private Midnight in Manehattan Part 2

[crispy fries 432]

@@Illiad Easle, @,

 

A taxi stopped in front of the bunch, and Ballpoint promptly hopped on. "We're going to the train station, and make it snappy," she said.

 

"Hey Illiad, how come some archivist way out from Dodge got sent to look for a missing pony?" she asked.

 

(Bedtime for me too)

Edited March 7, 2016 by crispy fries

[Guest]

Second Stepped into the carriage after them. "Equestria's lines run as far as dodge junction. From there, we'll have to set off on foot. Unless we somehow get our hooves on an airship" he commented, visualizing a map of Equestria. "I suppose we could buy our supplies at the place?"

[Illiad Easle 3,164]

@,@@crispy fries,

 

Illiad shrugged as he got in the taxi. "I made a friend of the one that wants him found, so she's paying me to go find him. I think it's a trust thing more than anything, though if he's dead it will make finding him much harder. Also, I'm on a break as our group finished one tribe and is now cataloging my transcriptions, so it's not like I was doing much else anyway."

He turned to the mysterious one, "Dodge is a popular staging area for explorers, so we could easily gather whatever supplies we need to go after them." 

[crispy fries 432]

@@Illiad Easle,

 

"Aren't we just a bunch of regular adventurers. I'll probably need to send a telegram to the Canterlot Press to say I'll be gone for a little while longer," said Ballpoint as the taxi began to move. 

 

@,

 

"So tell me, what's your deal?" Ballpoint asked Second Sight.

[Guest]

Second Sight raised an eyebrow at Ballpoint. "My...deal?" He asked. "I'm looking for the artifact for research purposes. It's basically a normal object with an extremely strong enchantment, and I specialise in enchantments. Your little adventure piqued my interest."

[Illiad Easle 3,164]

@,@@crispy fries,

 

"Well aren't We lucky." Illiad said as he rolled his eyes. Piqued his interest did we? Our Little quest amused him? Thought he'd 'pop in' and see where it went? Illiad prided himself on his internal dialogues, they kept him out of quite a bit of trouble. "So why are you so special? You attracted quite a bit of attention back at the Waldorf, and given your coat and hat I'd say you were hiding something." 

[crispy fries 432]

@

 

"Yeah, what's with the getup? You look less like the kinda pony who'd be some bigshot magic expert and more like somepony whose face I should be spraying mace in when you approach me in a dark alley. No offense of course," said Ballpoint with a hint of sarcasm.

[Guest]

Second clicked his tongue. "The cloak and hat make me harder to see at night, which is useful no matter which side of the law you're on" he explained. "It keeps my coat clean, too. It's not as fanciful as some of the robes those Grand mages use."

 

He shrugged. "Ponies were giving me stares because I'm the only earth pony who actually accomplished something in the field of magic."

[crispy fries 432]

@,

 

"I didn't even know an earth pony would even be able to do something in the field of magic. Zebras, I can get, they've got that whole shaman thing going on, but just what exactly did you do to have all those mages shooting you dirty looks? And why do are you so confident that you can unfuck the artifact when the Zebra was keen on keeping it locked up?"

[Guest]

Second Sight chuckled hollowly. "Oh no, I'm not confident myself. Well, the artifact seems to be inherently evil, so there's no reason why celestia couldn't just drop it into the middle of the sun." He stated leaning back in his seat and using a hood to gesture. "if the artifact could be... 'Unfucked', I would have the necessary connections to the ponies who could disenchant it if I can't."

[Illiad Easle 3,164]

@,@,

 

Pretentious much? Magic isn't the only worthwhile pursuit you know. I could name a few earth ponies who have done some interesting things with their own magic. "I think we should just get rid of the artifact as quickly as we can, put it somewhere where its effects cannot be duplicated. I find nothing to learn from an artifact whose sole purpose is to cause destruction and death." Sighing was quickly becoming his favorite past-time, "So, The only earth pony to ever do something with magic, what exactly did you do that's so special you forget that you guys discovered how to use magic to grow things?" Only earth pony to do magic my flank.

Edited March 8, 2016 by Illiad Easle

[crispy fries 432]

@,

 

"Buddy, that seems like a stupid idea. I'm pretty the Zebra buried that thing deep so that stuff like the Manehattan attack wouldn't happen. Now, I'm sure he had his reasons for not giving the thing to Celestia, but I don't think it should be unlocked, especially if it's evil like you said. And what kinda contacts do you have that could unlock the artifact?"

