A Warrior's Call (open)

[Aqua Blade]

Nov 13, Year 4

It was about 11PM. A dark silhouette approached the outskirts of Manehattan, looking over the city. It was a blue Pegasus pony with a katana attached to his side. He was wearing a black bandana that covered most of his short, spiky black mane, but patches of it still stuck out from the sides and the back. His emerald green eyes gazed upon the city, slowly taking the entirety of it in. This pony was named Aqua Blade and he had come to this city when he heard of a resistance movement.

He kept his fierce glare as he continued to entered the Eastern District. So, this is where the resistance is holding up? Not exactly what I had in mind the swordpony thought to himself, glancing around at the buildings. He stayed close to them, as he didn't want to draw unnecessary attention to himself; he preferred the darkness of the shadows to move about, but he wasn't going to just wonder in some alleyway in a city he had never been to before. He let out a soft sigh. Still, if Equestria can be brought back to its former glory, then I guess I shouldn't be complaining. My family is counting on me to help set things right and that's exactly what I'm going to do. He moved a hoof across his bandana, which reminded him of his little brother who was taken away from him so suddenly and viciously. He shook the sad memories from his mind and continued his steady pace along the sides of the buildings.

[Guest]

By a building, in it's shadow. Darkness and coat color helped conceal Hark during the night, as the grey of her coat was perfect for blending with the rubble and shadow brought on by night. She lay as close to the burnt-out building as possible, her sleeping hovel carefully chosen as to not attract griffons. Still, the blue and orange of her mane were dead giveaways for her position. Her body, like her mane, was sprawled out amongst the rubble.

The only movement she made was the steady rise and fall of her chest. Her eyes were closed, leading one to believe she could be either asleep or unconscious. Thickly bloodstained bandages adorned her left shoulder, while cleaner ones adorned parts of her torso. Several gauze pads held in place by medical tape adorned her horn. A griffon who saw this would take advantage of this pony's weakness, promising a torturous and humiliating death. Perhaps a griffon would not notice her mane and tail's stark contrast of colors. She could only hope for a friendly pony to take notice of her first.

[Aqua Blade]

As he continued to walk through the city, a faint glint of orange caught Aqua's eye. He gazed over at it, wondering what had suddenly caught his attention. He quickly looked around and started walking over towards the source of strange color. His eyes went wide as he spotted the injured Hark asleep on the ground, although he wasn't sure if that was the case.

Aqua glared at the pony, unsure of what he should do. He didn't know this pony and didn't owe her anything; on the other hoof, she was injured in a griffon-controlled city, making her easy prey. Aqua felt the memory of his brother tug at his heart and he knew he had to do the right thing. First, however, he wanted make sure she was okay. He slowly approached her side, prodding her uninjured shoulder with a hoof.

[Guest]

At first, she didn't respond to the prodding too much. A few seconds later, Hark's eyes fluttered open, and immediately she found the source of touch: a blue pegasus pony with a sword and bandana. Great... a badass she thought as she looked upward toward his face, to get a better read on it. Sadly, she could see little more than his muzzle. Instead, she reverted to talking. "Excuse me... do you want something?" was what she asked of the pegasus before her, hoping that he were peaceful and not ready to perform a katana-based decapitation. Her own sword was nearby if she needed to defend herself.

[Aqua Blade]

Aqua seemed a bit taken aback by her question; he wasn't sure how she questioned it, but it seemed to come off as rather rude. Still, he assumed it was her being cranky from just being woken up, but he kept his stern glare. "I'm sorry, is there something wrong with me checking on an injured pony lying in an alley?" Aqua asked, a bit of anger coming out. "You could easily get picked off by a griffon and that would be a pretty damn shame, unless that was your intent just sleeping out in the open."

[Guest]

Hark recoiled slightly at the anger of the other pony, which was, thankfully, a stern sort of anger. Like a parent ridiculing their child for something. She would not meet the pegasus's blade today, or at least she thought she wouldn't. It was merely her being hopeful.

Sadly, Hark was not very careful with her words. She began to speak soon after he stopped. Although she was a bit miffed with being woken up, she still made an attempt to sound polite. "I'm... lying in an alley? I thought I had begun to rest in a building," she said as she began to stand. Quite frankly, the second she got to using her left foreleg, she winced, albeit it wasn't the only pain she was feeling; no, she felt pain from many injuries as she stood, and was hoping this pegasus would be a kinder sort of fellow than the usual lot of ponies 'round here.

[Aqua Blade]

Aqua almost let out a laugh at Hark's statement. "Well, you clearly didn't, as you're out here now," a bitter sarcasm coating his voice. He was still intrigued by this pony at how she thought she was elsewhere, but more so by how injured she was, considering how much trouble she was having just standing up. "How did you get so injured, anyways?" he asked the unicorn.

