Loud Opinion

Luna looked on as the two guests bowed neutral. Her look then turned to one of intrigue when she saw Aretes break the bow while Thanos held his. Luna noticed that both of their responses were born from the same place despite being intrinsically inverse. She had seen it all too often in the foals of whos dreams she walked; and these two were still foals at heart. Even something as trivial as a greeting was enough to give Luna a peek at their personalities. Right now she was seeing how these siblings dealt with uncertainty. Their approach was the same even if the results were different so that made two similarities so far. It was an important thing to recognize if these two were to rule a kingdom together. More to the point, Luna interpreted Aretes way as the simple way to ignore something; to pretend the events never existed just as she is pretending that they were never used to the customs of the old times. An easy thing to do for the apparent optimist that she assumed Aretes was. However, Thanos didn't seem to have an easy time letting memories go, so he threw himself into customs and other mundane responsibilities to distract himself from his lack of preparation on the situation. This would be perfectly reasonable for the average pony, but that wasn't the case. They were rulers, and in a peaceful time at that. Connection and personality were pivotal in peaceful times to prevent unrest and apathy in the population. Luna then realized just how much her work had bled into her social life. Here she was diagnosing the two alicorn rulers of her neighboring country. Although that was a sure sign of a responsible pony, it was also the sign of a workaholic. It might not be the worst thing to be, but she would have to be more careful about it to ensure her relationship with her sister didn't suffer. "Of course," Luna responded as she snapped out her introspection and back into the conversation, "your kingdom has always made for an excellent ally for both trade and general neighborliness. We would be happy to resume where we left off with your mother and father." "Although," Luna paused and looked a little concerned, "I feel like there's something else that's troubling you. Your parents often came to us seeking counsel, so if our relationship is to be just as strong then I would ask that you do the same with us."

Luna woke up early today, as early as a nocturnal being comfortably could, when she was hailed by one of her loyal Lunar Knights, "Princess Luna, two alicorns have arrived at the palace claiming to know you and your sister." "Alicorns?!" Luna began in her royal we before she reminded herself that such language, though eloquent, was in the past, "Parden, we'll see them at once! You escort them to the throne room where my sister and I will meet them." "They are already on their way my princess." "Very good," Luna ended as the guard left and she followed after in a dominating stride. Luna had a strong idea as to who could be at the gates. Her imprisonment wasn't very long after the fall of the Crystal Empire, so the memories of their neighboring Kingdom of Seasons weren't difficult to conjure. If she remembered correctly, Cronos and his wife sacrificed themselves to guard their kingdom against Sombra's influence. That left their children Thanos and Arete. She remembered them as mere children before she was banished, now it seems they have grown enough to start venturing out on their own. She couldn't imagine the turmoil the loss of their parents must be causing them. Her own imprisonment was isolated, with the envy and hatred of Nightmare Moon dominating her mind throughout her thousand-year sentence, but such pain was temporary, though it was very real at the time. Thanos and Arete experienced loss in it's purest and most horrendous form. Their childhood being cut so abruptly would echo throughout their lives. So Luna adopted a somber air to respect their loss even though she didn't know Chronos and his wife very well as they tended to keep to their own kingdom. As Luna entered the throne room, she saw that her assumption was correct, there were Thanos and Arete, so grown up, "Thanos, Arete, I'm sorry for your loss, but it's still good to see you again after so long," Luna greeted with a bow as she made her way to her throne.

Blue Thorn kept his gaze low as the alicorns made their announcement. Many ponies would be overjoyed to witness such a historically significant event, but Thorn was not many ponies. Thorn had a life and a good one at that. No amount of flare and cosmic promises could compare to his rewarding life as a simple groundskeeper. Let the kings and cabbages fight over who 'owns' the land. So long as there is grass on the earth and a person to see it, Thorn will have a purpose. So, oblivious to the stem of his apathy for authority, Thorn strode back into the crowd for his employer. Thorn was lucky enough to find him with minimal hassle, "Sir, the job is done. The flora at the front of your shop will be a pleasant sight for your customers." "Very good. I'll have your payment as soon as the alicorns leave. I don't want to miss a moment of this." "Fine," Thorn said with a hint of exasperation, "just remember that it's a bad habit to delay your employee's payment. I'll wait for you at the shop." "What's the rush? It's not like my money's going anywhere, and seeing the new alicorns could be a once in a lifetime opportunity." The shopkeep was convincing enough, so Thorn silently decided to stay and see the royal siblings off.

