Re: Changing Changelings [private]

by **Syron** Fri Jan 23, 2015 9:29 am

The two guards that intercepted Scintillance glanced to each other after being completely ignored before the unicorn cleared his throat, stepped directly in in front of the inattentive stallion. "Can we help you?" he asked again.

Meanwhile, Valet was given a long contemplative stare by her interviewer. They won't weep for your family - Who's them? - That group I was following. The more incomplete information Valet gave, the worse the guard's feelings about the incident became, though he didn't show any nervousness. "I think the Princess would like to hear about these new visions of yours first-hoof", he eventually said. Turning to the pegasus guard that was still with him, he muttered a few words, with his partner responding by taking to the sky and disappearing somewhere into the night. "Miss Valet, if you could come along, please," the thestral addressed the filly again, after he had gotten eye contact with the earth pony talking to Scintillance right now to gesture to them that they were leaving.

----------------

"Don't bother, Venatus," Ruby willingly took the ball. "There are enough 'knights' willing to rescue me who don't want to get under my tail. Even if you're the first one, I'd probably prefer to wait for the next." Unfortunately, the stallion had already proven to ignore any 'no' that was thrown towards him, and by now Ruby was beginning to seriously think about ways to shut him up. Not by words, that much was for certain. And for the moment getting violent was still uncalled for. Better change topics to something less annoying. "On a different note, did anypony else notice that one guard isn't accounted for? I believe we're still being followed."

Silver at the front of the group nodded. "A quarter of twenty is five, but only four were present. But unless you know where he is, it's going to be difficult to lose him."

"No clue", Ruby admitted, clearly not satisfied with the answer herself.

"Then I hope the guard loses interest after they've finished talking to Valet." By now they had left central ponyville had crossed the bridge to the outskirts. The path led slightly uphill, with the dark forest's shadow swallowing it at its highest point.

Ruby shook her head. "I don't think we'll be that lucky. The princess will probably come herself once Valet tells her something is up with the changelings. Their queen already had two clashed with Princess Twilight."

by 8bit-Icecube Fri Jan 23, 2015 8:44 pm

The filly's ears flopped back after hearing the guard's judgement. A moment long anypony could easily see her mind working over the many choices she had. She braced herself, ready to run. "I'm not going to follow. Everything will get worse, and everything I bargained for will be lost." Valet was clearly trembling under the adrenaline of her actions. "For the last time, please let me go. It should be better that way."

by warmen111 Sun Jan 25, 2015 12:40 am

Venatus smiled slightly at Ruby's comment, he was merely teasing her a little, so why did she immediately think he wanted to share a night with her? Of course, if she would offer it he wouldn't refuse but still. "Your words, not mine." Venatus stated before giving the sky a good look as if hoping to see the guard. "I don't get why they would follow us, arresting us back there would've probably been their best bet and I'm pretty sure they could've locked us up for at least a few days before letting us go again due to lack of evidence." Venatus continued, unless the guards just wanted to keep an eye on the group until they left town which in any case, would be an logical explanation.

by Scrapper Sun Jan 25, 2015 8:02 pm

Dax couldn't help but laugh at how badly Venatus seemed to want Ruby's attention, at least, not the attention he'll surely get.
"Awww, who's a good little doggie? Is your master not giving you enough attention?" He said as he patted Venatus' head.

"Your Pup aside Ruby, the odds of the guards not allowing Valet to come along are seeming much higher. And I'm guessing that getting the Princess' involved would get in our way a little, if Valet can't convince them we'll need a plan. I imagine at least." He said to both Silver and Ruby.

by Lance Tue Jan 27, 2015 3:09 am

The second time he was asked, Scint snapped back into the moment, his voice let loose like a sudden gust of wind, leaving no oppertunity to respond or interupt."OH! whoops, sorry, kinda got lost in thought there- I just came back to grab a wooden cube I dropped somewhere around here earlier, and also to check up on my companion oveeeer... Lance drifted and held the note as he tilted his head to see behind the guard; the only break he offered to the poor souls trying to keep up. Between the guards mobilizing and Valet's tears, Scint could tell things weren't going so smoothly. "eeeeer there. So you're not letting her go with us after all? I don't know about you, but I don't think going directly against her visions of the future would bode well for anypony.

by **Syron** Wed Jan 28, 2015 3:30 pm

"If you want to go, not even the princess has the right to stop you", the guard replied to Valet, looking at her with worry. While that wasn't a lie, he had left out the quite important fact that her parents most certainly did have the right. Unfortunately that would make the filly likely uncooperative. "However, this sounds like there's a threat for Equestria, and you're the one who has the most information. Certainly it can't hurt to take some time making sure knowledge of this threat isn't lost when you go? I have somepony keeping track of where they're going at the moment, so there should be no problem catching up later."

