Re: Changing Changelings [private]

by Scrapper Mon Mar 02, 2015 9:05 am

Dax slapped Lance in the back of the head, "Hey, don't be rude to a team member." He said nonchalantly. He then turned his gaze to Ruby

"For an assassin, I think you still have a lot to wrap your head around Ruby. But that's not your real name, that much is obvious." Dax said in a judging manner, then shrugged in a bored fashion. "It's also good to know that you're incapable of protecting your citizens from harm, Princess. Too busy worrying about politics in your cushy corner office, is that it?"

by **Syron** Tue Mar 03, 2015 11:19 am

"WHAT?" Twilight exclaimed at the unexpecte accusation, trying to wrap her head around it. "Just what event in recent history makes you think I rather dabble in politics instead of protecting Equestria's citizens?"

"And don't talk about not being rude when you don't behave any better", Ruby joined in with an angry glare at Dax. "If it wasn't for Princess Twilight we'd probably all be dead and enslaved several times over. Show some respect."

Twilight looked surprisedly at the black unicorn. "Uh, thanks."

by Scrapper Tue Mar 03, 2015 12:50 pm

"Yet many times she has accepted excuses to let a murderer, an Assassin, roam free?" Dax replied with a quick laugh.
With a slow glance away from the two ponies and into the distance, his face went from amused to a more rested expression. Dax took out his book and began to read while he had to talk, more or less realising that Twilight may actually deserve respect, over the standard politician he had imagined her to be.

"Maybe... maybe I misjudged you." Dax said, eyes stuck on the words in his book. "I'll admit, I don't even know who you are. So my apologies if I find it hard to show the respect that you rightly earned. I have a poor image on politicians is all."

by 8bit-Icecube Tue Mar 03, 2015 8:15 pm

"Ve.. Ve-Venatus?" She called still a bit dizzy. "I didn't uproot the trees again, d-did I? Miss Fluttershy didn't like it when that happened." A soft smile appeared on her face together with her memory. Valet's eyes became sharper as she regained her senses, slowly but surely. Her ears twitched when they caught sound of the bickering, and Valet raised her head to turn towards the princess. Her newfound clarity made her forgot to wait for Venatus' answer. Instead she happily chirped. "Miss Sparkle!.. Did I make something go wrong?"

by warmen111 Wed Mar 04, 2015 8:38 pm

"You actually did that sometime?" Venatus said somewhat surprised, although before he received an answer Valet had changed her focus once more. It was somewhat hard to believe though, that such a small filly could have such powers. Venatus wouldn't be surprised if this filly at one point would become as strong as the princesses themselves. She was still young after all and judging by her size, still growing.

It also seemed as if the conversation had finally taken a turn in the right direction. Ruby and Twilight seemed to be both more at ease and Dax finally gave the princess the respect she deserved. Maybe encountering Twilight hadn't been as bad as Venatus had initially thought after all.

by **Syron** Thu Mar 05, 2015 6:42 am

"I'm choosing the lesser of two evils here, just as I did the last time", Twilight said sighingly, acknowledging Dax' point. "Either I let her go or I risk Equestria being overrun by changelings, or whatever else happens if the prophecy isn't fulfilled. At least I know that Ruby won't harm any innocent pony." With s short look at Ruby she added, "Not anymore"

Then she turned to Valet and Venatus and laid down besides them to be on level with the filly, though she addressed the stallion first with a slight chuckle. "Yes, she did that. Fortunately not this time." Her amusement didn't last long, replaced by sadness and worry. "Valet, do you remember what you just told us?"

by 8bit-Icecube Thu Mar 05, 2015 8:43 pm

Valet looked the princess deep in her eyes and slowly shook her head. "No, but it has something to do with what I feel, lately." The filly looked sadder by the moment, tears twinkling in her deep purple eyes. "P-princess, I'm afraid to go. But I don't think that I can stay, can I?" She asked, her little heart hoping that the Alicorn could protect her from everything she had seen.

