruffled his mane. Stay safe out there.

Sandy squirmed happily and beamed. "Y-you too, ma'am. Bodyguardin' ain't easy work." With that, the little stallion trotted over to AIDA's side, and awaited his transport home. "G'bye Mister Balboa sir. Thankee for...er, w-well everythin'. Bye Miss Hay Bale. Take care of y-yourself." He nodded to Balboa and waved to his bodyguard.

[Benson]

The Cirrus

And so the four headed off down to the the engine room, where a large steel door awaited them with a caution warning along with several hazard warnings.

"Mmmm....yer sure its okay right?...I mean I ain't no stranger ta danger or a chicken but..." Gwen cleared her throat and raised a brow at Gear.

"Yea yea, it be fine, just be sure to keep your hooves, talons and paws to yourself, wouldn't want anyone losing anything," She winked and proceeded to open the door as it led out a loud hiss and wheezing grind. The first thing they would feel was the increase in temperature and pungent smell of oil and traces of smoke. Musty. It was also quite loud as the powerful engines churned. Speaking of the engines, they were impressive looking, large cogs and pistons turned and pumped, steam whistled from unseen pipes and the furnace rumbled.
===

Balboa smiled at Sandy as AIDA prepped the teleportation. "I do hope to hear from you with good news, soon, Mister Shores."

"Initiating Teleportation Sequence, 3 2 1--" AIDA lit up and with a crackle and fizzle disappeared, it was cool.
===
Sandy would soon find himself back in the Cirrus, to be precise, in the engine room, appearing out of thin air right above Gwen's head who looked up with a derp expression and blinked. "...wha?"

"Destination reached, switching to low power mode." AIDA intoned and rolled towards the door.

[Grif]

Excerpt from the Baltimare Tribune
[...]

While the information regarding closing stages of the Fifth Battle of Bridle Shores remained sketchy due to the chaos that follows any battle, a few salient facts were still evident:

The guardhouse was severely damaged by the infiltrators, who managed set off some sort of magical bomb within. How they managed to do so still remains a mystery. Regardless, the explosion killed the prisoner that was held in the cell, and injured several guardsponies that was in the building. Through means yet unknown, the cunning perpetrators disappeared without a trace, along with the spy that had infiltrated earlier.

The town hospital also suffered severe damage, where another group of infiltrators had apparently targeted a pegasus merchant for reasons yet unknown. Despite collapsing an entire wing and injuring dozens of civilians in the area, they were thwarted by a timely group of Moon Motes and adventurers. Again, the villains escaped successfully, in no small part due to their willingness to use innocents to buy time for their escape.

On the other side of town, a furious duel took place between the self-declared leader of the besiegers, calling himself Dive Bomb, and a retired soldier who declined to be named. Fortunately for Bridle Shores, the leader was no match for the skill and experience of Equestria’s finest and was struck down without mercy.

With their leader struck down, his dark minions began to falter and retreat from the walls. By the same token, the defenders rallied to push back their attackers, and began inflicting heavy losses on the retreating army. By nightfall, only the dead and dying remained outside the walls of Bridle Shores…

[...]


Interview transcript with Emerald, Assistant Mayor
A: Miss Emerald, what’s your comment on the recent events that had transpired? Specifically, the one the newspapers are now dubbing the Battle of Bridle Shores.

E: We got off lucky, all things told. The nasty fire that had broken out all across town was contained relatively quickly, thanks to the brave efforts of our local guard.

A: I hear there was quite the battle.

E: Quite. Fortunately it was short and only lasted half a day, but that’s half a day too long for me.

A: What about the casualties?

E: All in all, the captain estimated that as many as fifty guardspony were injured. Few outright fatalities, fortunately. Casualties amongst the townsfolk were regrettable higher, as many as four hundred were injured, though again, few deaths.

A: I’m sorry to hear that.

E: We’re all are. These villains should be brought to justice.

A: How’s the town coping, in general?

E: Those who have passed will be sorely missed, may they be forever blessed by Princess Luna. But we’ll move on. We’ll survive. We’ll rebuild and grow stronger. We won’t be brought low by these scum.

A: A commendable sentiment, Miss Emerald. Perhaps you could tell us what do you plan to do after this?

E: We intend to rebuild, of course. The Public Works Guild has already started work on repairing the West Gate and its walls. The guardhouse will relocate to a temporary building near the market square, and continue its usual activities. As for the hospital, I am informed we have started transferring out critical patients to Canterlot where they’ll be better cared for in a safer environment. The director is insistent that the facility run at a diminished capacity until the hospital can be repaired to an acceptable standard. In short, we’ll only have the equivalent of a field hospital for the interim.

A: What about safety concerns?

E: For the moment, travellers would be discouraged to come down to Bridle Shore. I must stress this in no uncertain terms: the town is in a state of emergency. We have reliable information that this was only a small part of a larger rogue warlord army that had seized control of a nearby town. We have also appealed to Canterlot for military assistance, but thus far, we have had no positive response. The captain have also introduced new security measures for any future visitors to the town, in light of recent events.

A: Rogue warlord army? That sounds very worrisome. Could you tell us more?

E: I cannot, unfortunately. That’ll be more of the purview of the captain. What I have told you, is what he deems is safe enough to share with me. More than that, I cannot say.

A: I see. Let’s hope the Lunar Republic will be able to deal with this crisis in good time.

E: They better! It’s about time somepony from the capital city does something about this, rather than leaving it to us honest folks to deal with this.

A: I hear reports of vamponies that have infested this town. Can you confirm this rumour?

E: Ah, the vamponies. Yes, this matter has been brought to my attention. Most happened to be the former townsfolk who had been forcibly converted against their will. We're currently arranging for suitable accommodation for them, as well as extra measures to help them adapt to their new life. Hopefully, they can regain some semblance of their normal life, but their need for blood is proving to be a difficult obstacle to overcome.

A: That's quite generous of you. Unfortunately, I think we’ve run out of time. I wish you all the best.

E: I think we need all the luck we can get now.

The following are the minutes of the daily Situation Brief on <redacted>, convened to discuss the prevailing strategic situation.

Present in the meeting are the Captain, Lieutenant Stormcloak, […]

[…] and myself, Lemongrass.

The meeting started off with a longwinded recap by the Captain about the grave situation and calling for all present to dedicate their resources to ending the menace to the town. (little heart doodles in the side) Private Beayn was notably already nodding off; the first casualty of this meeting.

Lt Stormcloak then raised the issue of the shortage of manpower in the town, as most of the Moon Motes have been recalled and the town is vulnerable. To which one of the Moon Motes suggests conscription. The idea was shot down immediately by the Captain, who insisted that it further spread unrest amongst the town populace to the agreement of the other senior guards. Cpl. Snowflake appears to have succumbed to the allures of sleep.

(more heart doodles) Lt Stormcloak then moved on to the issue of intelligence, which aside from the paladin known as Luka and the rescued pegasus merchant, we had none. The Captain proposes a scouting party to ascertain the intentions of the enemy.

Dawnstrider, acting as a true paladin, immediately offers himself to join the party. To which the Captain simply grunts in acknowledgement. The enigma Purple Prose also volunteers. Lt Stormcloak suggests that the Captain seeks the services of one Staccata and Night Jewel, both known shady figures who might be of interest. Three more guards dozes off. The Captain replies he’ll consider all of them.

Blueshield suggests that the town patrols be spread further to provide more advanced warning of any future invasion. The idea was accepted with some reluctance by Lt Stormcloak, who voiced the concern of spreading the existing pegasus squad too thin. Blueshields offers to lead some of the missions herself, much to the chagrin of some of the still-awake guards. (badly drawn picture of Blueshield screaming at what presumably is ponies)

[...]

Ten days.

Ten days had passed since the fateful battle. Losses were mourned, the dead buried and the heroes commemorated. But Bridle Shores was strong. It had seen worse. And with surprising vigour and enthuiasm, ponies carried on with their lives. Defenses were rebuilt, damage made good of, and the injured nursed back to health.

The Moon Motes were celebrated for their role in the stalwart defense of the town, but alas they must soon depart. But for a few days more, they linger on, making sure their wounded were safe and sound, and enjoying a rare break from the tedium of military life.

The Captain and his cohorts, those that were not too badly injured, worked furiously to plan for the next attack. All agreed that intelligence was of vital import, and thus the best of Bridle Shores were sent forward to ascertain the exact nature of their enemy. For this task, Staccata, Dawnstrider, Night Jewel and Purple Prose were selected.

For those who were injured in the fighting, most were relocated to the one remaining intact hospital wing. Crowded as it was, it was still better than being caught out in the rain. Some of the less injured were also moved to a neighbouring flower shop, whom the owner kindly allowed for use as a temporary ward. The most critical were sent onwards to Canterlot.

The vamponies from the Cirrus were cautiously allowed back into the town, though they were still confined to a farmhouse at the outskirt of town. While those who previously had been townsfolk were allowed to visit their families, the ones who previously been Spectre's were kept under closer watch. The issue of food remains, and the townsfolk were deeply divided on whether or not these vamponies should ever be reaccepted back into the town, given the possible danger they pose.

For most ponies however, it was a slow, gradual return back to normalcy. For which, many are grateful.

Post, gooooooooo?

[Grif]

The Cirrus

And so the four headed off down to the the engine room, where a large steel door awaited them with a caution warning along with several hazard warnings.

"Mmmm....yer sure its okay right?...I mean I ain't no stranger ta danger or a chicken but..." Gwen cleared her throat and raised a brow at Gear.

"Yea yea, it be fine, just be sure to keep your hooves, talons and paws to yourself, wouldn't want anyone losing anything," She winked and proceeded to open the door as it led out a loud hiss and wheezing grind. The first thing they would feel was the increase in temperature and pungent smell of oil and traces of smoke. Musty. It was also quite loud as the powerful engines churned. Speaking of the engines, they were impressive looking, large cogs and pistons turned and pumped, steam whistled from unseen pipes and the furnace rumbled.
===

Balboa smiled at Sandy as AIDA prepped the teleportation. "I do hope to hear from you with good news, soon, Mister Shores."

"Initiating Teleportation Sequence, 3 2 1--" AIDA lit up and with a crackle and fizzle disappeared, it was cool.
===
Sandy would soon find himself back in the Cirrus, to be precise, in the engine room, appearing out of thin air right above Gwen's head who looked up with a derp expression and blinked. "...wha?"

"Destination reached, switching to low power mode." AIDA intoned and rolled towards the door.

Meanwhile, in the past...

"Mr Shores?!" Silverpine blurted, stunned by the sudden appearance of both the pony and the robot. And most probably moving too late to knock Gwen out of the way.

[Merellis]

[Woodland Roads— Or thereabouts]

Pulp Fiction lost track of how long she had been bowling into the forest at full speed, having long lost any sense of direction. All she knew was that the howling was getting softer. She fervently hoped that meant Bitter was getting the upper hand, that she would be alright.

The unicorn eventually slowed to a tired canter, the burning in her legs beginning to make itself felt. Panting softly, she glanced backwards again, hoping for a glimpse of familiar sky-blue fur. No such luck. Sighing softly, Pulp turned her head forward, only to bump nose-first into a tree. A moving tree. A moving tree that had glowing green eyes and shaped like a wolf.

"Eeep!" she whimpered, her eyes going wide and scrambling backwards as the timberwolf growled, bright green eyes shining with malice. "N-Nice doggy..." she whispered, slowly backing away. Her pathetic attempts was met with an irritated roar, the foetid stench of swamp lands causing Pulp to gag and cough.

Tired of the game, the timberwolf pounced, the slavering beast intent on rending its prey to pieces, which so happened to be one Pulp Fiction. The mare let out a terrified yelp and raised her forehooves to cover her face, much good as that'd do. Yet even as her conscious self cowered, memories flickered alive subconsciously into Pulp's mind. Memories of her practising magic in self-defense in the not-too distant past in Trottingham. Instinctively, her horn flared and momentarily interspersed a magical barrier.

The timberwolf slammed into the barrier with a painful yelp, splinters of its face scattering to the ground. The barrier quickly dissipated as Pulp opened an eye, the unicorn dimly aware that she wasn't losing any limbs yet. A loud part of her addled mind screamed at her to escape, and escape she did, the unicorn scrambling to her feet and quickly sidestepping the stunned wolf and deeper into the forest.

The woods are getting too dark for her, the trees are all over the place and she can hear the growling, howling, and snarls of the wolves circling around. All in all, not an ideal situation at the moment. The burly bodyguard snarls out another few curses and takes to the air. She's not going to be able to find Pulp in the woods by stumbling into trees in the dark. Best bet for now is to hope the unicorn can light a signal for her, or make it towards the town.

Bitter bursts through the canopy and reaches the cloudy sky with a flutter of her rather large wings. Her gaze instantly turns to the town, only to find fire and smoke billowing out from their destination. "It's almost like fate is trying to tell me this was a bad idea..."

She snarls out a final curse and starts to circle the woods, flight goggles replacing her glasses to keep the smoke from stinging her eyes. Every second would count now, for all Bitter Herb would need is a single spark of magic to reveal where Pulp Fiction was located.

And then...?

Bitter bares her teeth with a strained smile, because the question only has one answer. Dive in and do what she can.

The remaining wolves though? They don't need a plan, they only need to follow the scent of their remaining prey and do what they always do.

Surround.

Break.

Feast.

[TheAmishPirate]

(We'll try and wrap this scene up, and then get folks back to current time.)

In the past...

Before he could blink, Sandy was thrust into a noisy, smoky room, deposited atop a giffon's head, and his post-drink hangover returned with a vengeance.

Poor Sandy. Today was, like most days, not his day.

"Gluuuurgh...som'pony turn th' volume down..." He moaned miserably in a tangle of limbs.

[Lycan 01]

[In the Past... Cirrus Engine Room]

Lucky gawks and admires the engine room. He looks like a foal in a candy shop. "Woooooow. This is amazing! I bet-"

He's interrupted by a materializing unicorn. Lucky lets out a loud yelp of surprise, and staggers back a bit - and gets his wing caught in a whirring turbine. The stallion is immediately yanked into the engine mechanisms, and with a horrified squawk, is gobbled up by the spinning belts, grinding gears, and driving pistons, feathers flying as his body is flung all about the engine room like a ragdoll. A normally pony would be quite dead quite immediately. But Lucky's not a normal pony. He'll be fine.

Probably.

Still, for everyone else in the room, it's probably quite a traumatic sight as the screaming stallion is brutalized by the engines. Maybe somepony should try to help him?




----

[The Present - Bridle Shores]

Purpose Prose was not happy.

The last ten days had been quite a mess. Interviews, paperwork, damage control, assisting in repairs, organizing patrols, and worst of all, not enough coffee.

Still, it could be worse. His fight with the enemy officer had ended in a rather satisfactory manner. He'd suffered a few cracked ribs, but it was far from the worse injury he'd ever gotten, and it certainly wasn't going to slow him down. Dive Bomb, on the other hoof, had come out of the encounter more than a little worse for wear.

Specifically, his severed head and flayed cutie mark had been packaged up and mailed off to his superiors in Canterlot, for the sake of both verifying his death and to potentially serve as a warning to those who would rebel against Equestria and threaten the lives of its citizens. Along with the macabre package, he sent along a full report on the nature of the attack and a full debriefing on his encounter with the deranged and hard-to-kill pegasus. It was very pertinent that the Shadowbolts be aware of what sort of threats and dangers were lurking in Equestria's own backyard, and while he was "officially" retired from his position as a Shadowbolt, a little guidance from his "former" superiors wouldn't be unwelcome.

Now that that was all taken care of for the time being, though, Prose found himself with a little bit of time to relax before his next task. Specifically, a recon mission. Part of him wasn't looking forward to it. The rest of him, though, was... exhilarated. Enjoying retirement, doing a job he's good at, and protecting the citizens of Equestria all at the same time? Yeah, that's nice.

For now, though, the armor-clad batpony is simply resting on a cloud over the town itself, a cup of coffee clutched in the talons of his left wing, while the talons of his right wing clutch a pen. He idly scribbles on a piece of parchment, jotting down a little poetry while he casually surveys the town beneath him and the nearby forest for anything interesting, noteworthy, or suspicious.

[Benson]

Dat Cirrus

Gwendolyn fell forward hitting her beak on the ground, her eyes a bunch of spinning swirls as Sandy fell on her head. "Duuuurrrr...some...one...license..truck...ow...bhu h..."

"S**t!" Gearstride yelled as Lucky was getting well...while the thing of the gruesome was happened. For that time she was far too distracted to react to Sandy appearing out of thin air. "Lieutenant help me get him out now!"

[MCerberus]

Mach's Workshop

After the first couple of days, Mach's house became something of an important key to keeping the town's infrastructure intact. Turning clouds to power will do that. For the first couple of days though... well... at this point the whole 'blood magic' thing has become an open secret. The healing machine was going full-tilt for a while.

If any ponies learned in magic had any objections to the methodology though, there weren't any complaints.
Still, strange dreams lately.

Without anything major on the schedule, Mach is actually... sleeping in? weird. Usually he's out flying by now.

Guardhouse Ruins

A small piece of otherwise unusable building is a good enough perch. The griffon hasn't been around much. Luckily his role in the battle didn't lead to any permanent damage, but the doctors say it could have fighting through his injuries. Wounds torn open. Damage wing tendons stretched. Bruises bones put weight on. Still, griffons are the sort of endurance predators that can come back from some pretty nasty things from pony standards.

He's been around town on the ground lately, since the guard has been stretched thin anyway. Right now he's just observing the town in its current state.

Hotel

The damage to the town seemed to have caused more media fuss than it ever has. Gee, it's almost like somepony's been pushing that information. Still, it turned out that making the right parties shocked puts coins in the right coffers.

The helpful party/instigator that fanned the flames is currently asleep in her hotel room. Not getting up for an important meeting.

In the Medical Ward

Bayne is in a full-body cast. Could be worse.


City Gate
All this attention and a lack of reporters is a definite opportunity for media organizations. To that degree, the New Colt Times has sent the first reporter they could quickly ship off. After a train ride, that means poor, unlucky Whadda Scoops had to make the rest of the trip on-hoof with only 4 days worth of caffeine in quickly-usable form. It was a grueling trial. The several cases (yah, different definition for "4 days worth" with this pony) of soda and instant coffee had to be rationed. This means the last couple of days she's down to not consuming enough caffeine to kill most ponies.

Well that's neither here nor there. She's finally arrived at Bridle Shores, hauling her equipment behind her. The fedorad newsmare has finally reached civilization. Which presumably still hasn't gotten back to normal, even with the rapid reconstructions that happen. Her mission: expose everything! EVERYTHING!

This is her big chance! Exposing... EVERYTHING is a sure-fire way to get famous, or rich, or rich and famous. Or when a Ponyster Prize! The big-wigs know that she can do it and bring the truth to equestria!
Or they wanted some peace and quiet for a few weeks while she's away.

[Grif]

[The past...]


(We'll try and wrap this scene up, and then get folks back to current time.)

In the past...

Before he could blink, Sandy was thrust into a noisy, smoky room, deposited atop a giffon's head, and his post-drink hangover returned with a vengeance.

Poor Sandy. Today was, like most days, not his day.

"Gluuuurgh...som'pony turn th' volume down..." He moaned miserably in a tangle of limbs.


[In the Past... Cirrus Engine Room]

Lucky gawks and admires the engine room. He looks like a foal in a candy shop. "Woooooow. This is amazing! I bet-"

He's interrupted by a materializing unicorn. Lucky lets out a loud yelp of surprise, and staggers back a bit - and gets his wing caught in a whirring turbine. The stallion is immediately yanked into the engine mechanisms, and with a horrified squawk, is gobbled up by the spinning belts, grinding gears, and driving pistons, feathers flying as his body is flung all about the engine room like a ragdoll. A normally pony would be quite dead quite immediately. But Lucky's not a normal pony. He'll be fine.

Probably.

Still, for everyone else in the room, it's probably quite a traumatic sight as the screaming stallion is brutalized by the engines. Maybe somepony should try to help him?


All thoughts of Sandy were pushed out of his mind by the unusually gruesome accident that unfolded right after. "... goddesses help us. Mister Lucky, are you alright?" A superfluous question, really. Silverpine reversed course from helping Sandy to helping Lucky instead. The stallion avoided the various errant machinery easily and cantered up to the fallen pegasus to help carry him on his back. Or help Gearstride carry him if it comes to that. Either way, he shouts. "Coming through, make way! We need to get him to the infirmary."


The woods are getting too dark for her, the trees are all over the place and she can hear the growling, howling, and snarls of the wolves circling around. All in all, not an ideal situation at the moment. The burly bodyguard snarls out another few curses and takes to the air. She's not going to be able to find Pulp in the woods by stumbling into trees in the dark. Best bet for now is to hope the unicorn can light a signal for her, or make it towards the town.

Bitter bursts through the canopy and reaches the cloudy sky with a flutter of her rather large wings. Her gaze instantly turns to the town, only to find fire and smoke billowing out from their destination. "It's almost like fate is trying to tell me this was a bad idea..."

She snarls out a final curse and starts to circle the woods, flight goggles replacing her glasses to keep the smoke from stinging her eyes. Every second would count now, for all Bitter Herb would need is a single spark of magic to reveal where Pulp Fiction was located.

And then...?

Bitter bares her teeth with a strained smile, because the question only has one answer. Dive in and do what she can.

The remaining wolves though? They don't need a plan, they only need to follow the scent of their remaining prey and do what they always do.

Surround.

Break.

Feast.

"Ooooh, bother!" Pulp whined as she leaped across yet another unusually large root that protruded from the ground. Why did forests have to be so scary at this time of the night? At least the scary snarls were getting more distant. The unicorn came to a stop again, looking wildly around, her dusky red eyes scanning the woods for her friend, to no avail. Worse still, Pulp realised that she had completely lost her way in her wild attempts at escape.

"I h-hope this works," she whispered, as she charged her horn. Pulp lifted her head, and sent a ray of light streaming directly upwards, briefly illuminating the forest in brilliant purple. And lo behold, there was the edge of the forest. Just a little further to her left from where she stood. Silently praising Luna, the unicorn started galloping again, even as her makeshift flare winked out of existence, to what she hoped would be her freedom. "Bits, p-please be safe," she whispered.

[TheAmishPirate]

In the past...

Sandy was left atop Gwen's head, failing to come to grips with a world moving much too fast for him. Loud noises, shouting, screams, whirling colors, smoke everywhere, sudden heat, his head spun with it all. The little engineer tried in vain to shield his ears and eyes, but the cacophony continued unabated.

At least he was lying on something soft. And a little bit downy too...

[Benson]

The Cirrus

"Ack...get off...me you.." Gwen squawked when she came to her senses. The griffoness pushed Sandy off her head and blinked her eyes. "What in tarnation...." She gaped at the mess of...feathers and things. However there was no one else to answer as Gear and Silverpine were long gone with the mangled Lucky.
--

"Quick! Unto the medical bed!" Gear barked as the two plopped his body down on the bed. An oxygen mask was strapped over his muzzle as Gearstride began the process of removing his shredded clothes. "Do we have any anesthesia left lieutenant?"

[Lycan 01]

[The Cirrus - Infirmary]

Lucky definitely looks worse for wear. Bruised, battered, scratched up, a few missing or bent feathers, matted and tussled fur and mane, and a general appearance of being a living ragdoll. Well, hopefully living. He's not moving or anything, and he won't make any sounds or movements as he's dragged off to the infirmary.

It's easy enough to fling the ragdoll on the table and strap the O2 mask to his face. But as soon as Gearstride starts to reach for his clothes and attempt to pull them off, Lucky suddenly opens his eyes and gives her a confused look. "Uh, is this part of the tour?" he asks the mare leaning over him, before cracking a crooked, roguish grin and wiggling his eyebrows playfully. "Not that I'm complaining~"

...yeah, somehow he's not only alive, but he's in good enough condition to make flirty jokes. Wat?

[TheAmishPirate]

The Cirrus

"Ack...get off...me you.." Gwen squawked when she came to her senses. The griffoness pushed Sandy off her head and blinked her eyes. "What in tarnation...." She gaped at the mess of...feathers and things. However there was no one else to answer as Gear and Silverpine were long gone with the mangled Lucky.

The downy bed shifted, sending Sandy tumbling for the second time in so many minutes. Only this time, instead of a soft, feathery landing, he had nothing but hard, unforgiving metal to greet him. "Owwwwwww..." He groaned. Getting up felt like work worthy of a medal, or at least a more qualified officer.

As the pony lay there all in a heap, his leg shifted, revealing a bright, shiny badge of office with the Cirrus' name and crest clearly displayed.

[Grif]

The Cirrus

"Ack...get off...me you.." Gwen squawked when she came to her senses. The griffoness pushed Sandy off her head and blinked her eyes. "What in tarnation...." She gaped at the mess of...feathers and things. However there was no one else to answer as Gear and Silverpine were long gone with the mangled Lucky.
--

"Quick! Unto the medical bed!" Gear barked as the two plopped his body down on the bed. An oxygen mask was strapped over his muzzle as Gearstride began the process of removing his shredded clothes. "Do we have any anesthesia left lieutenant?"

"I think we do. Just need to..." Silverpine started to rummage in the cupboards for it. "C'mon... where did she put all those darned..." His hoof grasped around a syringe. "Aha, here we—"


[The Cirrus - Infirmary]

Lucky definitely looks worse for wear. Bruised, battered, scratched up, a few missing or bent feathers, matted and tussled fur and mane, and a general appearance of being a living ragdoll. Well, hopefully living. He's not moving or anything, and he won't make any sounds or movements as he's dragged off to the infirmary.

It's easy enough to fling the ragdoll on the table and strap the O2 mask to his face. But as soon as Gearstride starts to reach for his clothes and attempt to pull them off, Lucky suddenly opens his eyes and gives her a confused look. "Uh, is this part of the tour?" he asks the mare leaning over him, before cracking a crooked, roguish grin and wiggling his eyebrows playfully. "Not that I'm complaining~"

...yeah, somehow he's not only alive, but he's in good enough condition to make flirty jokes. Wat?

"—go?" Silverpine paused, syringe in hoof and goggled at the apparently miraculous recovery. "Sir, you're... supposed to be..." He fumbled for the right word. "...injured."

[Benson]

The Cirrus

"Huh..." Gwen squinted her eyes, gaze falling on Sandy's badge. She then quickly picked him up in her talons having him face her. In her hold, he hardly weighed anything. She gave him a little shake. "Hey you! Ya work here dontcha? Whats going on??"
--

Gearstride found herself blinking with uncertainty when Lucky started to talk. "Hauh.." It then turned into a confused smirk at his flirtations, and then a chuckle/amused brow raise combo. "Lieutenant, we may have to put him under." She winked.

Then serious face happened. "....Are you okay Mister Lucky? Do you feel like you have any broken bones?...How did you...not be unconscious after the mangling you got?"