------------

The unicorn guard kept a stoic facade as he looked towards the distant conversation and answered Scintillance' question. "It's her choice where she wants to go. We're just making sure it actually is her choice." It was that moment that the Thestral gestured them to come back, and the unicorn quickly began looking for that mysterious missing cube, quickly finding it lying near Valet. It was quickly floated over. "If that's all, we'll escort her to you once everything is taken care of, or inform you that she's staying here. Have a nice trip." With that, he and his earth pony comrade went back to Valet and the thestral.

------------

Silver seemed to brood over the posed question, but Ruby didn't seem bothered. "They have nothing on us, and Valet doesn't have anything to say about us that will change that", she said shruggingly. "If she can't convince them, then we'll go on without her. I see nothing illegal about what we're doing here, and the only issue with Valet is that she's a minor."

Silver looked at her curiously. "And here I thought you actually had a reason to avoid the guards besides losing Valet."

"Likewise", Ruby answered after a short pause.

by Lance Thu Jan 29, 2015 9:46 am

"oh, well, at least thanks for that. Scint accepted his wooden cube, and burrowed it under his cloak. sounds of wood sliding across wood might be heard if one listened closely. The guard turned around, but Scint had no intention on waiting for news to come later. But, angering a guard at this point would have no good in it. "Fair enough. I'll tell the others to slow down. He waved to Valet if she could see him, turned, and made pace towards the rest of the group.

by warmen111 Thu Jan 29, 2015 8:15 pm

Venatus softly growled at the teasing of the griffon next to him, he wasn't asking that much for Ruby's attention, was he? As Venatus continued to dwell upon the subject, he noticed much to his surprise that the atmosphere in the group slowly began to change into a more tense and and awkward one. Was this really all caused by just the guard showing their muzzles in town?

And once again the Equestrian guard saves the day by destroying every bit of fun. Venatus thought as he sighed at sudden the change of mood, this really didn't help for the guard their reputation in his book.

"Perhaps she's had a bad experience with the guard in the past? I mean, it's only logical not everypony can be as fearless as the one and only Venatus so maybe she's just a bit scared of them." Venatus suggested, it seemed logical enough. Nerves of steel were a gift few had after all, Venatus being one of the prime examples of such gifted ponies of course.

by Scrapper Thu Jan 29, 2015 10:06 pm

"Any decent lunatic would know how useful it is to predict the future, it's likely the guards wouldn't want such a useful asset being put in danger." Dax said in thought, still grinning at Venatus. "Which includes letting her go outside the safety of the town with a group that nobody knows."

Dax started observing their surroundings in some hope of spotting their watcher, though if he was as trained as they say, that won't be so easy.

by 8bit-Icecube Sat Jan 31, 2015 7:49 pm

The filly managed a weak smile towards the guard. "The threat is something you can handle, unless the Princess starts to worry too much. Make sure she stays calm...." Her adrenaline still pumped through her system, making her tremble a little. She looked back over her shoulder, answering Scintillance's wave with a nod. "I-I should follow them now, I'd like to at least." Her bright eyes looked for an answer from the thestral, already turning to catch-up with the unicorn.

by **Syron** Fri Feb 06, 2015 5:05 pm

The thestral frowned weighed his options (and orders regarding Valet's predictions) but finally relented. "Very well then", he began. "If the prophet doesn't come to the princess, the princess will have to come to the prophet instead. Expect her to catch up with you. Since I might not see you again before your leaving" - if she actually left in the end - "I wish you the best of luck."

His two comrades arrived in time to hear the last part of the conversation and, after a few quite words among the three they just nodded to Valet as distached farewell before all three guards proceeded towards the giant crystal tree castle just outside of the little town.

------------------

The group was now reaching the treeline, where Silver brought them to a stop. "I told Valet that we would wait for an hour. An hour in which we could get a good part of the forest behind us," he said, looking expectantly at the others.

"I'm for waiting," Ruby was the first to answer. "Chances might not be high, but the expected gain outweight the loss of an hour of travel time when we have days of walking before us. And besides, it's not nice breaking promises."

by Lance Mon Feb 09, 2015 2:58 am

of course Scint kept looking behind him in case anything interesting happened between Valet and the guards, frequently turning his head and quickly returning forward to avoid the guard's suspicion. He didn't want to just walk away from Valet like that, and every step he took reminded him that he didn't want to take another step. Thankfully it was his third frantic nod before he'd turn and see Valet making pace towards him, giving him cause to sigh in Relief, turn, and patiently give Valet a chance to catch up, offering a goofy smile of a welcome.