by warmen111 Fri Mar 06, 2015 11:48 am

"No reason to be afraid kid, Venatus will protect you." Venatus stated proudly as he placed a hoof on his chest in emphasis. "With style as well." He continued as he struck a pose, showing off his muscles. "Oh and the chicken with the sword, the fireworks expert and miss cold blooded murder as well of course. Can't take all the credit after all, just most of it." Venatus continued with a smug grin upon his face.

by Lance Sat Mar 07, 2015 3:44 am

"Fireworks is an understatement," Lance had to butt in, He's a knack for SO much more than anypony gives him credit for, if these folks had any idea of what he was capable of- "You're only going to cause problems if you let your arrogance get to you, Lance" His uncle's words, echoed through Scint's memory, stopping him from going too far, yet putting him in an awkward pause mid-sentance. He found his train of thought, recovering from Dax's slap, and continued, "But you're in safe hooves, Val. Mostly safe hooves. the rest look like rather sharp talons you don't wanna touch, if they-" Scint felt the scratch marks on the back of his head, "Say, Dax, are this gonna leave a permanent mark?"

by Scrapper Sat Mar 07, 2015 6:43 am

"If you can tell me how a quick slap to the back of the head would leave a mark, under fur, then maybe I'll be able to explain why that's silly." Dax said with an amused tone, still reading his book, waiting for things to start moving again.

by **Syron** Sat Mar 07, 2015 7:26 am

"Even with all this protection it will be dangerous, and it will be your choice to go" Twilight said and conjured a projection of her memories, replaying the prophecy for Valet to see. "This is not something a filly of your age should be tasked with. Don't be scared to stay here instead."

by 8bit-Icecube Sun Mar 08, 2015 8:54 pm

The deep purple eyes reflected the scene playing out in front of them. The filly seemed rather impressed and unconsciously rubbed her horn with a hoof. She glanced back to Twilight, and then slowly stood up. Her gaze sought every one of the members volunteering for this escapade. Finally Valet turned back towards Twilight, raising her voice with the same clarity as she spoke at the start of the evening. "Princess, even though I trust you can help me if I'd stay. I feel that I'm going to get involved in things I can not handle alone."
She paused for a moment, making her final decision with determination. "So Silver, I'd like to follow you into the badlands and be of use with my limited skill set. There is more to the words than I can see, for now."

by **Syron** Mon Mar 09, 2015 9:39 am

Silver, who had held himself out of the argument(s) now smiled at Valet. "I think you'll do well. With your sense of the immediate future I bet you'll give us early warnings more than once."

Twilight was decidedly less happy with the decision and only hesitantly nodded. "I'll make sure your parents know what happened. And I'll prepare Equestria's defenses for a possible changeling invasion," she said as she stood up again.

Silver wanted to object, but Ruby beat him to it. "That might not be a good idea. If the changelings find out that Equestria is aware of the threat, it will make our job even harder. Whatever you do, make sure it's inconspicuous to any possible infiltrator. And I can guarantee you that there are changelings in Equestria."

Twilight noddingly agreed. "There are only very few ponies that need to know, and I'll make absolutely sure they aren't changelings. Though I highly doubt that any of them are." A distant howling reminded everybody of where they were holding this meeting. "How about you take the train to Dodge City? There's one departing in about 15 minutes."

by warmen111 Wed Mar 11, 2015 7:30 pm

"That's actually a pretty good question, why are we walking in the first place? It's not as if train tickets are that expensive. Of course, somepony as strong and determent as me wouldn't mind walking, in fact I enjoy it. but eh perhaps our two ladies don't share my enthousiasm." Venatus stated as he gave Ruby and Valet a smile.

