open So who wants to rule the world?

[J.R. 3,183]

Ice shrugged and decided to speak up. ​"Icesius Blizzard of the Ice Clan. But ya'll can just call me Ice. Adventurer and combat semi-pro whether it's unarmed or magic. I sorta travel around, fight battles here and there, with the occasional trip to the Everfree forest when I'm bored. But I have been..noticing a few things that may have happened within Equestria, and kind know a decent amount about it's history having read several books on the subject. But other than that, eh...I'm nothing much." ​He finished, sitting back casually in his chair.

[DwhitetheGamer 867]

@@PonyOfWar, 

 

Copper looked down on his body as War brought up his uniform, and stated after looking back at him, "Just one simple reason: I thought this was a stealth mission in and of itself, so I didn't pack it."

 

He nodded his head at the notion that he can protect himself, as well.  "I can protect myself well.  I also have the same amount of time of being in the military as I do martial arts."

 

Finally, he shook his head at War after asking why the locals were untrustworthy to him.  "I assume whoever's behind this may have told everypony here, and they said not to bring it up to anyone else.  That's my reasoning as to why I don't trust the locals."

[BabylonSister 218]

@@J.R.,

 

Nix quietly wondered how far the pony would try to sit back before he realized he was sitting in his chair backwards, and watched him intently, hiding her smirk with a hoof.

She couldn't help but hope he would fall over, or flail desperately to try to prevent falling. It wasn't anything personal, just a touch of schadenfreude.

[Contrast 292]

“Sometimes, I wish I had picked a design that old ponies didn’t swat on sight?” Witty Thought could be found tinkering with a spherical device in her hooves, just outside the market district of Doppleslaunder, when something caught eyes. @@DwhitetheGamer, @@PonyOfWar,

 

She had been in Doppleslaunder for nearly two weeks now, and could swear she had never seen those two ponies among the locals before. 'The natives aren’t really keen on the idea of new ponies settling down, and the one in amour really stands out as well.' She continued to tinker with the sphere in her hooves without paying it much attention, as she thought about what might be going on. 'A guard perhaps, but what about the other one?'

 

That was when the device in her hooves came to life. “!!!” It unfolded two tiny wings and hoovered just above where she had been holding it. Upon closer inspection, the device greatly resembled a red parasprite. 'Witty 1, explosions today… 4' She took a moment to recenter her thoughts, 'Right, I still need to say hello.' With a deep breath and small sigh, Witty stood up, adjusted her saddlebags, and slowly began approached the two ponies. Her ‘parasprite’ followed her in tow.

 

'This is a pretty quiet town after all. Whatever those two need, I’m sure I can help, and let them be on their merry way.'

Edited July 20, 2016 by Contrast

[PonyOfWar 126]

@@DwhitetheGamer, @@Contrast,

 

He again listened to the blue pony finish all he had to say before responding "I can see your thought process however you should always pack some whether you walk around clad in armor for all to see or not. What happens if a stealth mission goes sideways and it turns into force or worse a battle for your life, you need to be prepared for anything." he shook his head and his ears lowered making him look rather angry even if his feelings were more annoyed than anything. So Copper believes he can handle himself yet he just admitted he is green not only in the military but also in combat or at least that was the way he made it sound meaning he hadn't been training long. He wouldn't comment on it, he had probably laid into the soldier enough...at least for the moment but he would make note of it since he would need to keep this pony out of action.

 

Lastly, he still didn't understand the ponies motivations for silence, he might have understood if he had again referred that he thought it was a stealth mission and that every pony needn't know what he was doing but this explanation was odd. "Why would someone causing a disturbance that required royal attention tell every pony about it? He would have to be a fool to do something like that, any of these ponies could turn him in, is he suppose to trust the entire village? No, he would be better off playing a victim who has no information about the anomaly just like any pony else. But that is also making the assumption some pony did this on purpose and will malintent. While I will not rule out the possibility as all things are possible, however, you seem to be a pony of a lot of assumptions without gathering the information required to do a proper analysis. That can be dangerous, that's how good ponies end up in the dungeon or executed. This very well could be a natural phenomenon or even an accident, but for the moment let's not rule anything out."