Once within talking distance, Scint could hold back his curiosity, "I have never seen the guard this anxious since Princess Cadence's wedding, waved their spears around, but never made a difference when the Changelings made their appearance. kinda losing their honor, so is that's why they're all so worked up? Lances' tone shifted; speech slowing down and emphasis on each syllable wavered playfully, or, are, you, royalty enough, to catch their attention? He didn't actually think Valet was royalty, he was just testing if she was too gullible for his humor. Besides that, it's one way to break the ice.

by 8bit-Icecube Mon Feb 09, 2015 8:34 pm

The filly managed a weak smile as her goodbye. She turned towards Scintillance and started to gallop weakly. When he spoke she only returned a confused look, fear slightly wavering behind her deep purple eyes. "W-we need to hurry and get back to the others." Valet uttered with some panic in her voice. Without changing much about her demeanor she trotted heavily towards the edge of Ponyville.

by Lance Tue Feb 10, 2015 6:40 am

being blatantly ignored, answered Scint's question than any answer. He didn't mean to pry anything she didn't want to say, and played along. "Fair enough. they're already slowing down for us, no need to make them wait any longer than the should. Scint starting increasing the gap between his steps; though his pacing looked the same, it was noticably faster.

With the heavier footing, however, an odd, the dim sound of hooves sliding across the floor could be heard from under his cloak. "feel like a good gallop?" He said to his companion.

by warmen111 Tue Feb 10, 2015 7:44 pm

Venatus frowned slightly in anger as he heard what Silver said, did he seriously consider trading in two team members just for one hour travel time? Was he out of his mind? Besides the fact that the trade off was not even being close toworth considering, he had gave his word to Valet that they would wait one hour.

"Although I'm certain I could easily be counted as three ponies given my strenght, good looks and general amazingness, I think it's better to wait as well. No reason to leave behind two extra ponies when the trade off is a little extra speed." Venatus exclaimed as he started putting down his bags and gear. There was no need to keep them on his back if they could possibly be standing here for another hour.

by 8bit-Icecube Tue Feb 10, 2015 9:25 pm

Valet relaxed her breathing, slowing her pace to a steady trot. "We should save our breath to possibly run from an Alicorn later." Her little hoofsteps came down heavily on the Ponyville road. The filly's bags were slowing her down already, no doubt making the Stallion feel like they could go faster. "If you want to go forward, please. We need to leave as soon as possible."

by Lance Wed Feb 11, 2015 9:28 am

Scint slowed his speed back to Valet's pace, and offered her an awkward smile, as if he was wondering if she was OK in the head. "there'll be no point in me catching up to the group before you do, we'll still have to wait on you, ya silly!" He glanced over his back, took note of the bag nestleled on his back, then of the one on Valet's back, and turned his head forward again. He he wanted to offer carrying her bag for her, but the last time he offered something like that he almost got tazed.

Most ponies seem to take friendly offers the wrong way, and who knows how this filly would react. but feathers to it. "Would it help if I carried your bag? You don't wanna waste your energy, you don't wanna waste the others' time, gotta be an alternative here. the same awkward "are you ok in the head?" expression found its way to Lance's face again. In any, case he braced himself for hostile reactions.

by **Syron** Thu Feb 12, 2015 8:48 am

"I never meant to leave Scintillance behind", Silver said as he put his own bags down and looked back the way they came. "Though he has apparently fallen quite behind for just picking up his toy."

Ruby noticed movement in the heavily shadowed streets of the town. One... Two! "They're both on their way. If they keep the speed, they'll be here in a minute", she stated monotonely. Her eyes drifted off to the rest of the town and especially nearby buildings, searching for possible hiding spots. "Still no idea where that guard is."

by Scrapper Thu Feb 12, 2015 7:30 pm

Whilst Ruby and Silver talked, Dax continued to keep puzzling out where the guard may have been hiding, pointing in various directions and moving his mouth as if to speak, but only to himself.
He enjoyed puzzle solving, and this was just another puzzle. If he got this right, more bragging rights go to him. Even though he'll never use them.