"Not to begin about the fact that our supplies would last longer and I can assure you. She's not kind to ponies who run out of water." Venatus continued with a more serious tone, they wouldn't be the first expedition to die from dehydration.

by Lance Sat Mar 14, 2015 4:03 am

Although fascinated by the Princess's spell, Scint finished copying down the missing first stanza of the prophecy into his notepad, knowing it'll be of use. "To the train station, then. Ven's right, if this adventure's gonna take a longer turn, we're gonna need our bags to last longer than intended." Before he could allow the opportunity to pass, he couldn't help but turn to Twilight, "Say, what spell was that, that projection, Scint was getting excited again, stuttering a few words, mixed with the shyness of approaching a Princess of Equestria like this, i-is that something I can just look up, or, or is it possible... to, um, ask you to... teach me, when we get back?"

The possibilities of a memory projection, maybe if he could reverse engineer the spell into an enchantment, and have his poems attached to inanimate objects, maybe even the same objects that inspired the poem, oh that would revolutionize poetry! not just, maybe even novels, and more, and the more he thought about it, the more Scint wanted to learn and make use of that spell.

by **Syron** Sun Apr 12, 2015 6:08 am

Twilight's face immediately lit up upon the request. "I'd be happy to! You'll need a really good memory or imagination though."

"But for now, we have more important things to discuss," Silver interrupted. "I figured Ponyville would be less likely to house any changelings due to the high density of princesses known to be able to dispel and quite possibly detect changeling illusions around here. The southern towns on the other hoof, especially Dodge City, are sure to be infested with them, and I do not want them to know of our arrival. That's why I've chosen to recruit here and then go through the wilderness. I've made sure that we'll be able to refill our supplies before we enter the badlands."

"Sounds reasonable," Ruby added shruggingly.

The Princess looked thoughtful as she answered. "I can get you a private cabin, that would eliminate the risk of running into changelings on the train. Though I can think of nothing for your exit. You'd need a way to safely get off early."

by Lance Mon Apr 13, 2015 5:56 pm

"Simple," Scint adjusted his glasses, which weren't there a second ago, "We jump out the train's window as it crosses a bridge over a river. Jokes aside, I'm not seeing any difference in getting on and off the train along with or without other changelings; we're going to be seen in the general area in any case. We either avoid Dodge Junction, or we don't. And if we don't avoid it, I'd find we should be interested in this, "changeling illusion detection" you're talking about, Silve.

by 8bit-Icecube Tue Apr 14, 2015 7:30 pm

A frown took hold over the filly's expression, one she quickly shrugged away. "Magic 8-ball says:'Try again later'." She meekly smiled at the lame joke. "I've felt it going both ways. But taking the train would not tire me already, so I vote for that." She paused for a moment.
"What if we make a luggage car comfortable and leave it at nightfall?"

by **Syron** Wed Apr 15, 2015 6:05 am

"I fear that's not a spell I can teach quickly, and it needs to be cast on everypony individually, so its actual use is limited," Twilight answered. "Also there's no river anywhere near the tracks to Dodge City, hiding in the luggage compartment won't be necessary, and by next nightfall you'd be well on your way back, so you should leave the train a little earlier than that."

"We'll probably arrive there not long before sunrise, it will still be dark," Ruby continued, directed at Silver. "We do have a good chance to get off unseen. I wouldn't consider it much riskier than travelling through the Everfree."

The earth pony frowned at the notion. "I know how to keep monsters away. I don't know how jump out of a speeding train without breaking my bones."

"Not speeding," Ruby said, shaking her head. "It will slow down before it enters city proper. Still pretty fast, but manageable. Dax looks like he could carry you and Venatus for a short while, and I and Scintillance can use magic to at least slow ourselves down before impact. Whoever is better at it gets to carry Valet."

Silver still wasn't happy, he hadn't seen many unicorns using self-levitation, just enough to count them on one hoof. That Ruby only spoke about slowing down wasn't encouraging even. "Before I agree to this... Dax, Scintillance, do you see any problem with that?"

by Scrapper Wed Apr 15, 2015 8:05 am

Dax didn't look up from his book, letting out a small laugh. "Oh, jumping out of a train with the risk of breaking something? Yeah, of course."