 

"We should begin by actually speaking to a local," and as if on queue a red mare was trotting up to them. War took note of the strange insect buzzing around her but he had never seen a para spite before and thus had now idea what it was, probably guessing it was a common insect of the swamp but he kept his face neutral on her approach. The Blue stallion had mentioned he was worried ponies wouldn't tell him if they indeed knew anything, War hopped his asking would be received differently if that were to be the case. After all Copper looked like nothing more than a very blue stallion, War of the other hoof was clad in blacken armor that was not common for the guard giving off the impression he was either a high rank or maybe a different group all together and that probably made him look far more like an antagonist then someone here to aid the princesses. He was also a very large pony regualarly that appeared menacing but he was rather polite and wasn't prone to violence, nor did he intend to act any different to the ponies he met here. He had no intention of threatening a local, he would let his appearance do that for him no need to use words. It was his own version of speaking gently but carry a big stick.

 

"Greetings," he began once the mare was in earshot, "If you do not mind may my cohort and I ask you a few questions?" he kept but a formal appearance but his tone was far more relaxed than it had been when talking to the other member in his unit.

[J.R. 3,183]

@@BabylonSister,

Ice quickly realized he was sitting the wrong way, and--as expected--he nearly fell over out of the chair until he realized what was happening. He put both of his hooves on the back of the chair to keep himself from falling, and got up, turning the chair around to face everyone, and sat in it the right way.

 

After that, he simply sat down, and waited to see if there was anyone else who had anything to say, as he didn't want to interrupt anyone from introducing themselves.

[Contrast 292]

@@PonyOfWar,@@DwhitetheGamer,

 

Upon further evaluation, the one in amour seemed larger than Witty had originally thought, and his amour seemed to hold a certain amount of authority in it. ‘No, that can’t be right…’ The color scheme definitely set him apart from the royal guard, unless this was Canterlot’s “finest” very poor attempt at blending in. ‘What next, guards with baseball caps and skateboards?’

 

All jokes aside, the two ponies in front of her seemed almost like night and day. Maybe what she mistook as two adventures was really the blue pony being roughed up by this… wanderer in black.

 

 

 

"Greetings," he began once the mare was in earshot, "If you do not mind may my cohort and I ask you a few questions?" 

 

‘Well, that settles that thought, they're definitely together.’ Witty raised her eyebrow and replied in an inquisitive manner, “Greetings?” She then continued by smiling and saying, “So long as you don’t abduct me, I’ll try and be as cooperative as I can.”

 

There was definitely something to be said about the way she spoke. Witty was either braver than most faced with this clearly intimidating pony, or too foolish to care.

Edited July 20, 2016 by Contrast

[DwhitetheGamer 867]

@@Contrast, @@PonyOfWar,

 

 

Copper turned as he saw War see a pony approach them, then let the older stallion speak first before he did.  And when that happened, he said, "We see no reason to abduct anypony unless they are important to royalty.  Anyways, may we ask who you are and why you're here?"

[Hazard Time 1,127]

@Queen Twii, @@The Down Trotten, @Unicorncob,  @J.R.,@BabylonSister,

 

 

"Surely I can't be the only pony who finds this amusing?" the baroness giggled, reclining back in her chair.  "Am I really the only pony here with a background in politics?  Aside from our handsome host, of course."  Her eyelids batted coquettishly in Rhetoric's direction.

 

"I am half-inclined to believe that a good portion of you have no interest in following up on your complaints.  Just how far would you be willing to go to air your grievances to the current administration?"

Edited July 21, 2016 by Hazard Time

[J.R. 3,183]

@@Hazard Time,

Ice scoffed as a grin crossed his muzzle. "I know a guy who voices and jokes about everything we've said so far to Celestia herself. Hell, the entire thing with the royal guard has been brought to Celestia's attention a lot of times from what I know. And apparently Shining Armor might be trying something new." He shrugged, "But if worse comes to worse, then heck yeah I'd voice whatever problems I have. The big issue here is mostly figuring out what the heck we're asking for, and if it makes sense."