[Lycan 01]

[Cirrus - Infirmary]

Lucky looks back and forth between them, a little confused. He then remembers being sucked into the engine and utterly brutalized. "Oh, right," he nods, before giving a shrug of his shoulders. "Eh, no worries, I'm fine. Just dumb luck, is all," he says almost offhandedly, seeming very casual about all this, if not lackadaisical.

[TheAmishPirate]

The Cirrus

"Huh..." Gwen squinted her eyes, gaze falling on Sandy's badge. She then quickly picked him up in her talons having him face her. In her hold, he hardly weighed anything. She gave him a little shake. "Hey you! Ya work here dontcha? Whats going on??"

The pale little unicorn shook like a ragdoll in her grip, then stared back at her with glassy, vacant eyes. He opened his mouth, and...

...proceeded to barf his guts out; half on the floor, half on Gwen.

Charming.

[Benson]

[Cirrus - Infirmary]


"Really?...You're just gonna chalk it down as 'dumb luck'?...." She raised a brow and the prodded his chest with her hoof. "How are you not behaving like you are in excruciating pain?"
====

The Cirrus-Engine Room



"Grooooooosss!" She dropped him on the ground like a dirty diaper. "Seriously you just threw up on me?...Not cool...not cool at all." She glared at him. "Ugh...all over my nice armor...oh it smells..." Her cheeks puffed as if she was going to puke, and then she did.

Only the classiest of humor ya'll.

[TheAmishPirate]

The Cirrus-Engine Room



"Grooooooosss!" She dropped him on the ground like a dirty diaper. "Seriously you just threw up on me?...Not cool...not cool at all." She glared at him. "Ugh...all over my nice armor...oh it smells..." Her cheeks puffed as if she was going to puke, and then she did.

Only the classiest of humor ya'll.

[In the past, but a few cleanups in the future...]

"So...who are you again?" Sandy - now dressed in a spare uniform a few sizes too big for him - rested on the engine room stairs, far away from any grabby machinery. The engine room proper still smelled awful, but the passageway upstairs at least had some airflow. Unsurprisingly, he still felt like manure, but at least he could sit mostly upright.

[Grif]

[Cirrus - Infirmary]

Lucky looks back and forth between them, a little confused. He then remembers being sucked into the engine and utterly brutalized. "Oh, right," he nods, before giving a shrug of his shoulders. "Eh, no worries, I'm fine. Just dumb luck, is all," he says almost offhandedly, seeming very casual about all this, if not lackadaisical.


[Cirrus - Infirmary]


"Really?...You're just gonna chalk it down as 'dumb luck'?...." She raised a brow and the prodded his chest with her hoof. "How are you not behaving like you are in excruciating pain?"


"You were just mangled by the engine!" Silverpine exclaimed, narrowing his eyes. "No normal pony could have gotten away without serious injuries."

[PurityIcekiller]

[Heavy Metal Ironworks]

For the next few days, the smithy's productivity fell. Blades wasn't able to work at her fullest while she healed, Arvadraa had been given lighter duties because of her stress, Flare had to leave occasionally to work on repairing the town walls and buildings, and Stellar was not expected to do the work of four ponies by herself.

The smith herself was gradually recovering. By the end of the week, she was able to move about with relatively little pain as long as she didn't overexert herself. This put her in a bit of a better mood.

"Ah, it's so nice to finally stretch my legs again! It's been so dull havin' to lie down so much. I haven't cut anything in days!"

"Not for lack of trying on your part," muttered Flare.

"Say, 'Vadraa, I thought we were going to do something at some point. Do ya remember what it was?"

[The Fox's Den]

Night Jewel's workshop was coming along well. She had just finished designing the door's puzzle-lock, and was making good progress on Gearstride's hoof. In fact, she was just getting the lock set up properly when she had a surprise visitor.

"Oh, hello! I wasn't expecting ponies to start dropping by so soon. What are you here for? Want a look at my trinkets?"

[Near the Gates]

The past several days for Blueshield had been split between rigorously drilling the local militia and guards and patrolling around the town. Being caught unprepared once was bad enough; she intended to make sure this didn't happen again.

It was for this reason that she was near the gates when Scoops arrived, and that she immediately pointed her crossbow in the reporter's general direction.

"Hold your position! For security purposes, I require that you verify your identity and purposes. I assure you it is a necessity born of our perilous situation."

[Lycan 01]

[Cirrus - Infirmary]





"Really?...You're just gonna chalk it down as 'dumb luck'?...." She raised a brow and the prodded his chest with her hoof. "How are you not behaving like you are in excruciating pain?"



"You were just mangled by the engine!" Silverpine exclaimed, narrowing his eyes. "No normal pony could have gotten away without serious injuries."

Lucky just gives an innocuous shrug. "Eh, been through worse. Survived getting blown up with dynamite earlier today, actually..." he mutters, as though just talking about the weather. He then points a hoof at his cutie mark - a silver coin. "And I can chalk it up to dumb luck because that's exactly what my special talent is - dumb luck, for better or worse," he says with a crooked grin.

Maybe having him aboard this ship isn't such a good idea after all...

[Benson]

[In the past, but a few cleanups in the future...]

"So...who are you again?" Sandy - now dressed in a spare uniform a few sizes too big for him - rested on the engine room stairs, far away from any grabby machinery. The engine room proper still smelled awful, but the passageway upstairs at least had some airflow. Unsurprisingly, he still felt like manure, but at least he could sit mostly upright.

Gwen herself was without her chest armor, it was going to get cleaned, though she felt the smell was still lingering on her.

"Gwendolyn, bad ass merc and all around ass kicker," She proudly stated crossing her forearms/legs whatever, over her chest, puffing it out a little. "Who are you? You kinda just appeared out of thin air?"



"You were just mangled by the engine!" Silverpine exclaimed, narrowing his eyes. "No normal pony could have gotten away without serious injuries."


[Cirrus - Infirmary]

Lucky just gives an innocuous shrug. "Eh, been through worse. Survived getting blown up with dynamite earlier today, actually..." he mutters, as though just talking about the weather. He then points a hoof at his cutie mark - a silver coin. "And I can chalk it up to dumb luck because that's exactly what my special talent is - dumb luck, for better or worse," he says with a crooked grin.

Maybe having him aboard this ship isn't such a good idea after all...

"I don't understand how dumb luck can be a special talent," She whispered to Silverpine. "Is that even possible?" In the background, AIDA rolled in and watched the scene with its singular 'eye'.

[Grif]

[Cirrus - Infirmary]
Lucky just gives an innocuous shrug. "Eh, been through worse. Survived getting blown up with dynamite earlier today, actually..." he mutters, as though just talking about the weather. He then points a hoof at his cutie mark - a silver coin. "And I can chalk it up to dumb luck because that's exactly what my special talent is - dumb luck, for better or worse," he says with a crooked grin.

Maybe having him aboard this ship isn't such a good idea after all...



"I don't understand how dumb luck can be a special talent," She whispered to Silverpine. "Is that even possible?" In the background, AIDA rolled in and watched the scene with its singular 'eye'.
[The past... Cirrus Infirmary]

"I... uh... don't rightly know. I mean, I never heard a pony whose special talent is plain dumb luck. It's always something..." Silverpine circled his hoof a little. "... tangible." He lifted his head and glanced at Lucky again. "And I suppose your whole life has been nothing but a series of extraordinarily dumb lucky escapes?"

[Lycan 01]

[Cirrus - Infirmary]

"Actually, it can be tangible," Lucky says with a sheepish grin. "I'm kinda, uh, banned from almost every casino in Equestria, due to my knack at winning games of chance. And winning streaks at said games of chance. So they kinda don't let me visit their fine establishments anymore. Something about being a 'walking violation of the laws of probability' and whatnot. Eheh... And, er, as for my whole life being nothing but a series of dumb, lucky escapes... uh..."

He pulls up his shirt with one hoof, revealing a myriad of scars ranging from small flesh wounds to deep, ragged injuries, while the other hoof points at his scar-accentuated muzzle. "These scars didn't just appear out of nowhere, y'know," he grins crookedly. "Bombs, bar fights, Chupacabras, a few falls off of cliffs, so on and so forth..."

[TheAmishPirate]

Gwen herself was without her chest armor, it was going to get cleaned, though she felt the smell was still lingering on her.

"Gwendolyn, bad ass merc and all around ass kicker," She proudly stated crossing her forearms/legs whatever, over her chest, puffing it out a little. "Who are you? You kinda just appeared out of thin air?"

Sandy instinctively reached to his chest, only to find empty space where his badge usually was. He shrunk another size into his clothes. "S-sandy Shores. Ship's engineer. I, uh, keep things runnin' down here an' th' Cirrus in th' air." He threw a small salute.

[Benson]

Cirrus-Infirmary

"That just makes my head hurt....I need a drink or two or three..." Gearstride gawked and then looked away, thinking about her secret stash in her room. She looked back at Lucky.

"So....you're fine right? I mean, there are no damages we gotta pay right? I dunno even know if we even have insurance for that.."



Sandy instinctively reached to his chest, only to find empty space where his badge usually was. He shrunk another size into his clothes. "S-sandy Shores. Ship's engineer. I, uh, keep things runnin' down here an' th' Cirrus in th' air." He threw a small salute.

"Kaaaaay...." Gwen clicked her beak in thought. "Anyways...go take me to wherever everyone else went, I am confused, I don't like being confused."

[MCerberus]

[Near the Gates]

The past several days for Blueshield had been split between rigorously drilling the local militia and guards and patrolling around the town. Being caught unprepared once was bad enough; she intended to make sure this didn't happen again.

It was for this reason that she was near the gates when Scoops arrived, and that she immediately pointed her crossbow in the reporter's general direction.

"Hold your position! For security purposes, I require that you verify your identity and purposes. I assure you it is a necessity born of our perilous situation."

The sandy-brown mare looks at Blueshield for a moment. For a second it's quiet. Too quiet. Like the calm before a storm. After rifling through the saddlebags for the proper papers, it's 'go time'.

"Hiya. Whadda Scoops. Here to do investigations all that. Oh and I'll need press passes? Do you do press passes? Who do I talk to. More importantly, where's coffee around this place. Running low. Only had 8 cups yesterday. Not enough. Look at me, I'm a mess without more. Need it to keep on my hooves."

Might want to interrupt this line of thought before she goes on about the specifics of her favorite kinds of stimulant.

[Grif]

[Cirrus - Infirmary]

"Actually, it can be tangible," Lucky says with a sheepish grin. "I'm kinda, uh, banned from almost every casino in Equestria, due to my knack at winning games of chance. And winning streaks at said games of chance. So they kinda don't let me visit their fine establishments anymore. Something about being a 'walking violation of the laws of probability' and whatnot. Eheh... And, er, as for my whole life being nothing but a series of dumb, lucky escapes... uh..."

He pulls up his shirt with one hoof, revealing a myriad of scars ranging from small flesh wounds to deep, ragged injuries, while the other hoof points at his scar-accentuated muzzle. "These scars didn't just appear out of nowhere, y'know," he grins crookedly. "Bombs, bar fights, Chupacabras, a few falls off of cliffs, so on and so forth..."

Silverpine shot Lucky a look that could only be described as an unholy mix between incredulous, impressed and worried.


Cirrus-Infirmary

"That just makes my head hurt....I need a drink or two or three..." Gearstride gawked and then looked away, thinking about her secret stash in her room. She looked back at Lucky.

"So....you're fine right? I mean, there are no damages we gotta pay right? I dunno even know if we even have insurance for that.."



"I... ahh... don't believe we do, Captain. Though it's probably a good idea to pick up one up in the future..." Silverpine said, still staring at Lucky. "So... ummm... can you walk? Do you need assistance to get you to town?"

[Lycan 01]

Cirrus-Infirmary





"That just makes my head hurt....I need a drink or two or three..." Gearstride gawked and then looked away, thinking about her secret stash in her room. She looked back at Lucky.

"So....you're fine right? I mean, there are no damages we gotta pay right? I dunno even know if we even have insurance for that.."






Silverpine shot Lucky a look that could only be described as an unholy mix between incredulous, impressed and worried.

"I... ahh... don't believe we do, Captain. Though it's probably a good idea to pick up one up in the future..." Silverpine said, still staring at Lucky. "So... ummm... can you walk? Do you need assistance to get you to town?"

Lucky hops off the infirmary bed, lands firmly on his hooves, and gives an idle flap of his wings. He then gives a nonchalant shrug. "Eh, I'm sore as mess, and I'll probably be bruised up pretty bad in the morning. But really, I'm fine. Compared to what most ponies would have been, at least," he grins crookedly.

He then tilts his head in confusion. "Besides, shouldn't you be less worried about me and my travel affairs, and more concerned about the pony who randomly appeared out of nowhere aboard your ship?"

[Grif]

Cirrus-Infirmary
Lucky hops off the infirmary bed, lands firmly on his hooves, and gives an idle flap of his wings. He then gives a nonchalant shrug. "Eh, I'm sore as mess, and I'll probably be bruised up pretty bad in the morning. But really, I'm fine. Compared to what most ponies would have been, at least," he grins crookedly.

He then tilts his head in confusion. "Besides, shouldn't you be less worried about me and my travel affairs, and more concerned about the pony who randomly appeared out of nowhere aboard your ship?"

Silverpine blinked. Right, in the midst of the not-emergency, he had totally forgotten about their plucky engineer. "Oh uh, yes. We should probably go and make sure Mr Shores isn't lying someplace comatose." He began trotting out of the infirmary, still looking genuinely puzzled.



[The Present - Bridle Shores]

Purpose Prose was not happy.

The last ten days had been quite a mess. Interviews, paperwork, damage control, assisting in repairs, organizing patrols, and worst of all, not enough coffee.

Still, it could be worse. His fight with the enemy officer had ended in a rather satisfactory manner. He'd suffered a few cracked ribs, but it was far from the worse injury he'd ever gotten, and it certainly wasn't going to slow him down. Dive Bomb, on the other hoof, had come out of the encounter more than a little worse for wear.

Specifically, his severed head and flayed cutie mark had been packaged up and mailed off to his superiors in Canterlot, for the sake of both verifying his death and to potentially serve as a warning to those who would rebel against Equestria and threaten the lives of its citizens. Along with the macabre package, he sent along a full report on the nature of the attack and a full debriefing on his encounter with the deranged and hard-to-kill pegasus. It was very pertinent that the Shadowbolts be aware of what sort of threats and dangers were lurking in Equestria's own backyard, and while he was "officially" retired from his position as a Shadowbolt, a little guidance from his "former" superiors wouldn't be unwelcome.

Now that that was all taken care of for the time being, though, Prose found himself with a little bit of time to relax before his next task. Specifically, a recon mission. Part of him wasn't looking forward to it. The rest of him, though, was... exhilarated. Enjoying retirement, doing a job he's good at, and protecting the citizens of Equestria all at the same time? Yeah, that's nice.

For now, though, the armor-clad batpony is simply resting on a cloud over the town itself, a cup of coffee clutched in the talons of his left wing, while the talons of his right wing clutch a pen. He idly scribbles on a piece of parchment, jotting down a little poetry while he casually surveys the town beneath him and the nearby forest for anything interesting, noteworthy, or suspicious.

(Keeping Prose company, in the meantime.)

"Ah, I thought I might find you up here," the firm voice of the Captain's flight leader and second-in-command sounded from below. The navy blue pegasus popped above the cloud level and settled into an easy hover in front of him, silver mane whipping in the wind. "Enjoying your coffee, I see?" Stormcloak asked, politely.

[Benson]

The Cirrus- Engine Room


"You go on ahead sweetie, that task doesn't require the both of us," She smiled at Silverpine watching him go. She then sat back on a seat and stared at Lucky.

"So...what?.....Is it like some kind of regeneration or somethin'?....." She narrowed her eyes. "Are you some kind of vampony?...They do that you...regenerate wound, body parts, like nothing ever happened."

[Lycan 01]

The Cirrus- Engine Room




"You go on ahead sweetie, that task doesn't require the both of us," She smiled at Silverpine watching him go. She then sat back on a seat and stared at Lucky.

"So...what?.....Is it like some kind of regeneration or somethin'?....." She narrowed her eyes. "Are you some kind of vampony?...They do that you...regenerate wound, body parts, like nothing ever happened."

Lucky gives a small snort, and sits back on the table. "Vampony? Naw. I'm tellin' ya, dumb luck. I heal up just the same as any other pony. I'm just harder to actually hurt, dependin' on the situation. I mean, if you stab me in the face or something boring like that, I'll prob'ly die. But the more outrageous, off the wall, or complex the incident, the more likely something will go wrong or something weird will happen, an' I'll emerge alive by the skin of my teeth. Don't get me wrong," he shrugs, "I've been hospitalized plenty of times. This whole engine thing, though?" He grins crookedly, revealing a distinct lack of fangs. "Just a lucky fluke~"



[Bridle Shores Skies - Present



(Keeping Prose company, in the meantime.)

"Ah, I thought I might find you up here," the firm voice of the Captain's flight leader and second-in-command sounded from below. The navy blue pegasus popped above the cloud level and settled into an easy hover in front of him, silver mane whipping in the wind. "Enjoying your coffee, I see?" Stormcloak asked, politely.

"If I were actively trying to hide, you'd have had less luck," the batpony dryly observes, before tilting his head a bit to flash a wry smile at the pegasus. "But yes, good coffee. I see helping this town was the right decision after all," he quips, wry smile morphing into a bit of a playful smirk. He takes another sip of the coffee, and scribbles a bit more on the parchment. "So, what brings you my way? I take you had other reasons to look for me besides the purpose of discussing fine coffees. Is something awry?"

[TheAmishPirate]

"Kaaaaay...." Gwen clicked her beak in thought. "Anyways...go take me to wherever everyone else went, I am confused, I don't like being confused."

"Er, th-that's gonna be a bit, w-well, where did they go, exactly?" Sandy asked sheepishly. In all the hubbub, he couldn't quite recall where he'd put his communicator.

[MCerberus]

[The Fox's Den]

Night Jewel's workshop was coming along well. She had just finished designing the door's puzzle-lock, and was making good progress on Gearstride's hoof. In fact, she was just getting the lock set up properly when she had a surprise visitor.

"Oh, hello! I wasn't expecting ponies to start dropping by so soon. What are you here for? Want a look at my trinkets?"


Since it's far too early for a certain mare to be prodding around, an outside party dropped off a message before running off. Although if it doesn't get to the right party, there's going to be hell to pay. Anyway, there's an envelope addressed to Night Jewel.


An opportunity has arisen that your presence would be mutually beneficial. Indeterminate danger. Fair share of any applicable loot; I'm financing a gold payoff if the numbers don't come out. Working for the powers-that-be. Meet at the guardhouse for more details.

[Kelvin360]

The Hospital

While the worst of the worst have been seen to in the days since the attack, rush hour is still a troublesome time for the workers and volunteers, Dr. Sunshine at their head, wherein those previously in critical condition must be seen to and the ponies who have waited for their treatment are insistent that their injuries are more severe than the next set. In between the constant fatigue of using magic in dire circumstances, very little sleep (aside from a half-day off in the middle of the week that was virtually mandated by one of his senior assistants, Goldie), and the constant stream of concerned civilians, the good-humored, fatherly expression and demeanor that once defined the good doctor has all but disappeared. Neck-deep in his work, he speaks only when he needs a tool or a task performed, sweat lining his brow and his horn sending off harmless but alarming sparks every so often.

"Set," he announces, finishing up a bone-repair job complete with a nasty gash on the affected limb which, much to his initial displeasure, was not from the battle but from carelessness in repairing the walls. "Wheel her out."

Commander Justified Eclipse, whose unflinching nature, hardened discipline, and natural physical talents befitting an earth pony have been invaluable in recent days, rushes forward with such speed that the unfamiliar might confuse him for a pegasus. A gray blur against the background of the walls, he wheels the patient out into a separate room devoted to less severe and/or treated cases, casting an anxious glance at the corner where Coconut is resting in the process.

"Bring in the next," Sunshine barks, grabbing for a list of supplies the hospice has at its disposal, a piece of paper with numerous crossings-out and very few open spots left. He scowls deeply. "What happened to all of our spare blood treatments? If we get another amputation or cut artery..."

"You'll deal with it." A voice says from near the exit. It belongs to a unicorn clad in a full-body leather overcoat who was not present before he spoke, his eyes covered by sunglasses with no visible wings, covered on the inside in arcane sigils.

Despite now sharing the room with Moonlight, Sunshine's expression does not soften. "I suppose you stole most of it to give to your new bloodsucking extermanari friends?"

"No. I made an official request that food supplies be shifted from the hospital to the outpost for my vampire wards," Moonlight replies unflinchingly.

"You're not here to apologize, are you?"

"That would be patronizing. The brass means to send off Dawn and a few others on a scouting mission. I thought you should know."

Sunshine's shoulders fall as Eclipse rolls in the next patient. He moves off, leaving a few assistants to tend to it, and stands face-to-face with Moonlight. He no longer bears any trace of anger, only sadness and fatigue. "And what's the real reason you're here?"

Darkened lenses slip backward, revealing dark, searching eyes. "Concern. You've held it together under worse circumstances than this, but you're falling apart."

Sunshine shakes his head. "You know why."

"Enlighten me anyway."

"Those two...agents, assassins, murderers, whatever...the ones that tried to kill the POW. I had them right here, in front of me. I could have stopped them. I didn't."

"Then the ponies whom that act put in jeopardy should be casting blame, not you," Moonlight states fairly. "You'll notice none of them are here."

"It was my daughter, Rigmund." Long-repressed tears begin sliding down the doctor's cheeks. "My little Snow. What if...?"

"Hey. Hey." Moonlight raises a hoof under Sunshine's chin and lifts it up, forcing eye contact. If he notices any shocked looks or muttered comments from the assistants as their senior begins breaking down in front of them, he doesn't show it. "Snowstorm is an experienced and capable mare. So are Night Jewel and Starbeam. They knew the risks of intervening, and so on and so forth, many cliches. I don't have to tell you it's not your fault. It sounds like they might, though."

The sunglasses slip back into place. "So go and do that. And then get some sleep, for Luna's sake, you look like Dawnstrider when he's in a mood."

Sunshine's lips twitch. "I can't well leave the hospital..."

"You can and you will. I wasn't daydreaming when you covered the basics with us, and Luna's grace extends beyond the dreamscape. I'll take over here. You go and fix yourself, for once."

Sunshine pauses at that, then slowly plods out the door. Moonlight paces forward, the sigils in front of his eyes flashing. "Start stockpiling anesthetic - you won't need it while I'm here. Now, somepony get me..."

---

Heavy Metal, Inc.

Although the filly of the house hasn't been working on the metalcrafting jobs, per se, she has been putting her newest talents to use. With a growl of frustration, a large piece of parchment - blue and white, in the style of prototype diagrams - is quickly crushed in a strong grip and tossed to the floor of the shop, alongside many other unfinished designs. "Seriously, it is not this hard to design a wall. A wall. It stands there and keeps standing if heavy things are thrown at it. But noooo! It's got to have weird design flaws and fancy curvy bits until those bucking motherbuckers are bucking satisfied with their bucking piece of bucking metal. And then! Then! They have the gall to tell me that resources are limited on the project? Like, hello, when did we run out of iron and steel? Did it dance off with a dish and a spoon while I wasn't looking? And rocks, even! They tell me that we're absurdly low on stone! Stone! Look down at your hooves, you idiots, plenty right there!"

It's worth noting that Stellar has been on a nigh-constant tirade since she began designing the new fortifications, but she shows no sign of slowing down and, in fact, dons the intense grin of an artist finding their muse in the rare moments when she isn't ranting.

Nearby, Arvadraa has been enjoying the relative calm after the storm much more than her counterpart. In point of fact, she's been spending a good deal of her off-hours simply tucking herself into a corner and thinking about things, though she is by no means shunning the company of her friends, and is as open as ever. She does, however, now have a secondary responsibility. When it became clear that horsepower was wearing too thin for constructions to take a comfortable amount of time, she put her druidic abilities to good use and began gathering up woodland animals and sending them on various tasks to aid in repairs or the gathering of supplies. Every once in a while, her owl Seeker or the odd ferret will find her for clarification on an order of deployment, or else inform her if an unusual situation has arisen.

"-and put Underdrought on the blocks, she's stronger." The flutter pony finishes, before pondering Blades' question. "Hmm. We...were going to go swimming and flying, weren't we? I didn't know if we'd have time with all that's going on, and-" She pauses, biting her lip. "Are...well, only, are you feeling up to it?"

[Grif]

[Bridle Shores Skies - Present

"If I were actively trying to hide, you'd have had less luck," the batpony dryly observes, before tilting his head a bit to flash a wry smile at the pegasus. "But yes, good coffee. I see helping this town was the right decision after all," he quips, wry smile morphing into a bit of a playful smirk. He takes another sip of the coffee, and scribbles a bit more on the parchment. "So, what brings you my way? I take you had other reasons to look for me besides the purpose of discussing fine coffees. Is something awry?"

"Awry? Heavens no. But I think you should hear this anyway." Stormcloak looked around carefully. Satisfied that they were quite alone, he hovered closer. "The pegasus merchant we rescued came forward with an interesting proposition. She's offering to show a way through the mountains that leads directly to the village. Oh I know it sounds crazy, but she's claiming she knows a way that even the enemy doesn't and she used it to escape. Personally I don't think it's such a good idea, but I think you should know anyway."


"Er, th-that's gonna be a bit, w-well, where did they go, exactly?" Sandy asked sheepishly. In all the hubbub, he couldn't quite recall where he'd put his communicator.

Thankfully, Silverpine saved Sandy the trouble. The lieutenant's face crinkled as the rancid smell rose up to greet him, as he peered into the stairwell below. "... Mr Shores, glad to see you're alive and well. Maybe... um, you'd like to clean up properly in the showers first?" He nodded at Gwen as well. "You're welcome to use them as well."

[Benson]

The Cirrus- Infirmary

Gearstride crookedly smiled at Lucky and worked her jaw in thought. AIDA continued to observe the scene from the corner being all quiet and only stirred a little when Gearstride looked its way and stared for a second.

"Well good...not like I have anything against vamponies I mean, more like good that you are fine and stuff even if it is totally weird." She nodded her head. "You are 100% fine right? Just to triple check."

The Cirrus- Hallway?

"Usele---" Gwen cut herself off short when Silverpine appeared. "Direct me to them asap. Blood and dirt I can live with...vomit, no."

[TheAmishPirate]

Thankfully, Silverpine saved Sandy the trouble. The lieutenant's face crinkled as the rancid smell rose up to greet him, as he peered into the stairwell below. "... Mr Shores, glad to see you're alive and well. Maybe... um, you'd like to clean up properly in the showers first?" He nodded at Gwen as well. "You're welcome to use them as well."