Under his own breath however, he whispered, "This will probably end badly, oh well."

by warmen111 Thu Apr 16, 2015 12:37 am

Venatus frowned at the prospect of jumping off a speeding train, it seemed rather dangerous and so unneccesary as well. "You do realize that we'll have to be in the last carriage then to avoid being spotted by the other passengers, right? Not to begin about the fact that for all we know the train staff contains changelings." Venatus objected as he shook his head.

"Not that the great and amazing Venatus is scared to jump of course." Venatus quickly added, not wanting to give the others the wrong idea. "But what if one of us breaks something, I highly doubt we can carry a wounded pony with us. Especially if speed is of the essence." Venatus stated.

by 8bit-Icecube Thu Apr 16, 2015 7:01 pm

Valet looked a little bit down at the prospect of the other route. She nervously dug the ground with her hoof, ears mooping backwards. "If nopony likes how we leave the train then we take the route through the Everfree,..." She seemed a little bit afraid, her eyes glancing at the Princess and Silver for support.

by Scrapper Thu Apr 16, 2015 7:20 pm

Dax spoke first, "Well, the train would save us valuable supplies and time. At the price of one rough landing, I for one, think that is more beneficial." He was confident his comrades would be able to get off of the train, regardless of doubts. Even if they weren't, with a bit of extra work, he could probably catch up to the train to getthe rest of them.

"Plus, it gives us a little time to get to know each other. And me a little more peace to read." Dax said with a grin

by Lance Sat Apr 18, 2015 2:47 am

Lance only offered that thought as a joke, and was dumbfounded to see the others actually agreeing with it. Most of them at least. He rolled with it, "Humorously, slowing down a hazardous fall happens to fall under my specialties," he said, and conjured what he'd later call the Avian. "It won't be elevating carrying my own weight, but I'd bet I can carry Valet and and Venatus going down, albeit gliding."

(OOC: there's a link in there)

by **Syron** Sat Apr 18, 2015 6:44 am

"It's too bright," Ruby immediately objected, turning her eyes away from the magical hoverboard. "With this, we will be seen for miles!"

Admittedly, it was painful to even look at the conjuration, but putting a hoof on its surface easily convinced Silver that it could do that job. "Don't you have a spell against that?"

"Yes, but that spell isn't all powerful, and this is like a little sun."

"We can think about the details later, and admittedly a two day trip through the Everfree can be just as dangerous as jumping of a moving train, only that the train won't do anything unexpedted. Can't say the same about the forest. So, the train it is, and we'll need to run if we want to catch it. Let's go."

Silver began heading back to the town, but was interrupted by the princess. "I think I can help with that." Without further warning and one lavender flash later, their environment had changed from trees to buildings, tracks, and one train sitting on them. The platform was mostly empty, and through the windows of the train only few ponies could be seen, some of them already dozing away on their seats rather than enjoying the view of nightly Ponyville. "Just give me a moment to make sure you get your private car", Twilight said and went to talk with a conductor who watched curiously since the group's sudden appearance. It didn't take long before she came back with a key levitating beside her. "The last car apparently is completely empty already."

"Thank you, princess," Silver said as he took the key.

"I'm the one who needs to thank you all", Twilight responded, slightly bowing her head. "I hope you'll return from this safely." Her eyes lingered on Valet for a short while before she turned to Ruby. "I know you have ways to... get ponies out of dangerous places. If you think you can't stay hidden, please make sure Valet is safely escorted back to Ponyville."

Ruby slowly nodded. "I'll have a pony on standby."

by 8bit-Icecube Sat Apr 18, 2015 6:59 pm

Valet was seemingly disoriented by the sudden teleportation, a spark of lavender still surrounding her horn. Slowly she recollected herself and became aware of the situation she was in. Her little heart started pumping again on the prospect of adventure, the train now a symbol of the threshold all heroes came across in her books. The words 'Plot Device' came silently off her lips as she stared in amazement of the lucky coincidence and finally she exhaled deeply.
"I'm ready, let's go."

by Scrapper Sun Apr 19, 2015 10:08 pm

Dax came back to reality with a case of heavy dizziness, and a headache.
He knew exactly why, "I hate teleporting, there's something about being de-constructed then re-constructed within an instant that just doesn't agree with me." He said whilst shaking his head left and right to try regain orientation.