[The Down Trotten 300]

@@BabylonSister,  @@J.R., 

 

 

Making mental tallies of everyone's names, he ran a mental check to see if any of them rang any bells, which suffice to say... only one of them sounded somewhat familiar, Cosmic Cloud? Rhetoric traveled so much and met so many ponies that it was quite possible he met this pony before but just didn't remember, how embressesing

 

Now that he thought about it , Ice Blizzard sounded somewhat familiar too, but then again Ice was a fairly common name among certain groups of ponies so it wasn't too surprising, nonetheless it was a bit strange this seemingly not caring barely old enough to be a stallion, was seemingly forcing himself to care. But one mustn't judge to harshly, eh Rhetoric, maybe he actually does care... doesn't feel like being very eloquent about it is all 

 

@@Hazard Time,

 

He had been keeping track of everyone's names and possible recognition when the madam in red spoke, whom brought up an interesting point "Well, ironically madam, I don't find it funny at all, as you see, unless your born into power, or happen to be a personal friend to the Princesses, getting into politics is neigh impossible, I've only half done and I've practically dedicated my life to the ideal.  Besides madam, you've yet to identify yourself, and here I am waiting with baited breath, wanting to know who our veteran politician is" the small flirtatious quip wasn't lost on Rhetoric, and while he was a bit to focused at the present moment to really be affected it did open a whole different playing field.... Splendid 

 

@, 

 

"Speaking of names, you haven;t revealed yourself either." he spoke to the bright yellow mare "Out of all of us, you seem to be the most violent, which could come in handy if we ever were to come across direct confrontation, but I can't imagine that, unless of course royal guards are truly that disapproving of meetings such as this" 

 

@@Unicorncob,

 

Now that he thought about it, actually having a moment to think about it... was really a bad mane cut the only reason this Cosmic Cloud showed up in a clouck, that was um odd, why not a hat "Pardon me for prying Ms Cloud, but now that I've had to to reflect, it's a bit odd that you show up.... well like that. I know you have a bad mane cut but surely it can;t be that bad where you'd want to hide your entire self? And if so you have to tell me where you got it cut... I'm a public figure and can;t look that ridicules if I can help it" he hide a small bit of blush, ashamed at his vanity 

Edited July 21, 2016 by The Down Trotten

[Unicorncob 5,687]

It took all the pegasus's willpower to avoid rolling her eyes at the Baroness's haughtiness. Her comments and attitude really suited her position, if she were going for the stereotypical 'Canterlot socialite' approach.

 

She'd fit in perfectly back home.

 

Though, Rhetoric's question caught her the tiniest bit off guard. The look of surprise on her face suited her facade, she hoped.

She responded by pulling the cloak further down over her face. "M-my parents did it, actually... p-please, I'd really not like to show it..."

[J.R. 3,183]

Ice rolled his eyes. "Ugh, I feel ya. Barbers can be the worst. Kinda why I leave my hair alone." He scoffed, having a bit of fun with it. But then quickly turned serious. "Jokes aside, something I can't stand are Unicorn supremacy and ponies who think Earth Ponies don't matter. News flash: we do, and are just as threatening. But no. Ponies wanna assume and judge like idiots. Part of the reason why I train to get stronger and prove that we do in fact matter, and it's been something that's made me disappointed in society since I was little. Anyone else think that?"

Edited July 21, 2016 by J.R.

[Contrast 292]

@@PonyOfWar,@@DwhitetheGamer, (sorry for taking so long)

 

For a moment, Witty looked slightly confused, then she broke out into laughter. "Right." She said in a sarcastic tone, "If the're not important, there's no bits to be made kidnapping them." Clearly, she took the blue pony's response as a joke.

