Quinch

@@Blitz Boom

Sorry for the short post, I couldn't think of much to say. Any chance of a more detailed description for Zhu, though?

@@Blitz Boom

Quinch surveyed the gathered ponies. They all looked, well, weird. Curved features, no digits - it might explain the technological stagnation, he thought - but none of them had the look of demonic influence like Vivid did. Except the figure in the back. He tilted his head sideways at Vivid as Zhu approached.

"I'll have to say, between you and him," he mused, "I'm starting to get the impression that my species is common knowledge."

Sure, if they pay the rent. Shouldn't be too hard, plenty of work for farmers around here.

How to play the vibraphone. Unfortunately, even the used ones are expensive as hell.

Well, I'm interested. I'll be watching this thread.

Oh, whoops! My bad!

@@Seamore Sandwich, just to check, I'm assuming Adante is near Quinch and Vivid? If not, I can fix my post.

@@Blitz Boom @

Quinch smirked under the helmet. Yeah, as segues went that one was... bad. But it was progress and in all honesty, the entire encounter could have gone better. He'd gotten used to testing everything, from things to people and when it came to the latter, he didn't care much about how it made them feel as long as it made at least someone safer. On some level he was aware that emotions mattered despite safety, and it bothered him a little how comfortable he was with the fact that he would probably test some other stranger the same way again.

But here and now, he at least seemed safe. He'd listened, patiently, carefully, as Vivid deflated. He chose his words deliberately, playing on its fears and self image, trying to pinpoint what mattered to it and show how its own momentum threatened them and, with a faint feeling of loss, wondered what it would was like to not be so callous.

"Sure, why not?" he said, trying to relax his voice in return. The adrenaline was still going and he had to make an effort to slow down, both his mind and his breathing. He thumbed at the approaching ponies. "Although it might be a good idea to talk to the locals first, before they get any...." He paused. "Wrong impressions."

@@Blitz Boom

Oh yeah. So, any other thread participants around?

{also do you get a notification if I do a mention in a post edit?}

@@Blitz Boom

Well, here goes. Quinch's diplomacy tends to be of the wrecking ball type when it comes to subtlety, but at least he's made it clear that the situation they're in is not sustainable.

{and magic or no, he can be a force to be reckoned with}

If she could have seen past the mask, Vivid would have seen a grimace flash across Quinch's face as he fought the urge to shoot back. He wasn't the only one, apparently, with the ability to touch a nerve, and being called the H-word was something that never stopped bothering him.

He took a breath. He was getting angry, and that was not a good place to be... well, anytime. Vivid was getting in over her head, and he'd never had to talk someone off a ledge before - on the few occasions, he either left it to the professionals or let some cape all to eager to show off their flying skills deal with it.

"Okay," he said. "You know what? You have a point. I'm not going to say you're right - not yet - but I didn't trust you, and you probably didn't deserve it."

That much was true enough, at least. If Vivid was capable, and definitely willing to use magic as a weapon, it could have done so by now. This cage, threatening though it seemed, was apparently more to keep him contained so Vivid could rationalize its actions to him, find some sort of justification, and if it couldn't, well, things might get messy.

"Truth is, I still don't trust you," he continued. "But instead of not trusting your intentions, I doubt your judgement, or at least right now. Not that it helps that I've made a point to push your buttons, and yeah, that one's all on me. But this," he pointed up, making a finger circle at the cage of shadows surrounding them, "Is this really what you want to do every time someone insults you? I mean, hell, what if someone sees you now, what are they going to think? What's the princess going to think? So, the way I see it, you can drop this cage and I'll even go with you if that's what you still want, you can keep it up and I can pound you into the dirt and I really, really don't want to do that, or we keep this back and forth until someone outside runs away screaming. But for whatever it's worth, I am sorry."

@@Blitz Boom

Back atcha.

He's not being very nice, is he?

@@Blitz Boom

Quinch listened patiently to Vivid Loss's rant, occasionally glancing around at the enveloping magic. It seemed... sincere. Heartfelt. Even tormented.

