Strong Copper

Silver Tongue

@, @@DwhitetheGamer, @@-Octavia-,

Early morning starts weren't a new thing for Silver; Make up, rehearsal and all the other little things that took place behind the stage in order to make the show work took time and to be perfectly blunt there wasn't enough sunlight in Celestia's day in order to get it all done. Still the fact that he had to get up at this hour on a day when he would have otherwise had the option of sleeping in didn't exactly put him in the grandest of moods, even if his annoyance was masterfully masked away by years of acting practice.

The map that had come with his invitation was carefully tucked away as Silver took the time to look around to see just how big the crowd was and if there was anyone that he recognized. He had managed to spy at least three out of the four alicorn princesses so far and he honestly would be surprised if the fourth one was creeping around somewhere as well. As the crowd of ponies started to grow, Silver couldn't help but feel a playful little grin appear on his face. No one knew who he was here... which meant that he could try and break his record if he was careful enough; If nothing else playing his little game would help him in passing the time and improving his mood somewhat.

@@DwhitetheGamer,

Thanks mate. Don't take what Strong Copper says and does too personally; He kind of has anger issues and Copper Strikes has really rubbed him the wrong way so far.

Strong Copper

@@DwhitetheGamer, @@Taialin, @@95% Chance, @@Eloquence, @@Mentis Soliloquy, @, @@Derplight Sperkle,

In the short amount of time that Strong Copper had been sitting guard in front of the door in order to give Rarity and Fluttershy the privacy that they needed, he came to a very harrowing discovery; Guarding a door in an otherwise empty hallway was incredibly boring. Painfully so in fact. To be able to do something like this day in and day out would require either an absolutely heroic strength of will and dedication for ones job or a mind so small as to be unable to comprehend boredom in the first place. As much as Canterlot liked to present Celestia's day guard as the former, Strong Copper couldn't help but privately think that they might have been more inclined to draw their ranks a bit more from the latter...

The boredom was quickly cast aside as the small crowd of ponies started to approach the door. While he was sure that there had to be some very important ponies in among the crowd, Strong Copper's attention (and glare) was aimed right at Copper Strikes as he shifted his stance a bit to block off the door. "Have you no sense of shame? You already caused a stressed out mare to have a mental break down so you could take over, do you really feel the need to show off the remains to an audience as well? So no Copper, you're not coming in. In fact you can just buck off." Strong Copper was livid and Sweet Celestia did it come across in his voice.     

@@DwhitetheGamer,

I'm going to stop you right there Dwhite... Unless one of the Princesses themselves tells Strong Copper otherwise, Copper Strikes isn't getting into the same room as Rarity and Fluttershy.

By a stroke of absolute stupidity on my part (not your fault at all) I completely missed your last post. For all this time I was waiting for you when apparently I just somehow missed yours.

 

I do apologize for that and will try to have a Trixie post later today. So sorry about that! ^^;;

It's fine. These things happen. Should have poked you sooner.

So is Trixie going to respond or...

Strong Copper

@, @@Derplight Sperkle,

Strong Copper had been tempted to respond to Sojourner's statement but with Daring already in motion and the guards chasing after her, continuing the conversation at this point risked their ambush being spotted before it could be sprung and endangering the entire plan as a whole. Silence was the key here... which also allowed noises from within the cave that they were planning to infiltrate to be overheard. While it was difficult to hear exactly what was being said, it sounded very much like a mare in a great deal of distress and discomfort that didn't wish to be where they were.

The ponies they were going up against had prisoners/hostages. As far as hiccups in a plan went, that was kind of a big one. Still, the plan was in motion and it was too late to change it now.

Strong started to charge up a familiar spell in his horn as he waited for the two guards to get close enough to properly take full advantage of the ambush; It wasn't anything fancy, just a magical blast of concentrated concussive force that was meant to repel dangerous animals by blasting them back and stunning them on impact. The spell worked on ponies just as well as anything else, all he needed was the blast to strike around the chest area and the poor bugger would find themselves on the ground with a number of bruised, possible cracked (maybe even broken if they were really unlucky) ribs, breathless and practically defenseless to stop themselves from being pounced on and rendered helpless.