Sandy immediately sprang to attention; no small feat given his baggy uniform. "Yessir, Silverpine sir. I-I'll take our guest over there straightaway." He waved for Gwen to follow him and he slowly made his way up the stairs. "R-right this way, ma'am. We can send AIDA around t'clean y-your armor."

[Grif]

The Cirrus- Hallway?

"Usele---" Gwen cut herself off short when Silverpine appeared. "Direct me to them asap. Blood and dirt I can live with...vomit, no."


Sandy immediately sprang to attention; no small feat given his baggy uniform. "Yessir, Silverpine sir. I-I'll take our guest over there straightaway." He waved for Gwen to follow him and he slowly made his way up the stairs. "R-right this way, ma'am. We can send AIDA around t'clean y-your armor."

"I'll handle that personally. Please provide Miss Gwen with whatever she needs to get cleaned up." Silverpine would collect the armour carefully and bring it the nearest industrial washer. :smalltongue:

[Benson]

Gwen


She nodded and would follow Sandy, whatever questions she had, she would ask later.

[PurityIcekiller]

[The Rat's Den]

"Huh! No time to talk, it seems." Night Jewel gave a wave, then picked up the note.

As she read it, her eyes narrowed. She looked it up and down, making sure she understood the message.

"An opportunity has arisen that your presence would be mutually beneficial"? Sounds like something that Knight Commander would say. And coming to the guardhouse for an unexplained mission... Who would fall for such an obvious trap?

If it is a trap, it isn't very well thought out. It's well-known that I risked my life several times to help the town. Even if they could find some excuse to arrest me, it would be completely counterproductive for them, and the local ponies wouldn't stand for it.

So what are you going to do? Go along with them?

If they're being honest, then I have an opportunity to do more for the town. Otherwise, I have an opportunity to make the guards look like complete idiots. Either way, it's a win.

Night Jewel finished putting the lock in place, gave it a quick kick to randomize it, then set off for the guardhouse. Her spirits were lifting already.


The sandy-brown mare looks at Blueshield for a moment. For a second it's quiet. Too quiet. Like the calm before a storm. After rifling through the saddlebags for the proper papers, it's 'go time'.

"Hiya. Whadda Scoops. Here to do investigations all that. Oh and I'll need press passes? Do you do press passes? Who do I talk to. More importantly, where's coffee around this place. Running low. Only had 8 cups yesterday. Not enough. Look at me, I'm a mess without more. Need it to keep on my hooves."

Might want to interrupt this line of thought before she goes on about the specifics of her favorite kinds of stimulant.

Blueshield lowered her bow upon seeing the papers. "That is sufficient. I shall escort you to the individual of proper authority. First, however, it is imperative that you be informed of one thing." Her expression temporarily hardened. "I forbid you from inquiring of me as to any matters of tactical merit. I would not derive pleasure from discovering every vulnerability of our arrangements exposited to unscrupulous individuals by a meddling reporter."

With that, she led Scoops into town and sought out the guard captain.


Although the filly of the house hasn't been working on the metalcrafting jobs, per se, she has been putting her newest talents to use. With a growl of frustration, a large piece of parchment - blue and white, in the style of prototype diagrams - is quickly crushed in a strong grip and tossed to the floor of the shop, alongside many other unfinished designs. "Seriously, it is not this hard to design a wall. A wall. It stands there and keeps standing if heavy things are thrown at it. But noooo! It's got to have weird design flaws and fancy curvy bits until those bucking motherbuckers are bucking satisfied with their bucking piece of bucking metal. And then! Then! They have the gall to tell me that resources are limited on the project? Like, hello, when did we run out of iron and steel? Did it dance off with a dish and a spoon while I wasn't looking? And rocks, even! They tell me that we're absurdly low on stone! Stone! Look down at your hooves, you idiots, plenty right there!"

It's worth noting that Stellar has been on a nigh-constant tirade since she began designing the new fortifications, but she shows no sign of slowing down and, in fact, dons the intense grin of an artist finding their muse in the rare moments when she isn't ranting.

"Ah, the trials of dealing with ponies who cannot make mountains with a thought." Flare sighed in sympathy. "I suppose I shall have to dig up half the mantle for them. Then they won't complain about not having enough stone."


Nearby, Arvadraa has been enjoying the relative calm after the storm much more than her counterpart. In point of fact, she's been spending a good deal of her off-hours simply tucking herself into a corner and thinking about things, though she is by no means shunning the company of her friends, and is as open as ever. She does, however, now have a secondary responsibility. When it became clear that horsepower was wearing too thin for constructions to take a comfortable amount of time, she put her druidic abilities to good use and began gathering up woodland animals and sending them on various tasks to aid in repairs or the gathering of supplies. Every once in a while, her owl Seeker or the odd ferret will find her for clarification on an order of deployment, or else inform her if an unusual situation has arisen.

"-and put Underdrought on the blocks, she's stronger." The flutter pony finishes, before pondering Blades' question. "Hmm. We...were going to go swimming and flying, weren't we? I didn't know if we'd have time with all that's going on, and-" She pauses, biting her lip. "Are...well, only, are you feeling up to it?"

"I can manage. It's just that we've been cooped up in here for an awful long time, 'n... Well, ya kinda look out of place indoors. I think goin' outside a bit could do ya some good. It'd make ya happier, that's for sure."

[Kelvin360]

"Ah, the trials of dealing with ponies who cannot make mountains with a thought." Flare sighed in sympathy. "I suppose I shall have to dig up half the mantle for them. Then they won't complain about not having enough stone."

"That's what I told them! But they gave me some loaded excuse about fault lines, tunnels, and sinkholes. I mean, it's not like we'll be less defensible if we're fifty hooflengths underground!"



"I can manage. It's just that we've been cooped up in here for an awful long time, 'n... Well, ya kinda look out of place indoors. I think goin' outside a bit could do ya some good. It'd make ya happier, that's for sure."

"I have been losing some color, haven't I? Although, to be fair, that might just be the shadows leeching it. I think they're upset I'm not using them anymore."

[Lycan 01]

[Clouds Above Bridle Shores]


"Awry? Heavens no. But I think you should hear this anyway." Stormcloak looked around carefully. Satisfied that they were quite alone, he hovered closer. "The pegasus merchant we rescued came forward with an interesting proposition. She's offering to show a way through the mountains that leads directly to the village. Oh I know it sounds crazy, but she's claiming she knows a way that even the enemy doesn't and she used it to escape. Personally I don't think it's such a good idea, but I think you should know anyway."

"I see," Prose nods sagely, taking a small sip of his coffee. He ponders for a moment, before tilting his head a bit to study the pegasus with his good eye. "Remind me, which pegasus merchant? In all the hullabaloo, I don't quite think I've heard the full story on her. And the last 'rescued civilians' I saw were double-agents for the so-called 'Dark Army' we had to deal with, so you'll have to pardon my wariness." He takes another sip of his coffee. "I may need to have a word with her..."

Or perhaps an interrogation.



---

[The Cirrus- Infirmary]




Gearstride crookedly smiled at Lucky and worked her jaw in thought. AIDA continued to observe the scene from the corner being all quiet and only stirred a little when Gearstride looked its way and stared for a second.

"Well good...not like I have anything against vamponies I mean, more like good that you are fine and stuff even if it is totally weird." She nodded her head. "You are 100% fine right? Just to triple check."

"Never encountered a vampony, but so long as they keep their fangs off my neck, I'm fine with 'em," Lucky shrugs, before grinning crookedly. "Without my permission, I mean. I ain't opposed to a little 'harmless' biting..." he says with a playful waggle of his eyebrows, before snickering and waving a wing dismissively. "Anyhoo, yeah, I'm fine. Maybe not 100% fine, but I never am. Still got a headache from the dynamite thing earlier. Remind me to 'thank' Gwen for that later..." he grumbles with a roll of his eyes.

[Grif]

[Clouds Above Bridle Shores]
"I see," Prose nods sagely, taking a small sip of his coffee. He ponders for a moment, before tilting his head a bit to study the pegasus with his good eye. "Remind me, which pegasus merchant? In all the hullabaloo, I don't quite think I've heard the full story on her. And the last 'rescued civilians' I saw were double-agents for the so-called 'Dark Army' we had to deal with, so you'll have to pardon my wariness." He takes another sip of his coffee. "I may need to have a word with her..."

Or perhaps an interrogation.


[Above Birdle Shores]

Stormcloak nodded. "I forgot not everypony would be aware of her. She's the one the assassins tried to kill in the hospital. Name's Windy Breeze. I'm reasonably certain she isn't a spy, given that she originally had been rescued by our fellow paladins and brought back to the hospital in bad shape, a week prior to our... double agents fiasco. If the enemy was so intent on killing her, I'm thinking they believe she knows something valuable." He gave a shrug. "That's my take on it anyway. She's still in the hospital if you wish to speak to her. I'll clear the guards to allow you through."

[The Guardhouse]

In the meantime, Tyrol happened to be on desk duty today. He sighed and laid his head on the table. Today was a slow day, and there wasn't much happening...

(Poking Kelvin.)

[MCerberus]

[The Rat's Den]

"Huh! No time to talk, it seems." Night Jewel gave a wave, then picked up the note.

As she read it, her eyes narrowed. She looked it up and down, making sure she understood the message.

"An opportunity has arisen that your presence would be mutually beneficial"? Sounds like something that Knight Commander would say. And coming to the guardhouse for an unexplained mission... Who would fall for such an obvious trap?

If it is a trap, it isn't very well thought out. It's well-known that I risked my life several times to help the town. Even if they could find some excuse to arrest me, it would be completely counterproductive for them, and the local ponies wouldn't stand for it.

So what are you going to do? Go along with them?

If they're being honest, then I have an opportunity to do more for the town. Otherwise, I have an opportunity to make the guards look like complete idiots. Either way, it's a win.

Night Jewel finished putting the lock in place, gave it a quick kick to randomize it, then set off for the guardhouse. Her spirits were lifting already.

Well the mare that wrote the letter is currently enjoying not being a morning-mare by being 'fashionably late' AKA slept in a little. There's only guards at the guardhouse unless other members of the party find their way in. Staccata may be there in a few minutes.




Blueshield lowered her bow upon seeing the papers. "That is sufficient. I shall escort you to the individual of proper authority. First, however, it is imperative that you be informed of one thing." Her expression temporarily hardened. "I forbid you from inquiring of me as to any matters of tactical merit. I would not derive pleasure from discovering every vulnerability of our arrangements exposited to unscrupulous individuals by a meddling reporter."

With that, she led Scoops into town and sought out the guard captain.

Scoops, of course, follows along. She also doesn't stop to think much. Or breath. You think that she'd have to stop to take a breath at some point, talking all the way.
"Oh I always protect the sources. That's one of the first things they teach you. That and filing. Seems that everypony that goes through an internship learns to file. They say I talk a lot but I never let slip anything sensitive. Especially because that means somepony else is going to get the story or somepony gets put in a bad situation. That reminds me of the time..."

And the reporter will go on unless stopped.

[Kelvin360]

The Guardhouse

By happenstance, a happening happens to happen just as these thoughts of boredom manage to peak in the bedraggled guardspony. The door opens, an in steps the warrior many will now recognize as Dawnstrider, though not perhaps now that he's traded out his signature black armor for a rather elegant cream-colored suit that accents his dirty-blond mane. The 'civilized' effect is somewhat diminished by the fact that his distinctive claymore still lies over his back. Aside from all of that, his is a face one is unlikely to forget, for various reasons depending on the pony in question. His left ear still bears traces of a very recent scar, but oddly, his bright green eyes seem more at ease than they normally are, as though he is relieved that pretense has been cast aside in favor of open warfare, for whatever reason.

Just behind him is Starbeam who, while not wearing the flowing robes, cloak and hat that herald imminent plot-kickery on her part, is relatively undisguised. At the least, her coat and mane are their natural blend of purples and violets, though her mane is tied into a tight bun, and she seems to be trying out for the 'librarian' look. She lacks the stereotypical eyeglasses, but given that her face is set into a frown that any student on the receiving end of the 'bad' kind of lecture would recognize as a result of her apparently being a great deal more peeved than Dawn is, she bears the effect well.

"Good afternoon." Dawnstrider intones politely when he reaches Tyrol's desk. His words are laced with an odd, honeyed sort of tone, most likely unnoticeable when used from behind the helmet he usually wears. "I hope I am not too early or too late...we are here regarding the...expedition?"

"Myself in a strictly advisory capacity." Starbeam adds, apparently none too pleased about that fact.

[Grif]

The Guardhouse

"Good afternoon." Dawnstrider intones politely when he reaches Tyrol's desk. His words are laced with an odd, honeyed sort of tone, most likely unnoticeable when used from behind the helmet he usually wears. "I hope I am not too early or too late...we are here regarding the...expedition?"

"Myself in a strictly advisory capacity." Starbeam adds, apparently none too pleased about that fact.

Tyrol gave Dawnstrider a curious look as he strode in. Indeed, he never seen the guy outside his suit of armour. His reverie broke when Dawnstrider addressed him.

"Expedition..." Tyrol rustled through the papers on his desk (and silently cursed Beayn for having such an obtuse filing system that half of the time he didn't even know where to start looking) for some time. Finally he found the note the Captain personally delivered earlier that morning. "Oh, right, Captain says to wait here till everyone arrived. I think there's two more?" he offered.

[Benson]

[The Cirrus- Infirmary]

"Never encountered a vampony, but so long as they keep their fangs off my neck, I'm fine with 'em," Lucky shrugs, before grinning crookedly. "Without my permission, I mean. I ain't opposed to a little 'harmless' biting..." he says with a playful waggle of his eyebrows, before snickering and waving a wing dismissively. "Anyhoo, yeah, I'm fine. Maybe not 100% fine, but I never am. Still got a headache from the dynamite thing earlier. Remind me to 'thank' Gwen for that later..." he grumbles with a roll of his eyes.

She playfully rolls her eyes and chuckles at his pervy comment. It was amusing, noting all the little ways she and Lucky were alike, poor Silverpine would be able to attest to that.

"Speaking of your friend, let's go check up on them, getting a little bored waiting in here, not that I am saying yer boring company, far from it Lucky hahah."

[TheAmishPirate]

[Cirrus - In the Past]

Sandy obligingly led Gwen to the showers, pointing out where she might find soap, towels, and everything else she'd need to get clean. The two of them quickly rid themselves of the vomit-stink, and emerged in significantly higher spirits and lesser body odor. Coincidentally, this was about the time the Lucky and Captain Gearstride arrived from the medbay, and Silverpine returned from washing Gwen's armor. Also coincidentally, this was about the time that all the Cirrus crewmembers heard their communicators go off.

Five blasts of static; the signal from the Backers to "Drop everything, get to the conference room, we need to talk."

With apologies to their guests - and many a promise to continue the tour at a later date, the crew assembled around the large conference room table. Unbeknownst to the outside world, this room not only held the state of the art in experimental soundproofing, it also held a direct line to the Backers themselves. A line that could only be in use when activated by parties on both ends, but a direct line nonetheless. As always, a room full of shadowed ponies greeted the haggard crew, false voices relaying emotionless directives. Calls from them were never pleasant, and today was no different.

The first order of business was in response to a request filed by a Mister Blazing Hooves and a Miss Hover Heart. A droning voice confirmed that, yes, in light of their dazzling service and blissful wedlock, they were going to approve their request for release to a more peaceful line of work. Thus followed a list of contractual obligations, red tape, classified material they were not to speak of, classified material they were allowed to leak under the proper circumstances, and so on and so forth. In the end, the happy couple would be able to live their lives relatively free, so long as they promised not to mortally wound any observers the Backers sent their way. "Because you'd find out about them eventually, and it's far easier from an insurance standpoint simply to tell you now," one voice explained.

The second order of business was crew replacement. The Cirrus couldn't fly with a third of its roster down, especially when one of those ponies was the pilot. Captain Gearstride was given the freedom to hire on "freelance workers with appropriately high skills and sufficiently tight lips." Captain Gearstride made a suggestive comment regarding the specific wording of the criteria, which was met with utter silence. Captain Gearstride made no further remarks after this. Until such a time as suitable replacements could be found and trained, the rest of the crew was to take on their workload. Sandy Shores was mentioned as an ideal candidate, given his advanced knowledge of the ship and its workings. He made no comment other than to nod in assent. And with that, their business was concluded. The crew was dismissed, and Rainbow Pepper was asked to stay a moment longer.

It would be the last time anypony would see her for a long, long time.

Despite the conference room having only one exit, nopony even saw her leave. The vents inside appeared to have no evidence of tampering, and none of the walls had been damaged. Sandy Shores swore he felt something move through his mane, followed by a light, damp pressure on his cheek, but aside from that no peculiar happenings were reported. Even though no official word was given nor a note left, the crew could guess where she was; flank-deep somewhere she wasn't supposed to be, with a crossbow trained on an individual about to be very dead.

The following days saw the airship emptying further. The vamponies were transferred to a secure facility nearer to the town, and the crew began the long, hard task of rehabilitating the poor souls, as well as bringing the bad news to the families of the fallen. When all was said and done, the ship held little more than piles of machinery, mounds of weapons, empty halls, and three little ponies.

The Cirrus had been utterly changed. To what end, the crew could only begin to guess at...

[Cirrus - Present Time]

Sandy Shores woke up.

Sandy Shores went to the gym, and worked through his exercises.

Sandy Shores ate a breakfast of bland oatmeal.

Sandy Shores told himself he wouldn't drink any wine.

Sandy Shores drank a little wine anyway.

Sandy Shores went to the engine room, and started installing the piece he'd spent the night building.

Sandy Shores had done the same thing for the last ten mornings; as long as he cared to remember.

Sandy Shores was not a happy pony.

[Merellis]

(Annnnd back to failing to post, because hey, who needs to be on time for anything anymore. :smallsigh: )

It had been ten rather boring days since the scare in the forest. Pulp had soon been found in the fields by Bitter Herb and they swiftly made their way towards the town. It was there that the duo ran into a spot of trouble, which was dealt with in such an embarrassing way that the little bodyguard would have preferred the timberwolves, least you could solve that problem with a proper amount of hooves and throws.

Take one stuttering mess of a shy unicorn and an overly aggressive pegasus with a temper, and you get a recipe for an entire evening of questioning by some rather overzealous guards. Bake that situation for a second day and you get a raging mess of hooves to the face that somehow results in them getting let out and finally managing to book a room at the local inn, albeit with the brawling pony of destruction getting a good amount of community service for the week.

Which is where we find our heroes for the moment, one scribbling furiously over parchment and the other ensuring the scribbler of words gets proper rest and nourishment while handling her own bit of unpaid work with a grumbling acceptance.

Her last few days had been essentially helping out around town, making sure her client wasn't writing her way into an early grave, and trying to convince their new publisher to drop the invasion story and get to the damn meeting! No such luck for the moment, so Bitter Herb resigned herself to the fate of routine.

[Grif]

[Cirrus - Present Time]

Sandy Shores woke up.

Sandy Shores went to the gym, and worked through his exercises.

Sandy Shores ate a breakfast of bland oatmeal.

Sandy Shores told himself he wouldn't drink any wine.

Sandy Shores drank a little wine anyway.

Sandy Shores went to the engine room, and started installing the piece he'd spent the night building.

Sandy Shores had done the same thing for the last ten mornings; as long as he cared to remember.

Sandy Shores was not a happy pony.

Alas, Mr Shores was not to complete his daily routine, this day. Just as he reached the engine room, he'd find the doorway blocked by a pony. "Mr Shores. We need to talk," Silverpine said, leaning against the door. There wasn't a way through. At least not forward.

[Benson]

The Cirrus

"The Lieutenant is correct Mister Shores," Gearstride declared coming out of nowhere from behind, a serious expression on her usually relaxed face. Sandy would find himself trapped between the two, resistance is futile.

[Grif]

(Annnnd back to failing to post, because hey, who needs to be on time for anything anymore. :smallsigh: )

It had been ten rather boring days since the scare in the forest. Pulp had soon been found in the fields by Bitter Herb and they swiftly made their way towards the town. It was there that the duo ran into a spot of trouble, which was dealt with in such an embarrassing way that the little bodyguard would have preferred the timberwolves, least you could solve that problem with a proper amount of hooves and throws.

Take one stuttering mess of a shy unicorn and an overly aggressive pegasus with a temper, and you get a recipe for an entire evening of questioning by some rather overzealous guards. Bake that situation for a second day and you get a raging mess of hooves to the face that somehow results in them getting let out and finally managing to book a room at the local inn, albeit with the brawling pony of destruction getting a good amount of community service for the week.

Which is where we find our heroes for the moment, one scribbling furiously over parchment and the other ensuring the scribbler of words gets proper rest and nourishment while handling her own bit of unpaid work with a grumbling acceptance.

Her last few days had been essentially helping out around town, making sure her client wasn't writing her way into an early grave, and trying to convince their new publisher to drop the invasion story and get to the damn meeting! No such luck for the moment, so Bitter Herb resigned herself to the fate of routine.

Tick. Tock.

Pulp opened her eyes blearily. She blinked at the light filtering through the curtains of their shared room. Was it day already?

Tick. Tock.

The unicorn yawned, and rubbed her eyes. What day was it?

Tick. Tock.

Her attention wandered to the empty bed next to hers. Bitter must have already gone off to report for her duties. She shook her head. She really needed to control her temper sometimes.

Tick. Tock.

Her tummy growled. How long was it since her last meal? Pulp could barely remember. Before that scene where the wolf cornered the hapless heroine... and after that her memory got hazy.

Tick. Tock.

Yeah. Breakfast sounded like a good idea right about now. Pulp slowly eased off the bed and walked unsteadily to the bathroom. Maybe after a good long bath...

[TheAmishPirate]

Alas, Mr Shores was not to complete his daily routine, this day. Just as he reached the engine room, he'd find the doorway blocked by a pony. "Mr Shores. We need to talk," Silverpine said, leaning against the door. There wasn't a way through. At least not forward.


The Cirrus

"The Lieutenant is correct Mister Shores," Gearstride declared coming out of nowhere from behind, a serious expression on her usually relaxed face. Sandy would find himself trapped between the two, resistance is futile.

Sandy scrambled back, nearly running headlong into the lieutenant, and then forward again as he nearly backed into the Captain. He looked forward, backward, left, right, even up for a way of escape; nothing. Trapped. He swallowed hard. "I-I-I'm sorry. *hic* Whatever it is I broke, I-I'll fix it straightaway." For once, the engineer's voice matched his body; small, meek, and mousy.

[Grif]

Sandy scrambled back, nearly running headlong into the lieutenant, and then forward again as he nearly backed into the Captain. He looked forward, backward, left, right, even up for a way of escape; nothing. Trapped. He swallowed hard. "I-I-I'm sorry. *hic* Whatever it is I broke, I-I'll fix it straightaway." For once, the engineer's voice matched his body; small, meek, and mousy.

Silverpine shook his head. "No, Mr Shores. Nothing's broken. We're here to talk about you." He eased off the door frame and knelt down in front of the engineer. "Sandy... what's wrong? You're holed up in here the whole day. You never show during our meal times. Luna knows what you're eating but it can't be healthy." The lieutenant sniffed the air, noting the smell of wine which hung heavy. "... and have you been drinking again? Point is, whatever you're doing, you're not going to survive another week like this."

[Benson]

"Consider this an intervention Sandy," Gearstride said to the young stallion. "We should probably go sit down in the conference room."

[TheAmishPirate]

Silverpine shook his head. "No, Mr Shores. Nothing's broken. We're here to talk about you." He eased off the door frame and knelt down in front of the engineer. "Sandy... what's wrong? You're holed up in here the whole day. You never show during our meal times. Luna knows what you're eating but it can't be healthy." The lieutenant sniffed the air, noting the smell of wine which hung heavy. "... and have you been drinking again?"

Sandy hung his head, ears pinned back like a foal caught in the cookie jar. If only he wasn't on an airship; then the ground could open up and swallow him.


"Point is, whatever you're doing, you're not going to survive another week like this."


"Consider this an intervention Sandy," Gearstride said to the young stallion. "We should probably go sit down in the conference room."

"B-but I'm just doin' m'job." He offered weakly. "Got a lot what needs doin'. If'n I get sick or somethin', i-it's just in th' line of *hic* duty."

He made no motion towards the conference room, or really much of anywhere. His flank had a pretty good relationship with the floor at the moment, and he didn't want to spoil that.

[PurityIcekiller]

[The Guardhouse]

Night Jewel found herself a good vantage point to watch the guards. There don't seem to be many fancy arrangements, so the trap possibility is seeming more and more likely...

This thought ended when she saw Dawnstrider.

Right, so it might actually be trustworthy after all.

Carefully, she made her way from her hiding spot to inside.

"Hi! I got a note saying I was wanted here. What have you come up with for me?"


"That's what I told them! But they gave me some loaded excuse about fault lines, tunnels, and sinkholes. I mean, it's not like we'll be less defensible if we're fifty hooflengths underground!"

"Indeed. I do not understand why they insist that the landscape stay intact, or that the town not be buried. It would make it feel more like home to me if it were deep underground. They didn't even like my proposal of an earthen dome over the town. Something about 'needing oxygen to survive'. Pitiful, if you ask me."


"I have been losing some color, haven't I? Although, to be fair, that might just be the shadows leeching it. I think they're upset I'm not using them anymore."

"Oh, I see- Wait, what?" Blades perked her ears up. "Is he doin' this to ya? If he's been suckin' at ya, I'll beat him to death with his own leg-bones!"


Scoops, of course, follows along. She also doesn't stop to think much. Or breath. You think that she'd have to stop to take a breath at some point, talking all the way.
"Oh I always protect the sources. That's one of the first things they teach you. That and filing. Seems that everypony that goes through an internship learns to file. They say I talk a lot but I never let slip anything sensitive. Especially because that means somepony else is going to get the story or somepony gets put in a bad situation. That reminds me of the time..."

And the reporter will go on unless stopped.

"I would be more inclined to accept your assertions were you to provide an actual demonstration of possessing restraint," said Blueshield. She was getting more impatient to turn this talkative pony over to somepony else by the moment.

[Benson]

Sandy hung his head, ears pinned back like a foal caught in the cookie jar. If only he wasn't on an airship; then the ground could open up and swallow him.

"B-but I'm just doin' m'job." He offered weakly. "Got a lot what needs doin'. If'n I get sick or somethin', i-it's just in th' line of *hic* duty."

He made no motion towards the conference room, or really much of anywhere. His flank had a pretty good relationship with the floor at the moment, and he didn't want to spoil that.

Gearstride grimly looked at Sandy with a tight lipped shake of her head. She then glanced at Silverpine and nodded her head. If Sandy was not going to move his flank, they were going to. Basically she wants Silverpine to help her carry him by force over to the conference room.