[Guest]

Hark frowned at Aqua's statement, and further at his question. No doubt he was curious of her predicament, but did he really have to ask? She hesitated, the frown on her face confirming this. After a few moments of consideration, she began to speak, albeit in a hesitant tone. "Well... A loyalist outmatched me." She began to scowl. "I gave her a run for her money, though."

[Aqua Blade]

Aqua raised a brow at the unicorn. She obviously had bitter feelings about this "Loyalist" she was defeated by. She must of held a level of pride, not so different from himself, and adding that last part must have been said as a means to boost her ego somewhat. "I'm sure you did," he replied, as if he was talking to a foal who completed a task and got excited about it to the point that they made it seem more impressive than in actually was.

Still, he was curious about this Loyalist and wanted to know more about her. "So, this Loyalist, do you mean she works for the Griffons?"

[Guest]

Hark exhaled slowly, trying to calm herself. She wouldn't let herself get angry in front of this armed stranger, although he seemed friendly enough, excluding the fact that he essentially told her she had a cool story. And then remarked her as a sibling. In any case, his question would be one she could elaborate on. "She was a pegasus, fought with a spear. Well, used to fight with a spear. She almost executed me on the spot. Gave a poem beforehand. Must be some religious thing," she said, trying to keep an even tone. "Considering she was wearing the armor of an officer, I suppose I'm in deep shit if they know I did it."

[Aqua Blade]

Aqua nodded as he received the information given to him, as well as mentally facehoofing. Great, I find a mare who is probably wanted for nearly beating down an officer, fantastic! he thought sarcastically. However, he quickly pushed that thought out of his mind; I was planning on joining the resistance anyway; this was bound to happen sooner or later. He refocused his attention back to the Hark. "You're going to have to get off the streets then," he said. "Do you know of a place you can go to?"

[Guest]

Hark exhaled slowly, lifting her right forehoof to her mane, scratching behind it for a moment. She scoured her mind for an answer- where was a relatively safe place to go? Simple: under. Hark had caught wind of a place for ponies, free of griffon oppression, the Undermarket. That was where the would have to go. "Down. To the Undermarket."

[Aqua Blade]

Aqua nodded. "Okay then, you have to show me the way to this Undermarket, as I don't know where it's located."

[Guest]

Hark glanced around the street, looking for something. Apparently, that something was right in front of them. Upon sighting it, she walked forward, and gestured to something in the street: a manhole cover. "If you moved this, we'd be able to get there. Hopefully."

[Aqua Blade]

Aqua followed Hark over to the manhole. The Undermarket is underground? Makes sense. He then pressed a hoof into the side of it, moving the other side up. He leaned his head down, grabbed the edge, and pulled it off. "Mares first," he said, gesturing down into the depths of the hole he had opened.

[Guest]

Hark frowned a bit. She had forgotten how unpleasant actually going down into a sewer was. As she slowly moved herself down the rusty rungs of the ladder, an overwhelming smell of biological waste assaulted her. She frowned, and wrinkled up her nose. As she began to move her left foreleg, she winced a bit, the range of motion required by this activity causing her shoulder pain. Regardless, she moved down into the depths, lowering herself onto a side pathway and yelling up to Aqua: "Alright, you can come down."

[Aqua Blade]

Aqua nods as he unfurls his wings and starts to go down. He curls his nose in disgust of the smell of the sewer, but lowers the manhole to recover the hole and flies down to the bottom to meet Hark. "Okay, now that we're down here, I think some introductions are in order. My name is Aqua Blade, but you can just call me Aqua. What about you?"

[Guest]

Hark nodded at his words. "Alright, then. My name's Cyan Burst, but most people just call me Hark. I tend to draw a crowd," she said as she glanced up, to her horn, trying a simple telekinesis spell on some of the sewage water, a telekinetic nimbus enveloping it for a bit. She felt better than the past few days, and decided she could use her horn a bit more freely now. Thus, her horn illuminated with a simple lighting cantrip, to provide the light. "You go on point," she said as she gestured behind him to the long and smelly abyss that awaited them.

[Aqua Blade]

Aqua nodded and followed the light, pulling out his katana should he need it. The sea green wave pattern in the middle of the blade would start to glow, as it was near a body of water, albeit a small one.

[Guest]

They went for several minutes; perhaps 40, perhaps an hour, perhaps more. It was a long, smelly walk, but eventually the first shops and ponies began to show up. As they reached the center, she gestured around to the massing crowds of ponies and shops. Her light spell had been long extinguished, as torchlight and lamps became more frequent. She smiled toward Aqua, beginning to speak:

"This is the Undermarket. I'm going to take you to the one place I need to," she said as she turned around and started walking through the crowds once again, hoping Aqua would catch up rather quickly.