A mere moment after Ruby asked where the guard might be, Dax took to the sky, and started flying back towards the grassland they walked by as fast as he could. He had taken rough estimates from where they walked and what might be the best place to keep an eye on them at this point in time. Despite the few, lone clouds that inhabited the sky, Dax could still see where he intended to land.
Actually quite a ways back, Dax aimed for one of the lone trees that had made the grassland its home, keeping his eye on the area as he flew to catch any movement. If the watcher was indeed around this area, behind the tree even, it would seem as though Dax was simply going to meet up with Scintillance and Valet, until he took a sharp turn and zoomed towards the ground. In a hope that he'd run into their watcher.

by 8bit-Icecube Sun Feb 15, 2015 6:07 pm

Valet managed a weak smile as reply. "Thanks, but that would slow us down in the long run. I'm going to pull my own weight, hopefully." She said, trailing off and almost muttering the last word. Her bright purple eyes scanned the treeline in front, showing relief when they found the shapes of her travelling companions. The filly frowned towards the odd flight manoeuvres of the griffon, but kept herself moving towards the rest.

by Lance Mon Feb 16, 2015 7:29 am

Lance shrugged, before realizing he shouldn't be able to while walking on all fours. He shrugged that one off too, and then noticed Dax flying into the sky and then back down towards the ground. "That's... Dax, right? That Griffy must be bored out of his mind or something. We didn't keep them that long, did we?" He wondered, as they closed the gap between themselves and the awaiting ponies (and Griffon).

by **Syron** Mon Feb 16, 2015 1:57 pm

"They look hurried", Silver noted, following Ruby's gaze. "But there's nopony following them."

"Still, you better prepare for running as well", the unicorn answered. "I don't want to find out the hard way what's bitten them."

"Probably they just want to catch up with us. But you're right, we better take caution." The stallion prompltly took up his bags again. "Break's over Venatus."

by Scrapper Mon Feb 16, 2015 2:59 pm

Dax landed to find nothing of interest, disappointing. But very, very enlightening.

On the upside, he found a small, lost silver necklace at the base of the tree he chose to check on, it was a bit dirty and must have been there for a while. Perhaps it was left by a couple of lovers, or lost genuinely for some other reason. Regardless of the reason, it's his now. Though it won't actualy fit him.

Dax took flight after taking the necklace, landing near Scintillance and Valet to join them in their run.
"C'moooon! Venatus is probably starting to miss his number one fan!" He said with a happy laugh.

by warmen111 Mon Feb 16, 2015 7:42 pm

Whilst the others discussed the whereabouts of the unacounted guard, Venatus enjoyed the scenery around the group. The occasional fallen leaf, a few treestumps of what Venatus assumed used to be part of the forest line and even a few bushes here and there. All and all combined quite peaceful, such a shame he would soon be forced to trade it in for the stone and sand of the badlands.

Pondering about this before being called out by Silver, Venatus sighed as he raised himself and grabbed his bags once more. "Yeah yeah, no worries. Venatus will be ready to move out before you'll be done describing how amazing I am. Then again with my good looks and fantastic skills, that might take a while." Venatus stated with a smile as he made certain his bags were tightly secured. Losing a piece of equipment could mean the difference between life and death after all.

by 8bit-Icecube Mon Feb 16, 2015 8:58 pm

The filly seemed rather distracted, her eyes focused on the path ahead. She only smiled weakly as Dax joined them with a little joke. With clear haste in both speech and stance Valet turned to the leading stallion. "We need to get as far as fast as possible. I've got bad omens about if and when Princess Sparkle addresses us personally. It might trigger history-" Her deep purple eyes locked briefly with Ruby's. "- or future or....." She trailed off, unfocused and slightly panicking. The filly was clearly distressed. "We need to leave galloping, please."

by **Syron** Tue Feb 17, 2015 6:57 pm

Ruby didn't seem to react at all apart from looking at Valet, though what exactly was hidden under her hood was impossible to tell in the general darkness. Silver on the other hoof didn't seem to take well to the Princess coming over. He looked worried, even afraid for a short moment, hoping that nopony (and no griffon) had noticed, befor jumping into action with an annoyed snort. "Let's go", he grunted. "I'm sure that I don't need to tell you to stay close to each other, but here you have it anyway. Let's hope we don't more than only an alicorn hunting us." With that he hurried off into the forest. "I hope you're worth the trouble, filly."

Just a few moments later a brief magenta flash from above, barely noticable through the quickly thickening canopy, finally drew some whispered, frustrated words out of Ruby. "And that was her teleport." By the time she was already beneath the canopy, and from what little she could see, there even was a cloud in the way, but guessing wasn't too hard right now.

by Scrapper Tue Feb 17, 2015 7:56 pm

Dax followed the group with a grin still on his face, he'd made the wrong choice on where to look for the guard, but things sounded like they were going to get way more interesting as a result.
Though he had to consider, even if he had found the guard, if this Princess was destined to show up then would it have even mattered if he had?