[Grif]

Sandy hung his head, ears pinned back like a foal caught in the cookie jar. If only he wasn't on an airship; then the ground could open up and swallow him.

"B-but I'm just doin' m'job." He offered weakly. "Got a lot what needs doin'. If'n I get sick or somethin', i-it's just in th' line of *hic* duty."

He made no motion towards the conference room, or really much of anywhere. His flank had a pretty good relationship with the floor at the moment, and he didn't want to spoil that.

"No, it's not. This is beyond your line of duty." He glanced up and nodded back at Gearstride. Looks like they are going to have to do this the hard way!


Gearstride grimly looked at Sandy with a tight lipped shake of her head. She then glanced at Silverpine and nodded her head. If Sandy was not going to move his flank, they were going to. Basically she wants Silverpine to help her carry him by force over to the conference room.

With a sudden motion, Silverpine moved to grab the smaller pony by his foreleg. Hopefully Gearstride grabs the other one. With any luck, they'd march him to the conference room and sit him down at an already prepared chair.

[TheAmishPirate]

"No, it's not. This is beyond your line of duty." He glanced up and nodded back at Gearstride. Looks like they are going to have to do this the hard way!

"Ain't there a Captain's Protocol about goin' above an' beyond th'-"


[COLOR="#FF8C00"]With a sudden motion, Silverpine moved to grab the smaller pony by his foreleg. Hopefully Gearstride grabs the other one. With any luck, they'd march him to the conference room and sit him down at an already prepared chair.

Sandy didn't have time to finish his point. Nerves dulled by stress, drink, and shame, he was easily snatched up by his two superiors, his hind legs dangling uselessly beneath him.

[Conference Room]

Sandy landed on the seat with a flat *plop!* He crawled his way upright, sweat breaking on his brow as if there was a spotlight trained on him. Which there may or may not have been. :smalltongue:

[Benson]

The Cirrus

Indeed there was a spotlight trained upon him, a single spotlight in a for no reason at all darkened room. Gearstride appeared Sandy with a grim expression and fedora and for no reason at all was wearing a detective costume.

"Sandy...ya need to get out of your slump....it is not healthy, yer letting yourself go in here," She boofed his noggin softly.

[Grif]

The Cirrus

Indeed there was a spotlight trained upon him, a single spotlight in a for no reason at all darkened room. Gearstride appeared Sandy with a grim expression and fedora and for no reason at all was wearing a detective costume.

"Sandy...ya need to get out of your slump....it is not healthy, yer letting yourself go in here," She boofed his noggin softly.

Silverpine allowed the Captain her spotlight, before gently pushing it away and turning on the regular lights of the room. Sometimes, it was best to let the dramatics take place. :smalltongue:

"Sandy, we need your old you back. Not this... whatever this shell of Sandy is."

[TheAmishPirate]

The Cirrus

Indeed there was a spotlight trained upon him, a single spotlight in a for no reason at all darkened room. Gearstride appeared Sandy with a grim expression and fedora and for no reason at all was wearing a detective costume.

"Sandy...ya need to get out of your slump....it is not healthy, yer letting yourself go in here," She boofed his noggin softly.


Silverpine allowed the Captain her spotlight, before gently pushing it away and turning on the regular lights of the room. Sometimes, it was best to let the dramatics take place. :smalltongue:

"Sandy, we need your old you back. Not this... whatever this shell of Sandy is."

The spotlight was gone, but Sandy could still feel its pressure-no, the pressure of their gazes bearing down on his head. What he wouldn't give to be back in his engine room, where life was as simple as fastening the next bolt. The little engineer shrunk down in his - by now quite stained - uniform. "Y-yessir..." he mumbled, looking to the floor.

[Benson]

"I need a little more enthusiasm Mister Shores, none of this woe-ing," Gearstride said sternly and then softened up because she couldn't stay stern for long. She placed her hoof on his back and gently rubbed it. "I know it has been a tough past couple of weeks....but....we can't dwell on the bad all the time...you gotta keep yer chin up. You can't know where yer going with your eyes on the floor. You just gotta keep lookin forward ya know?"

[Grif]

The spotlight was gone, but Sandy could still feel its pressure-no, the pressure of their gazes bearing down on his head. What he wouldn't give to be back in his engine room, where life was as simple as fastening the next bolt. The little engineer shrunk down in his - by now quite stained - uniform. "Y-yessir..." he mumbled, looking to the floor.


"I need a little more enthusiasm Mister Shores, none of this woe-ing," Gearstride said sternly and then softened up because she couldn't stay stern for long. She placed her hoof on his back and gently rubbed it. "I know it has been a tough past couple of weeks....but....we can't dwell on the bad all the time...you gotta keep yer chin up. You can't know where yer going with your eyes on the floor. You just gotta keep lookin forward ya know?"

"Sandy, is there anything we could do to help? I know Rainbow going away was a terrible loss, but secluding yourself like this..." Silverpine shook his head. "We need to stick together, y'know?"

[TheAmishPirate]

[Cirrus - Conference Room]

Sandy shivered at Gearstride's touch, but didn't pull away. "I-I don't know..." he said, despondent. "I just w-wanna fix up th' ship. I wanna make th' ship nice, an' ya'll can handle th'...um, t-th' everythin' else."

He winced at the mention of Rainbow's name.

[Merellis]

[Flash Fry - Bridle Shores Kitchen]

He takes a sniff of the plate in front of him, glaring down at it as if the food were taunting him.

No more!

His eyes twitched as another of his companions got a swift thwack of a wooden spoon over their head followed by a rampaging torrent of words of how to properly prepare the spices. She'd been the one to start pointing out every issue with the food they were serving, so much so that the head chef had walked out and left a void that was soon filled by the very demon that had chased out their leader! He knew they should just boot her out, talk to the higher ups and just go back to what they were doing before.

No more stress, no more raging storm of feathers and curses... But there was one thing stopping them.

He takes a bite of the offering before him and curses under his breath as tears stream down his face.

It was too delicious!


"Hey Flash Fry, quit crying over your food and hurry up! These lines aren't gonna serve themselves you know." Bitter barks out with an air of authority, her muscular frame wrapped in an apron as yet another bowl of curry is passed out. "Coldcut, the naan's pretty much done! Persimmon, we need more ice water for them! Move ponies, move!"

[MCerberus]

"I would be more inclined to accept your assertions were you to provide an actual demonstration of possessing restraint," said Blueshield. She was getting more impatient to turn this talkative pony over to somepony else by the moment.

It's a shame the mare likes to talk then. and talk. and talk. Could get a big grating. She doesn't seem to be focusing much on where they're going or when they'll be there, as more attention goes to the pretty one-sided conversation.

"Oh there's a difference between going on and spilling secrets. Two different things. I know not to give away any secrets. Have to protect the sources and all that. Can't let any other reporters scoop me either. Somepony's always listening, but that doesn't mean you can't be talking. Just means you have to know what you're saying."

[Benson]

[Cirrus - Conference Room]

Sandy shivered at Gearstride's touch, but didn't pull away. "I-I don't know..." he said, despondent. "I just w-wanna fix up th' ship. I wanna make th' ship nice, an' ya'll can handle th'...um, t-th' everythin' else."

He winced at the mention of Rainbow's name.

"Sandy...stop. Right now, do not collect $200. Stop this self pitying attitude." She moved in front of him and stared directly into his eyes. "Come on sweetie...this...this ain't healthy..you know?" She softly sighed and glanced away. "I think we need to do something...something to keep your mind off your woes." She nudged Silverpine with her hind hoof for him to jump in with suggestions.

[Grif]

"Sandy...stop. Right now, do not collect $200. Stop this self pitying attitude." She moved in front of him and stared directly into his eyes. "Come on sweetie...this...this ain't healthy..you know?" She softly sighed and glanced away. "I think we need to do something...something to keep your mind off your woes." She nudged Silverpine with her hind hoof for him to jump in with suggestions.

Silverpine was actually already deep in thought when Gear nudged him. "O-Oh. Hm. Well, Sandy, how about we take a nice walk around town? Visit that a few bars for their cider. Just like good old times, eh?"

[Kelvin360]

[The Guardhouse]

Night Jewel found herself a good vantage point to watch the guards. There don't seem to be many fancy arrangements, so the trap possibility is seeming more and more likely...

This thought ended when she saw Dawnstrider.

Right, so it might actually be trustworthy after all.

Carefully, she made her way from her hiding spot to inside.

"Hi! I got a note saying I was wanted here. What have you come up with for me?"

((This'll serve as both a response and a bump for the scene.))

Earth Pony and Unicorn have reactions that are similar, but much different in scale. Dawn's lips twitch and he inclines his head lightly. Starbeam, however, bursts into a grin and moves to take up Night Jewel in a hug. "Jewel! It's been a figurative age, but they keep me too busy to come calling. How far have-?"

"Let her breathe, Starbeam." Dawn's voice is just about as pleasant as he gets. "Although, this is probably the best to time play catch-up. I have no idea how long the meeting will take once everypony arrives. I would like very much to answer your question, Night Jewel, but I think it's best to give the Captain that honor. He has more information, and there are still ponies who have yet to arrive. Efficient dispersal of data, and so on."



"Indeed. I do not understand why they insist that the landscape stay intact, or that the town not be buried. It would make it feel more like home to me if it were deep underground. They didn't even like my proposal of an earthen dome over the town. Something about 'needing oxygen to survive'. Pitiful, if you ask me."


"You'd think with how much everypony hates Celestia, they'd love nothing more than to block out the sun. Whatever."

"Ahem. The difference between hate and fear is slight, but poignant. Also, something tells me that with our racial reliance on plants, the lack of photosynthesis would suit us ill."



"Oh, I see- Wait, what?" Blades perked her ears up. "Is he doin' this to ya? If he's been suckin' at ya, I'll beat him to death with his own leg-bones!"


"Erm...I'll be in my 'room'..."

"That would just end up killing me." Arvadraa notes calmly. "And he doesn't have any control over my powers. This isn't aggression...it's more like withdrawal. I've been so used to using my magic that its focus just assumes I want to use it at all times. I'm...glad you got me to stop when you did - I don't like the idea of having to wear shadowskin my whole life just because I turn into a shade magnet."

The Streets

In keeping with his recent doses of painful irony, Private First Class Joyous Boon is, at the moment, neither joyous nor a boon. He spends his days meandering aimlessly around Bridle Shores, putting as much distance as possible between himself and two locations of note: the west gate and the hospital. The bruises and fractures would heal in time, he was assured. The feelings he experienced every time he was forced to relive that day - the subsequent rush to get Commander Coconut to the intensive care ward, his surgery and, perhaps worst of all, the recriminating glares he received from absolutely everypony who had bothered to give him a second glance - would take much longer to fade, if they did at all. The Moon Motes had been hailed as heroes. But for all intents and purposes, he was no longer counted among their number, even if he was supposed to rejoin the deployment when he was 'in good health'.

And every time he turns his head to stare at the bandage-wrapped stumps where his wings used to be, the dull ache returns, along with the nagging thought that he can no longer recall what being in good health feels like. Certainly the state will never return to him again.

Somehow, his hooves always return him to the guardhouse, though he doesn't know why. The trainees there always pause in their sparring, looking at him expectantly, but every time, he merely sits and stares plaintively either at them or the wispy clouds above their heads, made of the heavenly material which, only now that he can never feel it again, seems to be tauntingly plentiful. Only at night, or when no one is watching, does he pick up a spear and practice drills. Bound as earth ponies and unicorns are, now, they are vastly different steps, but his natural speed and agility have not left him. Certainly, the authorities seemed consistently baffled as to why their straw dummies had been so thoroughly destroyed in such a short amount of time until he had been caught a few days ago, weaving and whirling through the courtyard like a furious demon, his legs and weapon a blur, and his eyes never fixed on one point. Like his body, they are always moving, waiting for retaliatory strikes that will never occur. In his mind's eye, he is surrounded again, but this time he is in the midst of the fight, not crushed beneath his superior and mewling like a foal while his wings are torn off by golems.

The pony who had seen him, one of the higher-ranking officers among the guard, had almost immediately tried to convince him to help train their other pikeponies, but he had refused so vehemently he thought he might have earned more demerits. This action was yet another regret that accompanied him during his mindless pacings in the wee hours of the morning, where his thoughts were his only company.

Hers had been by far the offer he'd been keenest on, however. No less than three times had he been cornered by members of the guard and told to start brewing coffee for the troops, no doubt due to his cutie mark. He had always simply refused, looking away before he saw their expressions when he explained that he did not know how to make the drink. He did not waste time explaining how his special talent was his high energy, an infectious aura that had sustained his fellows and himself a good deal more powerfully than even the purest cup of joe. He did not confide in them his concerns that it had since been corrupted, how he had noticed recruits and average folk alike becoming less lively and more sluggish in his presence. He did not speak to them of the nigh-crippling fear that he, too, had been molded into something broken, something unclean, that perhaps it would be better if he heeded what he felt all of the looks of anger directed at him for his folly whispered in his ear, and disappeared one night into the beyond. No one would ask after him, surely. No one would miss his sullen mood. Even his spot among the Motes would be filled in time, perhaps even by one of the very guards he had looked upon so many times in the training yards and thought to himself 'I could do better, once upon a time'.

He did not say any of this. He merely waited to be dismissed and continued walking. He has long since dispensed with his garbs and any kind of self-care aside from the most basic of needs. His cyan mane and bright green coat, once shining and bouncy, now bear numerous smudges and a vague greasy consistency and, in the case of the former, hangs down in untrimmed locks that are a far cry from the cotton-candy consistency that he once bore in mimicry of his idol.

And now, he sits under the shade of an outdoor diner, away from the harsh glare of the sun. He stares into a small cup of coffee that has long ago stopped steaming, given to him out of pity or spite, for he kept no bits on his person. Off-putting though his sallow bearing might be, a certain kind of pony may well see that scarred mouth and wonder just what sort of stories it could tell, if only it were to open once again...

[Grif]

[Pulp Fiction]
It took three cups of coffee and a couple of leftover bagels to fully clear the cobwebs out of Pulp Fiction's mind. The past few days were still hazy in her mind. Though one thing was clear: she had written a lot. A wobbling stack of paper sat on her makeshift desk, all filled with her shaky writing. One glance at that mess was enough to convince her she'd probably need to get away from the desk, and clear her head. Editing was going to be a nightmare already, she could feel it.

The unicorn sighed, and drained the last drops of her coffee. Already she was missing her companion. Bitter Herb was normally a great pony to bounce ideas off, more than willing to shoot down anything she thought sounded daft. Unfortunately, the feisty pegasus socked a guard in the jaw when they entered the town, due to a most unfortunate misunderstanding, and could count herself lucky she was ultimately only given community service. But community service also meant she was out working for most of the day, and Pulp would be alone in the hotel for that period.

Then she mentally facehoofed. It was so obvious! Instead of sitting around moping, she could just visit her friend at work. And while she was at it, she may as well finally explore this strange new town. All those days of writing, and not a peek outside. A chance to explore new surroundings. Opportunities to meet new-- Her thought derailed at that, and the unicorn winced. Maybe not... maybe she should just stick to just exploring new the environs. Yes, that's what she'd do.

And it was a short moment later the shy unicorn found herself outside, being jostled about by the multitude of ponies going about their daily life. Thus the unicorn drifted aimlessly with the crowd for an hour or so, trying her best to mingle unobstructively and find her friend. By sheer chance, she found herself knocked aside by a clumsy stallion rump, careening straight into an outdoor diner and into the table of a certain PFC Joyous Boon. The poor unicorn knocked over the table, spilling the coffee and ended up in a miserable heap beside the overturned table.

"Ow..."

[Kelvin360]

[Pulp Fiction]
It took three cups of coffee and a couple of leftover bagels to fully clear the cobwebs out of Pulp Fiction's mind. The past few days were still hazy in her mind. Though one thing was clear: she had written a lot. A wobbling stack of paper sat on her makeshift desk, all filled with her shaky writing. One glance at that mess was enough to convince her she'd probably need to get away from the desk, and clear her head. Editing was going to be a nightmare already, she could feel it.

The unicorn sighed, and drained the last drops of her coffee. Already she was missing her companion. Bitter Herb was normally a great pony to bounce ideas off, more than willing to shoot down anything she thought sounded daft. Unfortunately, the feisty pegasus socked a guard in the jaw when they entered the town, due to a most unfortunate misunderstanding, and could count herself lucky she was ultimately only given community service. But community service also meant she was out working for most of the day, and Pulp would be alone in the hotel for that period.

Then she mentally facehoofed. It was so obvious! Instead of sitting around moping, she could just visit her friend at work. And while she was at it, she may as well finally explore this strange new town. All those days of writing, and not a peek outside. A chance to explore new surroundings. Opportunities to meet new-- Her thought derailed at that, and the unicorn winced. Maybe not... maybe she should just stick to just exploring new the environs. Yes, that's what she'd do.

And it was a short moment later the shy unicorn found herself outside, being jostled about by the multitude of ponies going about their daily life. Thus the unicorn drifted aimlessly with the crowd for an hour or so, trying her best to mingle unobstructively and find her friend. By sheer chance, she found herself knocked aside by a clumsy stallion rump, careening straight into an outdoor diner and into the table of a certain PFC Joyous Boon. The poor unicorn knocked over the table, spilling the coffee and ended up in a miserable heap beside the overturned table.

"Ow..."

Whether by circumstance or reflex, the pegasus manages to avoid getting knocked silly by the sudden movement of his table. As though in a daze, he looks from the table to Pulp then back again, blinking all the while. "You know, I don't much like this decor either, but I never actually make an effort to smash it." Hesitantly, with the air of someone who isn't sure what they're doing, he offers the writer a hoof up on a surprisingly strong foreleg.

[Grif]

Whether by circumstance or reflex, the pegasus manages to avoid getting knocked silly by the sudden movement of his table. As though in a daze, he looks from the table to Pulp then back again, blinking all the while. "You know, I don't much like this decor either, but I never actually make an effort to smash it." Hesitantly, with the air of someone who isn't sure what they're doing, he offers the writer a hoof up on a surprisingly strong foreleg.

"S-Sorry!" was the small, terrified response, the unicorn taking the hoof reluctantly and quickly pulling herself to her hooves. Immediately she began trying to pull the table back to the original position, all the while mumbling about how she'd pay for the damages under her breath.

Perhaps Joyous should snap her out of it. :smalltongue:

[Kelvin360]

"S-Sorry!" was the small, terrified response, the unicorn taking the hoof reluctantly and quickly pulling herself to her hooves. Immediately she began trying to pull the table back to the original position, all the while mumbling about how she'd pay for the damages under her breath.

Perhaps Joyous should snap her out of it. :smalltongue:

'Subtle' isn't in his vocabulary, but his concern seems to have been lifted. He furrows his brow and grasps the underside of the table firmly, re-turning it with one hoof. "Why are you so nervous? You didn't do anything wrong." He's forced, at that moment, to remind himself rather ruefully that he has what may be construed as a new and clearer perspective of right and wrong. "The worst you did was startle those pigeons over there. And if I'm not upset, you shouldn't be." He probably thinks it all sounds delightfully reassuring, but his tone is so blunt and lackluster that it may as well be read from a cue card.

After a moment, he seems to realize this, and his ears fold back. "Do you want to have a seat?" He asks warily. "I don't know why you would - you probably have better things to do than stick around me for longer than you have to - but I...should usually offer. I used to, I think. That was something I did. That might've been manners, not me."

[Grif]

'Subtle' isn't in his vocabulary, but his concern seems to have been lifted. He furrows his brow and grasps the underside of the table firmly, re-turning it with one hoof. "Why are you so nervous? You didn't do anything wrong." He's forced, at that moment, to remind himself rather ruefully that he has what may be construed as a new and clearer perspective of right and wrong. "The worst you did was startle those pigeons over there. And if I'm not upset, you shouldn't be." He probably thinks it all sounds delightfully reassuring, but his tone is so blunt and lackluster that it may as well be read from a cue card.

After a moment, he seems to realize this, and his ears fold back. "Do you want to have a seat?" He asks warily. "I don't know why you would - you probably have better things to do than stick around me for longer than you have to - but I...should usually offer. I used to, I think. That was something I did. That might've been manners, not me."

Pulp looked confused as the table sprang up at its own accord. Then realised the earth pony had righted the table for her. "O-Oh... umm... well, it's my fault and all, so um..." Her voice trailed off, the unicorn looking a little more stricken with indecision. Why was this earth pony* still looking so downcast? Was it something she did?

"I... I'd love to have a seat," Pulp answered hurriedly. "I'm not in a hurry to go anywhere." She smiled a little, trying to reassure Joyous.

* - Well aware he's a pegasus without wings. Pulp hasn't fully grasped that yet.

[Kelvin360]

Pulp looked confused as the table sprang up at its own accord. Then realised the earth pony had righted the table for her. "O-Oh... umm... well, it's my fault and all, so um..." Her voice trailed off, the unicorn looking a little more stricken with indecision. Why was this earth pony* still looking so downcast? Was it something she did?

"I... I'd love to have a seat," Pulp answered hurriedly. "I'm not in a hurry to go anywhere." She smiled a little, trying to reassure Joyous.

* - Well aware he's a pegasus without wings. Pulp hasn't fully grasped that yet.

"Everypony else is trying to be in fifty places at once. And then some of us don't know if we have a place at all. Who are you?" Guy obviously thinks he's being kindly, or as much as he can be. His dour tone, however, puts more than a slight damper on that tack.

[Grif]

((This'll serve as both a response and a bump for the scene.))

Earth Pony and Unicorn have reactions that are similar, but much different in scale. Dawn's lips twitch and he inclines his head lightly. Starbeam, however, bursts into a grin and moves to take up Night Jewel in a hug. "Jewel! It's been a figurative age, but they keep me too busy to come calling. How far have-?"

"Let her breathe, Starbeam." Dawn's voice is just about as pleasant as he gets. "Although, this is probably the best to time play catch-up. I have no idea how long the meeting will take once everypony arrives. I would like very much to answer your question, Night Jewel, but I think it's best to give the Captain that honor. He has more information, and there are still ponies who have yet to arrive. Efficient dispersal of data, and so on."


(I think I shall bump this for everyone. Pinging Lycan_01, PurityIceKiller, Kelvin360 and MCerberus)

Tyrol shuffled his papers nervously, suddenly feeling just a mite claustrophobic with all the ponies piling into the guardhouse. "Well, ah, if y'all are ready, the Captain is waiting upstairs."


"Everypony else is trying to be in fifty places at once. And then some of us don't know if we have a place at all. Who are you?" Guy obviously thinks he's being kindly, or as much as he can be. His dour tone, however, puts more than a slight damper on that tack.

"Um. The latter. I think." Pulp tilted her head in bemusement. "So... uh... um. S-Sorry, I haven't g-got your name. I'm P-Pulp Fiction." Again another shy smile.

[HalfTangible]

[Crescent Moon]

Crescent Moon gasped with relief as she pulled her fangs out of his neck. Oh Luna's blessed night, I needed this.

She wiped some of the remaining blood (oh, the precious, precious nectar) off of her mouth, only to quickly lick it up again. She'd tried to limit herself, but after so long under... that scum... she really could not afford to leave her victims alive anymore. Pity - keeping herself hidden became more difficult with every corpse.

She glared down at the now-dead stallion, as if it were his fault that she was so afflicted. Honestly, it was like he'd had no idea at all vamponies had been about. Seeing a mare collapsed in an alleyway should have triggered his 'OH GODDESSES RUN AWAY' instinct, not his 'SAVE THE HELPLESS MARE AND BE A HERO' instinct. Idiot.

She couldn't set the body ablaze in the local alleyway, too many questions. And lights. But she could make it as difficult as possible to find. Her talent in her old life had been stealth, this would be hard but not impossible. She couldn't exactly ask for permission to hide the body in the nearby houses. She quickly hid it as best she could manage - it would stay hidden long enough for her to get away.

Crescent placed her hat her head, obscuring her horn and it's magenta glow. Her long, curly black mane poked out a bit but there wasn't much to do about that. She trotted away, hoping her red coat would keep any blood she missed hidden.

With any luck, the body would stay missing long enough. At least a couple of days. As long as-

"OH DEAR LUNA THERE'S A CORPSE HERE!!!"

Crescent quickly dissolved into mist and slipped into a sewer to hide. She hated her life right now.

[MCerberus]

(I think I shall bump this for everyone. Pinging Lycan_01, PurityIceKiller, Kelvin360 and MCerberus)

Tyrol shuffled his papers nervously, suddenly feeling just a mite claustrophobic with all the ponies piling into the guardhouse. "Well, ah, if y'all are ready, the Captain is waiting upstairs."

That would be about the moment Staccata stumbles in in obvious "hate mornings" mode, muttering something about something.

[Benson]

Present Day- Bridle Shores Residental District

Crash!

The sound of broken glass sounded as a window was shattered with a magically thrown brick. Protesting shouts cried out from behind a chained link fence. A crowd of at least twenty angry ponies gathered, several holding picket signs with colorful phrases.

Down with the Fangers!

Better they staked for our sake!

Hang the Fangs!

etc.

Several guards stood at around the entrance to a boarding house that was being used to house and contain many of the vamponies, the majority of them being the former residents of the the town, now being condemned by their own neighbors. The rest were some of the former members of Spectre's gang, ones who had chosen to try their luck and not go into hiding like many others did who fled the town. Miss M was just one pony, she was unable to rein them all in. For the past week, many were just plain miserable being kept prisoner in well...what was effectively a prison. It would be that way for a very long time, at least until the council could decide on what to properly do with them.

Naturally of course the town was divided on the issue, many ponies, particularly those who knew those condemned ponies, be they friend, family, lover, sought to give them rights and freedoms and a chance at a normal life. It was not their fault after all, they did choose to become that way.

On the other hoof, there were those who only saw them as monsters, and if not monsters, then ponies in the making to be monsters. There were those who saw that they were dangerous, they may have been your friend then, but they were bloodthirsty monsters now.

Inside the prison err boarding house, several vamponies were awake, who could blame them, it was difficult to try to sleep when there was a constant threat against your life. One fire during the day, and it was all over for the vampony, which is why a lot of trust was placed into the guards to do their job, and even with that they were at risk. Thick curtains covered the windows where at the foot of one lay a brick and broken shards of glass.

[Kelvin360]

(I think I shall bump this for everyone. Pinging Lycan_01, PurityIceKiller, Kelvin360 and MCerberus)

Tyrol shuffled his papers nervously, suddenly feeling just a mite claustrophobic with all the ponies piling into the guardhouse. "Well, ah, if y'all are ready, the Captain is waiting upstairs."


That would be about the moment Staccata stumbles in in obvious "hate mornings" mode, muttering something about something.

Starbeam nods at Staccata. "That seems an appropriate response to this whole ordeal, honestly."

"She asked to come with us, but was denied." Dawn informs Night Jewel. "It's caused a...hm..."