Blue Thorn paused from his labor when he felt a slightly cool gust reach the thin sheen of sweat collecting at his brow. His job was just about done. He was at the final stage: reassessment. Scanning the field of grass and assorted, aesthetic devices of passive presumption in stature for a hint of blemish or wear, his proficiency became self-evident. And so Thorn loosened his grip on his hedge trimmers, brought his spade-tipped tail to his forehead, whipped the sweat from it, and allowed himself a gentle smirk as his doubt was once more remanded. Or it would have been, had this superficially peculiar pony possessed any doubt in the first place. No, he had been proven time and again that his craft outclassed his expectations. This time was no different. With his job completed, Thorn left to see his employer for payment. As he carefully traversed his latest masterpiece of a landscape to the shop of his employer, he faintly reviewed last night's dream. A single pony that wore his obvious age like a loose toupee, with apathy and an underlining hope that it wouldn't betray him. He sat amongst a hoard of misfit beasts who shared about as much in common with each other as Discord's patchwork pieces. all of them were bound to this ponies hoof with collars of equal variety. However, what was most striking to Thorn was the single pony amongst the beasts, bound not by a collar, but by a cage of feathers that wrapped around him and gripped him cruelly. The bound pony's primal scream shocked Thorn awake. Now he stands in a mostly empty store with only one other pony who seemed to be in some kind of rush. "Excuse me," Thorn interrupted as he saw that the pony was slightly overweight and had a very troubled look on his face, "but do you know where everyone ran off to?" The pony looked up at Thorn as if he had shaken him from a deeply introspective moment and responded in a moderately deep voice that would probably sound saddened even if he were in higher spirits, "Ya, they went off to see the new alicorns. I've got enough surprises going on in my life to bother with that though." "I'm sorry to hear that. Well, I would stay, but I've got to collect on my contract. You know how it is. Can't let them think they can get out of paying just because some royalty shows up." The two shared a nod, and thorn passed back through the wooden door. His search bearly started before he spotted the crowd, and low and behold, a single head stood prominently above the others. His face had reminded him of the pony he meat earlier. Troubled and no doubt swimming in self-reflection. Thorn weaved his way through, and instead of finding his employer, his found himself in the radius that the rest of the crowd was kind enough to provide for the two alicorns and the striking pegasus giving directions. He instinctively turned his head away and raised his tail to cover his face. He didn't want to draw their attention, not when he had a debt to collect, but unfortunately, his sudden action would draw the eye, and his peculiar cutiemark and tail would no doubt raise a share of curiosity his way.

"Ah, those guards probably train for years," Thorn said in response to Winter, "the thief might have caught the guards I heard in the garden off guard, but now the whole place is probably on high alert. That thief won't get far." Thorn then turned to listen to Survivor when he started to recount his experience. He tried to suss out the relevant information, more for his own peace of mind than anything else, but he didn't interrupt. Thorn was very much intrigued by the night's events so far, but he was even more interested in how accurate his earlier suspicions were. First, he sensed a change about to happen; well, it wasn't quite world altering, but it was still a change with the Galla's more inclusive policy going much further than he had expected. Then, he felt like he was being watched, and here was a person working with the guards confirming his suspicion. The guards were indeed watching him earlier, along with the rest of the Galla. "Fascinating," Thorn said with genuine interest in his tone. Thorn would have appreciated a little more information on what exactly he saw, but when he thought about it, Thorn was also pretty vague in his explanation to Winter. Seeing that it was only fair to elaborate, Thorn took the opportunity, "Oh, I almost forgot that you weren't here for my retelling to Winter Bolt. Well, you were there for the robed pony we saw earlier so I'll skip that." "You see, when you left, Strong Copper didn't stick around. So, not wanting to be the only pony at the bar, I went into the garden over there," Thorn directed with his hoof as he continued, "I saw the most suspicious group in the entire Galla and a guard sneak around a gazebo. I was curious, but I went with the safe option and got closer to the guard instead of the group. Some other guard's stopped someone. Then that someone knocked them out without a problem, and well, you can imagine I wasn't in any rush to investigate, so I froze up, rushed for the door there, called out what would get the most attention, and here we are."