Once he eye'd the flash up in the clouds, he had his answer. The guard must have had some way of summoning the Princess to his location. Even if he had found the guard, it was already too late the moment they left the towns parimeter.
"He must have called your Highness here before he really started losing sight of us." Dax whispered, also with a quiet chuckle.
"Now we're having fun!" He whispered loudly.

by Lance Wed Feb 18, 2015 5:27 am

Scintillance was starting to lose sight of the situation. Valet started panicking, Dax started yammering, Silver started hurrying and purple started flashing. Scint had never had a good glance at Twilight except for her correnation years ago, and even then he didn't get that good a look at her from behind all the taller ponies, being a foal back then. That said, Lance couldn't recognize the purple flash even to save his life. He maintained pace with silver as best as he could.

by 8bit-Icecube Wed Feb 18, 2015 7:40 pm

Her mind wanted to object and apologize to Silver's grunts. Her mind wanted to scorn at the griffon's joke at this inappropriate time. But mostly Valet herself just focused on breathing and not falling down. Chasing the expedition leader as best as she could. But it was still a filly galloping after a larger stallion.

by warmen111 Wed Feb 18, 2015 8:19 pm

Venatus groaned at the prospect of galloping just because of some 'bad omens' but didn't protest any further. Not that he had much choice with the entire group already charging into the forest. Then again, it probably was for the best anyways. For some reason Venatus wasn't all too eager to meet this Twilight Sparkle, the same Twilight Sparkle who had managed to defeat evil demons with this so called 'friendship'.

The same Twilight Sparkle who had the title of 'princess of friendship' and who's friend was currently being 'kidnapped' in the Princess' eyes most likely. 'Can't imagine she'd be too happy about that.' Venatus thought as he increased his pace ever so slightly. The sole idea of Princess Twilight catching up to them being enough incentive to gallop as fast as possible.

He had been a hunter long enough to know what a falcon would do to a fieldmouse if it were to catch it and Venatus had a good feeling they certainly weren't the falcon in this story.

by **Syron** Thu Feb 19, 2015 8:50 am

Silver left the large path almost immediately and led them through the fortunately light undergrowth to take cover beneath a thicker canopy. The uneven ground and near constant dodging of either trees, roots or bushes didn't seem to be difficult to handle for him or Ruby, who both somehow managed notice obstacles early enough to find a smooth path around them. Never mind that the moon didn't have any chance to light their way here. The brightest light being provided came from a small, blue mote floating behind Ruby, followed by a light green glowstick Silver had hastily fastened to the backside of his right saddlebag. None of these did much good for those whithout improved night vision, except to provide something to blindly follow.

"How do you plan to outrun an alicorn?" Ruby asked as she almost brushed against a tree in an effort to remain close enough to Silver to be understood without having to shout.

---

Above, a certain alicorn was now flying along, horn and eyes aglow as her gaze swept over the forest below. It was only a moment before she stopped the magic again and slightly changed her course and height. Soaring only slightly above the treetops now she searched for a spot where she could savely go lower, without having to fear hitting branches. Soon enough a gap provided itself, and as she lowered herself into the forest, a bright light formed at the tip of her horn, illuminating a wide area around her... or at least the distance to the next tree in each direction.

---

"Let's start with avoiding suddenly appearing lights", Silver answered and sharply changed course. Ruby promptly agreed. The stallion kept charging forward without looking back, but the changing shadows around them told him what was going on. „She’s following right behind us, isn’t she“, he more stated than asked.

Ruby turned her head backwards for a moment. “Yep. I think we can stop running”, Ruby unhappily replied and started to slow down.

Silver came to a stop besides her and turned towards the hovering light quickly catching up with them. “Let’s hope she only wants to talk.”

by 8bit-Icecube Fri Feb 20, 2015 8:48 pm

Time slowed down for the filly. Her eyes trying to catch sight of most trees, branches, and other obstacles in the path of her green guiding light. Valet's breathing became audible, as did her soft squeals of fear. Her ears barely caught the conversation. Before they could decipher the words she struck a root with her hoof. Little Valet would have managed to keep her balance, if she had not been trying to evade ponies in front. With some rumbling and a soft meep, she came to an halt on the floor at the stallion's hooves.

by **Syron** Sun Feb 22, 2015 7:15 pm

Silver wordlessly offered a hoof to help Valet up, keeping his eyes on their pursuer.

As the Princess came nearer, she soon turned her search light down enough to not be blinding anymore and gently touched down, looking worriedly at the youngest member of the group. She was without any regalia, and though she had gained a little bit of height over the recent years, she still featured the same old look of bookish unicorn, with precisely cut (and thanks to flight, now a bit ruffled) bangs, and casual bearing. If it wasn’t for the wings, one would have little chance to guess that she truly was a princess.