"Upsurge in bitterness, I know." Starbeam finishes, grinding her teeth together. "But that doesn't mean you'll be entirely without my assistance. I'll explain when the meeting begins. Where's the Shadowbolt?"

"Former Inquisitor Prose seems to have been delayed, and I am leery of beginning without him present."



"Um. The latter. I think." Pulp tilted her head in bemusement. "So... uh... um. S-Sorry, I haven't g-got your name. I'm P-Pulp Fiction." Again another shy smile.

"We're tied together ironically, then. I'm Joyous Boon, but I'm neither of those things. I don't think you're pulp or fictional, either. You picked a bad time to stay here...or were you a resident before the war?"

[TheAmishPirate]

"Sandy...stop. Right now, do not collect $200. Stop this self pitying attitude." She moved in front of him and stared directly into his eyes. "Come on sweetie...this...this ain't healthy..you know?" She softly sighed and glanced away. "I think we need to do something...something to keep your mind off your woes." She nudged Silverpine with her hind hoof for him to jump in with suggestions.

The little engineer clammed up immediately and listened as his Captain told him more things he already knew. This wasn't healthy. Something was wrong. He needed to stop. He needed to stop thinking, but that was like looking to your right by looking left. Nopony had written out instructions for that, nopony had told him how to do it, and now it was all he could do to not burst into tears right here and now and embarrass his friends even more.


Silverpine was actually already deep in thought when Gear nudged him. "O-Oh. Hm. Well, Sandy, how about we take a nice walk around town? Visit that a few bars for their cider. Just like good old times, eh?"

Sandy sniffed up and fussed over his uniform sleeve. "I-I guess so...if it ain't too crowded, maybe..." he trailed off, already picturing a room full of ponies stealing judging glances at one of the 'great heroes' of the Cirrus.

[PurityIcekiller]

Earth Pony and Unicorn have reactions that are similar, but much different in scale. Dawn's lips twitch and he inclines his head lightly. Starbeam, however, bursts into a grin and moves to take up Night Jewel in a hug. "Jewel! It's been a figurative age, but they keep me too busy to come calling. How far have-?"

"Let her breathe, Starbeam." Dawn's voice is just about as pleasant as he gets. "Although, this is probably the best to time play catch-up. I have no idea how long the meeting will take once everypony arrives. I would like very much to answer your question, Night Jewel, but I think it's best to give the Captain that honor. He has more information, and there are still ponies who have yet to arrive. Efficient dispersal of data, and so on."

"Oh my! I'll have to get used to ponies actually being pleased to see me." Night Jewel chuckled. "From your reaction, I assume both that you were told more than I was and that this isn't just some ploy to make me turn myself in."


Tyrol shuffled his papers nervously, suddenly feeling just a mite claustrophobic with all the ponies piling into the guardhouse. "Well, ah, if y'all are ready, the Captain is waiting upstairs."

"Got it. We'll talk more up there, then." With that, the filly slipped free and started towards the stairs.


That would be about the moment Staccata stumbles in in obvious "hate mornings" mode, muttering something about something.


Starbeam nods at Staccata. "That seems an appropriate response to this whole ordeal, honestly."

"She asked to come with us, but was denied." Dawn informs Night Jewel. "It's caused a...hm..."

"Upsurge in bitterness, I know." Starbeam finishes, grinding her teeth together. "But that doesn't mean you'll be entirely without my assistance. I'll explain when the meeting begins. Where's the Shadowbolt?"

"Former Inquisitor Prose seems to have been delayed, and I am leery of beginning without him present."

"...Yes, you definitely know more than I do." Night Jewel sighed. "I think I can sympathize a bit myself. I was asked to come without anypony really explaining what it was, who would be there, or why I was wanted. At least if this were a trap, I'd know what to do."


"You'd think with how much everypony hates Celestia, they'd love nothing more than to block out the sun. Whatever."

"Ahem. The difference between hate and fear is slight, but poignant. Also, something tells me that with our racial reliance on plants, the lack of photosynthesis would suit us ill."

"Bah! As if they will care for their plants when they are crushed beneath the hooves of our attackers. Why do ponies always insist on offering problems rather than solutions?"


"Erm...I'll be in my 'room'..."

"That would just end up killing me." Arvadraa notes calmly. "And he doesn't have any control over my powers. This isn't aggression...it's more like withdrawal. I've been so used to using my magic that its focus just assumes I want to use it at all times. I'm...glad you got me to stop when you did - I don't like the idea of having to wear shadowskin my whole life just because I turn into a shade magnet."

Blades calmed down considerably. "That's... not good, but better than I thought. Just let me know if he starts makin' trouble, all right?

"Makes sense, though. If ya use something a lot 'n then ya stop, it's a lot harder than if ya just didn't use it in the first place. Kind of like how a pegasus with a hurt wing walks funny. It'll go away with time, though, right?"

[Benson]

The little engineer clammed up immediately and listened as his Captain told him more things he already knew. This wasn't healthy. Something was wrong. He needed to stop. He needed to stop thinking, but that was like looking to your right by looking left. Nopony had written out instructions for that, nopony had told him how to do it, and now it was all he could do to not burst into tears right here and now and embarrass his friends even more.

Sandy sniffed up and fussed over his uniform sleeve. "I-I guess so...if it ain't too crowded, maybe..." he trailed off, already picturing a room full of ponies stealing judging glances at one of the 'great heroes' of the Cirrus.

Dat Cirrus

"Oooh...and and maybe we can go to the park...relax....you know...have a little fun," Gearstride softly smiled and then hugged Sandy dearly.
=======

Law and Order Supernatural Victims Unit

In the criminal justice system, supernaturally based offenses are considered especially heinous. In Equestria, the dedicated detectives who investigate these vicious felonies are members of an elite squad known as the Supernatural Victims Unit. These are their stories.

Dun dun~

With the town being on high alert given recent developments, guards and officers dispatched throughout town, it was not long before a passing officer heard the cry of a mare about a corpse. Acting on his instinct, the officer galloped into the alley to investigate.

"Egads..." The uniformed officer said to himself after a cursory investigation of the scene. He reached over for his walkie talkie. "Officer Amare-o here on West Canter and 3rd Ave....we have a dead body here, looks to be recent...late twenties...looks to be...puncture wounds, requesting back up."


Da dum dum dum dum dum *guitar riff* ~

A lean and short earth stallion with a black crew cut in suit and long coat peered over the corpse as a forensic squad did their thing in the background while local officers sectioned off the alley with yellow tape.

"Do you got anything Stables?" A unicorn mare with short brown hair dressed in a suit and long coat as well asked after dealing with questioning the local officer named Amare-o.

"Well, it is just like he said Trotsen, puncture wounds, my guess, vamponies," Det. Stables commented as he moved out of the way as forensic member took a photo of the corpse. "Get a close up shot of the puncture wounds." He told the forensic photographer as he moved towards Det. Trotsen.

"You wouldn't be off the mark, apparently a few weeks ago, this town had been besieged by vamponies," Det. Trotsen said as she floated over some documents she had acquired and hovered them at eye level for her partner to glance over. "Apparently this town has been through a lot more than that, frankly, I am surprised we were not transferred over to Bridle Shores much earlier, but I digress. According to my sources, there is a closed off boarding house housing a group of documented vamponies, recently citizens of the town itself. Guards everywhere, apparently no one is allowed to leave or enter save for when it is time for them to receive their blood packets delivery from the blood bank."

"Well, we either have a rogue vampony, or someone is staying out past their curfew." He faintly smirked. "You got an address?"

"Right here," She lifted out a small note form her packet of documents.

"Well then, why don't we pay ourselves a little visit."

dun dun~

[Kelvin360]

"...Yes, you definitely know more than I do." Night Jewel sighed. "I think I can sympathize a bit myself. I was asked to come without anypony really explaining what it was, who would be there, or why I was wanted. At least if this were a trap, I'd know what to do."

"Oh, come now, surely we can tell her something."

"Indeed. If the Captain takes issue with it, he can bring up the concern with me." Apparently both of the assumed she'd be better informed, and Dawn is particularly irked, because his eyes flash briefly. "The pegasus you, Starbeam and Snowstorm defended came from a town in the mountains. Supposedly, our enemies are headquartered in that area. The scouting mission requires stealth and you were...recommended." His eyes flash again.

"He almost upended the table. I don't think he believes you're self-suff-"

Dawnstrider turns on a hoof and audibly snarls. "It is not a question of capability. You attempted the same and were nearly killed. I will die twice over before seeing her subjected to the same dangers unless it is absolutely necessary."

To her credit, Starbeam doesn't flinch, instead setting her expression at a default unimpressed librarian's stare. "It's Night Jewel's decision. Not yours."

"And that is why my presence is non-negotiable."



"Bah! As if they will care for their plants when they are crushed beneath the hooves of our attackers. Why do ponies always insist on offering problems rather than solutions?"

"'Cuz every solution has at least three problems. Facts of life, Terra, and it's our lot to deal with it."



Blades calmed down considerably. "That's... not good, but better than I thought. Just let me know if he starts makin' trouble, all right?

"Makes sense, though. If ya use something a lot 'n then ya stop, it's a lot harder than if ya just didn't use it in the first place. Kind of like how a pegasus with a hurt wing walks funny. It'll go away with time, though, right?"

"M-maybe...erm. I actually wanted to discuss something with you. It's like...a job offer, but it'll need my powers. Not much, just enough to...protect myself."

[Grif]

The little engineer clammed up immediately and listened as his Captain told him more things he already knew. This wasn't healthy. Something was wrong. He needed to stop. He needed to stop thinking, but that was like looking to your right by looking left. Nopony had written out instructions for that, nopony had told him how to do it, and now it was all he could do to not burst into tears right here and now and embarrass his friends even more.


Sandy sniffed up and fussed over his uniform sleeve. "I-I guess so...if it ain't too crowded, maybe..." he trailed off, already picturing a room full of ponies stealing judging glances at one of the 'great heroes' of the Cirrus.


Dat Cirrus

"Oooh...and and maybe we can go to the park...relax....you know...have a little fun," Gearstride softly smiled and then hugged Sandy dearly.


"Yes. The Captain's idea sounds good as well. What say you, Sandy? The day off, exploring Bridle Shores and just..." Silverpine makes a small gesture with his hoof. "... relaxing." He'd join the hug, but Sandy probably had enough Gearstride to deal with for the moment. :smalltongue:



"We're tied together ironically, then. I'm Joyous Boon, but I'm neither of those things. I don't think you're pulp or fictional, either. You picked a bad time to stay here...or were you a resident before the war?"

"I... a-aah... I was supposed to m-meet someone here... but she's rather busy a-at the moment, and I'm kinda s-still waiting for her to u-unbusy herself," Pulp replied, rather timidly, tapping her two forehooves together.

[Kelvin360]

"I... a-aah... I was supposed to m-meet someone here... but she's rather busy a-at the moment, and I'm kinda s-still waiting for her to u-unbusy herself," Pulp replied, rather timidly, tapping her two forehooves together.

"Why, what's she do?"

[MCerberus]

"...Yes, you definitely know more than I do." Night Jewel sighed. "I think I can sympathize a bit myself. I was asked to come without anypony really explaining what it was, who would be there, or why I was wanted. At least if this were a trap, I'd know what to do."

"It's actually... yaaaaaaaaaawn" Staccata sort of slurs out. "Me that tried to get you into this. Reasons... Honestly... don't know what's going on either."

Meanwhile

If the guardhouse weren't so crowded, the unfortunate pony escorting Scoops may be able to escape soon. Oh well, that's the drawbacks of dramatic timing.

"But then it turns out that nopony actually ordered the pickles. That reminds me of the other time..."

[TheAmishPirate]

Dat Cirrus

"Oooh...and and maybe we can go to the park...relax....you know...have a little fun," Gearstride softly smiled and then hugged Sandy dearly.


"Yes. The Captain's idea sounds good as well. What say you, Sandy? The day off, exploring Bridle Shores and just..." Silverpine makes a small gesture with his hoof. "... relaxing." He'd join the hug, but Sandy probably had enough Gearstride to deal with for the moment. :smalltongue:

Indeed. One big captain plus one small engineer multiplied by affection equaled one supremely enveloping hug. One could only see the tip of Sandy's snout and the tips of his hooves, struggling to hug the larger mare back. He made a noise halfway between a whimper and a grunt; most likely, trying to express some bittersweet appreciation of the gesture, and an affirmation to Silverpine's proposal.

Or, he was on the verge of passing out, and that was the last bit of air escaping his beleaguered lungs. But it was more likely the former. :smalltongue:

[PurityIcekiller]

"Oh, come now, surely we can tell her something."

"Indeed. If the Captain takes issue with it, he can bring up the concern with me." Apparently both of the assumed she'd be better informed, and Dawn is particularly irked, because his eyes flash briefly. "The pegasus you, Starbeam and Snowstorm defended came from a town in the mountains. Supposedly, our enemies are headquartered in that area. The scouting mission requires stealth and you were...recommended." His eyes flash again.

"He almost upended the table. I don't think he believes you're self-suff-"

Dawnstrider turns on a hoof and audibly snarls. "It is not a question of capability. You attempted the same and were nearly killed. I will die twice over before seeing her subjected to the same dangers unless it is absolutely necessary."

To her credit, Starbeam doesn't flinch, instead setting her expression at a default unimpressed librarian's stare. "It's Night Jewel's decision. Not yours."

"And that is why my presence is non-negotiable."

"Oh, that's it? They could have just told me, rather than leaving a note that basically said that I would be paid if I helped."

They really thought money would be your only incentive, even after you risked your life without payment several times? That's kind of offensive. You ought to talk to their boss about that.

This isn't a good time. Besides, they don't trade with insults in Equestria.

Night Jewel listened for a little bit longer, then laughed. "You shouldn't worry about me, Dawnstrider. Unlike Starbeam - and this is meant as a statement of fact, not an insult - I'm skilled at sneaking around. It's how I survived for years, living by st... You know. I am prepared to keep out of sight and avoid trouble."


"It's actually... yaaaaaaaaaawn" Staccata sort of slurs out. "Me that tried to get you into this. Reasons... Honestly... don't know what's going on either."

Or you could take it up with her instead...

No.

"Oh, you wrote the note? That explains the vagueness. What got you into this, anyway?"


"'Cuz every solution has at least three problems. Facts of life, Terra, and it's our lot to deal with it."

"Ah, if only we could simply apply force to the problems until they went away. Ponies of this era make things too complicated. When I was your age..." Flare paused to think. "Well, actually, I don't think we were more successful back then, but I can pretend."


"M-maybe...erm. I actually wanted to discuss something with you. It's like...a job offer, but it'll need my powers. Not much, just enough to...protect myself."

"What? What's this, then? Who'd ya be workin' for? What would ya do? Remember ya're not to overexert yarself 'til ya've got yar stress down."


If the guardhouse weren't so crowded, the unfortunate pony escorting Scoops may be able to escape soon. Oh well, that's the drawbacks of dramatic timing.

"But then it turns out that nopony actually ordered the pickles. That reminds me of the other time..."

"I never inquired as to your individual history, reporter." The Knight's irritation was hard to miss. "Do you have anything to provide aside from inconsequential prattle?"

Now I understand why my former commander despised reporters so much. It didn't excuse how violently she expressed it, but I'm sure plenty of ponies would consider getting discharged from the force worth it just to avoid listening to this ceaseless chattering...

[Benson]

Indeed. One big captain plus one small engineer multiplied by affection equaled one supremely enveloping hug. One could only see the tip of Sandy's snout and the tips of his hooves, struggling to hug the larger mare back. He made a noise halfway between a whimper and a grunt; most likely, trying to express some bittersweet appreciation of the gesture, and an affirmation to Silverpine's proposal.

Or, he was on the verge of passing out, and that was the last bit of air escaping his beleaguered lungs. But it was more likely the former. :smalltongue:

She chuckled and with a caring nuzzle let him go. "You go get yourself ready though first 'hun alright?"

[Kelvin360]

Night Jewel listened for a little bit longer, then laughed. "You shouldn't worry about me, Dawnstrider. Unlike Starbeam - and this is meant as a statement of fact, not an insult - I'm skilled at sneaking around. It's how I survived for years, living by st... You know. I am prepared to keep out of sight and avoid trouble."

This, oddly, makes his lips twitch upward a little bit. "If I once had any doubts about your capabilities, Night Jewel, they are long since gone. But it is in my job description to worry."

"And also to walk up a mountainside with a group of ponies who could fade in an instant if they wanted to. What are you going to do without me? Knock?"

"That would be the polite course, yes. ...That was a joke. I am not unused to subterfuge either, Starbeam. If you recall, I always remained at the head of my task forces, up to and including those whose mission it was to remain sight unseen. The Code does not disbar me from sneaking about, and so I shall do so."



"Ah, if only we could simply apply force to the problems until they went away. Ponies of this era make things too complicated. When I was your age..." Flare paused to think. "Well, actually, I don't think we were more successful back then, but I can pretend."

"While you're at it, pretend beating morons upside the head used to be legal."



"What? What's this, then? Who'd ya be workin' for? What would ya do? Remember ya're not to overexert yarself 'til ya've got yar stress down."

"It...it's not stressful! Not really. It's just...you remember that moon priest who came to see me a few days ago?"

"Moonlight, the guy who was blathering on about reinforcements and your animal squad?"

"That's...him. Well, he said we had a, um, problem. Apparently there's a lot of controversy around the vampires in that boarding house near the old pauper's place. Moonlight said it was sort of his divine duty to make sure things didn't get too heated - sort them out, and so on. But, well, he hinted that he'd have to be leaving soon, and..."

This next part she puts out quickly, as though speed will dull the blow. "He offered me a position as a mediator between the vampires and the citizenry."

"Mmkaaay, I'm gonna wait for Blades to explode and then go over how monumentally stupid that is."

[Grif]

"Why, what's she do?"

(Was holding this off while I discussed things with Merellis. Here we go!)

The unicorn began nervously clasping her forehooves together. "Um... she kinda... socked three guards when we first arrived..." Pulp blinked, and looked at Joyous, her beret tilting a little to one side. "W-wait do you mean Miss Tale Spin? B-Because then i-it's a different story..."

[TheAmishPirate]

She chuckled and with a caring nuzzle let him go. "You go get yourself ready though first 'hun alright?"

Sandy scrunched his face up and shuffled sheepishly away. "Y-yes ma'am. I'll get right on that, ma'am. It won't take too long ma'am..." Affirming profusely, he disappeared down the hall.

[Cirrus - Near the main entryway]

(Keeping this rolling)

Sandy stood waiting for his superior officer by the main entrance, idly fidgeting with his clean clothes. Most of his uniforms were stained and oily from the long nights in the engine room, and he had little else to wear in the way of civilian clothes. With a little digging, he'd found some more casual Cirrus wear; still bearing the colors and emblems of the ship, but much more casually cut. The whole thing felt like wearing a new set of skin.

Nervously, he waited for his day off to begin, trying hard not to think about everything that might go wrong in town.

[Kelvin360]

The unicorn began nervously clasping her forehooves together. "Um... she kinda... socked three guards when we first arrived..." Pulp blinked, and looked at Joyous, her beret tilting a little to one side. "W-wait do you mean Miss Tale Spin? B-Because then i-it's a different story..."

"I'm confused," he says dully. "Are these different ponies? Who did you think I meant? I meant who you were supposed to meet."

[Merellis]

"Why, what's she do?"

What does she do, indeed!

Currently Bitter Herb is working on a project that is of the utmost importance, discretely watching Pulp Fiction chatting with some stranger from across the street. It had started innocently enough, really, she was just on her way back to the hotel to force some food down Pulp's throat then drag the little shut-in back out for some fresh air.

But then she saw her charge, chatting with some stranger!

He was scarred, an obvious pegasus given the stumps, which isn't all that strange considering the war, the area, and the fiery battle just a week ago. But all the same, it was mighty suspicious for Pulp to be chatting so easily with a pony.

Could this be her new publisher?

Doubtful, she'd have most likely been informed about a planned meeting.

Perhaps this was a fanatic lover of Miss Fiction's books just posing as a publisher so he could kidnap the writer and shackle her to the basement!

Bitter snorts at that idea, yet still slips into the area and settles herself at a table to listen in. The odds of this being anything like the stories she'd been reading the last few weeks were slim, but it wouldn't hurt to be in the immediate area to keep an eye on things.

(SO LATE ON THIS ONE. NOTHING CAME OUT RIGHT. GAH.)

[Grif]

"I'm confused," he says dully. "Are these different ponies? Who did you think I meant? I meant who you were supposed to meet."

"I... ummm... ahhh..." The unicorn seemed to panic a little at the barrage of question, even with its dull delivery. "... I-I was s-suppose to meet a-a n-new publisher i-i-in town this week. S-She's busy though. B-But that's not what I-I'm out here for today... I-I'm k-kinda looking for... m-my companion..."


She chuckled and with a caring nuzzle let him go. "You go get yourself ready though first 'hun alright?"

Silverpine just watched as the engineer disappeared down the hall, then turned to Gear. "We better get ready as well then. Hopefully this'll cheer him up."


Sandy scrunched his face up and shuffled sheepishly away. "Y-yes ma'am. I'll get right on that, ma'am. It won't take too long ma'am..." Affirming profusely, he disappeared down the hall.

[Cirrus - Near the main entryway]

(Keeping this rolling)

Sandy stood waiting for his superior officer by the main entrance, idly fidgeting with his clean clothes. Most of his uniforms were stained and oily from the long nights in the engine room, and he had little else to wear in the way of civilian clothes. With a little digging, he'd found some more casual Cirrus wear; still bearing the colors and emblems of the ship, but much more casually cut. The whole thing felt like wearing a new set of skin.

Nervously, he waited for his day off to begin, trying hard not to think about everything that might go wrong in town.

"Sharp as ever, eh, Sandy?" Silverpine said, as he trotted into the room. The lieutenant seemed to have opted for much the same attire, probably for almost the same reason Sandy has. :smalltongue:

[Kelvin360]

"I... ummm... ahhh..." The unicorn seemed to panic a little at the barrage of question, even with its dull delivery. "... I-I was s-suppose to meet a-a n-new publisher i-i-in town this week. S-She's busy though. B-But that's not what I-I'm out here for today... I-I'm k-kinda looking for... m-my companion..."

"They're two different ponies and you're an author." He states plainly, with the air of someone getting their facts straight. "Why did you think they'd be here?"

[TheAmishPirate]

[COLOR="#FF8C00"]"Sharp as ever, eh, Sandy?" Silverpine said, as he trotted into the room. The lieutenant seemed to have opted for much the same attire, probably for almost the same reason Sandy has. :smalltongue:

Sandy jumped at the sound of his voice, missing his rather noisy hoofbeats. "Oh! Uh, yessir. I-I mean, I suppose so sir. I mean, it's nothin' much, sir. Just a, um, just what I had lyin' around."

He pawed awkwardly at the ground, suddenly losing his words.

"So, um, where's this here place we're goin'?" he asked timidly.

[MCerberus]

Or you could take it up with her instead...

No.

"Oh, you wrote the note? That explains the vagueness. What got you into this, anyway?"


Still sort of out of it, Staccata doesn't have much recourse than to give a rather direct answer to that. "I'm already neck deep in this town's whole mess anyway."



"I never inquired as to your individual history, reporter." The Knight's irritation was hard to miss. "Do you have anything to provide aside from inconsequential prattle?"

Now I understand why my former commander despised reporters so much. It didn't excuse how violently she expressed it, but I'm sure plenty of ponies would consider getting discharged from the force worth it just to avoid listening to this ceaseless chattering...

Scoops doesn't take anything as an insult. She's heard worse and worse and louder at the same time. Instead she just rolls her eyes before responding. With little thought before going on. "Sheeeeesh what made you such a grump? You just go around in silence not talking about anything or something? I mean you've hardly ever said anything and maybe some conversation would do you good. Plus things go faster if you have something to talk about. I mean going down the road alone just draaaaaaaaged on."

[Grif]

Sandy jumped at the sound of his voice, missing his rather noisy hoofbeats. "Oh! Uh, yessir. I-I mean, I suppose so sir. I mean, it's nothin' much, sir. Just a, um, just what I had lyin' around."

He pawed awkwardly at the ground, suddenly losing his words.

"So, um, where's this here place we're goin'?" he asked timidly.

Silverpine wrapped a foreleg around Sandy's shoulders, no doubt trying to be friendly. "Our first stop? It's a bar in town. I hear they serve good cider there; the best in this town!" He chuckled a little. "Now all we need is for the captain to show up and we can be on our merry way."


"They're two different ponies and you're an author." He states plainly, with the air of someone getting their facts straight. "Why did you think they'd be here?"

"I... umm... I d-d-didn't think they'll be here..." Her ears wilted a little, and she shuffled her hooves on the ground.. "I-It was a t-t-terrible mistake, j-just now. I mean. T-The table and all." Looks like the conversation was starting to veer away from the topic again.

[Benson]

Sandy jumped at the sound of his voice, missing his rather noisy hoofbeats. "Oh! Uh, yessir. I-I mean, I suppose so sir. I mean, it's nothin' much, sir. Just a, um, just what I had lyin' around."

He pawed awkwardly at the ground, suddenly losing his words.

"So, um, where's this here place we're goin'?" he asked timidly.


Silverpine wrapped a foreleg around Sandy's shoulders, no doubt trying to be friendly. "Our first stop? It's a bar in town. I hear they serve good cider there; the best in this town!" He chuckled a little. "Now all we need is for the captain to show up and we can be on our merry way."

"Hey, sorry for the delay, but here I am boys," Gearstride appeared wrapping a foreleg on Sandy's other shoulder, making a Sandy Sandwich with Silverpine. She was dressed in a fitting black jacket with a few dark orange stripes. A pair of flat goggles were strapped over her head.
(http://i.imgur.com/pwGKvQL.png)

"Let's go guzzle some cider boys." She grinned.

[Grif]

"Hey, sorry for the delay, but here I am boys," Gearstride appeared wrapping a foreleg on Sandy's other shoulder, making a Sandy Sandwich with Silverpine. She was dressed in a fitting black jacket with a few dark orange stripes. A pair of flat goggles were strapped over her head.
(http://i.imgur.com/pwGKvQL.png)

"Let's go guzzle some cider boys." She grinned.

The lieutenant grinned and led the way. "Good, just in time too." And off they go!

[Bridle Shores proper]

The town seemed awfully crowded at this time of the day, though hardly unusual for Bridle Shores. Perhaps all the extra soldiers in town had something to do with that. Regardless, the trio would soon arrive at their destination: a building at the edge of the main town square. Weathered, and charming would be two words that come to mind when one looked at the bar. A sign proclaiming it to be "The Princess Quarters" hung proudly above the front door. And beyond, the hum of ponies going about their business of having a nice pint.

