LonnaKitty

She giggled and nodded, she understood boredom, too well. When she heard about the gossip though she perked up. She hadn't heard about too much gossip, too busy with other things. Her wings fluttered in anticipation, she normally wasnt a gossiper but hey, when presented she supposed. "Go on."

@@Illiad Easle, "As much as I love my citizens they rely too heavily on me, Alicorn I may be, but I am no higher being. They must rely on the other council members as well. So yes, just the two days to prep to go to where you live, however long I stay there will be up to you. But I want the members to go back to what they used to do, each had their own expertise and they forgot about it over these years. So its going to be quite the kick in the rump to get them back to work." she winked at him and let out a small giggle at the bit of mischief. "What I am hoping for is to trade again, we used to be so rich in trade with other cultures, ponykind, among other things, but when we were cut, a lot of the luster was lost, so I hope to make good relations with lots of delegates. I want that richness back in our lives. I miss it..." she trailed off looking a bit sad for a moment, shaking her head to answer his last question. "Well since they still think you do not know about it, its about my bracelets," she rose her back leg showing the back bracelet for a moment and putting it back down. "He was worried that I wouldn't be able to handle taking them off and putting them back on, which is a reasonable fear, you saw what happened the other day. However the full extent would be that these, fill up with magic, and everyday I have to replace them with new ones, and clear the excess magic from the old ones. Now when I do take off and replace them, a small magic shock wave happens and I am in a small amount of pain for a little bit, not too much, I have put up with it. He was worried I might mess up and cause trouble." she didn't go into what kind of trouble that maybe, she seemed kinda reluctant to say as much. She rubbed her fore bracelet and looked to him with a shy smile. "I hope you don't mind the long winded explanation."

She giggle at him and looked towards a dark orange mare approaching them. "Good afternoon Princess, hope your doin well, would you like the usual?" she asked, her voice bright a cheerful. "Yes please Orange Blossom." Argante nodded to her, Orange Blossom nodded and then looked to the large stallion. She was only shocked by his size for maybe a moment before asking him the same question. After getting his answer she would trot away to go get what they asked for. "So what is a pony like you doing wandering all by your lonesome anyways?"

@@Illiad Easle, "Fillydelphia seems like a better choice for now, if we play our cards right we can offer a path straight through the forest linking Ponyville and Fillydelphia..." Argante pondered aloud, no one interrupted her as she spoke. Her eyes wandering all over the place, her mumbling getting faster. The council members shifted uncomfortably, but it was Raindew who put his hoof on the princess making her stop dead in her tracks. She shook her head and looked around, smiling sheepishly. Raindew only smiled and sat back down. They nodded to each other and then looked to the council. "Are we in a agreement?" she asked, looking at each ponies eyes. They looked back and forth to each other and then nodded one by one. Argante sighed and then gulped bracing for the next topic. "Our next business is something that came up recently, I would like to go with Midnight to see where he lives and the lives of others, learning and bringing back what I learn to here." They all stared at her like her wings fell off. "No!" "What about the citizens?" "What about...." Joyleaf stopped his sentence and looked away. Argante knew what he was going to ask, all she did was sigh at their yelling and waited for it to die down before she spoke in a calm manner. "The citizens do not need me everyday, that's what you all are for." she glanced at them and they shifted uncomfortable at the stare she was giving them. She was gaining confidence, she could feel it in her feathers, she can't back down now. "And as for the other thing, I am more than capable of handling it on my own as long as I am careful, Raindew taught me just in case." They all glared at Raindew who looked off to the side like he didn't care about their glances or disapproving eyes, he was too old for their shenanigans anyway. He did turn back to Argante and gave a large smile, the signal for her to continue on. She nodded and smiled back. "It is only right for me to go and make connections with the outside world we know nothing about, I want one good legitimate reason I should not go." she glared, daring them to question her logic. They only glanced away, uncomfortable that their princess was now getting the uperhoof. "Then I will go, I will prepare for it, it might take a day, two at the maximum, but I will start tomorrow, I will make the announcement to everyone before dinner." They only nodded, she brought her hoof down, a signal the meeting had ended, everyone stood up, taking their hooves above their chests and bowing to each other before leaving the hall. Raindew was the last to leave, giving a playful wink to the young mare on a job well done, before exiting the hall, closing the door behind him. Argante gave the loudest sigh to ever sigh, laying on the ground in exhaustion. "I can't believe that worked in my favor..."