Silver and Ruby both stood silently, the earth pony looking stone-faced at the alicorn, the unicorn still hiding underneath her hood. Since Twilight was more interested in Valet, they both decided to not bring attention to them and see what the princess was about to say.

by 8bit-Icecube Sun Feb 22, 2015 7:17 pm

Valet accepted the helping hoof, pulling her back on all four. A weak smile could not hide her worried expression, the little filly trembled as the Princess approached. Little by little she took a few steps forward, feeling guilt, and showing that all too clearly.

"Princess, I-I-" She muttered, starting her apology, before her own horn started glowing. A bright violet concentrated at the tip of her horn. It increased in brightness as the Filly gasped once, and send out a shockwave, pushing everypony a step backwards. Winds surged around the brightly lit clearing, slowly picking up Valet as she floated in a trance. Her eyes were brimming with their own light, as her voice rang echoing and loud to the bystanders.

"A changing foe in desolate lands,

The loveless queen will rise again,

Old enemies await, new friends,

In a nation torn apart

Five alone to find the way,

Through haunting darkness, crippling pain,

Through lying mirrors and temptation,

Home will never be the same."

The filly's cheeks became wet with her own tears, as her magic slowly ebbed away. Returning the dark to the forest, and halting the winds around her to a soft breeze. Valet sobbed, her teary eyes focused at Twilight. "-don't want this to happen." She uttered, before her world became dark, leaving the filly to fall to the ground.

by **Syron** Sun Feb 22, 2015 7:45 pm

"Valet, are you-" Twilight started to ask at the same Valet began to speak, and was cut off by both the interfering speech, as well as a sudden increase in ambient magic only a moment before Valet's horn seemed to take full controll of the filly. The alicorn didn't react quickly enough to deflect the force push, but then called up magic on her own to contain any further effects. She didn't attempt to stop it though, and was listening intently to every word. When Valet was finished, Twilight quickly caught her in her telekinesis and laid the filly down as comfortably as she could on the forest floor, following it up with a light regenerative spell. "Five to find the way", she quietly said, worry clear on her face and her eyes fixed on Valet. "Seems I shouldn't send somepony with you after all."

by Scrapper Sun Feb 22, 2015 8:23 pm

Dax noticed the filly's horn glow immediately, and braced himself for something. Muttering a confused "Eeh?". When the shockwave came, it didn't do much more than ruffle his feathers and blow some dust at him.
"I expected more." He said idly as he began brushing his shirt for the second time that night.

With a light chuckle, Dax responded to Twilight. "Ah, I'm honoured that you care about our little camping trip that much." He said with a grin as he flipped his word around and used it as a leaning post, while he took the necklace out and began to examine it now that they had stopped for a bit. Already seemingly distracted despite just talking to the Princess.

by Lance Mon Feb 23, 2015 9:49 am

Scint was already panting badly, and covered with leaves, twigs, other brush and bruises; he wasn't too good at avoiding half the obstacles- the other half he kinda ran into anyway. As he ran, a couple of things went through his head, besides branches; for one, they're running away from an alicorn who would likely catch up to them just by flying; they're just wasting their energy now. and second, if they were running away from her, they would simply look even more suspicious. that's not gonna help if-scratch that- WHEN the princess catches up.

And then the princess arrived and all he could muster himself to do was bow and pant. and then flop to the floor, unable to maintain a bowing position, so he just lay there for a few short moments until the wave of energy from Valet took him by surprise and kinda... rolled him over. as Valet spoke, Scint noticed her eery disposition, half-way into her prophecy, slipped out a notepad and a pencil, and started to write down what she said, word for word. only the second half of the prophecy thingy, however.

focused on his notepad, Scint pressed a question towards the Princess, "Are you sure? this stuff's starting to sound kinda dangerous. haunting darkness... crippling pain..." Lance jotted down the keywords that he caught from Valet's first stanza, failing to recall their order on such an unexpected occasion, but the words "changing foe" and "loveless queen" stuck out.

by warmen111 Tue Feb 24, 2015 3:22 am

Venatus sighed as he noticed Ruby and Silver had stopped running and with Valet tripping the deal was sealed, the slim chance of ever shaking off the alicorn in persuit was lost. Slowing down his gallop to a trot to eventually a full stop, Venatus panted as he regained his breath.

It was strange, almost funny. Venatus had faced creatures the size of houses with teeth like razors but a small alicorn with the title of 'Princess of Friendship' was seemingly so much more nerve wracking. After what felt like ages, the princess everypony had been waiting on finally arrived causing Venatus to bow.