 

"Well, if you must know, my friends call me Gears." She placed her hoof under her chin in thought for a moment, before she continued to speak, "I guess I'm sort of the town mechanic. A friend had sent word to Baltimare that things around this swamp-heep kept breaking and..." She made a gesture similar to a bow, "Here I am."

 

She looked at both ponies in turn, "Well, what about you two?"

Edited July 21, 2016 by Contrast

[PonyOfWar 126]

@Contrast @DwhitetheGamer

 

He didn't get the chance to respond since Copper seemed to want to take the lead though he wasn't sure how he felt about her believing they might abduct her, did the Royal guard do that often? Or maybe he just looked the part of a stallion that might kidnap some pony, he wasn't sure which of those Scenarios he'd prefer.

 

"I am called War and this is Copper Strikes, as he stated we have no intention of harming you or any citizen. Ah, a mechanic you say, quite a rare talent. You must deal with the locals often which could be beneficial as to why we are here. That is if you have dwelled here long,"

 

"We are here on Royal business and need to learn about a disturbance in the area, have you noticed anything strange occurring, anything at all no matter how small could be beneficial. From ponies acting odd, to lights in the sky."

 

"Perhaps these 'Things breaking in the swamp' is related if they needed to hunt you down due to it. What sort of issues are the locals facing with this, anything off about the devices that ask you to repair?"

[Contrast 292]

@@PonyOfWar, @@DwhitetheGamer, 

 

For a moment, Witty seemed worried. All the comments she made about abduction was a poor attempt at a crude joke. Upon the realization that these two actually worked, or at least claimed to be, under the princesses...

 

"We see no reason to abduct anypony unless they are important to royalty."

 

'Actually, that doesn't come as much of a surprise to me. I really wouldn't put it past them...'

~

 

Resting her fears for the rights of townsfolk aside, Witty began answering the stallions questions. "A disturbance in the area? I've been here for a little while now, there's not really much out here to disturb." She made a general gesture towards the town with her hooves. A few ponies were trotting about and carrying on with their average day. "I wouldn't really call anyone odd, the ponies here are just fairly reserved." She added to the side, ''If you haven't met any yet that's no surprise...'' 

 

With a cough, Witty began speaking so the two could hear her again. "As for the devices I repair, the're mainly just things that fell apart due to old age or too much murk caught inside it." She gave the two a quizzical look and asked, "You're sure that you have the right town?"

~

 

The parasprite that flew around Witty mimicked her actions. It was also giving you both a quizzical stare.

Edited July 22, 2016 by Contrast

[twiia 1,843]

Light Star looked at Rhetoric. "My name is Light Star. And violence is my middle name." She surpassed a slight laugh. "Well, back to all seriousness, that would sure be useful, but I highly doubt we'll be directly confronted. The royal guards all seem to be idiots these days."

[Hazard Time 1,127]

@@BabylonSister @ @@The Down Trotten @ @@Unicorncob

 

For a brief moment, a twinkle appeared in Carnelian's eyes at the mention of the earth pony/unicorn divide.  Interest tarried longer, her eyes locking with Ice's.

 

 

"Oh yes, quite the social issue, isn't it?  Even after multiple visits to Canterlot, it's never not amusing that some will hear Baroness Carnelian Clout announced and then proceed to balk at my lack of a horn.  Though, I did get my revenge at a masquerade ball last month: a shimmering silver mask with a three foot long horn!"  The noblemare burst out laughing, bringing a hoof to her mouth to attempt to calm herself.  "There I was, the longest horn in attendance, knocking over glasses, 'accidentally' prodding and lifting dresses!  It was an absolute delight!"  Her laughter continued non-stop for another minute before she was finally able to speak again.

 

"Anyway," Carnelian began, gulping for air.  "You all are so amusing, discussing violent confrontations with the Royal Guard in a public setting.  In fact, two hundred bits says that somepony sitting at this table intends to report everything we have said and will say to the guards.  Who knows?  There could even be more than one~"  Her deep blue eyes passed over the table, locking with and piercing those of her conspirators.