"Oh, spare me."

Except it was complete BS.

"You've accosted me from the moment I arrived here," he continued, glaring at Vivid behind his helmet. "You have all but ordered me to go where you told me to and nowhere else. You say you could have treated me as an invader, but from this end, you've done nothing but! With nearly every sentence you've talked to me as though I'm supposed to prove my innocence from, well, whatever deranged fantasies you've conjured up in your head when I haven't, not once lifted a finger against you." With those last words he lifted up his hand, enveloping his entire forearm in orange lightning, streaks of electricity crawling between his fingers with sickening crackles. "And when I tried to distance myself from you, to try and introduce myself to the same people you have such an insulting lack of faith in that you think they'd run in panic at the sight of anything different, did you actually call out? 'Wait?' 'Stop?' Tell me, is the word 'please' not part of Equestrian language, or is it just reserved for other people?"

He shook his hand, dismissing the charge, "No, instead you block my path with barely feet to spare and dark magics in tow, drag me down when I try to get away from you - frankly, if you have a different definition of imprisonment, I would love to hear it," he added, dripping sarcasm. "I didn't call you you a villain. I didn't even call you a monster. But if you're looking for an inconsiderate, suspicious savage with no regards for others' feelings..."

He leaned in close, the red polished glass of his helmet's visor reflecting her face in a distorted image.

"You are looking in the wrong direction."

If we go by track record, Luna would go straight into impeachment trial. Celestia may be impeached too, although she may be able to be acquitted.

Over a thousand years of a relatively idyllic society sounds like a pretty good run to me. And Luna served her time.

Celestia for president for life, with Luna as vice-president.

Hey, you can't deny the track record.

@@Blitz Boom

Posted at last. Let's expand this little game, shall we?

@@Blitz Boom
 
Quinch took some small comfort from the fact that he at least wasn't alone in feeling annoyed. He got his answer, at least, to either run to the edge of town and walk in calmly if Vivid Loss decided to let him go, or just keep going and see if he could get the attention of someone not hell-bent on keeping him controlled. As the spectral claw grabbed his foot, his first instinct was to put full power into the boot thrusters and see if he could just overpower its grip. The problem there, he quickly realized, was that he might succeed and between the busy street and unpredictable trajectory, the last thing he needed was to go ballistic - literally - on the locals. It would probably be difficult to leave a good first impression on top of somebody's crushed spine.
 
He hated hostage situations.
 
"It know it's a little much to ask, but could you at least not insult my intelligence?" he asked, openly peeved. "You have no intentions of allowing me to do either. I don't know what you're expecting to receive from this princess you're ostensibly taking me to, but it's pretty obvious that - " Annd amplify.
 
"HELP! I'M BEING HELD PRISONER!!"

" - you're not an actual authority figure around here.... are you?"

He smirked under the helmet. One thing he'd learned while heroing was that people usually didn't expect an attack mid-sentence even though unfortunately, he happened to learn that by being those people. Either way, though, this should get the attention of anyone within a fifty-meter radius and if the natives really were friendly, he figured he was in at least a stable position to introduce himself. Unless it turned out Vivid Loss actually did have influence on the populace. But as bluffs went, it was the best one he had.

@@Blitz Boom

Well, I've been procrastinatey as hell the past few days with no real excuse. I need to head to work soon but I'll whip up a post when I get back.

As for my plans, well, I was hoping for a quick chase through the streets of Ponyville, but while he's not where he wanted to be yet, it's... close enough.

I'm allergic to spider tea.

@@Blitz Boom

Quinch didn't bother looking back, radar telling him what he needed to know, for now, at least. Vivid Loss didn't seem to pursue him, which either meant he caught it really by surprise, or it didn't think it needed to pursue him, at least not on foot. He filed that fact away, keeping his eyes forward - mostly.

The advantage of, well, let's not mince words, indecisiveness was that he did end up much closer to the settlement, and flat terrain and scattered tree cover let him cover the distance with relative ease. In fact, the sight he could glance through the trees was... definitely new.