Then something interesting happened, the 'bad omens' Venatus had brushed off earlier soon enough suddenly felt a lot more realistic as Valet began to float and speak as if possessed. "What the..." Venatus muttered as he observed the spectacle, first the princess on their tails and now a demon prophecy filly?

by **Syron** Tue Feb 24, 2015 6:53 pm

Twilight sadly shook her head. "No, I'm not sure. From what I've just heard I'd be more comfortable taking my friends and going myself instead of sending perfect strangers into danger like this. But it would likely be even more dangerous to ignore parts of the prophecy." She finally pulled her eyes away from Valet and looked at each of the others, cocking her head questioningly when all she could of Ruby was her cloak. The unicorn didn't intend to change that, and Twilight continued and addressed the group, speaking with trained calm. "The choice is still yours. If you want you can leave and I'll make sure that the empty spot is filled."

"Princess, I fear that wouldn't be a good idea either", Silver said gravely. "Valet sounded very determined that we were the five to go, and nopony else."

Twilight's momentarily slipped back into an expression of shock before she regained confidence into her decision. "Still, I can't just order perfect strangers to face crippling pain." Having said it herself, she couldn't help but shudder at the thought. "I hope that's not meant literally."

"Doesn't really sound ambiguous," Silver pointed out.

The princess took her best to ignore it. "Anyway, if you want to quit, please do so now."

by Scrapper Tue Feb 24, 2015 8:15 pm

Dax just started laughing out loud, in a slow, mocking tone. "Please, you want me to leave and miss out on all the fun?" Dax said with a grin, looking right at Twilight.

He then pocketed the necklace and slung his sword over his shoulder, then turned his gaze away from Twilight, "Typical politician, not too bright." He said smugly.

He really wanted to test the Alicorns patience, it would probably get the whole group to hate him a little bit more but this was too big an opportunity for him to pass up. He had a natural disliking of any type of Hierarchy, and had a nasty habit of trying to provoke things that held considerable power, just because he can.
Still, even at this moment, Dax was still quite happy with everything. As usual.

by 8bit-Icecube Tue Feb 24, 2015 9:14 pm

"Mommy! Mommy!" I called excitedly, drawing her attention to the pencil. "I can move it now! Just watch!" With eagerness I try to remember the lessons. Focus on the pencil, open the horn, and feel it levitate. A blur of blue enters my vision! "Look my horn is shining!" I cry out, trying to see the spell's effect on the pencil. But my mom simply giggles, brushing my mane out of my eyes and giving me a warm hug. Her sweet voice calms me, "It's okay sweetie, most mares in our family develop their magic late."

Realization. Their sneering chants echoing in my head. The remarks make tears well up in my eyes. Next to my sobs I cry to my mother. "I'll never be a real unicorn."

"It's okay sweetie, it's going to be okay."
No it isn't.
"It's going to be fine."
It'll never be. -shimmer-
"It's okay."
Never

-FLASH-

The blinding light finally fades away, revealing the smoldering walls and open air around me. I still feel my mother's warmth, but it is slowly fading away.
The princess steps towards me with tears in her own eyes.

I'll never use magic.

----

Valet laid there on the forest floor. Her hind leg twitching slightly as she whimpered softly in her sleep.

by Lance Wed Feb 25, 2015 3:39 am

"Thanks for the offer, Scint started, "Scared for my life, sure, but I ain't quitting now. Lance turned his attention to the unconscious Valet, besides wondering how to handle an unconscious pony, wondering if he'll have to carry here. His train of thought broke at Dax's antics, however, "Dax, that's just plain rude."

by warmen111 Thu Feb 26, 2015 2:02 am

Venatus patiently waited, nopony was going to check up on Valet? Or at least get her off the muddy path? He wasn't really the stallion for the job but somepony was better than nothing, right? Putting his bags down and trotting up to Valet's unconscious body, Venatus kneeled down and placed a hoof under Valet's head, allowing it to rest on his arm rather than the cold dirt. Finally turning to Twilight to answer her question, Venatus replied.

"And forever keep wondering what I missed out on? Not for a million bits, besides we all know that without the great Venatus these guys would be lost. Especially if this is any example." Venatus stated before giving Dax a slightly worried look.

"Although maybe not even my greatness can make up for him." Venatus muttered, surely that oversized turkey knew better than to provoke somepony with the magical strength of a hundred unicorns?

by **Syron** Thu Feb 26, 2015 8:06 am

Twilight successfully ignored the griffon's comment. There were enough ponies badbouthing about her.

"I've called this expedition together, and I already knew that something's brewing among the changelings. I'm not leaving", Silver explained when her eyes fell on him. All had given their answer, except one... though she didn't appear intent to leave. Still, Twilight was growing increasingly curious about the one pony she wasn't even able to tell the gender of, though she guessed it was a mare.