As Daring reached the ambush point and the guards closed in, Strong Copper took aim at the guard furthest away from his position and once the tribal pony was within the target area before sending a bolt of copper color magic flying straight at the guard's chest; For better or worse, the ambush had officially began. 

Silver Tongue needs to get out there a little more. Count him in!

Strong Copper

@@Taialin, @@Eloquence,

Strong Copper took a deep breath as he continued his vigil over the door into the room in which Rarity and Fluttershy were currently huddled up in, the latter assisting the former in with her anxiety driven break down... At least that is what it looked like to him anyway. In truth he wished he could play a more active role in aiding the distort Rarity but he was nothing more then a complete stranger to her; If there had been nopony else around he would have stepped up and tried his best to be the shoulder to cry on that she needed, but it would have paled in comparison to what progress that Fluttershy was currently making with her. 

At the very least he was doing something. They didn't need another Canterlot backdoor back stab like what he had seen earlier with Copper Strikes or Celestia only knows what Blueblood said to her to put her in such a state to begin with and if he could prevent such a thing that was alright by him.

All he could really do now was wait and see what happened... 

Strong Copper

@@Derplight Sperkle, @,

If he wanted to be truly honest with himself, Strong Copper would have rather talked with Daring a bit more about a possible plan before she flew off... but he couldn't exactly call her back down without drawing attention to themselves from the tribal ponies that were suddenly his enemies today and the much more dangerous possibility of being heard by one of the Everfree's various predators and luring it towards them.

Letting out a sigh as he walked over to join Sojourner in the bush, Strong decided to ask the question "So we beat up the guards, dress up as them and escort Daring inside... How long do you think we'll last before things go horribly wrong?" It wasn't like he wanted things to do wrong, but one had to prepare for the worst after all.

Silver Tongue

@@Eloquence,

Noticing Eloquence's seemingly random smile and turning his head to glance in the direction that she was looking, Silver couldn't help but smile as well at the sight of the happy little bird darting around his backyard. He didn't comment on it through, turning his attention back to Eloquence with an air of professionalism as the smile on his face faded as the subject changed to something much more somber. 

"You're right in that it was difficult to get into character. While I am sure that the Princesses have their neighsayers, Equestria has truly been blessed to have had such benevolent ponies guiding its course and that no one in Equestria from the noblest of nobles to the humblest of rock farmers would have to experience the nightmare that is the world of V for Vendetta for themselves. No pony should have to live in fear of tyranny."  Taking a moment to catch his breath and make sure that Eloquence was update date with writing down what they were discussing before he started to speak again, Silver clicked his tongue before continuing.

"A large part of how I studied for the role involved reading and talking to ponies. History is filled with would be tyrants who had various degrees of success and there are plenty of books detailing what life was like under such regimes, but it was a trip to the crystal empire that truly opened my eyes to what living under such a destructive and horrible regime is like. While many seem to have taken the raise of Princess Cadance..." Silver Tongue actually paused as he considered his wording, asking aloud "Or is it Empress Cadance? I honestly should have asked while I was up there but I forgot about it until the train ride back." Shaking his head in order to get back to the subject at hoof, he cleared his throat as he restarted from where he left off "While many seem to have taken the raise of Cadance to be a brand new start and to leave the past in the past, almost every crystal pony above a certain age remembers the reign of King Sombra and the atrocities committed during that dark period of time. I heard quite a few dark tales that I will not repeat here because they are not my stories to tell."

Taking a deep breath before letting out a sigh, Silver rolled his shoulders a little as he added "I hope that more ponies come forward in time with tales of what happened under Sombra's reign. As uncomfortable as some ponies will no doubt be to discuss such a dark mark on history, to forget it would only ensure that the mistakes of the past happen again."

Strong Copper

@@Eloquence, @@Red Cedar,

Applejack was not the only pony to notice the way that Fluttershy was looking at him; Strong Copper had noticed it too. It was kind of hard not too...Fluttershy was a very attractive mare and her mane style complimented her beauty nicely and easily drew attention to her captivating gaze...