"Survivor! I were just talking about the thief we saw earlier." Blue Thorn greeted back Survivor and lifted a toppled over chair with his tale and put it back to its rightful place by a now discarded table. "Have a seat, and tell us what you saw when you went after him." Thorn then sat at the second of the trio of chairs by the table and looked to Winter Bolt only to be reminded that Winter hadn't met Survivor before. "Oh, right. Winter, this is Survivor Hoof. We met at this party earlier." Thorn then looked to Survivor. "Survivor, this is Winter. He's watching me by order of a royal guard." As soon as he said it, Thorn realized how awkward it was to address Winter as his capture even if it was accurate. "I'm not really sure why they need an entire pony dedicated to watching me, but it's probably something to do with the thieves we saw."

Blue Thorn thought about how Winter justified Thorn's actions and felt a twinge of pride knowing that even an ordinary citizen like himself can make a difference. "Thank's Winter. Sometimes I can forget about the positive impacts I have on others, you know? With contract work, it's always, onto the next job. I usually get compliments from my clients after a job, but it all just blurs together. You hear it so regularly, you forget you ever heard it at all. Then when you screw up a job, that's what really sticks with you." Thorn took a moment to look at the now vacant room and realized why he suddenly feels so at ease. It was a lot like the sight of a garden or lawn before he starts working on it. It's chaotic, yet vacant appearance was so familiar to Thorn that it's like he's back in his element. Even though it felt like home, and Winter assured Thorn that it was the right call, he couldn't help but feel a bit of responsibility. Thorn tried to take a sip of his brew but as he felt that his tail wasn't holding onto anything anymore. He must have dropped it in his sprint here. Resigned to a sober evening, he began to idly lift chairs and tables into their rightful places with his tail, as he explained the situation to Winter Bolt, "Well, I think it all started when me and a few friends at the bar saw a guard stopping a cloaked man for stealing." Thorn stopped picking things up to emphasize the next part of his story, "The thing moved like a viper. Swinging hooves and taking out guards left and right. Eventually one of them broke his arm and he had to run away. My friends went after him and I haven't seen them yet. I went off to one of the gardens, I heard a fight go on, I panicked, and well, you saw the rest."

Blue Thorn, still coming down from his panic, sat back onto his haunches, raised a hoof to his head, and let out a long huff. After the guard had taken charge, Thorn's tension had melted away. Now the situation was going to be resolved, and the most capable ponies will be the ones to do it. He noticed that what looked like an ordinary pegasus was assigned to watch him. That was a little unsettling. The pony wasn't wearing any armor so he couldn't be a guard, and Thorn wasn't entirely convinced that there weren't some guards here at The Gala that were working with the theaves. Could he have been hoodwinked? Was that gaud that gave out all those orders working with the thief? Could this pegasus also be working with them? What would he even do if that was the case? He was alone with this pegasus, and if the pegasus was even half as competent as the earlier thief, then there wasn't much Blue Thorn could do to stop him. All this suspicion was getting Thorn nowhere and he knew it. So he decided to introduce himself, "Don't worry about me going anywhere. I've had my fill of excitement for a while. My name's Blue Thorn by the way. Sorry if I ruined your good time in my panic."