@,@@CharChar, Argante groaned. This was not what she wished to today. She sighed and followed suit, picking up her piece of the gem. It was quite heavy, but it reminded her of something, she couldn't recall what though. She frowned at herself, upset that her memory was starting to fail her a bit.

@@Illiad Easle, Most if not all the members stood agape, not really wishing to believe in such things. Argante cleared her throat and stood. "We have been gone too long everyone. The Tree chose new protectors and with very good reasons. After we have reestablished ourselves, I wish to meet with the guardians, and even the princesses, for now of course that will have to wait." They only sat there looking down and away when an old voice spoke up, "You ponies act like you have been stung in the snout!" "Raindew...." "Now listen here, I am old, I am tired, and I want my nap, so here is an old stallions opinion. Our princess has suggested a fairly good idea, but so has the stallion, so how about a combining? Instead of magic, we expand the earthen wall, we wont require too much magic cause the earth wall will just need to be raised and maybe repaired every so often. Midnight, is there a town near us that we may make the path too? I am sure there is since its been a long time."

She giggled at his ramblings, it reminded her a bit of herself when she gets too excited. She nodded in answer to his question though. "Yes once back in a very old time, we renamed ourselves shortly after we were trapped but this kingdom used to be known as Tranquil Hallow. When the incident happened though, it was unanimous that we change our name, for various reasons." They arrived at the tavern and Argante sat on one of the comfy chairs that was sitting outside. Music could be heard indoor along with laughter and singing.

@@CharChar,@, @@Missklang, Argante shifted and sighed, stepping into the circle once more. She was getting pretty tried of all this, and the amount of magic was making her bracelets hurt. She would need to switch them soon. Her ears flattened at the thought of doing it herself. She was not looking forward to that at all. She stood and waited patiently for the next teleportation.

@@Illiad Easle, She smiled sadly and turned to him very serious like. "Once I tell you the rest of our story, you will understand, promise." She got up and headed out the door, waiting for him to follow. As they made the rounds around the town there were only a few small disputes. One not getting their share of food. One who accidentally had some land broken up cause of the earth wall. Another was a feud over a mare, now that one was a mess that Argante could barely manage. Only a few stopped her with other small problems, but she always stuck it out, talking kindly with her citizens, making sure their problems were fixed, even if some of them were a bit complicated. Getting help where she needed it from Midnight. She stretched out as they headed back to the keep, a small yawn escaping from her. "Great Tree do I wish I could nap, but if I did that the council would have my hide." she giggled a bit as they traveled inside the keep. "We will be going to the Circle Room, that is where we hold the meetings." She grinned a bit and stopped in front of two large doors. The doors were carved with the Tree of Harmony on them, six ponies stood in front of the tree that were glowing. Argante pushed the doors open, revealing the large room. It had six chairs and four of them were filled. The members looked to Argante and then to Midnight. "Princess, what is he doing here." the large dapple grey, Hoofbeat, stood up and glared, he didn't seem to be in a very happy mood. 'He is never in a happy mood' Argante thought and just glared back. "He is here to see how our government works Hoofbeat, he also has information for a topic we will be getting into, so don't be rude." she drew herself to her full height, trying her best to be intimidating as she took her seat, she motioned for Midnight to take the last remaining seat beside her and smiled, turning back to the council once he was seated where he pleased. They talked about random things, if she settled the disputes, other things. When they got on the topic of the surrounding area, she had purposed a barrier around them, but with an opening leading straight out of the forest and into a safe area. "That's crazy!" "That's too much magic!" "But it could work..." "Who would let us even place our barrier near them?" Argante sat and listed to their arguing, Raindew did the same, watching, thinking, calculating. "I might have an idea, its a stretch, a very long and thin one but, I think the new bearers might help, please tell them Midnight, about the new Elements."