Gulping a little as his cheeks started to darken as he realized that he had been leaning towards her as well without realizing it earlier, Strong Copper tried to keep his wits about him despite the fact that he just knew in the back of his head that at least one pony in the party was going to be snickering about him later on. "I-It's alright. I know in my head that the odds of any wild creature having the exact same condition that drove that manticore mad are slim at best but I still feel the need to prepare for the worst, you know? But having you lead this team is going a long way to ease those worries."

@@bronislav84, @@Derplight Sperkle,    @@DwhitetheGamer,

Leaning back in his seat a bit as he closed his eyes for a moment in order to take a deep breath in order to calm down his own anxieties and fears before opening his eyes again and offering Fluttershy a small, warm smile in thanks (and possibly something else) before he talked a little louder then before in order to draw the attention of the rest of the party so they could have a serious discussion. "I know that we'll need to get there and have a look at the environment around the area as well as find out the temperament of the manticore itself before we can come up with a detailed plan for making this work, would anyone be against discussing a basic, bare boned plan of approach while we have the time?"   

Silver Tongue

@@Eloquence,

Silver actually had to lean back in his chair in order to consider his answer to her inquiry. Both of them were very important questions after all. Raising his hoof up to scratch his chin a little, he started with "Well, I can think of a couple of reasons for why I was the one that ended up with the role of V; One of the main reasons being I was one of the few ponies that showed up to audition for the part. You can't be chosen for the role you want if you don't try for it after all." A grin appeared on his face for a moment before he explained "See, V is a rather complex character; Far more complex then most ponies are comfortable playing as. I've been asked several times by fans if I viewed V as the hero or villain of the story when the truth of the matter is that he is both. Not many ponies seem to be able to wrap their heads around such an idea and I strongly suspect that kept the audition numbers low."

"As for what sold my audition for the character... I believe it was my personal interpretation of V's motivations that carried the day. From what I heard of the other auditions, the other actors were divided on V being either a pony that was out for revenge against those who had wronged him or a pony who wanted to bring a corrupt system crashing down for love." Silver scoffed a little at the notion, giving himself a small breather while letting Eloquence have the chance to catch up with her writing and note taking "The main thing they all got wrong was the assumption that V is a pony. He had been a pony once upon a time but that pony had been dead and forgotten years before the audience meets V for the first time. The audience gets to see the odd shard of a pony that he once was, but V views himself as nothing more then an abomination that would never exist in a halfway decent world. The fact that he exists and the horrible methods used to make that happen is evidence enough for him that the corrupt and twisted world in which he lives needs to be burned down so that something new has a chance to grow from the ashes." 

Tapping his seat with his hoof twice, Silver added with a playful grin "Not sure if that was what they were looking for when they were auditioning, but considering I got the part there had to be something about me that they liked." 

@@Overlord0909,

I would like to give it a try out... even if I don't think my voice is all that good for abridging.

Silver Tongue

@@Eloquence,

It was hard not to notice the change in Eloquence's color and the fact that it had been his doing made Silver feel surprisingly good about himself. He listened in silence as Eloquence agreed with him that a level of professionalism needed to be maintained... through his ear did twitch a little as he registered the keyword 'For today'. Offering his interviewer a soft grin, Silver's hoof was raised for a moment to beckon her to start as he said "That is perfectly alright Eloquence, please start whenever your ready." 

Strong Copper

@, @, @@Eloquence,

Strong Copper tilted his head a little as the mare (Whom he was guessing was named Trixie on a hunch) as she talked a little in third pony, finding the speech pattern slightly strange but also somewhat intriguing.  Still, it was a mystery to discover later! "Sure!" he said with a bit to much enthusiasm, quickly clearing his throat in order to tone it down somewhat. "I mean, of course." Looking towards the list that showed off the wide range of teas that were available, he decided to start off with what he knew. "Well... If you're interested in trying a green tea, I would fully endorse peppermint tea to start with. However, I've found that green tea tends to be an acquired taste; My oldest sister likes having milk whenever she has a cup of tea and you really can't do that with any form of green tea without it tasting absolutely dreadful." 

Taking a quick breath in order to recollect his thoughts, Strong remembered that he hadn't actually introduced himself to the mare, even if he was already kind of aware of her name in turn. "My name is Strong Copper by the way. It's a pleasure to meet you."