Blue Thorn eventually came to his senses now that he was surrounded by the royal guard. The symbols of peace that many young ponies, himself included, mused of one day being a part of. With that, the mental haze set on by instinctual drive thinned to the point where internal order could be restored. Blinking heavily, Thorn tried to collect himself, but the bombardment of questions made it difficult. Taking the path of least resistance, he blurted out what he knew. "Guards! In the garden behind me," Thorn pointed behind him with his tail, then realized the obscurity of the gesture and turned to point in that same direction, "I heard a confrontation and thuds and, and..." Thorn paused, seemingly to collect himself, "I saw a guard stop someone. There were two thumps, and someone shouted a name, and another two thumps and the stopped pony walked away like it was nothing. Ponies don't just survive hits like that, you've gotta help them, not me." Blue Thorn's explanations then dissolved into rambling about how he was fine and the guards were the ones that needed help.

Fight, Flight, Freeze, Appease; The four natural reactions to a primal threat. Tonight, freeze won Thorn's soul, and he was made its slave for what appeared to be for all time. The flash of a waterfall surrounded by hedges reverberated through the icy confines of his mind; thawing it; loosening the memories around it. Soon the idea of hissing and him running for his life joined that first image, and freeze passed the torch to flight, who claimed Thorn anew. And so his hooves carried him through the grass and to the closest opening, thankfully a doorway and not a window, like thunder through storm clouds. The final memories to torment him were that of a pony running by his side throwing him on his back, carrying him to safety. in the memory, he shouted 'Gorgan, Gorgan!' Tonight he shouts "Murder, Murder," in that same hysterical panic that ruled him so many years ago.

Blue Thorn, seeing the flash, chose to investigate further. He chose not to reveal himself as the criminals around here have proven to be dreadfully adept, and a lone group of quiet ponies at a party like this was very suspicious. If this guard was in cahoots, he didn't want to be spotted by him either. So before advancing, he scanned the area for an angle to approach with which it would be hard for the small crowd or the nightguard to spot him. The guard, no matter how well trained, would be easier to escape from than a crowd of experienced theaves, so he kept his ear held high and crept toward the gazebo. Hoping to hear whatever he might be saying before trying to see him. Thankfully, Thorn worked with unkempt grass all his life so keeping quiet in the freshly cut, and impressively maintained, garden was simple. Whatever noise he did make would easily be drowned out by the ambiance of a party in full swing, he hoped. It also didn't hurt that his dark blue coat made him easy to overlook in the night time setting. Though none of that did anything to ease his beating heart. He mentally told himself he was getting in over his head, but he couldn't shake the sense of being watched or burning ears since he got here. It was time he either got a clue on all the secrecy or an opportunity to lay his suspicions to rest.

"I'll drink to that," Blue Thorn was about to return the toast in kind with his glass of Minotaur brew when the brawl broke out. Survival Hoof said his goodbye and Strong Copper was about to leave, "No problem, man. Enjoy the Gala." Blue Thorn then turned back to the bartender seeming a little spent. The heroes were on the case, and it was no place for common work hooves like himself. At least the tender looked good for conversation. "Stealing's probably the only thing that pony has going for him," Thorn mused, "Sure he's strong and durable, two traits any mentor would be glad to see in a student, but he wouldn't have gone far in those fields without one. It may look like simple work for any well-built pony, but take it from me, those crafts are arts in their own right, and need just as much dedication. To him, this is just a big target for him. That's why I packed light," Blue Thorn said with a smile as he squeezed his saddlebags to emphasize their vacancy, with the only things being heard was a crinkle from his invitation and air rushing out. Thorn then realized how pathetic he must have seemed to be alone at the bar while the best party of the year was going on around him and left to mingle with others. It was then that he remembered the Minotaur that noded at him earlier was leaving to the gardens. Maybe that guy knew how to enjoy himself at a party. With that conclusion, Thorn left to follow the Minotaur. With that conclusion and glass in tail, Thorn left to follow the Minotaur.