"Here we are!" Silverpine said, beaming. Dare they step foot into the bar and get their first taste of Bridle Shore's finest?

[PurityIcekiller]

This, oddly, makes his lips twitch upward a little bit. "If I once had any doubts about your capabilities, Night Jewel, they are long since gone. But it is in my job description to worry."

"You're putting a lot of pressure on me to be the perky one, aren't you."


"And also to walk up a mountainside with a group of ponies who could fade in an instant if they wanted to. What are you going to do without me? Knock?"

"That would be the polite course, yes. ...That was a joke. I am not unused to subterfuge either, Starbeam. If you recall, I always remained at the head of my task forces, up to and including those whose mission it was to remain sight unseen. The Code does not disbar me from sneaking about, and so I shall do so."

"I'm not sure. You do seem very straightforward. Still, I suppose I've only seen the honest side of your skills, and that you do have experience from... back then."

After some thought, the filly nodded.

"I'll give you a chance. Just don't try anything too risky. Leave the hard parts to the experts."


Still sort of out of it, Staccata doesn't have much recourse than to give a rather direct answer to that. "I'm already neck deep in this town's whole mess anyway."

"Ah, that's simple." Night Jewel's voice had a faint tone of disappointment.

Maybe she'll be more interesting when she wakes up a bit.


Scoops doesn't take anything as an insult. She's heard worse and worse and louder at the same time. Instead she just rolls her eyes before responding. With little thought before going on. "Sheeeeesh what made you such a grump? You just go around in silence not talking about anything or something? I mean you've hardly ever said anything and maybe some conversation would do you good. Plus things go faster if you have something to talk about. I mean going down the road alone just draaaaaaaaged on."

Blueshield gritted her teeth. "Do you want an itemized list? Perhaps I should provide you with my entire biography, in case you miss any essential details? After all, it is not as though I have other matters to focus on."


"While you're at it, pretend beating morons upside the head used to be legal."

"That is illegal now? The mistress gave me the opposite impression." Flare glanced in the smith's general direction and raised an eyebrow.


"It...it's not stressful! Not really. It's just...you remember that moon priest who came to see me a few days ago?"

"Moonlight, the guy who was blathering on about reinforcements and your animal squad?"

"That's...him. Well, he said we had a, um, problem. Apparently there's a lot of controversy around the vampires in that boarding house near the old pauper's place. Moonlight said it was sort of his divine duty to make sure things didn't get too heated - sort them out, and so on. But, well, he hinted that he'd have to be leaving soon, and..."

This next part she puts out quickly, as though speed will dull the blow. "He offered me a position as a mediator between the vampires and the citizenry."

"Mmkaaay, I'm gonna wait for Blades to explode and then go over how monumentally stupid that is."

Blades considered this for a moment before gathering up an alarmingly large number of knives.

"That's not the way ya'll be doin' it if I have anything to say 'bout it."

She then gave the knives to Arvadraa. Most of them seemed to be made of silver, but a few glowed faintly, suggesting that the metalworker had, for some reason or other, decided to make them out of shimmerite.

"Take these instead. They'll dust any bloodsucker that tries to pick on ya, 'n they cut normal ponies just fine too. Ya won't need magic when a good edge will take 'em down just as well! Hope it goes well for ya."

[Kelvin360]

"I... umm... I d-d-didn't think they'll be here..." Her ears wilted a little, and she shuffled her hooves on the ground.. "I-It was a t-t-terrible mistake, j-just now. I mean. T-The table and all." Looks like the conversation was starting to veer away from the topic again.

Joyous stares at her for what is probably an uncomfortably long time and then blinks. "I guess I should congratulate you. That's the first time I've had the urge to snark at someone in weeks. But I won't. If not here, where would they be?"



"You're putting a lot of pressure on me to be the perky one, aren't you."

"If it helps you, think if it as an opportunity to be emotionally carefree and leave any neighsaying to somepony else."

"Well if there's one thing he'll be good at, it's putting a damper in the mood."



"I'm not sure. You do seem very straightforward. Still, I suppose I've only seen the honest side of your skills, and that you do have experience from... back then."

After some thought, the filly nodded.

"I'll give you a chance. Just don't try anything too risky. Leave the hard parts to the experts."

The paladin seems pleasantly amused at the very job-interview-ish assessment. "I will, of course, defer to my more experienced counterparts."



"That is illegal now? The mistress gave me the opposite impression." Flare glanced in the smith's general direction and raised an eyebrow.

"The difference between the Boss and other ponies is that she's too hardcore to care that it's 'technically disbarred'. It's also why we just let her do it for us; like anypony's gonna tell her 'no'."



Blades considered this for a moment before gathering up an alarmingly large number of knives.

"That's not the way ya'll be doin' it if I have anything to say 'bout it."

She then gave the knives to Arvadraa. Most of them seemed to be made of silver, but a few glowed faintly, suggesting that the metalworker had, for some reason or other, decided to make them out of shimmerite.

"Take these instead. They'll dust any bloodsucker that tries to pick on ya, 'n they cut normal ponies just fine too. Ya won't need magic when a good edge will take 'em down just as well! Hope it goes well for ya."

"Oh that is such ponysh-" The ensuing shadowy mouthpiece is both astonishingly soundproof and very economical.

Arvadraa examines the arsenal with a recently-acquired and critical soldier's eye. "I knew not practicing with serrateds was going to come back and bite me. I'll need to focus on the double-edged daggers for now, until I can train a little bit more. But I don't think I'll be denying myself advantages if it means my life," she says diplomatically. "And you know that if anypony can blend your style of warfare and Stellar's responsibly, it's me."

"Incidentally, it will be a good idea to stock up on wooden arms and armor as well. Perhaps a thin layer beneath your second skin."

"I'm as much a fan of wood as the next pony," Arvadraa replies to herself, ignoring Stellar's sudden fit of muffled snickering. "But, um, why?"

"It's a symbolic representation of the natural world, which cursed beings abhor. Regardless of whether or not they can actually wound you, bearing the scent of wood will cause them severe discomfort if they make contact. And if you need to, you can shatter your own armor to make wooden shards offensively on the spot."

[MCerberus]

"Ah, that's simple." Night Jewel's voice had a faint tone of disappointment.

Maybe she'll be more interesting when she wakes up a bit.

"Not really... details," Staccata sort of half replies. At least she's waking up enough to remember there's a source of caffeine around. She walks up to her coltfriend on secretary duty.
"Do you colts have coffee anywhere?"




Blueshield gritted her teeth. "Do you want an itemized list? Perhaps I should provide you with my entire biography, in case you miss any essential details? After all, it is not as though I have other matters to focus on."


"You're the one making the big deal out of all this you know. And it's not like I asked for this situation. I was just coming into town and you were all 'Halt or I'll shoot argablarga I hate casual conversation'."

[Grif]

Joyous stares at her for what is probably an uncomfortably long time and then blinks. "I guess I should congratulate you. That's the first time I've had the urge to snark at someone in weeks. But I won't. If not here, where would they be?"


"I... I'm s-still trying to f-find them, actually..." Pulp admitted in a small voice, seemingly shrinking a little under his stare. "... m-maybe I should g-go look for them...."

[Kelvin360]

"I... I'm s-still trying to f-find them, actually..." Pulp admitted in a small voice, seemingly shrinking a little under his stare. "... m-maybe I should g-go look for them...."

His ears twitch, but his face remains impassive. "Back in Manehattan, the weather crews have this 'cloud rule' if a weatherpony gets lost. It happens more than you'd think - big city, tropical storms can get nasty, and it's easy to get vertigo up there. They'd move above a storm, grabbing a piece of the show show on the way up, and sit on top of it when they got out. Then they'd wait for the check so they could get rescued. Nopony finds anypony if everypony's looking, but if you stay in the open, there's no chance to pass each other. Maybe you should sit tight, let the friend find you. Shores isn't as big as Manehattan. Also, if you don't leave, there's less a chance you'll get attacked by any more tables. No promises, though."

[Benson]

The lieutenant grinned and led the way. "Good, just in time too." And off they go!

[Bridle Shores proper]

The town seemed awfully crowded at this time of the day, though hardly unusual for Bridle Shores. Perhaps all the extra soldiers in town had something to do with that. Regardless, the trio would soon arrive at their destination: a building at the edge of the main town square. Weathered, and charming would be two words that come to mind when one looked at the bar. A sign proclaiming it to be "The Princess Quarters" hung proudly above the front door. And beyond, the hum of ponies going about their business of having a nice pint.

"Here we are!" Silverpine said, beaming. Dare they step foot into the bar and get their first taste of Bridle Shore's finest?


Gearstride happily pulled along her two boys into the establishment, a big grin on her face as she took to a strut.

"Come on, while the cider is still nice and cold," She said though more towards Sandy to try to get him into the right spirits. She plopped her flank onto a stool at the bar counter and clopped her hoof against the counter to the barkeeper's attention.

"A hard cider for myself, my good sir, and a soft cider for my young looking friend," She gestured for Sandy to sit next to her on her left, and then glanced at Silverpine real quick like to gesture for him to take her right. "What about you babe? A soft one..." She said in a teasing tone. "Or grow fur on yer knuckles...whatever that means, hard cider?" She winked.

[Grif]

His ears twitch, but his face remains impassive. "Back in Manehattan, the weather crews have this 'cloud rule' if a weatherpony gets lost. It happens more than you'd think - big city, tropical storms can get nasty, and it's easy to get vertigo up there. They'd move above a storm, grabbing a piece of the show show on the way up, and sit on top of it when they got out. Then they'd wait for the check so they could get rescued. Nopony finds anypony if everypony's looking, but if you stay in the open, there's no chance to pass each other. Maybe you should sit tight, let the friend find you. Shores isn't as big as Manehattan. Also, if you don't leave, there's less a chance you'll get attacked by any more tables. No promises, though."

"I... ahh... I suppose. I-It's still quite a big town." Pulp closed her eyes and breathed in deep. Just like how Bitter taught her. It helped. A little. The unicorn opened her eyes and offered Joyous a small smile. "I-I f-feel kind of s-silly now."


Gearstride happily pulled along her two boys into the establishment, a big grin on her face as she took to a strut.

"Come on, while the cider is still nice and cold," She said though more towards Sandy to try to get him into the right spirits. She plopped her flank onto a stool at the bar counter and clopped her hoof against the counter to the barkeeper's attention.

"A hard cider for myself, my good sir, and a soft cider for my young looking friend," She gestured for Sandy to sit next to her on her left, and then glanced at Silverpine real quick like to gesture for him to take her right. "What about you babe? A soft one..." She said in a teasing tone. "Or grow fur on yer knuckles...whatever that means, hard cider?" She winked.

"I think a mild one to start off with. Someone needs to stay sober," Silverpine replied good-naturedly, gesturing at the barkeep, before taking his seat to the right of Gear.

[Benson]

Back at the Cirrus however


"Hey Lucky......did things just get quiet around here?..." Gwen suddenly asked, putting down her hand of cards face down on the table as she glanced around the galley. She furrowed her feathery brow and reached for her beer. "You know.....I think we actually are by ourselves in this ship...." She then smirked and looked at Lucky to see what sort of response he would give her.

[TheAmishPirate]

At Da Bar

Sandy tried to occupy as little real estate on his stool as possible. The hum and buzz of other ponies felt infinitely louder when paying attention to each individual sound. Was that laugh at him? Were those whispers pointing out the worst the Cirrus had to offer? Did those ponies stop talking to stare his way? That was the door swinging; they just didn't want to be in the same room as him, didn't they? The quiet engine room was so far away now. He'd have to pass through all of...all of town now...

"I-It's, um, b-b-busy....ain't it?" he meekly offered. The little engineer huddled up tightly, trying to lose himself in a nifty-looking knot in the wood.

[Lycan 01]

Back at the Cirrus however




"Hey Lucky......did things just get quiet around here?..." Gwen suddenly asked, putting down her hand of cards face down on the table as she glanced around the galley. She furrowed her feathery brow and reached for her beer. "You know.....I think we actually are by ourselves in this ship...." She then smirked and looked at Lucky to see what sort of response he would give her.

Lucky just kinda nods and goes "Uh huh." He's staring intently at his cards. The last several days have been relatively uneventful, mostly consisting of offering his hoof to help out around the airship, playing cards with Gwen, and just putting up with Gwen in general. The griffoness was... interesting, to say the least. At times fun and amusing, other times a bit grating on the nerves. And yet, Lucky enjoys her company regardless. Doesn't hurt that she's easy on the eyes, but good luck getting him to admit that.

"Ship to ourselves, yeah," he nods, continuing to stare at the cards. It seems he's entirely focused on them, trying to work out the best strategy or approach to take with this hand. He's totally oblivious to his beer, and what Gwen is actually saying, or trying to imply.

[Benson]

"I think a mild one to start off with. Someone needs to stay sober," Silverpine replied good-naturedly, gesturing at the barkeep, before taking his seat to the right of Gear.

"Bah...a certain lieutenant is just a wienie," She stuck out her tongue at him, waiting for their drinks.



At Da Bar

Sandy tried to occupy as little real estate on his stool as possible. The hum and buzz of other ponies felt infinitely louder when paying attention to each individual sound. Was that laugh at him? Were those whispers pointing out the worst the Cirrus had to offer? Did those ponies stop talking to stare his way? That was the door swinging; they just didn't want to be in the same room as him, didn't they? The quiet engine room was so far away now. He'd have to pass through all of...all of town now...

"I-It's, um, b-b-busy....ain't it?" he meekly offered. The little engineer huddled up tightly, trying to lose himself in a nifty-looking knot in the wood.

"Isn't it great? It has got such a lively atmosphere, sweet harmonica music playing in the background, the ponies gathering around the radio trying to listen in on the Hoofball game, there is just something classical about it." Gearstride grinned as she glanced around, and then her eyes suddenly lit up. "Ho crap a pool table....we are totally playing." She nodded her head abruptly. The bartender then returned and slid the three their drinks as Gearstride immediately helped herself to a long hardy drink.


Back at the Cirrus however

Lucky just kinda nods and goes "Uh huh." He's staring intently at his cards. The last several days have been relatively uneventful, mostly consisting of offering his hoof to help out around the airship, playing cards with Gwen, and just putting up with Gwen in general. The griffoness was... interesting, to say the least. At times fun and amusing, other times a bit grating on the nerves. And yet, Lucky enjoys her company regardless. Doesn't hurt that she's easy on the eyes, but good luck getting him to admit that.

"Ship to ourselves, yeah," he nods, continuing to stare at the cards. It seems he's entirely focused on them, trying to work out the best strategy or approach to take with this hand. He's totally oblivious to his beer, and what Gwen is actually saying, or trying to imply.

"Yer not even really listenin are ya?" She waved a talon in front of his oblivious face. She puffed her cheeks and sat back down. "Hey Lucky, we should totally make out on this table." She said bluntly with a neutral expression. She bet he would hear that.

[Lycan 01]

[Back at the Cirrus However]

Lucky idly moves the order of the cards around in his hooves, shuffling them a bit and furrowing his brow. "Uh huh..." he nods, off in his own little world, and oblivious to what Gwen is actually saying. Something about the table? "Yeah, it's a nice table. Good and sturdy..." he mutters, deaf to the implications of what he's saying.

[Benson]

[Back at the Cirrus However]

Lucky idly moves the order of the cards around in his hooves, shuffling them a bit and furrowing his brow. "Uh huh..." he nods, off in his own little world, and oblivious to what Gwen is actually saying. Something about the table? "Yeah, it's a nice table. Good and sturdy..." he mutters, deaf to the implications of what he's saying.


Gwen actually found herself sputtering in surprise. "This card game ain't that interestin'!" She huffed and then left the table. "Ya can stare at your cards, and play solitaire or somethin' but I'mma headin on..somewheres....yea...screw it I'mma head on in to town, if ya heard that, yer welcomed ta join me...if not...well..yea." Gwendolyn's feathers were well...ruffled as she walked off, grabbing her beer and walked out the galley to the quarters she and Lucky were given to grab some of her things.

[Grif]

At Da Bar

Sandy tried to occupy as little real estate on his stool as possible. The hum and buzz of other ponies felt infinitely louder when paying attention to each individual sound. Was that laugh at him? Were those whispers pointing out the worst the Cirrus had to offer? Did those ponies stop talking to stare his way? That was the door swinging; they just didn't want to be in the same room as him, didn't they? The quiet engine room was so far away now. He'd have to pass through all of...all of town now...

"I-It's, um, b-b-busy....ain't it?" he meekly offered. The little engineer huddled up tightly, trying to lose himself in a nifty-looking knot in the wood.



"Bah...a certain lieutenant is just a wienie," She stuck out her tongue at him, waiting for their drinks.

"Said wienie pulled your butt out of more than one bar in Equestria," Silverpine replied with a tongue sticking of his own.



"Isn't it great? It has got such a lively atmosphere, sweet harmonica music playing in the background, the ponies gathering around the radio trying to listen in on the Hoofball game, there is just something classical about it." Gearstride grinned as she glanced around, and then her eyes suddenly lit up. "Ho crap a pool table....we are totally playing." She nodded her head abruptly. The bartender then returned and slid the three their drinks as Gearstride immediately helped herself to a long hardy drink.


The lieutenant gently nudged Sandy to drink up as well. "The cider's best in town. Go on." And indeed, Sandy would find that it's actually pretty good. Not Apple quality, but good enough for a place like this.

[Merellis]

"I... ahh... I suppose. I-It's still quite a big town." Pulp closed her eyes and breathed in deep. Just like how Bitter taught her. It helped. A little. The unicorn opened her eyes and offered Joyous a small smile. "I-I f-feel kind of s-silly now."

It's at this point that a burly pint of a pegasus pulls up a chair and sits at their table. Bitter had been listening in, but figured showing up was probably for the best at this point, seeing as how Pulp was actually getting a bit comfortable. She gives the wingless pegasus a polite smile then grins at Pulp in that cheeky way of hers.

"Making friends already?" Her voice is light and amused, but her eyes drift along the crowd, searching out the doors, the windows. She's even sat herself in such a position that both Pulp and Joyous are between her and the cafe's building.

[TheAmishPirate]

The lieutenant gently nudged Sandy to drink up as well. [COLOR="#FF8C00"]"The cider's best in town. Go on." And indeed, Sandy would find that it's actually pretty good. Not Apple quality, but good enough for a place like this.

Sandy looked up nervously at his friend, before nodding along and taking a sip of cider. The lack of alcohol was immediately noticed and appreciated, shortly followed by the foamy, flavorful rush to his belly. The little stallion hiccuped, a cider-mustache across his muzzle. Even soft, a good cider could fill a pony's head with bubbles. He held his mug with both hooves and took another swig, striving to drown out his nerves in tasty, tasty drink.

[Benson]

Sandy looked up nervously at his friend, before nodding along and taking a sip of cider. The lack of alcohol was immediately noticed and appreciated, shortly followed by the foamy, flavorful rush to his belly. The little stallion hiccuped, a cider-mustache across his muzzle. Even soft, a good cider could fill a pony's head with bubbles. He held his mug with both hooves and took another swig, striving to drown out his nerves in tasty, tasty drink.


"Said wienie pulled your butt out of more than one bar in Equestria," Silverpine replied with a tongue sticking of his own.

The lieutenant gently nudged Sandy to drink up as well. "The cider's best in town. Go on." And indeed, Sandy would find that it's actually pretty good. Not Apple quality, but good enough for a place like this.

She smooched Silverpine and took a hearty sip of her cider, goofily smiling. "Heh....yea...well...insert a cool comeback here." She laughed and then glanced at Sandy. "It is good huh? Heheh."

"By the way, I am challengin ya both to a game of pool, you two vs me." She grinned and clicked her tongue.

[Kelvin360]

It's at this point that a burly pint of a pegasus pulls up a chair and sits at their table. Bitter had been listening in, but figured showing up was probably for the best at this point, seeing as how Pulp was actually getting a bit comfortable. She gives the wingless pegasus a polite smile then grins at Pulp in that cheeky way of hers.

"Making friends already?" Her voice is light and amused, but her eyes drift along the crowd, searching out the doors, the windows. She's even sat herself in such a position that both Pulp and Joyous are between her and the cafe's building.

When Bitter has her seat, both Joyous' right eye and the stumps on his back twitch. He doesn't focus on any particular portion of her anatomy, and his tone is even, if not friendly, but it's pretty obvious what comparison he's drawing. "We're talking and haven't started fighting yet. It's a good thing, but it doesn't make us friends. Making friends with me is social suicide, anyway."

[Grif]

She smooched Silverpine and took a hearty sip of her cider, goofily smiling. "Heh....yea...well...insert a cool comeback here." She laughed and then glanced at Sandy. "It is good huh? Heheh."

"By the way, I am challengin ya both to a game of pool, you two vs me." She grinned and clicked her tongue.

Silverpine reddened a little at the kiss, and quickly sipped his own drink to mask his reaction. "Mmm, exactly as advertised," he said, after a hearty swig of her own.

The earth pony tilted his head a little at the challenge. "You sure, Gear? Sandy here can shoot a mean ball," he said with a laugh, nudging Sandy again. "Right, Sandy?"


It's at this point that a burly pint of a pegasus pulls up a chair and sits at their table. Bitter had been listening in, but figured showing up was probably for the best at this point, seeing as how Pulp was actually getting a bit comfortable. She gives the wingless pegasus a polite smile then grins at Pulp in that cheeky way of hers.

"Making friends already?" Her voice is light and amused, but her eyes drift along the crowd, searching out the doors, the windows. She's even sat herself in such a position that both Pulp and Joyous are between her and the cafe's building.

The unicorn's eyes lit up with joy as Bitter eased onto the table beside her. "Bitter!" she exclaimed happily, quickly enveloping the burly pegasus in a brief, but tight hug. "I w-was l-looking for you... T-Thank the princess y-you're a-alright."


When Bitter has her seat, both Joyous' right eye and the stumps on his back twitch. He doesn't focus on any particular portion of her anatomy, and his tone is even, if not friendly, but it's pretty obvious what comparison he's drawing. "We're talking and haven't started fighting yet. It's a good thing, but it doesn't make us friends. Making friends with me is social suicide, anyway."

Pulp Fiction blinked her eyes at the unusual sentiment coming out of the not-pegasus. For the first time, her eyes studied the pegasus carefully, and the gentle twitch of the stumps on his back drew her attention. "Y-you... your wings..." she breathed, her eyes widening. "... y-you're a pegasus..."

[Kelvin360]

Pulp Fiction blinked her eyes at the unusual sentiment coming out of the not-pegasus. For the first time, her eyes studied the pegasus carefully, and the gentle twitch of the stumps on his back drew her attention. "Y-you... your wings..." she breathed, her eyes widening. "... y-you're a pegasus..."

Joyous shifts his hooves atop the table, as though he'd rather be doing anything else with them to kill some of the awkwardness of the moment. "I used to be a lot of things. Almost none of them still apply."

[TheAmishPirate]

Silverpine reddened a little at the kiss, and quickly sipped his own drink to mask his reaction. "Mmm, exactly as advertised," he said, after a hearty swig of her own.

The earth pony tilted his head a little at the challenge. "You sure, Gear? Sandy here can shoot a mean ball," he said with a laugh, nudging Sandy again. "Right, Sandy?"

Sandy half-choked on his cider, the comment catching him in mid-swig. "Whuh? Er, yessir. Of course sir." He nodded emphatically, doing his best impression of a pony who knew what in Equestria was going on.

[PurityIcekiller]

"If it helps you, think if it as an opportunity to be emotionally carefree and leave any neighsaying to somepony else."

"Well if there's one thing he'll be good at, it's putting a damper in the mood."

"Considering my life before now, I don't think that needs help."


The paladin seems pleasantly amused at the very job-interview-ish assessment. "I will, of course, defer to my more experienced counterparts."

Night Jewel smiled. "Good. The profession isn't exactly forgiving when it comes to mistakes. Most of those who last long in it learn not to try anything too risky."


"The difference between the Boss and other ponies is that she's too hardcore to care that it's 'technically disbarred'. It's also why we just let her do it for us; like anypony's gonna tell her 'no'."

Flare got a thoughtful look. "Interesting. I believe when I attempted to maintain constant terror to get my way, it resulted in my incarceration. Clearly I have much to learn from her."


"Oh that is such ponysh-" The ensuing shadowy mouthpiece is both astonishingly soundproof and very economical.

Arvadraa examines the arsenal with a recently-acquired and critical soldier's eye. "I knew not practicing with serrateds was going to come back and bite me. I'll need to focus on the double-edged daggers for now, until I can train a little bit more. But I don't think I'll be denying myself advantages if it means my life," she says diplomatically. "And you know that if anypony can blend your style of warfare and Stellar's responsibly, it's me."

"Incidentally, it will be a good idea to stock up on wooden arms and armor as well. Perhaps a thin layer beneath your second skin."

"I'm as much a fan of wood as the next pony," Arvadraa replies to herself, ignoring Stellar's sudden fit of muffled snickering. "But, um, why?"

"It's a symbolic representation of the natural world, which cursed beings abhor. Regardless of whether or not they can actually wound you, bearing the scent of wood will cause them severe discomfort if they make contact. And if you need to, you can shatter your own armor to make wooden shards offensively on the spot."

"Wooden armour?" Blades got a look partway between confused and intrigued. "I've heard wood makes not-too-shabby shields, but not armour. It probly wouldn't work well if ya didn't make it right. Ya can't shape it like metal 'cause it breaks 'fore it bends, 'n it'd have to be a good, tough kind of wood or it wouldn't stop even copper blades, 'n ya'd have to fireproof it too... Maybe some kind of wood-metal mix? Ya'd probly want to talk to a carpenter 'bout it if ya wanted to know more, 'cause carpenters know 'bout wood, although they don't usually make wooden armour, so ya'd have to find one that had tried..."

The metalworker suddenly perked up her ears. "Say, does it work with other natural things? 'Cause I had a thought 'bout something the griffs do..."

"If you are going where I suspect, dead animal parts would do the opposite. They do draw their powers from death."

"Wait, what? So dead animals make 'em stronger, but dead trees make 'em weaker?"

"It is the symbolism that matters, Mistress."

"Right, right. See, this is why I don't deal in magic. It makes no bangin' sense." Blades shook her head. "All I can say is, if spells 'n such don't work out for ya, just stick a sword through it or something. At least ya've got some idea of what that'll do."


"You're the one making the big deal out of all this you know. And it's not like I asked for this situation. I was just coming into town and you were all 'Halt or I'll shoot argablarga I hate casual conversation'."

Blueshield was taken aback.

"Ah, yes. I... apologize for my treatment of you. Under the circumstances, it was my assumption that you would be either of hostile intention or deficient of faculties." Both of which, especially the latter, cannot yet be dismissed, but I cannot consider them certified either. "I must observe how you acquit yourself further before passing judgment."