After a moment of regaining his senses, he closed his book for the moment and took a step onto the train, stopping for a moment and turning back to Twilight. "My apologies once again, hime-sama." He said with a bow of his head, before heading into the trains.

by Lance Mon Apr 20, 2015 2:54 pm

Lance had received a mental "sting" so powerful, he couldn't even work out a yelp, or anything; Just stood there, shaking like he's seen a ghost and his eyes blanked as if he's been possessed by one, finally moving his hoof over his head. He finally gasped, "Princess... please, if you teleport again, don't ... leave conjurations behind..." He didn't even know if Twilight was listening, He blindly dragged himself after Dax's tracks, verbally muttering to himself about shattered links and some other nonsense, scraping his left shoulder on the way into the train.

by **Syron** Thu Apr 23, 2015 6:57 pm

Twilight blushed at her mistake. "Sorry for the discomfort. But at least you have a more comfortable journey now", she apologized. "Good luck! And at least try to stay safe."

Ruby smirked as she trotted towards the train. "That's useless to ask of me, Princess. Life is no fun without danger." Before she stepped inside, she waved Twilight goodbye as if she was going on vacation. "See you in a few weeks... or not."

Inside, Ruby suddenly stopped to look around, forcing Silver to bump into her. "Missing something?"

Ruby shook her head. "Nothing. Just an alicorn full of surprises," she said and walked on. Once everybody was inside their cabin, Silver locked the door and threw a curious glance at Ruby, who was making herself comfortable on a window seat. "You'll have a pony on standby? So your not only an assassin, but you have others working for you."

"It would be safer for you if you just forgot that again," she answered, though her shrug did little to make the warning serious. "You might find out quite a bit before we've reached Dodge City, though I'm not planning to be the one revealing it."

by warmen111 Fri Apr 24, 2015 5:53 pm

Venatus growled softly in annoyance, so they were still going to jump? At least they could use Lance's ... Whatever it was. Hearing that they would need to be quick if they still wanted to catch the train didn't make the situation much better either. Before Venatus had given the situation much thought however, the forest around him dissapeared in a bright flash and he was left standing with the others on the ponyville railway station.

Shaking his head and blinking a few times, Venatus gave Twilight a strange look. Sure, he knew what to expect from the stories and tales but it still amazed Venatus. Perhaps it was because of the fact that Twilight seemed so... Normal? Would that be the right word? Sure she had wings and a horn but without those, she'd just be your average mare. You couldn't say the same about Celestia or Luna for that matter.

"Thank you, your majesty." Venatus said with a slight bow. "Your magical power is impressive." He added before entering the wagon. It wasn't often something made Venatus feel humble, but when something did, it sure as hell was worthy of his respect.

by Scrapper Fri Apr 24, 2015 8:10 pm

Dax had already taken a seat, opposite from Ruby.
First thing he did was set his sword down and begin reading as the others entered the cabin, listening to the conversation even while fixed on reading.

"Only way I can forget all that is by being dead." Dax said in response to Ruby.
"Whether I care about it at the moment or not, is another very interesting question." He said again with a chuckle.

by 8bit-Icecube Tue Apr 28, 2015 7:21 pm

Valet trotted up to the princess and simply hugged her. "Thanks for letting me go, goodbye Miss Twilight." She stepped back with a faint smile on her face and hurried inside the carriage. The filly unbuckled her bags and made herself comfortable on a seat in the back. Her glance carried sadness in her deep purple eyes as she stared towards Ponyville.

by Lance Wed Apr 29, 2015 2:27 pm

Lance shuffled his way along the seats, and found himself a spot and dropped the bag he's been carrying from the prior tavern on the seat. Numerous unbuckling noises were then heard from underneath his cloak. Some clicks and zips later, his cloak-and whatever sounded like a box of legos- hovered over and landed atop his bag, and suddenly Lance lost an inch of height and width. The unicorn flopped onto the seat, and the cushion whistled out a puff of air.