"Is there a reason why you don't show your face? Or say anything?" she asked. "You're not mute, are you?"

There was a moments pause before Ruby replied and sighingly pulled her hood back. "No, princess. Please keep in mind that I'm currently required to save Equestria."

Twilight's eyes went wide with realization when she saw the all too familiar red eyes, black coat and blue mane. "YOU?!?"

"Yeah, I," Ruby drily answered to the suddenly angry alicorn.

Twilight shook her head. "No, I won't let you walk away again. It's more than past the time that you stand up for your crimes!"

Ruby narrowed her eyes and shot back, "In the last five years, did you ever actually talk with Diamond Tiara about me? I think you'd be surprised. I did my best to make up for the mistakes of my past, and in a much better way than the Equestrian judicial system could force me to." The two of them quickly found themselves muzzle to muzzle, snarling at each other.

"I'm not only talking about that and you know it."

"The rest is a matter of opinion. Nopony misses them. And right now, the innocent ponies of Equestria seem to need my help. Get your priorities straight, princess."

Ruby knew the argument was won when Twilight stomped on the ground in frustration. "How do you always have an excuse when I get a chance to actually arrest you?"

"Seems fate is on my side", Ruby answered with a smirk. "But seriously, you know we both have the same goals, even though our methods differ. I promise I won't do anything that makes you regret letting me go now."

The princess didn't look happy with it, but after a long scrutinizing glare she gave a grumpy "Fine" to seal the deal.

by Scrapper Thu Feb 26, 2015 9:30 am

Dax gave a very amused grin towards 'Ruby' and the Princess' argument. Once the Princess lost said argument, Dax started laughing again and began applauding happily to the result.

He knew there was something off bout Ruby, and this situation just confirms it. No surprise really, not when you're as clumsy about it as Ruby was.

by 8bit-Icecube Sun Mar 01, 2015 9:58 am

The little filly started to breathe deeper, and a small light of purple covered her horn. It swiftly disappeared a moment later when Valet stirred. Her deep purple eyes started to open, slowly. It was clear from her eyes that tears had flown just before. Her world came back into focus, the filly drew a grin when she noticed Venatus. She laughed a little when she addressed him with a soft weak voice. "You smell funny."

by Lance Sun Mar 01, 2015 11:32 am

Scint was in shock, highly ignorant of everything going on around him, just giving a concerned glare in Ruby's direction. "Ruby, I... he stopped himself, wondering How Ruby, in her position could reply to his question. he turned to Twilight, and hoped for a more honest response, "Princess Twilight, if I might ask, is there something about our hooded companion that we need to know? You know, before embarking on a life-threatening journey, kinda like this one?"

by **Syron** Sun Mar 01, 2015 7:19 pm

"Yes, there is", Twilight answered and looked expectantly at Ruby, who, after throwing a displeased look back, continued.

"I doubt you want to know the details. Since that much is easy to guess: I killed ponies," she said matter of factly, directed at Scintillance. "Some of them - the innocent ones - I regret. The rest, not so much, and since she didn't arrest me, I take it that the princess doesn't really miss them either. Let's just say I try to keep Equestria's criminal underworld somewhat civil by removing the biggest problems."

"I must admit, some of them were just..." Twilight began and finished the sentence of with a shudder. "Doesn't make you right, though. Everypony can change, and you've taken their chance away from them."

"They had enough chances", Ruby snorted.

by warmen111 Sun Mar 01, 2015 8:08 pm

Hearing Valet's voice, Venatus turned back to Valet. "Good to see you're awake kid, wouldn't really be good for my reputation if ponies heard that I lost a team member within the first day." Venatus chuckled before directing his attention to Ruby and Twilight once more, only to frown as he noticed the conversation was seemingly spiraling out of control.

Didn't anypony here realise that this was one of the few ponies in Equestria that you didn't want to mess with no matter what? Sadly for Venatus, things didn't really improve as the conversation continued. In fact, Venatus started to wonder if Ruby had ran into a branch head on during their escape.

The fact that Ruby had murdered ponies didn't faze Venatus much, from what he understood she had mainly killed the big guys in the underworld and he knew they wouldn't play nice either. The way she was speaking to their captor however... Surely the princess had her breaking point as well when it came to such rudeness, right?

by Lance Mon Mar 02, 2015 7:08 am

Scint's concern turn into venom in his glare, just for a moment, and he turned his gaze to the dirt before him with concern back in his expression. He wasn't sure what to think of Ruby right now, knowing that it's apparently her job to commit murder. "Thank you for the... honesty," he scowled.

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