Silver Tongue

@@Eloquence,

Silver's smile seemed to grow just that little bit more as he heard Eloquence laugh, finding it enduring and thus improving his already growing opinion of the mare herself. Relaxing somewhat in his seat, he took a moment to admire Eloquence's face before saying "Well then since you're one of the few ponies that wouldn't get lost if I wished to hold an interview at my home, I might have to request that your presence more often. Of course, if I had known that they would have sent such an intelligent and beautiful mare like yourself I would have agreed to an interview much sooner." while offering a playful little wink as well for good measure.

Clearing his throat, Silver at least made the effort to look somewhat bashful as he said "Sorry, I should be a bit more professional then this. We do have an interview to do after all."

Strong Copper

@, @@Derplight Sperkle,

Strong didn't know who or what Ahuizotl was, but from the way that his companions spoke of him he doubted that Ahuizotl was a contender for the Equestrian of the Year award... Though he might have the award anyway because he stolen it for a laugh. The fact that he had armed minions at his command made it hard not to picture such a trophy with blood stains on it...

Of course, the question of how to get into the cave itself was brought up.

The first idea to present itself in Strong Copper's head was instantly rejected; While luring one or more of the creatures of the Everfree to the cave would be easy enough if you were clever enough, doing so would most likely result in either a lot of dead creatures, a lot of dead ponies or a combination of both.  He wouldn't be able to look at himself in the mirror again if he was to suggest or carry out such a plan.

Raising his hoof to rub his chin a little, a second but somewhat better idea started to present itself. "If Caballeron made it this far, then the guards would know that Daring was in the area and coming this way... Maybe Sojourner as well if we're unlucky but I strongly doubt they know that I'm traveling with you. " Trying to consider any possible advantages that this might have given them, he turned to look at Daring for advice since she seemed to be the one most familiar with the being they were going up against. "Just how close knit is Ahuizoti with his tribal guards? Because if you were to be 'accidentally' spotted and chased by the guards into the forest were we could ambush them, would Ahuizoti notice if the tribal guards escorting you to him as a prisoner notice that he has never seen either of the tribal ponies standing at your sides before in his life?"

Strong Copper

@@Eloquence,@,

It had been a little while since Strong had made his order for a cup of peppermint tea and the lack of receiving his order was starting to slowly wear on him a little bit. Of course he had noticed that the place seemed to be getting busier and busier by the moment and that understanding was going a long way to calm his already frayed nerves a great deal, but the 'discussion' he had been subject to with his parents earlier had eaten up much of his patience. 

Taking a moment to look around the store while he was waiting for his cup of tea, he noticed a blue unicorn mare that seemed to have just entered the store. His heart felt like it had skipped a beat a little at the sight of her, through a part of his brain seemed to be trying to inform him that he had seen her somewhere before but it couldn't quite remember exactly were. Taking a moment to glance over his shoulder to see how his order was coming along, Strong Copper came to the decision that the staff would let him know when it was ready before he started to walk away from the counter, walking towards the blue mare before offering her a small but honest smile. "Having trouble deciding on what you want to order?" He asked as a means of starting a conversation with her. It seemed like a safe bet considering the look on her face at the wide variety of options. 

Sorry if Strong Copper took the Rp in a direction you didn't want it to go... 

Strong Copper

@, @@Derplight Sperkle,

Strong Copper for the most part kept his mouth shut while their group was traveling, keeping his ears open and his eyes alert for possible signs of ambush and trap that they might have been walking into; The ponies that they seemed to be chasing after weren't the only ones that they were going to have to keep an eye out for in this regard either, the Everfree was full of creatures and plants that wouldn't mind a bit of pony in their diets after all.

Soon however they exited the forest and came to the awe-inspiring sight that was the castle of the royal sisters... or at least the ruins of it anyway, through one had to admit that after being abandoned for over a thousand years in the middle of a place like the Everfree, it had held up well through the test of time.  As much as he would have loved to have explored its ancient halls, they did had important business to attend to first. Looking in the direction that the other two were looking at, Strong saw the cave... that appeared to be guarded by tribe ponies.