@@Illiad Easle, Argante's eyes sparkled with joy as she swallowed her food quickly, coughing in the process. "I would love to go!!!" she then caught herself, blushing as other ponies stared at her, some chuckling at their very cheerful princess. She coughed again and then sat all regal like. "I-I mean, yes, I will go, I am the royal representative after all." she glanced over a smirked a bit before bursting into a fit of laughter. "Sorry, sorry, I don't really act like a princess much, its uh, well after the first hundred or so years, you get quite comfortable with other ponies and so its hard to keep up the act, so to speak." she then frowned as she saw one of the council members shake his head and leave the hall. She sighed and leaned back in her chair. "Honestly...its not like its wrong for me to be friendly...." the comment was more to herself than anything else.

@@Illiad Easle, She nodded glad he was comfortable. She thanked the maids that brought them some oranges, eggs, toast, some hay, and orange juice and apple cider. She took a bite before she spoke up. "Let's see, mainly you will probably be watching, see how I deal with things of varying natures, but a second hoof would be very helpful. After those few things are knocked out, we will then go to the council meeting and deal with that," she pouted at the mention of the council, she then shook it off and took another bite off food. "After all that we have the rest to ourselves, I can tell you the rest of our unfortunate history, and answer other questions while you answer mine."

She looked back and grinned, "Yes, we will go the the tavern over there, get some snacks and stuff." She walked across the courtyard, ponies would occasinally stop and place their hoof over their chests and bow to the alicorn, then continue walking. "I am surprised you would have heard about us, we have been gone from equestrias history for well over 3000 years, then again, we were probably a legend 1600 years ago, but like most legends, died with time."

@,@@CharChar, @@Missklang, Argante sighs and goes to walk beside Luna, looking over at her. "Luna, I know we barely know each other, and forgive me for stepping over lines I shouldn't cross, but do you have ANY idea on what is going on? If need be I can protect myself and those else who need the protection, and my curiosity be cursed but, I would like to know SOMETHING." she grumbled a bit, her feathers were itchy and her bracelets hurt. Those two signs together normally meant bad news.

@@Illiad Easle, "Good morning Midnight!" Argante stopped a little bit before she had reached his room. She looked excited for the day, a saddle bag slung on her. "I hope you are ready, after breakfast we got some work to do." she laughed a bit walking beside him, making small talk as they made it to the great hall once more. The smell of toast and eggs permeated the air, a few guardsmen still looked half asleep, while new recruits were excited for their training. The wait staff rushed back and forth making sure everypony had food and drink. Argante made her way to her seat at the dais, placing her bag beside her waiting for her food. "So was your room okay? I hope it was alright."

@@CharChar,@, @@Missklang, Argante only stood and listened, she didn't have much to say on the matter at hand, she herself only met the princess maybe twice since her kingdom broke free of the spell. She liked Luna, but still wasn't sure on Celestia. She had some pretty mixed feelings around everything in general. She only followed Shining, her curiosity driving her forward. She wanted to know and understand what was going on, she just had a feeling in her feathers that it might not be good.

@@Illiad Easle, "Of course Sir." the dark blue unicorn pulled a cart back to revel a plethora of combs, brushes, perfumes, and other beauty knickknacks on it. "Feel free to chose what you wish." Argante was in her room, writing a couple of documents to bring with her to the meeting that would be after breakfast. She rolled them up and placed them into her saddle bag. Sighing she turned around to the head hoofmaid and nodded. It was time to begin the worst part of her day. The maid smiled and prepped the bracelets, then going over to her mistress unlatched the first one. Her mistress winced as the sparks began, she quickly replaced it with the new one. The process repeated for the others, only the last one made her mistress yelp in pain. She bowed quickly, taking the sparking bracelets that were on her mistress the day before to be cleansed by the head mage. She exited quickly, passing by Midnight's room, the sparking box could be seen and then gone. Arganted panted a bit and sat in her room a bit longer before throwing her bag on, adjusting her bracelets, and stepping out, to greet the new day.