Blue Thorn was absolutely enraptured by the back and forth between this Strong Copper and Survivor Hoof. Assumptions were being broken, standards were being set, and principles were on the verge of unveiling themselves. All this right before Thorn's eyes. Something about this situation resonated deeply with him and fascinated him to no end. Yet, something was telling him to step in. He noticed Strong Copper's wince of pain and was all too familiar with it. Strong was trying to ignore the pain in his wound. Something Thorn could relate to as his own tail caressed the snake bite on his back right leg. Perhaps it was the wince of pain he noticed from Strong Copper that told him the stallion was letting the pain into his words, maybe something more fundamental to his nature spoke to him, or maybe he just wanted to be a part of this fascinating interaction. Regardless, Thorn saw the skeleton for common ground had been constructed and he felt a need to fill in the rest. "Wait, Survivor, didn't you say the exact same thing in your book," Thorn interrupted, "maybe you two have more in common than you thought." Blue Thorn hadn't actually read his book, it was just his mentor that read it, but hopefully, Strong Copper's advice was general enough to be mistaken as a paraphrase. It was a gamble, but it could prove fruitful.

"Wow! You wrote The Everfree Expedition?" Blue Thorn asked rhetorically, now enraptured with Survivor, "Master Orchid used to always talk about your works. You've made a big impact on the landscaping community." Meeting this pony really took him back to the good old days of his apprenticeship under Master Orchid. An excentric stallion who was not content with the simple landscaping lifestyle, Master Orchid was always looking for ways of pushing the boundaries, "Man, if it wasn't for you, we probably would have never got that Minotaur commision," Thorn paused and rubbed his chin with his tail, "I probably wouldn't have been chased by a Gorgan either, but still, you made my apprenticeship so much more enjoyable." Blue Thorn then extended his tail as if to shake but then blushed and retracted it in favor of a classic hoof bump, "Sorry, my names Blue Thorn. You're kind of my childhood hero."

Thorn heard a bird chirping behind him and assumed he was getting similar symptoms as Strong Copper, that was enough to get him to tap out, "Still got some of that minotaur brew," Thorn asked the tender directly with a hoof hiding his mouth from the other pony as he placed the glass back onto the counter. "Ah, just an old story about my tail. It wasn't that great. Well, not as great as the time I had to run from a Gorgan," Blue Thorn paused in thought almost about to describe a very embarrassing tale about him accidentally walking into a labyrinth shower in his youth, "No, wait, that's an angry one, not a great one. Now that I think about it, I don't really have a great story." Thorn, not content letting the conversation miss a beat, pointed to the pony with the bird, 'that explains the chirping,' "you look like a pony with a story."

"Ha!" Blue Thorn let out jovially at the other ponies dramatics, "I wouldn't worry about that. These nobles wouldn't know a strong drink if it knocked them over the head. Uh," Thorn interrupted himself to reassure the tender, "No offense." He then gingerly craned the drink in front of him and took a comically small sip. It was barely a drop, and would no doubt dissipate in his mouth before even reaching his digestion, but it still hit hard. Though the effects may not be instantaneous, truly, hubris was the shortest route to ruin. "My tail," Blue Thorn turned again to answer the stallion while glancing at the other pony to assure him that the conversation is still open to him, "I don't mind at all. It comes up a lot, so it's not like you're crossing any lines, but it's not that good of a story. I dozed off on the job and my hair started falling off. I expected something no bigger than a pig's tail, but this showed up instead. It's pretty invaluable to my job so I don't question it much."

The chose given was troubling to Thorn. On one hoof the Royal Pink would probably melt through any mortal brain foolish enough to drink scentless, sinister substance of synthetic roomer. With that being said, ponies that do decide to drink it probably weren't using their brain for much else. And the Minitour that he saw walk in look like a respectful enough. Maybe their brews were just as respectful. On the other hoof, Blue Thorn, in his idle wonder, saw Princess Luna and that familiar pegasus. What caught his eye though was her offering a similar enough looking drink to that pegasus. Blue Thorn shifted his jaw a few times and turned back to the tender with an eyebrow skeptically raised. "Is that so?" "Well," Thorn continued, "I think I'll take my chances. One glass please." Thorn then turned to the hoodied pony and returned the greeting in kind with an extended hoof while stretching his tail out to the tender in preparation for the glass, "Name's Blue Thorn. I don't drink much myself, but my last commision's really kicking my tail right now."