Though clearly distraught, he was far from unconscious, analyzing his situation. Including Ruby and Silver's little banter, not fond of Ruby's pony on "stand by." "Five alone to find the way. Are you sure getting anypony else involved is a good idea, Rube? Should the prophecy be as strict as any other, there will be consequences."

by **Syron** Wed May 06, 2015 5:09 pm

"He won't really stay with us, he'll follow in a safe distance. Would be pointless if he was caught up in the same trouble we are. And I'd actually have trouble keeping him from following while I go into changeling territory." While she answered, Ruby's eyes wandered to Valet. The filly has her back turned towards the others, but from the posture alone Ruby took a guess. "Excuse me for a second", she said and stood up. With quiet steps she walked along the central corridor until she was able to get a glimpse of Valet's face, and her suspicions were proven.

"Hey," Ruby softly caught Valet's attention. She looked out of the window as well, a nostalgic expression on her face. "Worried about home?"

by 8bit-Icecube Thu May 07, 2015 6:48 pm

Valet silently nodded, a weak smile of hope pushing through her bitterness. "It'll be so long before I return. I can't feel or know what will have happened while I'm away." A little shudder went through the Filly's spine, her eyes locking with those of the mare besides her. "I can't tell if I will see it ever again....."

by **Syron** Fri May 08, 2015 4:10 pm

Ruby looked back at Valet understandingly. "I know that feeling. It might not sound odd, but... just don't worry about them." Turning her sight back out of the window, she adopted a slight frown. "When I stumbled into my first adventure, a friend of mine got taken hostage. They threatened to kill her. I was so scared for her life that I did anything they wanted. No matter how dangerous, no matter who else suffered for it. All that mattered to me was that my friend stayed unharmed.

"The problem could have been solved quickly if I had just believed." Ruby's frown suddenly vanished and she chuckled lightly in remembrance. "When I finally found the courage to turn against her captors my friend promptly used the resulting chaos to escape, unharmed. And different to her, Ponyville isn't locked away in a small room. It even has its own princess to protect it", she said to Valet, stabbing her hoof at the filly. "If you don't have faith that they can handle what is coming, you won't be able to do what is necessary. So just trust in them. "

by 8bit-Icecube Fri May 15, 2015 8:00 pm

Valet's ears flopped back at the mentioning of kidnapping and possibility of death. But the rest of her posture became more peaceful at the thought of the princess defending Ponyville. The glance of deep purple gems shimmered dimly at the view of the town. Valet showed a content smile before expressing her other doubts. "Ruby, when we're in the Badlands, keep your eyes open. I don't really know how my..... gift works. Whatever my horn is doing, it's not a radar. I've lost many games of hide-and-seek. And still I feel things coming I couldn't have known about." The filly yawned slightly, her gaze wavering before the eyes fixated on Ruby. "Ruby... Please bring me back home."

by **Syron** Sun May 24, 2015 9:24 am

"It's not often that I'm ask to protect somepony, but I think I can manage it", Ruby said reassuringly and slowly began walking back to her seat. "Now come, I have something to ask you, and I'm sure the others are interested as well."

by 8bit-Icecube Thu May 28, 2015 6:05 pm

Valet smiled weakly when her curiosity won from her impeding sleep. With some effort she followed the mare towards the middle of the group.

by **Syron** Tue Dec 27, 2016 6:33 pm

Making herself comfortable, Ruby adressed the party. "Since some critical information about me have already been laid open, and especially since we're going into danger together, you all deserve to know a few things about me," Ruby began. "After Lance's reaction earlier, it's clear that I can't afford my usual approach of 'have fun guessing about me', or he'll never trust me sufficiently. And since I'm not exactly trustworthy at the moment, I cannot tell you myself." Turning to the unicorn filly, she asked, "Valet, could you please do a reading on me?"

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