@@Illiad Easle, *~The Next Morning~* Argante woke up to the sound of her hoofmaidens coming in and drawing back the curtains. They started to run around pulling her out of bed and started to preen her. Brushing her mane and tail, along with her coat. She yawned loudly, rubbing her eyes free of sleep. "Would you like the gems in Princess?" "Oh moon no. Not anymore, he has seen me without it and honestly I would prefer it." Argante grumbled and the hoofmaid nodded and put the gem box away, finishing brushing out all the tangles free. She then stepped away and bowed, the two hoofmaidens stepping outside. She sighed and looked outside. She hoped she was prepared for what was coming this afternoon. While she pondered in her room, a butler went to Midnight's room and knocked on it calling out to him, "Sir do you require any service?"

@@Illiad Easle, Argante nodded at his story, feeling sorry for those that had to deal with the hardships that came with what happened. "Well maybe we can be a form of catalyst? Its a nice hope, but hopes help us dream, as long as we nurture it, well who knows." she grinned a bit and then stood up from her seat, stepping off the dais, looking behind her to make sure he was following. As they walked though the dimly lit hallways of the keep Argante kept the conversation going. "I hope that after a little while, and with my own citizens interacting with you, that they will be able to go off and explore the world. I wish for us to be apart of the land, but I know we have a lot to learn. I will probably think of more things to possibly improve upon, and since we are in a dangerous part of the forest we will have to get the barrier up before we invite others..." she continued to ramble on about improving the lives of her people. Even if she was a bit ditzy she cared very deeply for her people, and was surprisingly smart about all things that needed to be covered. "A-ha here we are, your room." she had stopped in front of a oak wood door with a rose bush carved into the wood with detail. She opened the door and the room was simple and cozy. A large down feather bed, a single red carpet in front of a fireplace that had wood both inside the fireplace and on the side a safe distance away. A couple more smaller tapestries were on the wall, and a large window with a balcony that had a perfect view of the night sky and the back gardens. "My room is actually beside yours, so if you need anything just go to the door with a crystal carved into it, it looks like my mark." she smiled, standing in the door making sure he was comfortable before she left. "Have a good night." she placed her hoof over her chest, bowed, then left, closing the door behind her. As she walked to her room and went inside it she sighed and sat on the floor a moment. Today was both nerve wracking and exciting. She decided to sit outside on her own balcony, enjoying the crisp night. She took a deep breath and started to sing softly, hoping not to wake anyone. Her voice was very nice, melodious, warm and inviting.

@@Illiad Easle, "Oh gosh no! No the others are not immortals, its just, when things happened my parents, well the counter spell they tried to cast made everyone stop aging while the barrier remained. I am sure the normal cycle of life and death will continue now that it has been removed, only I will probably be the last remnant of the old times later in life." her tone shifted to a slightly sad one, she hadnt thought about that topic in a long time but now that it was a truth once more she would have to re-accept it once again. She looked out one of the windows the sky had grown dark and she nodded at the beautiful night sky. "Well then I guess I will ask one more question for tonight and then show you to your room. Since you mentioned it and all, who are the Trojans?"

@@Illiad Easle, She smiled softly and nodded slowly. "They may be gone, but as long as I uphold their ideals, they live on." she touched her hoof to her chest and smiled at her own heartbeat. She then blushed and coughed continuing with her explanation. "So currently the current members are, Honesty, Generosity, Magic, and Kindness. We do have a fifth member which is Raindew, the very old blue stallion who called you a young one." she giggled at that and then went back to the conversation. "We would have had a sixth if the captain of the guard would have joined, but she declined, saying she had to train others and protect us, so we let her be." Argante just shrugged a bit at the comment. "What we do in the council is we settle disputes between ponies that end up in a large scale. Though we had plenty of room, being around the same ponies for three thousand plus years will make anypony on edge. We also make rules and laws, I have the last say though with that, I decide if its put in practice or not. The council will act as head if I am sick or wounded, taking care of my usual duties along with anything else that happens in the day. Lets see what else....oh and of course the emergency meetings, which I guess are self explanatory." she nodded to herself, yeah, that was a good explanation, she thinks.