Quadruped, he thought, taking in what detail he could. No clothes, variety of colors. Wings, horns... not both? Ornamental? Vestigial? Wings too small to fly. Symbolic markings on rump. Caste society? Really low tech. Thatched roofs? Really? Can't recognize the language. Shops? No open weapons in sight, likely peaceful. Hopefully peaceful. Find out soon.

A soft ping told him what he was expecting, as the purple smoke gathered in front of him and the familiar figure reappeared a short distance ahead, soon accompanied by a trio of ghostly hands. Teleportation, confirmed. Shadow magic too. Using horn as focus? Racial trait? File it away.

"I repeat: I try to steer away - "

He didn't try to stop. Or slow down.

Grounded.

He jumped. That might be a slight misstatement - it might be more accurate to say that he jumped, and then kept going up, the ridiculous pink boots flaring up with blue flames as he sailed over Vivid Loss' head and accompanying claws, grabbing an overhead branch in passing and leaping into the canopy.

@@Blitz Boom, barging through her? You're so cute.    

Also, have fun at your friend's place!

"Rarity.... just in case we don't make it..."

And the subsequent five seconds.

@@Blitz Boom

WE'RE DOING THIS!

-runs away cackling-

[also this might be useful. Except Hide, tankers aren't made for stealth]

@Blitz Boom

Quinch shrugged at what might have been meant by praise, or flattery. In normal circumstances, it might have made a difference. "Pity not the land that lacks a hero," he said. "Pity the land that needs one. Someone someone," he added after a brief pause as he futilely tried to remember whatever high-school reading assignment writer came up with it.

He could see what was presumably the castle, strange crystal spires and angles that put him ill at ease, and that meant he was probably running out of time to decide. For all its geniality, he only had its word that the reason they were avoiding the town was to keep him from spooking the locals that saw him. But it also conveniently prevented him from actually seeing anything that wasn't presented to him.

"Is there more things that you wonder about Quinch, before we go to meet the newest of the Alicorns?"

He didn't really know what kind of a threat Vivid Loss could be - teleportation was apparently something it was able to pull off, but if it was used as an envoy for a demon, he'd be surprised if it wasn't capable - or at the very least had been - of other unpleasantries. But ultimately, anything that happened would depend on intent, either Vivid's or his own. At the very least, he could take the initiative.

"I guess you could say that,"  he said lifting his arm up, fingers twirling around the wingtip as he swung the helmet back onto his head in an unbroken, practiced motion. "Seeya."

And took off running.

@@Blitz Boom

Quinch considered the timeframes. By its account, Vivid Loss was apparently immortal, or at the very least ageless, which was plausible, given the nature of some magical creatures. A settlement that lasted more than a century tended to grow into a city, one that endured a millennium would have normally have become a sprawling metropolis, and there was no skyline that he could see. It mentioned metalworking too, earlier, and by the sound of it, it was being literal. So, either the speed of seasons was vastly sped up, or the local rate of technological growth was almost stagnant. Which might be either good or bad - if there was a ban on technology, he might not exactly be welcome. On the other hand, he could hardly deny that the primary driver of development on Earth just so happened to be large-scale wars.

"It's Quinch," he said. It wasn't his given name, he had a middle and last one too, but he barely used it anymore. If you could choose a name for yourself and use it for all practical intents and purposes, there was no reason not to make it your identity. "As for my home.... hmm, not really. My family, or what I cared about, has been dead for a while, and I haven't really spared the time for... social activities. I suppose there would have been the whole 'protecting your loved ones' principle if I had any relationships, but that's more or less hypothetical."

He paused to think. "Responsibility, I suppose. For what it's worth, there are people there, strangers ranging from mostly to complete, but that doesn't make them any less entitled to a more or less safe life. And the degenerates and narcissists I mentioned earlier.... I'll admit I feel I'm better than them, and it gives me a measure of pride to know that. As long as it's earned."