She took a moment to regain her composure. "I am willing to accept the disclosure of pertinent information, just as long as I am spared irrelevant details. I do not care what exactly you consumed for a midday meal the week before a particular occasion, for instance. I will also address inquiries of yours as long as they remain within reasonable limits. If you desire conversation and can provide a topic of mutual interest, then I will discuss said topic."

[Kelvin360]

Night Jewel smiled. "Good. The profession isn't exactly forgiving when it comes to mistakes. Most of those who last long in it learn not to try anything too risky."

"Hear that? Low risk, high reward, NOT the other way around."

"I heard her the first time."



Flare got a thoughtful look. "Interesting. I believe when I attempted to maintain constant terror to get my way, it resulted in my incarceration. Clearly I have much to learn from her."

"MM-mm mph, MMRRRPH mph." Stellar deadpans past her gag.

Arvadraa raises a hoof. "Promise not to make any bawdy jokes or insulting remarks?"

A brief glare. "...M-mif."

Arvadraa sighs and waves the hoof dissipating the shadow mouthguard. "That'll have to do."

"Geez, Brains, how bad does it get that me mouthing off is your exception to a magic celibacy kick? And anyway, Terra, weren't you partying around with ponies of equal scale? I can't even think of any local ponies who aren't normals. Location, location, location."



"Wooden armour?" Blades got a look partway between confused and intrigued. "I've heard wood makes not-too-shabby shields, but not armour. It probly wouldn't work well if ya didn't make it right. Ya can't shape it like metal 'cause it breaks 'fore it bends, 'n it'd have to be a good, tough kind of wood or it wouldn't stop even copper blades, 'n ya'd have to fireproof it too... Maybe some kind of wood-metal mix? Ya'd probly want to talk to a carpenter 'bout it if ya wanted to know more, 'cause carpenters know 'bout wood, although they don't usually make wooden armour, so ya'd have to find one that had tried..."

"I actually had an affinity for wood when I was a filly-"

"You're not making this any easier, Brains."

"Then cover your ears when I talk. Ahem. It got, excuse the pun, warped into what I have now after our incident, but if I can keep that connection, it's possible I can use wooden armor and weapons better than most ponies."

"I'm gonna take the Boss' side, here. Isn't that still magic?"

"On the whole, I would say not quite. If she had it from her birth, it's a fey power, making it bound to the natural world. More passive magic than active, such as how an earth pony gardener gains exceptional results when working with their special talent. However, as was noted, it may have been dampened by my experiments."

"Be kind, rewind. Fey power? ...Oh! Flutter pony! Wow, now I really want front-row seats to see you beating down a vampire. It'd be like a mythological antithesis pitfight."


The metalworker suddenly perked up her ears. "Say, does it work with other natural things? 'Cause I had a thought 'bout something the griffs do..."

"If you are going where I suspect, dead animal parts would do the opposite. They do draw their powers from death."

"Wait, what? So dead animals make 'em stronger, but dead trees make 'em weaker?"

"It is the symbolism that matters, Mistress."

"Well, I mean, if at all possible, I'd like to not kill a tree to get what I need. Bits and pieces are fine, maybe even parts that were going bad anyway. So...I mean, I guess totems from living - what, exemplars? - of the natural world could work. But I prefer wood because I know it, I have a connection to it."

"Freaking druids; go figure."


"Right, right. See, this is why I don't deal in magic. It makes no bangin' sense." Blades shook her head. "All I can say is, if spells 'n such don't work out for ya, just stick a sword through it or something. At least ya've got some idea of what that'll do."

"True enough! That's my offense plan A. Everything else is just to keep them from, you know, draining me of my life's blood and all that."

[MCerberus]

Blueshield was taken aback.

"Ah, yes. I... apologize for my treatment of you. Under the circumstances, it was my assumption that you would be either of hostile intention or deficient of faculties." Both of which, especially the latter, cannot yet be dismissed, but I cannot consider them certified either. "I must observe how you acquit yourself further before passing judgment."

She took a moment to regain her composure. "I am willing to accept the disclosure of pertinent information, just as long as I am spared irrelevant details. I do not care what exactly you consumed for a midday meal the week before a particular occasion, for instance. I will also address inquiries of yours as long as they remain within reasonable limits. If you desire conversation and can provide a topic of mutual interest, then I will discuss said topic."

"Yah well... I know some ponies think I'm a bit... much," Whadda replies sensing a little bit of awkwardness. For a second she lets the awkward sit before deciding to, of course, start talking again.

"Well you haven't said anything about yourself yet really. So what kind of topics do you have interest in anyway? Ooh and if you have any 'on-the-record' type stuff to say about this town that would be great."


((in the guardhouse, can we get to the meeting with the captain soon?))

[Grif]

(Long overdue. Time to kick this into action. I got permission from both Lycan and Amish to skip their turn for the time being.)

Forest Road
The meeting with the Captain was both brief and terse. They had only one mission: to find out just what the hay are the Dark Army up to, and report back. Alive. Extra emphasis on the final word. They are to steer well away from taking unnecessary risks, and if possible, not alert the enemy on their intentions. Any concerns about the make-up of the team were summarily dismissed. They were chosen because they were the best, not because of their personalities. In addition, there was a new unexpected addition to the team. The pegasus merchant that had been targeted by the assasins had volunteered to show the team a hidden way through the mountains, that might lead them directly to the village without needing to run headlong into the guarded entrances of the valley.

And thus, in a few hours, the group found themselves on the road, packed along with a week supply of rations, west-ward towards the general direction of Rusty Falls. Prose himself seemed to have gone ahead to scout the road, leaving Windy to follow the rest of the group, trailing slightly behind as she timidly plodded along.

Probably a good time for them to plan ahead, in any case.

[Kelvin360]

The Long Road

Dawnstrider, having ensured that everything he needed was packed and comfortably packaged a day before they left, marches in silence at the head of their crew, just behind their guide, keen green eyes keeping watch for threats all around. He still bears his black armor, even though after the battle he was offered a change in his color scheme for his efforts. This time, he wears it not for the memories of a hollower time, but because the darker coloration will be more ideal if stealth becomes a necessity. In evidence of his claims, despite his plate mail and musculature, he seems no stranger to stealth, and when the time comes to hide, he can match the caution and silence of any of his compatriots.

Privately, he goes over the discussion Starbeam had with them before they left...


"I'm not going to let you go with just the clothes on your backs. Moonlight wanted to use these, but the attack was too quick to organize a response, and so they come to you."

The magus carried on two conversations at once, though only she and one member of the group were aware of the second. "It's what we call FlippyTech, the result of advanced magical and technological experimentation" she indicated the bag full of magic items she bequeathed upon Staccata a few minutes prior. It contains an onyx box, a golden necklace, a pale violet staff, a standard javelin, a potion full of green liquid, a short elm wand, a black two-headed battleaxe, a rod atop which is inscribed images of skulls, a plain yellow gemstone, a silver tiara with a very shiny ruby embedded in its facet, and a throwing disc that looks the same shade of sickly green one turns when violently ill. "And don't be fooled by the silliness of the name - it's very powerful."

I've made an executive decision to keep our mental web open on my end. In Night Jewel's mind, Starbeam's voice was even more distorted by worry. It's...not ideal, but it will keep a means of communication open between all of us. Over a long distance, talking shouldn't be too strenuous, though I don't recommend trying to send me any spells.

"That onyx box is spring-loaded cover. If the button is pressed, it deploys into a fifteen-by-fifteen hoof wall for a variety of purposes. It has the durability of common stone, so if you start encountering, say, dragon's fire, it may be wiser to just run. The command word to turn it back into a box is 'Yonkers'.

The necklace toughens your skin - all the protection of hardened padded armor with no loss in agility. The necklace itself isn't as durable as it makes you, though, so try to avoid getting it damaged.

The staff produces a field of force around its bearer when struck against the ground. It's very sturdy and can last for hours if undisturbed, but again, the device itself can be damaged, and if the field takes too much punishment, the staff shatters.

The spear isn't much on the surface. It's a throwing javelin with minor enchantments making it harder to break. But it returns to your hooves when thrown."

You can send me sensory information over the link if you need to. Sights, smells, and so forth. In case describing a whole scene is inefficient.

"The potion has just enough for one dose. It's...sort of invisibility, in that it makes you imperceptible to most ponies, but it stops working if you draw attention to yourself.

The wand has exactly five charges and gives a brief boost to mental acuity. It assists in logical thinking and problem-solving, and generally makes you better at thinking quickly. The activation word is 'Fox'." She took a moment to shoot Night Jewel a slight smile at this. "The axe is heavier than it looks, so be careful. It won't serve much use in combat, but it's got an antimagic enchantment in it that will allow it to dispel most minor wards if it strikes them. Useful if you find a door locked by mystical means.

The Rod will summon illusory ponies to cause a distraction or a panic. They're designed to look like angry spirits. The activation word is 'Anguish'.

The gemstone attaches itself to a broken object and repairs it as long as it's set. If the object is broken again, the gem probably will be, too. Setting it and removing it - at which point the object returns to its broken state - is 'Clap On' and 'Clap Off', respectively.

The diadem - or tiara, if you prefer - confers the ability to induce a very sluggish state in ponies via eye contact. Some weak-willed individuals can be ordered in the manner of suggestions in this way, as with traditional hypnotism.

Finally, the disc is designed to be thrown and then return to your general vicinity. If it touches flesh, it causes instant nausea, most often resulting in brief incapacitation.

Finally, the bag itself is just large enough on the inside to fit all of them with maximum weight dispersal. If it's emptied, it should hold an average-sized earth pony. There isn't any air in there, though."

"We might want to discuss to whom each object will go," he comments. "I do not think I have much need for any of them, though I may be better suited to keep a hold of the axe, since it will slow me down less."

[Benson]

Sandy half-choked on his cider, the comment catching him in mid-swig. "Whuh? Er, yessir. Of course sir." He nodded emphatically, doing his best impression of a pony who knew what in Equestria was going on.



Gearstride glanced between her two boys with a playful smirk. "Well then...........shall we?" Griiiiiiiiin.

[Lycan 01]

[Back at the Cirrus]


Gwen actually found herself sputtering in surprise. "This card game ain't that interestin'!" She huffed and then left the table. "Ya can stare at your cards, and play solitaire or somethin' but I'mma headin on..somewheres....yea...screw it I'mma head on in to town, if ya heard that, yer welcomed ta join me...if not...well..yea." Gwendolyn's feathers were well...ruffled as she walked off, grabbing her beer and walked out the galley to the quarters she and Lucky were given to grab some of her things.

"Wait, what?" Lucky finally says, blinking in confusion as he looks up from his cards. "Was it something I said?" he asks in bewilderment, putting down his cards and quickly trotting off after her. "Gwen? Gwen! C'mon, wait up!" he whines. "I'm sorry, was I not paying attention or something? It's not like I asked you to make out or anything..." he protests, oblivious to the fact that she did exactly that.

[Benson]

[Back at the Cirrus]

"Wait, what?" Lucky finally says, blinking in confusion as he looks up from his cards. "Was it something I said?" he asks in bewilderment, putting down his cards and quickly trotting off after her. "Gwen? Gwen! C'mon, wait up!" he whines. "I'm sorry, was I not paying attention or something? It's not like I asked you to make out or anything..." he protests, oblivious to the fact that she did exactly that.


Gwendolyn paused and turned around and sported a wtf expression and slight head shake. "....Hauh?....." She questioned as Lucky would catch up with her.

"....Yer not even makin sense right there....are you alright Lucky?..." Her tone softened for a second and then she shook her head. "Aggh....Lucky...you are so dense...you'd sink in water ya know?" She sighed and shook her head.

"Look...ya deaf stallion...ack...yer lucky yer cute...wha?...oh yea...ahem...I was sayin if ya wanted ta join me for a day out in town....you know...maybe get a little drink on at the bar, see what the town has to offer, have fun." She cracked a playful smirk at the very latter.

[PurityIcekiller]

"MM-mm mph, MMRRRPH mph." Stellar deadpans past her gag.

Arvadraa raises a hoof. "Promise not to make any bawdy jokes or insulting remarks?"

A brief glare. "...M-mif."

Arvadraa sighs and waves the hoof dissipating the shadow mouthguard. "That'll have to do."

"Geez, Brains, how bad does it get that me mouthing off is your exception to a magic celibacy kick? And anyway, Terra, weren't you partying around with ponies of equal scale? I can't even think of any local ponies who aren't normals. Location, location, location."

"Perhaps, but even among them, I was the strongest."

"It's 'cause ya've got no style, Flare. Ya can't just go 'round shoutin' 'do what I say or I'll kill ya', 'cause that just gets 'em angry. Ya've got to do it properly!"


"I actually had an affinity for wood when I was a filly-"

"You're not making this any easier, Brains."

"Then cover your ears when I talk. Ahem. It got, excuse the pun, warped into what I have now after our incident, but if I can keep that connection, it's possible I can use wooden armor and weapons better than most ponies."

"I'm gonna take the Boss' side, here. Isn't that still magic?"

"On the whole, I would say not quite. If she had it from her birth, it's a fey power, making it bound to the natural world. More passive magic than active, such as how an earth pony gardener gains exceptional results when working with their special talent. However, as was noted, it may have been dampened by my experiments."

"Be kind, rewind. Fey power? ...Oh! Flutter pony! Wow, now I really want front-row seats to see you beating down a vampire. It'd be like a mythological antithesis pitfight."

After a few moments, Blades nodded. "Better than Horne's magic, at least." She then perked her ears up. "Say, I reckon ya'd be good with bows! Ya could make up a nice bow or crossbow, get some arrows, 'n ya could shoot those nasty ponies down 'fore they even got close to ya! What do ya think?"


"Well, I mean, if at all possible, I'd like to not kill a tree to get what I need. Bits and pieces are fine, maybe even parts that were going bad anyway. So...I mean, I guess totems from living - what, exemplars? - of the natural world could work. But I prefer wood because I know it, I have a connection to it."

"Freaking druids; go figure."

"But if ya cut a pony's legs off while they're still alive..."

"Mistress, none of us designed the laws of magic. We simply work with them as best we can. You cannot fault us for its inconsistencies."

"Whatever."


"True enough! That's my offense plan A. Everything else is just to keep them from, you know, draining me of my life's blood and all that."

"Glad to see ya up for this. Ya can never be too prepare, that's what I say."


"Yah well... I know some ponies think I'm a bit... much," Whadda replies sensing a little bit of awkwardness. For a second she lets the awkward sit before deciding to, of course, start talking again.

"Well you haven't said anything about yourself yet really. So what kind of topics do you have interest in anyway? Ooh and if you have any 'on-the-record' type stuff to say about this town that would be great."

"I..."

Blueshield hesitated. Condemnation. I can hold my own in a swordfight against elite soldiers, give a well-supported lecture on the drawbacks of self-serving malice, and calculate the courses of planets and other astronomical objects in my head, yet cannot handle a simple bit of casual conversation?

"...If you are of the variety that reads scholarly articles in their leisure time, then perhaps we have a common interest. I'm afraid I have little concern for less practical matters, aside from occasional indulgence in novels of sufficient quality.

"As for the town, I have not been here long, but I will answer as I am able. Is there anything in particular that you wish to know?"

[On The Road]

Openly, Night Jewel had been cooperative and kept out of others' ways during the briefing and the early parts of the trip. Privately, she still had reservations about working directly for the guard, even against a common foe.

I can expect a reward when I get back, right? Or at least absolution? Oh, Dark Mother, they'd better give me absolution. They wouldn't dare try to lock me away after all this, would they? They'd better not. If they so much as try, I'll-

Careful, girl. Starbeam's picking up all of this.

...Right. Sorry about that. I'm still not used to having someone other than... Well, I'm not used to you knowing my thoughts yet. Say, just in case, could you ask the guards what they plan to do with me once this is over?

After some time, she shifted her focus back to reality.

"Let's see... I want to get some of their shimmerite and gloomium, so I shouldn't carry much else. No weapons, certainly. I do want the wand, and possibly the gemstone, but that's mostly for use in my workshop later. The rest are up to you."

[Kelvin360]

"Perhaps, but even among them, I was the strongest."

"It's 'cause ya've got no style, Flare. Ya can't just go 'round shoutin' 'do what I say or I'll kill ya', 'cause that just gets 'em angry. Ya've got to do it properly!"

"Uhh, isn't that exactly what you do? Heck, it's pretty much what I do. We're just, I dunno, implicit? I guess for some reason yon average pony is cool with non-threat threats? Then again, yon average pony is kind of a moron, so I'll buy that."

"You make it sounds like you haven't been trained to manipulate, Stellar."

"I grew up in a tower that was nowhere even in the middle of nowhere. Social anything was kind of a non-issue. I just get the basic concept of lying and that the harmless filly trick gets results."



After a few moments, Blades nodded. "Better than Horne's magic, at least." She then perked her ears up. "Say, I reckon ya'd be good with bows! Ya could make up a nice bow or crossbow, get some arrows, 'n ya could shoot those nasty ponies down 'fore they even got close to ya! What do ya think?"

The flutter pony and the unicorn filly both stand stock still at that statement. Arvadraa begins blinking rapidly in disbelief and Stellar smacks a hoof firmly into her own forehead. "Brains' hoof-eye coordination is ludicrous, she can fly, and she has the 'nature warrior' shtick going. How in the everloving hay did we not get to 'bow' sooner?"

"Wait. I think I've seen one before...how, exactly, are ponies able to even use those? Don't you have to stand only on your back legs? And how can you draw and release the bowstring when its shape is-?"

"Because it does, duh. You might as well ask the Boss how she draws and throws knives using a mostly-flat surface."

Arvadraa looks horrified. "I...I never noticed that. How...how??"

Stellar keeps up her facade for an extra two seconds before she bursts out laughing. "The...the look on your face! Oh, oh wow, that was so worth it. Archers and specialist knife-throwers use special horseshoes that are designed to grip a string or hilt, Brains. It's not a big deal. Some bowponies use their mouths, too, but that's usually scouts with the smaller stuff. You'll be fine using the full-sized versions."

Arvadraa looks somewhat mollified and amused, herself at that explanation. "I've been meaning to ask; how do you know so much about weaponry now? I doubt it was in your curriculum back in the 'nowhere part of nowhere'."

"Sometimes I have trouble getting to sleep and I get bored. We live in a weapon and armor shop, Brains, there's pretty much nothing to read except schematics and histories of warfare. Well, that and back issues of Knives, Quarterly that somepony keeps leaving around everywhere..."

"A-actually, that was me."



[On The Road]

Openly, Night Jewel had been cooperative and kept out of others' ways during the briefing and the early parts of the trip. Privately, she still had reservations about working directly for the guard, even against a common foe.

I can expect a reward when I get back, right? Or at least absolution? Oh, Dark Mother, they'd better give me absolution. They wouldn't dare try to lock me away after all this, would they? They'd better not. If they so much as try, I'll-

Careful, girl. Starbeam's picking up all of this.

...Right. Sorry about that. I'm still not used to having someone other than... Well, I'm not used to you knowing my thoughts yet. Say, just in case, could you ask the guards what they plan to do with me once this is over?

She catches a hint of amusement over the mental connection. You didn't hear? Dawnstrider browbeat the Captain of the guard and that Knight-Commander, Blueshield, into leaving you alone. Something about foreign borders, criminal history not carrying over past them, and his being obligated to arrest them both if they tried anything without due cause? So, no, you're in no danger of being locked away, exiled, or exiled and then locked away where you're exiled to. I don't think most of the rank-and-file noticed you very much anyway, to be honest. The ambulatory ones have bigger haystacks to fry, and I don't think the commanding officers would send you off if they meant to imprison you. It's more like a secondary option if you'd been assigned the death-

A pause, followed by a flash of intense embarrassment. I-I'm sorry. I shouldn't be so negative. A-as for rewards, well, I get the impression Staccata would sooner burn down the guardhouse than do this unpaid, so you can make an equality argument if they're really that petty. And Dawnstrider doesn't accept monetary rewards for 'quests' anyways, so you'll probably end up with his share.

[TheAmishPirate]

Gearstride glanced between her two boys with a playful smirk. "Well then...........shall we?" Griiiiiiiiin.

Fortunately, there was a pool table open nearby. Unfortunately, the shortest stick was about twice Sandy's height. Unfortunatelier, the table wasn't much better.

The little engineer peered up at the pool table. "...huh."

[Grif]

Fortunately, there was a pool table open nearby. Unfortunately, the shortest stick was about twice Sandy's height. Unfortunatelier, the table wasn't much better.

The little engineer peered up at the pool table. "...huh."

Silverpine nudged the engineer again, an attempt at a friendly gesture, but probably just succeeding at knocking the engineer around. "Don't worry, Sandy. I'm sure we can take her. Two against one and all that. Come on!" He'd drag the engineer over to the pool table, along with a bar stool if need be.

[MCerberus]

"I..."

Blueshield hesitated. Condemnation. I can hold my own in a swordfight against elite soldiers, give a well-supported lecture on the drawbacks of self-serving malice, and calculate the courses of planets and other astronomical objects in my head, yet cannot handle a simple bit of casual conversation?

"...If you are of the variety that reads scholarly articles in their leisure time, then perhaps we have a common interest. I'm afraid I have little concern for less practical matters, aside from occasional indulgence in novels of sufficient quality.

"As for the town, I have not been here long, but I will answer as I am able. Is there anything in particular that you wish to know?"


"Don't have a lot of time to read that kind of stuff. Usually too busy to try and figure out what they're going on about. Used to know an associate editor at Astronomy Digest. He kept going on about how all the scientists kept yelling about finding rhetorical errors and all that junk. Sounded kinda boring."

This would be a good time to take a breath. Whadda doesn't.

"I'm really looking for ponies that know other ponies who see what goes on. Sources you can say, but really just trying to get 'in the loop'. Not much in the way of reporting going on. Only thing that gets out are wire reports and they're just what whoever sent it wants to say."

[Benson]

Silverpine nudged the engineer again, an attempt at a friendly gesture, but probably just succeeding at knocking the engineer around. "Don't worry, Sandy. I'm sure we can take her. Two against one and all that. Come on!" He'd drag the engineer over to the pool table, along with a bar stool if need be.

Gearstride chilled by the pool table with a cue stick leaning against the table as she /coolly/ gnawed on a candy cigarette and smirked as they set themselves up the stool for the short engineer.

She then casually set up a trick shot for the fun of it. Particularly the Just Showing Off Trick (youtube it :P) and gave a casual smirk at her boys. After she lined up the balls and prepped it, she then struck the cue ball and performed the trick and then gnawed away at her candy cigarette.

"I don't just miss my mark with explosions," She winked and tapped at her cutiemark. "I will let you two go first."

[TheAmishPirate]

Silverpine nudged the engineer again, an attempt at a friendly gesture, but probably just succeeding at knocking the engineer around. "Don't worry, Sandy. I'm sure we can take her. Two against one and all that. Come on!" He'd drag the engineer over to the pool table, along with a bar stool if need be.


Gearstride chilled by the pool table with a cue stick leaning against the table as she /coolly/ gnawed on a candy cigarette and smirked as they set themselves up the stool for the short engineer.

She then casually set up a trick shot for the fun of it. Particularly the Just Showing Off Trick (youtube it :P) and gave a casual smirk at her boys. After she lined up the balls and prepped it, she then struck the cue ball and performed the trick and then gnawed away at her candy cigarette.

"I don't just miss my mark with explosions," She winked and tapped at her cutiemark. "I will let you two go first."

Sandy leaned over to his superior officer, growing a tad more pale. "I-I'm a bit less sure, sir."

Gulping nervously, Sandy aimed down his cue at a fairly easy shot, but his timid strike wasn't nearly enough to sink the ball. The little engineer winced.

[Lycan 01]

Aboard the Cirrus


Gwendolyn paused and turned around and sported a wtf expression and slight head shake. "....Hauh?....." She questioned as Lucky would catch up with her.

"....Yer not even makin sense right there....are you alright Lucky?..." Her tone softened for a second and then she shook her head. "Aggh....Lucky...you are so dense...you'd sink in water ya know?" She sighed and shook her head.

"Look...ya deaf stallion...ack...yer lucky yer cute...wha?...oh yea...ahem...I was sayin if ya wanted ta join me for a day out in town....you know...maybe get a little drink on at the bar, see what the town has to offer, have fun." She cracked a playful smirk at the very latter.

Lucky frowns defensively. "Hey, I'm not dense. I'm just..." His ears pin back, and he gives a small huff. "Okay maybe I am a bit dense, but whatever," he grumbles.

He then trots past her, giving her a playful swat on the shoulder with his tail as he passes. "Yeah, sure, sounds good," he smirks wryly as he saunters by. "But you're buyin'~"

[Benson]

Aboard the Cirrus

Lucky frowns defensively. "Hey, I'm not dense. I'm just..." His ears pin back, and he gives a small huff. "Okay maybe I am a bit dense, but whatever," he grumbles.

He then trots past her, giving her a playful swat on the shoulder with his tail as he passes. "Yeah, sure, sounds good," he smirks wryly as he saunters by. "But you're buyin'~"

"Ya cheapskate...hehe....but very well...since it is mah invitation and all," She nodded and quickly walked to keep up. "Hey...uh..so what were ya thinking about as ya gazed into the cards? If'n ya don't mind mah askin...I do still doubt the cards themselves were that interestin'."

[Grif]

Sandy leaned over to his superior officer, growing a tad more pale. "I-I'm a bit less sure, sir."

Gulping nervously, Sandy aimed down his cue at a fairly easy shot, but his timid strike wasn't nearly enough to sink the ball. The little engineer winced.

"Good try," Silverpine said, patting the back of the engineer. He took his cue stick, and sighted his mark carefully, before letting fly. This one seem to hit all the right spots and even managed to send one of their balls down the pocket. The lieutenant grinned at Gear. "Your turn."

[Benson]

"Cute," Gearstride smirked at Silverpine and mozied on over to another side of the pool table. She studied the ball positions, she was stripes, her boys, solids, and looked for the best ball positions and angles.

She gently gnawed on the inside of her cheeks and pursed her lips trying to math it out in her head. "Hmmm.." She then sauntered around to where Silverpine and Sandy were at and got in between the two, playing swatting Silverpine's flank with the pool stick. She cheekily grinned and then leaned in against the table, her flank wiggling a little, pool stick in hoof and then gave that cue ball a nice smacking as it banked off the side rail and back towards her smacking two clustered stripe balls into opposite ends and sinking them into corner pockets.

"Your turns." Though technically it would have still been Silverpine's turn since he did make his shot, until he fumbled and was not able to go again. But then again they were not playing by conventional turn rules anyways, what with two against one and all.

[TheAmishPirate]

"Cute," Gearstride smirked at Silverpine and mozied on over to another side of the pool table. She studied the ball positions, she was stripes, her boys, solids, and looked for the best ball positions and angles.