After a while, they ended up at a shanty building, a few stories high. What made it special was the symbol painted upon it: the symbol of the rebellion. Along the way, Hark had stopped to ask for directions, and it seems they were correct. She glanced behind herself. "This is the rebel headquarters... I think. If you want to join, you're welcome to," she said as she stopped to rest right outside the building, hoping to converse with Aqua for a short while.

[Aqua Blade]

As soon as ponies started appearing before the two, Aqua placed his katana back into its sheath, as to not start any unnecessary actions; after all, he just got here! No need to start violence with the ponies he wanted to help! He stayed close to Hark so that he wouldn't lose her in the crowd. He got a bit annoyed when she had to ask for directions to get to wherever they were going. She seriously doesn't know how to get there? Fortunately, the directions they received were sufficient, as they took them to their proper destination.

When they finally reached the building of the rebels, a smile appeared on Aqua's face. "Ah, this is exactly where I needed to go. Thank you, Hark. But aren't you coming in?"

[Guest]

Hark gave a frown toward Aqua as she stood, unsure of her answer. Did she really want to be any- Hark reprimanded herself for her stupidity with a slam of her hoof on her face, saddened and ashamed that she even had to question that. "But of course," she said in a quiet manner.

[Aqua Blade]

Aqua was a bit surprised when Hark hit herself with her hoof and seemed a bit skeptical when she answered half-heartedly. He never was the brightest of ponies, but he could tell something was off. "Is there something you're not telling me?" he asked her, the anger in his voice rising a bit.

[Guest]

Hark frowned, and sighed. "I'm an idiot. Let's leave it at that, shall we?" She said, attempting to cover up her painfully idiotic thoughts from escaping through her mouth.

[Aqua Blade]

Aqua didn't truly care for that response, but he felt like now wasn't the time to press it. I'll talk to her about it later he thought. "Alright, then let's head on in, shall we?" Aqua asked her, opening the door for her to walk through.

[Guest]

Hark sighed as she nodded to Aqua, as she walked in, her telekinesis grasping the door for him to come in.

[Aqua Blade]

"Thanks," Aqua replied as he walked through the open doorway and past Hark. He looked around, trying to locate some pony who could be of some assistance to him. "Anypony here that I can talk to?"

[Civilian Ponies]

A stallion stood by the desk, the owner of the establishment. "What can I do for you two?" He asks, eyeing the two.

[Aqua Blade]

Aqua approached the pony, keeping a stern look upon his face. "Yeah, I'm looking to sign up for the rebellion. Is there a certain pony I need to talk to?"

[Guest]

Hark let Aqua speak first, allowing her to take a more suppressed approach to their conversing and their aquantince-ship. She had already ticked him off, there was no doubt about that. Hopefully he understood that her mind had wandered down the... idiotic path for a moment. She sighed and shook her head, approaching behind him, not speaking quite yet; he seemed to have things under control.

[Civilian Ponies]

The old-ish pony looked up. He pointed to a sign up sheet. "Just sign up with name and how you can help. Every little bit helps." He says. He adds "Dont be afraid if you aren't too good at fighting. We need help in more ways than combat." He says with a chuckle.

[Aqua Blade]

Aqua Blade grabbed a pen, signed his name on the piece of paper the pony gave to him, and wrote "Combat" in the help section. Once finished, he handed it back to him, keeping his stern glare, but throwing a small smirk his way. "Don't worry about me in that aspect; combat is where I excel."

[Guest]

Hark promptly took the paper mid-air with her telekinesis, snatching the pen as well. As she moved forward, closer to Aqua and the desk, she began to sign the paper herself, having brought it closer. It took her... a couple seconds, but far longer than Aqua had. When she placed the paper down on then desk of the stallion, upon it, below Aqua's bit, was Hark's full name and title scrawled out in a smooth, looping script that was oddly refined. 'Highmagus Cyan Harkness Burst, Royal Equestrian Magical Corps," had been written upon said paper, and with a slight clatter, Hark set the pen down, a haughty smirk on her face. "I excel at combat, twofold him."

[Aqua Blade]

Aqua turned to Hark, raising a brow and smirking. "You think you're twice as strong as me? Have you ever seen me fight? You wouldn't last 10 seconds in a fight against me."

[Guest]

Hark scoffed as she glanced toward Aqua, grinning a bit. "Right now, sure. When I'm feeling better, I'd probably kick your ass."

[Aqua Blade]

Aqua returned the glare back at Hark. "Looks like we'll have to have a match when you do get better."

[Guest]

Hark dropped her glare and began to grin toward Aqua. "Sure thing."

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