[Guest]

@Illiad

 

"Most unicorns generally use the the term 'magic' to refer to their own unicorn magic, contrary to dictionary definition. The use has rubbed off me, it seems." He sighed. "I'm surprised someone from dodge would know about passive magic. It'd take too long to explain what I did, so let's just say that I can use small amounts of unicorn magic"

 

Second turned the Ballpoint, gritting his teeth. He was getting noticeably irritated at all the questions. "There's the shaman from ponyville, the princesses of equestria and every professor and student, by extension, in the university of canterlot. Or you could just let the princesses dump it into the sun."

Edited March 8, 2016 by Guest

[crispy fries 432]

@,

 

"Alright, fair point. To be honest, I might sleep a little better if Celestia chucked it into the sun," said Ballpoint.

 

The carriage pulled over in front of the train station. "Here you are," said the cabbie.

 

"You two gotta pitch in for the fare," Ballpoint said, giving the cabbie a few bits.

[Guest]

Second Sight gave the cabbie a couple of bits of his own and followed ballpoint out the door. "The earliest train to dodge leaves half an hour for now. If we move quickly we can catch it." He stated. He had memorized the train schedules of the city among other transport services.

[crispy fries 432]

@, @@Illiad Easle,

 

Ballpoint approached the ticket booth, levitated some bits from the bag Janeri gave her, put them on the counter and said, "Three for the soonest train to Dodge."

 

"Here's your tickets," the stallion in the booth handed them to Ballpoint.

 

She then gave one to Second Sight and one to Illiad.

[Illiad Easle 3,164]

@@crispy fries,@, 

 

I suppose that is impressive, and understandable as to why those archmages don't like him, crossing natural boundaries and all. Illiad took his ticket without saying anything, he thought it best to remain silent at this point rather than add anything to the current conversation. Maybe he's not so different from I? He has his unicorn magic and I  changeling, his being more natural than mine, he certainly didn't look like someone to suffer as I did.

[Guest]

Second took the ticket, nodding in thanks. "I suppose you want me to pay for my own trip?" He asked, already withdrawing his pouch from under his cloak.

 

'These two ponies don't seem to like me very much. Not that I mind, unless it gets in the way of our quest.' He mused.

[crispy fries 432]

@,

 

"Save your bits for now. I don't have too much more of the money the Zebra gave me, so I guess you can help pay for any supplies we'll need in Dodge. Plus, the Zebra said he'd pay us to bring the artifact back anyways, so I'm sure you'll make the money back. Now, we got half an hour to kill."

[Guest]

@Illiad easel

 

Second Sight glanced through Illiad. 'A thinker. A cynical one, nonetheless. Doesn't look the part.' He mused. Second sight stepped forward to speak.

 

"Well then, I hardly know anything about you two. Tell me about yourselves. We don't know how long we might be stuck together."

 

Second hoped that his effort to make conversation would help him pass as a normal pony capable of proper social interaction.

[Illiad Easle 3,164]

@,@@crispy fries,

 

The mysterious pony seemed like he was trying too hard to pretend like he had well developed social skills. "I'm an archivist from the Canterlot Archives most recently working on transcribing the oral history of the buffalo tribes. In the process I befriended some very powerful individuals and as a result I'm here trying to find Swift. Also, it helps if you ask start with a specific question, it shows interest. For instance, that's an odd contraption you have strapped to your foreleg, what does it do?" 

[crispy fries 432]

@,

 

"Aw crap, did I forget to even tell you my name? I'm Ballpoint. I'm an investigative journalist with the Canterlot Press. I was here in Manehattan on an assignment to investigate the attack. There's a good story behind it, and our little adventure is absolute gold."

[Guest]

Second Sight nodded. "Good, your connections to the Buffaloes may aid us in our search. If I remember correctly, their stampede extends to the badlands?" He asked.

 

'And on the flipside, it helps if you start by telling me your name' he snarled internally.

 

He moved his mechanical claw into view. "My mechanical good allows me to cast unicorn spells, albeit weak ones. You won't be seeing a laser coming out of this any time soon."

 

Second turned to Ballpoint. "I personally recommend that you publish this adventure- should anything interesting happen at all- as your own book. You will make quite a bit if that damned daring do series is any indication.."

[crispy fries 432]

@,

 

"Like I said, this whole thing is gold. I might get fired for running off like this, but then again, I have the story of what happened leading up to the Manehattan attack, so I think my bosses will look the other way. And hey, how did you score that gadget? I've never seen something like it before."

[Guest]

Second Sight snorted. "I bought it at Walmart. It was the only one sale so I was lucky to get such a good deal on it."

 

A silence hung.

 

"Nah, I made it myself" he admitted. "I'm skilled at creating magical contraptions such as weapons and prosthetics."

 

He coughed lightly.

 

". Do we have any leads on the location of the artifact?"