She gently gnawed on the inside of her cheeks and pursed her lips trying to math it out in her head. "Hmmm.." She then sauntered around to where Silverpine and Sandy were at and got in between the two, playing swatting Silverpine's flank with the pool stick. She cheekily grinned and then leaned in against the table, her flank wiggling a little, pool stick in hoof and then gave that cue ball a nice smacking as it banked off the side rail and back towards her smacking two clustered stripe balls into opposite ends and sinking them into corner pockets.

"Your turns." Though technically it would have still been Silverpine's turn since he did make his shot, until he fumbled and was not able to go again. But then again they were not playing by conventional turn rules anyways, what with two against one and all.

Sandy gulped audibly. He could see where this game was going, and it wasn't going anyplace good. He had to step things up if they were to stand a chance. Sighting down his stick, he took aim at another solid. Once, twice, thrice he pulled the stick back, each time reaching for a bigger and bigger shot. Until finally-

"Yowch!"

-he rammed his stick right into the pony behind him. This wouldn't have been a problem, if this pony hadn't been in the middle of a rousing game of darts. The dart flew from his hoof, ricocheted off the corner of the dartboard, and zipped around the room like an angry hornet. Ponies ducked for cover as it skimmed manes, spilled booze, and shattered a particular vial of pink liquid a shady-looking pony had just taken out of his pocket. All the while, Sandy stood frozen in shock as he watched his latest mishap unfold before his eyes. Chaos reigned until-

*Thunk!*

-the dart met the leg of one Captain Gearstride. Mercifully, the rounded tip did no real harm; it hardly drew blood, and all that alcohol sanitized the wound immediately. She flicked it off of her, and as shock and instinct wore off, the first things she saw were her precious engineer and handsome lieutenant...

[Benson]

Gearstride and her Boys at the Bar

Gearstride stared at her two boys for a moment, grimacing a bit and sorta just shook it off. She gave them a smile reassuring smile and then...

The 'camera' zoomed in on her face with a fish eye filter as her round pupils suddenly took on the shapes of hearts. Her mouth dropped a little in a gaping way before melting into a dreamy look on her face. From her point of view, Silverpine and Sandy were just really, really...swoon worthy even for a gal like Gearstride who preferred to be the object of Swoonability.

Hearts formed around their more than likely confused faces, popping in and out as bishie sparkles twinkled around the two. She slowly started to make her way towards them, tossing her cue stick aside as she began to do a couple of lip flexing exercises. Gotta limber up!

[Grif]

Gearstride and her Boys at the Bar

Gearstride stared at her two boys for a moment, grimacing a bit and sorta just shook it off. She gave them a smile reassuring smile and then...

The 'camera' zoomed in on her face with a fish eye filter as her round pupils suddenly took on the shapes of hearts. Her mouth dropped a little in a gaping way before melting into a dreamy look on her face. From her point of view, Silverpine and Sandy were just really, really...swoon worthy even for a gal like Gearstride who preferred to be the object of Swoonability.

Hearts formed around their more than likely confused faces, popping in and out as bishie sparkles twinkled around the two. She slowly started to make her way towards them, tossing her cue stick aside as she began to do a couple of lip flexing exercises. Gotta limber up!

Silverpine blinked. And dropped his cue stick. And took an involuntary step back as the now-apparently-enamoured Captain slowly made her way forward. "Mr Shores. On a scale of 1 to 10, just how bad do you think this situation is?" he asked slowly, staring at the heart-shaped pupils.



She catches a hint of amusement over the mental connection. You didn't hear? Dawnstrider browbeat the Captain of the guard and that Knight-Commander, Blueshield, into leaving you alone. Something about foreign borders, criminal history not carrying over past them, and his being obligated to arrest them both if they tried anything without due cause? So, no, you're in no danger of being locked away, exiled, or exiled and then locked away where you're exiled to. I don't think most of the rank-and-file noticed you very much anyway, to be honest. The ambulatory ones have bigger haystacks to fry, and I don't think the commanding officers would send you off if they meant to imprison you. It's more like a secondary option if you'd been assigned the death-

A pause, followed by a flash of intense embarrassment. I-I'm sorry. I shouldn't be so negative. A-as for rewards, well, I get the impression Staccata would sooner burn down the guardhouse than do this unpaid, so you can make an equality argument if they're really that petty. And Dawnstrider doesn't accept monetary rewards for 'quests' anyways, so you'll probably end up with his share.

(Keeping this moving while waiting for Purity. Hopefully he's around.)

Stellar might feel a gentle tug on her side. Windy Breeze, the pegasus merchant, was obviously not privy to their private mental connection, and as such, had no compunction to interrupt their conversation.

"Miss Night Jewel. We should turn left here." The pegasus pointed into the dark woods to their left. One could almost make out the mountains in the distance, the very same one which currently host Rusty Falls and its inhabitants.

[TheAmishPirate]

Silverpine blinked. And dropped his cue stick. And took an involuntary step back as the now-apparently-enamoured Captain slowly made her way forward. "Mr Shores. On a scale of 1 to 10, just how bad do you think this situation is?" he asked slowly, staring at the heart-shaped pupils.

Sandy, unlike Silverpine, had a horn in addition to hooves. Which was rather fortunate, as this let him hold his cue stick between the two of them and the increasingly love-crazed Captain. Unfortunate, in that he couldn't interpose anything bigger.

"On a scale of 1 to 10?" Sandy gulped, stepping back. "I'd put it somewhere around 'Yes.'"

[Benson]

The poor two saps would soon find the Captain approaching them with her tongue hanging out. She jumped onto the pool table and sauntered away, knocking around the balls on the table, scattering them around. Other patrons looked on this scene in utter silence, it was really confusing, weird and just totally surreal. No one was really sure what to do.

Soon she was upon them two feet away. "Oh boooys~...I got me a pair of lips and I am looking at a pair of hunky stallions...you do the math." She puckered her lips and blew kisses at both of them and closed the gap on them.

She forced herself into the middle and pulled them in with her forelegs. Smooch one. Smooch two. Both on cheeks, this time.

[Grif]

Sandy, unlike Silverpine, had a horn in addition to hooves. Which was rather fortunate, as this let him hold his cue stick between the two of them and the increasingly love-crazed Captain. Unfortunate, in that he couldn't interpose anything bigger.

"On a scale of 1 to 10?" Sandy gulped, stepping back. "I'd put it somewhere around 'Yes.'"

"Well, drat," was all Silverpine managed to say before the Captain pounced on them.


The poor two saps would soon find the Captain approaching them with her tongue hanging out. She jumped onto the pool table and sauntered away, knocking around the balls on the table, scattering them around. Other patrons looked on this scene in utter silence, it was really confusing, weird and just totally surreal. No one was really sure what to do.

Soon she was upon them two feet away. "Oh boooys~...I got me a pair of lips and I am looking at a pair of hunky stallions...you do the math." She puckered her lips and blew kisses at both of them and closed the gap on them.

She forced herself into the middle and pulled them in with her forelegs. Smooch one. Smooch two. Both on cheeks, this time.

The lieutenant let out an uncharacteristic squeak at the sudden pull and tried to wiggle away, acutely aware that all eyes were now on the trio. "C-Captain! Let go. T-This isn't the place for it," he pleaded, cheeks beginning to burn with embarrassment.

[PurityIcekiller]

"Uhh, isn't that exactly what you do? Heck, it's pretty much what I do. We're just, I dunno, implicit? I guess for some reason yon average pony is cool with non-threat threats? Then again, yon average pony is kind of a moron, so I'll buy that."

"You make it sounds like you haven't been trained to manipulate, Stellar."

"I grew up in a tower that was nowhere even in the middle of nowhere. Social anything was kind of a non-issue. I just get the basic concept of lying and that the harmless filly trick gets results."

"Harmless?" Flare chuckled. "I doubt that impression would last long..."

After a moment, she realized that this might come across the wrong way.

"That... was not meant as an insult. I merely meant that you are obviously exceptional. I don't believe normal fillies are as... knowledgeable as you... Then again, the only other filly I know of is also somewhat unusual. Perhaps I simply need to get out more."


The flutter pony and the unicorn filly both stand stock still at that statement. Arvadraa begins blinking rapidly in disbelief and Stellar smacks a hoof firmly into her own forehead. "Brains' hoof-eye coordination is ludicrous, she can fly, and she has the 'nature warrior' shtick going. How in the everloving hay did we not get to 'bow' sooner?"

"Wait. I think I've seen one before...how, exactly, are ponies able to even use those? Don't you have to stand only on your back legs? And how can you draw and release the bowstring when its shape is-?"

"Because it does, duh. You might as well ask the Boss how she draws and throws knives using a mostly-flat surface."

Arvadraa looks horrified. "I...I never noticed that. How...how??"

Stellar keeps up her facade for an extra two seconds before she bursts out laughing. "The...the look on your face! Oh, oh wow, that was so worth it. Archers and specialist knife-throwers use special horseshoes that are designed to grip a string or hilt, Brains. It's not a big deal. Some bowponies use their mouths, too, but that's usually scouts with the smaller stuff. You'll be fine using the full-sized versions."

Arvadraa looks somewhat mollified and amused, herself at that explanation. "I've been meaning to ask; how do you know so much about weaponry now? I doubt it was in your curriculum back in the 'nowhere part of nowhere'."

"Sometimes I have trouble getting to sleep and I get bored. We live in a weapon and armor shop, Brains, there's pretty much nothing to read except schematics and histories of warfare. Well, that and back issues of Knives, Quarterly that somepony keeps leaving around everywhere..."

"A-actually, that was me."

"Oh, that's how the mistress manages it? I thought she had put... those stones that stick to things... into her hooves."

"Magnets only work for some metals, Flare. If ya want to use silver daggers or the like, ya need something that'll really stick. Anyway, there's crossbows too, which are a lil' bit easier to work with 'cause ya don't need to hold as much of it."


She catches a hint of amusement over the mental connection. You didn't hear? Dawnstrider browbeat the Captain of the guard and that Knight-Commander, Blueshield, into leaving you alone. Something about foreign borders, criminal history not carrying over past them, and his being obligated to arrest them both if they tried anything without due cause? So, no, you're in no danger of being locked away, exiled, or exiled and then locked away where you're exiled to. I don't think most of the rank-and-file noticed you very much anyway, to be honest. The ambulatory ones have bigger haystacks to fry, and I don't think the commanding officers would send you off if they meant to imprison you. It's more like a secondary option if you'd been assigned the death-

A pause, followed by a flash of intense embarrassment. I-I'm sorry. I shouldn't be so negative. A-as for rewards, well, I get the impression Staccata would sooner burn down the guardhouse than do this unpaid, so you can make an equality argument if they're really that petty. And Dawnstrider doesn't accept monetary rewards for 'quests' anyways, so you'll probably end up with his share.

That's somewhat relieving. I suppose most of the ones clever enough to dig up anything also have the sense not to try... Bluey's a bigger problem, though. She said she'd tolerate me as long as there were other things to worry about, but I don't think she'll give up her grudge so easily. Hopefully, she'll just go home once this is over and leave the rest of us alone.


Stellar might feel a gentle tug on her side. Windy Breeze, the pegasus merchant, was obviously not privy to their private mental connection, and as such, had no compunction to interrupt their conversation.

"Miss Night Jewel. We should turn left here." The pegasus pointed into the dark woods to their left. One could almost make out the mountains in the distance, the very same one which currently host Rusty Falls and its inhabitants.

Night Jewel nodded. "That would make sense. Walking around out in the open in daylight isn't really the best way to avoid being seen."

Since nopony seemed to be objecting, she took the wand and gem. She also began to eye the necklace and tiara. It seemed boredom was beginning to bring out her thieving instincts.


"Don't have a lot of time to read that kind of stuff. Usually too busy to try and figure out what they're going on about. Used to know an associate editor at Astronomy Digest. He kept going on about how all the scientists kept yelling about finding rhetorical errors and all that junk. Sounded kinda boring."

This would be a good time to take a breath. Whadda doesn't.

"I'm really looking for ponies that know other ponies who see what goes on. Sources you can say, but really just trying to get 'in the loop'. Not much in the way of reporting going on. Only thing that gets out are wire reports and they're just what whoever sent it wants to say."

Purely out of academic interest, Blueshield began to ponder how well the reporter would handle oxygen-poor environments. She seems to possess exceptional lung capacity, but if she cannot restrain her vocalizations, unnecessary expenditure of air becomes a factor...

"Unfortunate, but not unexpected. Many ponies express similar sentiments. They learn what is necessary for survival, but do not actively pursue further intellectual challenges."

Unlike Scoops, she did take advantage of the natural pause place to consider her response.

"As for informants I have familiarity with, aside from those at the guardhouse, I believe the iron-worker is the most readily available. However, I must caution that I have not ascertained whether the equicidal aspect of her character is genuine or a facade, so an armed escort would be advisable should you have the courage to interview her."

[Kelvin360]

"Harmless?" Flare chuckled. "I doubt that impression would last long..."

After a moment, she realized that this might come across the wrong way.

"That... was not meant as an insult. I merely meant that you are obviously exceptional. I don't believe normal fillies are as... knowledgeable as you... Then again, the only other filly I know of is also somewhat unusual. Perhaps I simply need to get out more."

Stellar recoils slightly, her eyes clouding with tears. She sits down and seems to curl in on herself, her lower lip trembling. "Wh-what do you m-mean? Y-you don't think I'm...?"

She clears her throat, and like a flash in the pan, the act is gone in its entirety. "Something along those lines. That's pretty much how I found this place, by the by. Literally batted my eyelashes and asked for directions. Being a filly is great - if you don't push too hard, everypony's more than ready to assume that you're just a sycophant who needs protecting. I bet someone like Vyx could play the population like a fiddle if she wanted to. Actually, it kind of irks me that she doesn't. Must be that weird honor code of hers."



"Oh, that's how the mistress manages it? I thought she had put... those stones that stick to things... into her hooves."

"Magnets only work for some metals, Flare. If ya want to use silver daggers or the like, ya need something that'll really stick. Anyway, there's crossbows too, which are a lil' bit easier to work with 'cause ya don't need to hold as much of it."

"That's true, I suppose. But a bow is more...personal. You have total control over how much you pull, where the arrow curves, how it arcs..."

"Does this mean you're done with the double entendres? Because my poor innocent filly brain was starting to go into shock."



That's somewhat relieving. I suppose most of the ones clever enough to dig up anything also have the sense not to try... Bluey's a bigger problem, though. She said she'd tolerate me as long as there were other things to worry about, but I don't think she'll give up her grudge so easily. Hopefully, she'll just go home once this is over and leave the rest of us alone.

Well...from an analytical standpoint, you have an advantage. Both of you are out of your element, but even if you weren't an adaptive pony, Blueshield doesn't seem to adapt well to anything. A lawful bent that severe means anything outside the scope of your training and experience might as well be quantum physics. That's why she attached herself to the guard here so quickly. It's familiar. As impossible as it seems, you can actually feel her blush. Oh Luna, I'm digging too deep here, aren't I? Psychology was never really my...well, I mean, uhm. Maybe I should just stick with the aforementioned quantum physics.




Stellar might feel a gentle tug on her side. Windy Breeze, the pegasus merchant, was obviously not privy to their private mental connection, and as such, had no compunction to interrupt their conversation.

"Miss Night Jewel. We should turn left here." The pegasus pointed into the dark woods to their left. One could almost make out the mountains in the distance, the very same one which currently host Rusty Falls and its inhabitants.

Night Jewel nodded. "That would make sense. Walking around out in the open in daylight isn't really the best way to avoid being seen."

Since nopony seemed to be objecting, she took the wand and gem. She also began to eye the necklace and tiara. It seemed boredom was beginning to bring out her thieving instincts.

Dawnstrider gives the woods the sideeye as he slips the greataxe under his claymore. "I don't even need to detect evil to know that we will be ambushed in there. Monsters, however, are preferable to legionnaires. Jewel, as stealth is still our intent, I will not suggest using light, but I will note that they could drive off certain denizens who thrive in darkness. I leave the choice to the three of you."

[TheAmishPirate]

The poor two saps would soon find the Captain approaching them with her tongue hanging out. She jumped onto the pool table and sauntered away, knocking around the balls on the table, scattering them around. Other patrons looked on this scene in utter silence, it was really confusing, weird and just totally surreal. No one was really sure what to do.

Soon she was upon them two feet away. "Oh boooys~...I got me a pair of lips and I am looking at a pair of hunky stallions...you do the math." She puckered her lips and blew kisses at both of them and closed the gap on them.

She forced herself into the middle and pulled them in with her forelegs. Smooch one. Smooch two. Both on cheeks, this time.

Sandy's cheeks were on fire before she even kissed them. Afterwards, they were blazing red. He was certain the events that had just played out had indeed happened. What he was less sure of was whether this was some twisted dream, a crazed artifact of his broken mind, or perhaps some nefarious thought-trap. Silverpine's pleas reminded him that whatever the case may be, the situation was also completely untenable.

And that he was still holding a cue stick.

Feebly, and with many a strained squeak, Sandy attempted to pry himself loose with the thin stick. It was the best his scrambled brain could think to do.

[Benson]

"Your protests do not compute....now just give me some sugar~" She turned her head and deeply kissed Silverpine. Her other hoof multitasking in caressing Sandy's face whilst he struggled to pry himself away from her.

"Don't worry Shores....I will take..care..of you...in a moment..." She said breathlessly in between some kisses with Silverpine.

[Grif]

"Your protests do not compute....now just give me some sugar~" She turned her head and deeply kissed Silverpine. Her other hoof multitasking in caressing Sandy's face whilst he struggled to pry himself away from her.

"Don't worry Shores....I will take..care..of you...in a moment..." She said breathlessly in between some kisses with Silverpine.

Silverpine was expecting the kiss. What he wasn't expecting was just how good it felt. His entire body tingled as Gearstride forced her way onto his lips, delivering a searing kiss that made his head spin and his chest heave with effort. The lieutenant became completely putty in Gear's embrace, kissing back enthusiastically.

Ops, looks like Sandy just lost an ally. :smalltongue:

[TheAmishPirate]

"Your protests do not compute....now just give me some sugar~" She turned her head and deeply kissed Silverpine. Her other hoof multitasking in caressing Sandy's face whilst he struggled to pry himself away from her.

"Don't worry Shores....I will take..care..of you...in a moment..." She said breathlessly in between some kisses with Silverpine.


Silverpine was expecting the kiss. What he wasn't expecting was just how good it felt. His entire body tingled as Gearstride forced her way onto his lips, delivering a searing kiss that made his head spin and his chest heave with effort. The lieutenant became completely putty in Gear's embrace, kissing back enthusiastically.

Ops, looks like Sandy just lost an ally. :smalltongue:

So. This is how he died. Embarrassed to death by a lovesick superior officer. Had to say, not exactly how he thought it'd all end.

And while his rational thoughts struggled to envision what they'd put on his epitaph - current frontrunner was "Warmed our hearts as much as she warmed his cheeks" - faculties stationed a few layers deeper were firing away. Here was the realm of instinct, reflex, training. Weeks upon weeks of grueling discipline, cemented in place by perilous missions, sprang into action. And the first thing they noticed was that the Captain was using one hoof to kiss the Lieutenant, another to cradle his own face, and only two to stand upright.

Calculations on her current stability spun up, but he didn't need the answer. The pool cue was already swinging around to - quite literally - sweep the lovely mare right off her hooves.

[Benson]

Gearstride was in mid molding Silverpine with her lips like the putty he was right now, her eyes closed as she got lost in her kisses. She did not take heed of the little plan Sandy was up to so she found herself yelping out a surprise when Sandy took his cue and tripped the mare, jerking her out of her liplock with her lieutenant.

"Waaah!" Yelped out the kisses-sick mare as her eyes glanced over to the the perp. Her eyes then narrowed as a smirk formed on her face. In her slo-mo descent, she let go of Silverpine of her hoof and looped it under the cue stick, snatching it for herself out of his magical hold and swept it towards him to bring the engineer to fall with her. Such matrix antics.

"My...thou art quite impatient my little engineer....very well...let us fine tune our lips together~" She smooched fallen pony near the corner of his lips on his cheek teasingly. "Target off-mark...must recalibrate." She said just as teasingly.

[Grif]

Gearstride was in mid molding Silverpine with her lips like the putty he was right now, her eyes closed as she got lost in her kisses. She did not take heed of the little plan Sandy was up to so she found herself yelping out a surprise when Sandy took his cue and tripped the mare, jerking her out of her liplock with her lieutenant.

"Waaah!" Yelped out the kisses-sick mare as her eyes glanced over to the the perp. Her eyes then narrowed as a smirk formed on her face. In her slo-mo descent, she let go of Silverpine of her hoof and looped it under the cue stick, snatching it for herself out of his magical hold and swept it towards him to bring the engineer to fall with her. Such matrix antics.

"My...thou art quite impatient my little engineer....very well...let us fine tune our lips together~" She smooched fallen pony near the corner of his lips on his cheek teasingly. "Target off-mark...must recalibrate." She said just as teasingly.

Alas, the kiss was over all too quickly as Gearstride seemingly fell away from his hooves, leaving the kiss-addled lieutenant staring dreamily into the distance, not quite aware of poor Sandy's predicament just yet.

[TheAmishPirate]

Sandy squealed twice; once when his legs were suddenly swept out from under him, and again when the Captain filled his vision and teasingly kissed at his face. Nothing like a little imminent peril to both drive home the seriousness of the situation, and to make a pony fall completely to pieces.

"Cap'n! No! Stop! Bad! False! Leggo! Think of th' foals!" Sandy sputtered out in a panic, furiously guarding his face with his forelegs. His horn sparked to life and tried to seize back the cue stick -for what, he didn't quite know - but he couldn't quite wrestle it out of the Captain's grasp. Back and forth it went, in an epic battle of mare against magic, and in its wild flailings-

*THWACK*

-it gave Silverpine a hefty love tap on his shin. :smalltongue:

[Benson]

The Bar

The love-kiss sick captain remained oblivious to the thwack against Silverpine, her goal to ravish Sandy's face with kisses, but first to pry his hooves away from his face. How unthoughtful of Sandy to kiss-block her :smalltongue:

If only there was someone to save these young sirs from the dastardly smoochy wiles of this mare. :smalltongue:

[PurityIcekiller]

Stellar recoils slightly, her eyes clouding with tears. She sits down and seems to curl in on herself, her lower lip trembling. "Wh-what do you m-mean? Y-you don't think I'm...?"

"Oh, no, I did not-"


She clears her throat, and like a flash in the pan, the act is gone in its entirety. "Something along those lines. That's pretty much how I found this place, by the by. Literally batted my eyelashes and asked for directions. Being a filly is great - if you don't push too hard, everypony's more than ready to assume that you're just a sycophant who needs protecting. I bet someone like Vyx could play the population like a fiddle if she wanted to. Actually, it kind of irks me that she doesn't. Must be that weird honor code of hers."

The sudden emotional turnaround left Flare stunned. Blades took over in the meantime.

"I think she does, Stellar. That knight said she's a thief or something. Didn't really cite her sources, though. Seemed like a nice enough filly, anyway, if a bit timid. I wonder if she's good with knives?"


"That's true, I suppose. But a bow is more...personal. You have total control over how much you pull, where the arrow curves, how it arcs..."

"Does this mean you're done with the double entendres? Because my poor innocent filly brain was starting to go into shock."

Flare snapped out of her shocked state just in time to be confused.

"Double entendres? What am I missing here?"

Blades stepped over and whispered something in her ear.

"Oh." Flare gave a nod. "I see. I do not know why it amuses Stellar so, but I assume it is simply the difference between my time and yours."

"Well, ya'll understand sooner or later, Flare. Anyway, 'Vadraa, I think ya've got the right idea. Remember when I was talkin' 'bout the right weapons to suit the right ponies? There's some of that at long range, too. There's diffrent forms of throwin' 'n shootin' weapons, each with their own lil' bits of style. Glad ya're thinkin' it through. Want me to start makin' ya some of the shoes ya'll need?"


Well...from an analytical standpoint, you have an advantage. Both of you are out of your element, but even if you weren't an adaptive pony, Blueshield doesn't seem to adapt well to anything. A lawful bent that severe means anything outside the scope of your training and experience might as well be quantum physics. That's why she attached herself to the guard here so quickly. It's familiar. As impossible as it seems, you can actually feel her blush. Oh Luna, I'm digging too deep here, aren't I? Psychology was never really my...well, I mean, uhm. Maybe I should just stick with the aforementioned quantum physics.

After a moment, Starbeam felt amusement coming back from the filly. Oh, no, carry on. It's not often that you meet someone who can make accurate deductions about others from so little information. I'd like to see if you can do more.

Anyway, I guess that's one advantage. She does well in control, but when she's caught by surprise, she tends to flub things. The only problem is that the only way I could catch her by surprise at this point is to do what she wants me to do. I never really took to that.


Dawnstrider gives the woods the sideeye as he slips the greataxe under his claymore. "I don't even need to detect evil to know that we will be ambushed in there. Monsters, however, are preferable to legionnaires. Jewel, as stealth is still our intent, I will not suggest using light, but I will note that they could drive off certain denizens who thrive in darkness. I leave the choice to the three of you."

"Detect evil"? He can do that? How does that work?

"I'll be fine. I don't need conventional lights."

Night Jewel put on the tiara to see how it fit her. It was only a matter of time before the weapons became the only things left unclaimed.

[Grif]

Sandy squealed twice; once when his legs were suddenly swept out from under him, and again when the Captain filled his vision and teasingly kissed at his face. Nothing like a little imminent peril to both drive home the seriousness of the situation, and to make a pony fall completely to pieces.

"Cap'n! No! Stop! Bad! False! Leggo! Think of th' foals!" Sandy sputtered out in a panic, furiously guarding his face with his forelegs. His horn sparked to life and tried to seize back the cue stick -for what, he didn't quite know - but he couldn't quite wrestle it out of the Captain's grasp. Back and forth it went, in an epic battle of mare against magic, and in its wild flailings-

*THWACK*

-it gave Silverpine a hefty love tap on his shin. :smalltongue:


The Bar

The love-kiss sick captain remained oblivious to the thwack against Silverpine, her goal to ravish Sandy's face with kisses, but first to pry his hooves away from his face. How unthoughtful of Sandy to kiss-block her :smalltongue:

If only there was someone to save these young sirs from the dastardly smoochy wiles of this mare. :smalltongue:

The sharp pain was enough to rouse a pained cry from the addled lieutenant. "Ow!" he squeaked, the spell broken momentarily. Silverpine rubbed his shin carefully with a hoof, before blinking. Why was he standing here again? Wait, what was Gear doing to San— Oh.

Without thinking, Silverpine quickly wrapped his hooves around the out-of-control captain's torso and pulled her back, in a probably ill-thought-out attempt to rescue Sandy and give him room to escape.