That caught his attention somewhat, but maybe not for the reasons most normal ponies would think; To his knowledge, the Everfree didn't have a tribal society living within its boarders (No matter how stealthy they might have been, Everfree's folklore would have mentioned myths and legends of 'wild ponies'). If you wanted tribal ponies, you had to go into the forbiddon jungles of Southern Equestria. Considering the goons of the pony they were after he had seen earlier were not tribal ponies in any way, shape or form, this suggested a third party. 

"It would appear that someone has decided to cut out the middle colt... someone who can convince tribal ponies from the southern jungles to leave their homeland to come this far north." Clicking his tongue a little, Strong decided to ask the very important question "How likely do you think it is that this Caballeron you were following is already dead? After all, a group of ponies entering a dangerous place like the Everfree and never returning would just increase the Everfree's reputation as a dangerous, monster infested forest..."

Strong Copper

@@Taialin, @@DwhitetheGamer, @@Eloquence,

Rarity and Fluttershy...

Strong Copper repeated the names under his breath a couple of times in order to help him memorize them; Putting a name to a face had never been the easiest thing for him to do, but he sure as the sun rose in the morning wanted to keep these two names in mind. As Rarity asked him to leave, Strong Copper nodded his head in understanding of her request. While Strikes went first, Strong took a moment longer to make sure that Fluttershy had the situation under control before he turned to leave as well...

Before he made it to the door, Strong heard the sound of something hitting the floor. Glancing over his shoulder to see if Rarity was alright, Strong Copper looked like he was going to ask but thought better of it before turning to the door again... and seeing Strikes butt back into affairs that honestly didn't concern him. Before Strong had the chance to ask Strikes to leave, Strikes finally left under his own power. Exiting the room and closing the door behind him, Strong Copper planted himself in front of the door to ensure that no one else short of one of the Princesses was going to be entering the room until Fluttershy and Rarity were damn good and ready to see them.

@@Taialin,

Strong Copper is still in the room. I was waiting for you to post to see how you would respond before Strong gave Strikes the shoe.

Silver Tongue

@@Eloquence,

Silver offered Ellipsis a warm smile as he answered "Oh no, that's perfectly alright. I'm glad to see a pony who knows how to somehow work spending time with their pets around their busy schedules. A talent, alas, that I myself do not process." He admitted with a nervous blush and a rubbing of the back of his neck.  "I tried to keep a pet rock once... until it ran away." After a period of time being confused by the fact that his pet rock had disappeared on him one day, Silver had learned to just find the situation kind of funny.

Taking his seat after the beautifully blushing mare had taken hers, Silver offered her a smile as he asked "So did you have any trouble finding the place Ms Eloquence? I'm still getting used to the fact that this is my house now and I find myself taking a wrong turn every once in a while..."

Strong Copper

@@Derplight Sperkle, @@Eloquence, @@DwhitetheGamer, @@Golbez, @@Red Cedar,

As much as he hated to say it, Cheery Bomb had a mean left hoof to her; Strong Copper had been forced to take a step back and had to bite the inside of his cheek in order to hide his surprise, largely to save face with those around him.

As the train whistle blew and the trip to Canterlot began, Strong Copper went to take his seat across from Fluttershy and Applejack before taking a moment to look around at the rest of the team once again, Strong Copper sighed to himself as he reached into the pocket of his hoodie and removed a cut out of a newspaper. Rereading words that he had already read over a dozen times before, Copper sighed before folding it back up and returning it to the pocket it had come from. Strong Copper looked up at Fluttershy and Applejack before offering Fluttershy a few choice words, his ears wilting as he looked at the floor of the train. "I'm sorry about how I was acting earlier. If you didn't know what you were doing I highly doubt that you would have been put in charge of the team. The last job that I was on involved a manticore and things went horrifically wrong; It had been infected with rabies long before I had even arrived at the town that was worried about it being so close to them. By the time I got there the poor thing had been reduced a mindless, rabid monster that was consumed by rage and pain. A pony almost died distracting it from a bunch of school fillies and colts..."

While the apology itself had been honest and from the heart, as Strong Copper went along with his tale his voice grew more... emotionless. As if he was actively trying to distance himself from the memory inside of his own head somehow. Shaking his head to 'wake' himself up, Strong blinked a little as his voice returned to something akin to normal. "Sorry, I shouldn't let my own bad experiences cloud my judgement like that or cause me to doubt somepony else."