[J.R. 3,183]

@@Hazard Time,

Ice couldn't help but snicker at the Baroness' stories. It was downright hilarious to listen to her explanations. "Heh. Wow. Sounds like fun. But still...as far as the Royal Guard issue goes, I think we're all pretty much in agreement on that one. But like I said, the unicorn supremacist thing is a big issue considering how many earth ponies have been getting crap for stuff like being 'inferior' or whatever. And at the worst, there's been word of secret societies that are pro-unicorn only, and I hope it isn't true."

 

"And lastly, my only other issue is...and hear me out on this....the sheer lack of males in major political, or community placements. Not as high as the princesses, but it seems like most of the leaders, mayors, or whoever....are mares. I mean, I dunno if it's a real problem or what...anyone agree? Disagree?"

[The Down Trotten 300]

@@BabylonSister,@@Hazard Time,@@J.R., @, @@Unicorncob,  

 

As entertaining as it was to watch all of the conversations unfold, Rhetoric decided it was time for the next step in this meeting

"Ahem, this meeting is going much better then I expected, now before we go further, i would like to speak to all of you, somewhat briefly alone. I've rented a room upstairs, first door on the right. The rest of you, if your still interested, will wait down here until the pony meeting with me comes down. This shouldn't take to long but I would like to get to know all of you a bit personally, I did put myself out on the line here so I feel it's only fair." 

 

He got up from the table and made his way to the stairs "The door will be open so whomever wants to join me first please do, feel free to talk amongst yourselves of course, you may be working with this ponies for a while in the future, or not its up to you" 
 

[Unicorncob 5,687]

The pegasus just stared from under her hood at the Baroness, listening to her story of the masquerade ball.

 

She had heard about that incident from one of her colleagues. Apparently one of the guests had a rather... protruding horn on their mask and was getting rather... mischievous with it.

 

So she was the culprit. The Baroness was certainly raunchier than she gave her credit for.

 

She turned to Rhetoric and heeded his instructions. He would be meeting with each of the attendees personally.

 

Depending how things go, she would either infiltrate this 'rebellion' successfully, or Rhetoric would know that Celestia would have eyes watching him.

 

As long as he didn't make a move that would upset the kingdom, he would be safe.

[BabylonSister 218]

@, @@Hazard Time, @@J.R., @@Unicorncob,

 

Nix scanned the table. She really didn't want to go first, she hated going into things blind.
​But it seemed the only moves anyone made were to shift and stare at each other or the floor uncomfortably.

​"...Well fine alright then! I'll go!" She seemed to the others as if she took their reluctance (or their taking a few moments to prepare as the case may be for some) as a personal affront.

​Nix snatched her hat from the table and tucked it under her wing, venturing upstairs. "I'll go, I'll go, I'll go... sh*t."

@@The Down Trotten,​

 

Just outside the door Nix took a second, drew in a deep breath and bellied forth.

[J.R. 3,183]

@@Unicorncob, @@BabylonSister, @@The Down Trotten, @@Hazard Time, @,

Ice simply shrugged as the mare left from the table, and took out a book to read. It was your average looking brown book, with no clear title or actual cover page. "Hm..." he muttered to himself as he read, wondering what exactly who some of the others were doing here. But otherwise, he didn't say anything.

[The Down Trotten 300]

@@BabylonSister, 

 

Sitting down at a small table, the brown Stallion had prepared another chair for his visitor, seeing that he had one smiled and pointed to said chair 

 

'Welcome, welcome! Please by all means sit. If I remember correctly you are Nix, the inventor yes?" he started off simple, wanting to make sure got everyone's names right 

[DwhitetheGamer 867]

@@PonyOfWar, @@Contrast,

 

 

Copper listened intently at Witty of her remark, then noted the Parasprite with her.  He craned his neck in curiosity before turning his attention back to Witty, saying, "I'm sure.  I was told to look through a swampy area for a town that makes its home in it, and this fits the profile."