Blue Thorn looked at the different options with indecision. "Hmm..." Thorn was impressed at how thoroughly the cultural differences between the classes were minimized. The focus on variety was clearly a winning strategy for whoever was in charge of planning these events. His train of thought led him to the purpose of the party: to socialize. He wouldn't look very approachable if he was carrying an empty glass around, so he would need something strong that he could sip on throughout the night. Besides, his last commission wasn't sparing him any soreness, so a little numbness could go a long way. "The strongest stuff you have, please." He probably wasn't in any danger of overdrinking, and besides, Thorn was a hardy pony with a good sense of moderation. At least, that was how he justified it to himself.

Blue Thorn was a little discouraged by the numerous ponies walking by him without a second thought. Perhaps this was for the best though. The palace was known for it's inviting atmosphere. Fine classical music, excellent decor and fair views of our beautiful country, and while company was great, one could never expect the ambiance to bleed through. "Hu. I guess even commoners don't have time for a blue-collar pony like myself. Oh well, I guess I should take in some of the scenery before it gets drowned out by the crowds." Blue Thorn, being unfamiliar with the palace's layout, defaulted to following the left wall, just like the hedge mazes he worked on during his apprenticeship, it would no doubt lead him outside so he can see the best view in Canterlot. It didn't take long for him to find the exterior garden, but it did take him back as to how large it was. He would have to go quite a way out of his way to see the view, and it would be too far away for him to hear the music, so he decided to make his way to the ballroom. Hopefully there, he could find a drink so he can drink in both the scenery and whatever drinks they had available. On his way to the ballroom, Blue Thorn stopped a stand to look at the drinks. Unfortunately, all that was on display was wine. Blue Thorn, not being used to finner drinking, tried for a more familiar drink, "Excuse me, sir. Do you have anything a little less..." Blue Thorn paused, "Fancy?"

After passing by the gates, Blue Thorn took a moment to steal himself at what he assumed to be the foyer and tucked the invitation back into his left saddlebag when he saw an even more nerve frayed pegasus walk by him. The pony had a very formal suit which put things into perspective for Blue Thorn. If a more formal pony than me can be more nerves without making a fool of himself, then he was practically guaranteed a good time here. So he got comfortable with the gala. It's not like it was just going to be nobles out her tonight after all. He decided to wait for another pony to walk through. These parties always favored a crowd and now that he thought about it, there were a few people on that wagon that seemed relatable to him. Now that he had an idea of what he was doing at the party, Blue Thorn was starting to feel pretty optimistic about the night.

@DarkArtificer, Blue Thorn exited the carriage eager to stretch his legs from the somewhat cramped carriage, surprised that a Diamond Dog of all things could be invited to an event that was notorious for its elitist exclusivity barely a year ago. The whole situation, though a direction Blue Thorn was entirely in favor of, was never the less quite baffling to the stallion. Blue Thorn was primed to wake up from what feels like an elaborate dream for the whole trip, yet wake up he did not. Being deeply distracted by his wonderment, Blue Thorn barely paid any mind to his travel mates. Even during the ride here, he wouldn't engage directly with the idle chatter if there was any, he didn't have the mind to remember such a detail. Whenever curiosity would land on him he would give short and closed responses, subconsciously directing the situation back to the isolation that Blue Thorn was used to; a bad habit he hadn't returned to in years science today. But, whether real or perceived, He felt change on the winds and this was his way of bracing himself. Dispight this, when his hooves hit the path to the gala proper, it was with the gentle grace of an experienced gardener; slow and mindful. He kept his slightly extended stride up all the way to the pare of guards at the gate, with his invitation within the coil of his peculiar, if a little sinister, tail. He then opened up the invitation and showed it to the guards with said tail.

@JCKane, The Stallion let his head fall back in relief only to realize he wasn't out of the woods yet and let out a small groan to feign disappointment. This wasn't the first time dealing with a higher authority, and though he wasn't as smooth as his friend Silver, his family was powerful and wealthy allowing him more than enough occasions to learn to face powerful ponies without falter. He had been spared from the worst. Sunshine's sentence had arrived, but if he wasn't careful, his lies could easily be in vain. "Yes, Head mare. I'll try to be more responsible in the future," the Stallion replied as he craned his head low to stare at the ground.