private The Canterlot Caravan

[The Elusive Cinder 1,328]

Lightning sounded like he might have a tale or two to tell, but in Bardics current state, even stories were beyond him.

 

"Some other time, maybe?" He smiled. "I am quite tired, and a story is best told to an alert audience."

 

Looking up at the statement from the pony he had failed to notice join them earlier, Bardic wondered if there was anything about Redwave he should conceal: he couldn't think of anything, but decided to keep details scant, just in case.

 

"I became separated from my companions and guides. The last I heard, they were heading for this Canterlot."

[Moonlight Fire 20]

Moonlight's glanced at White, who had snapped her out of listening to Lightning's stories. "One of my friends is sick, and she's in an emergancy condition. I'm trying to look for a rare herb to heal her, but it's only found in C-canterlot," she stated, stuttering on the last word. The image of her sick friend popped back into mind, and she felt tears spring into her eyes.

 

Moonlight shook her head vigorously, she would never show these ponies her weakness. Turning to Bardic, she shook her head. "That's okay. Your songs are marvelous, but I'd rather stay up the rest of the night."

[Frosty V 309]

Jaeger looked at Whiterunner and smiled "I'm just here to make sure whatever needs to get to Canterlot gets there in perfect condition, but our cargo appears to be our little group here and that makes the cargo even more valuable." he said as he repeated his words in his head "...even more valuable."

[Spiritual Nightmare 88]

I nodded, frowning a bit. When I heard somepony ask me why I was going to Canterlot, I giggled. "You see, since I was sent here to escort the Caravan of Canterlot here, I have to go to Canterlot, obviously. And who but the majestic General assigned me this mission? The freaking leader of the whole corporation, that's who! Seriously, it's honestly the best privilage, to ever get!" I exclaimed, laughing.

[TotalNeon 72]

Driftwood looked up from his map at the question, deciding to add his reason also so that perhaps he wouldn't be asked again later. "I got a message this morning, inside my house on the wall, that just said 'Meet you in Canterlot' along with a very old seal I used to use." He looked around at the other ponies "that's when I ran into this group... I need the answers to my questions, that is why I'm going."

Edited August 11, 2013 by TotalNeon

[Rascal~ 657]

Fire sharp had step up her little area off to the side a bit. She made the little shelter out of the foliage around her and she'd making more comfortable while everypony else was outside, doing stuff she wasn't taking much interest in. Though she did walk out of the shelter when Soothing Serum asked the others why they were heading to canterlot. She walked and sat next to her as the others talked, Fire felt kind of depressed, she really did need a distraction from what happened before she got here and a caravan of ponies was probably the best thing.

"I was sent here on a 'holiday', though I'm sure that my General did send me here for this." Fire pointed out the group with her hooves.

"It is also my registered work leave, they had to let me leave because of what happened back on the battlefield. We lost 2 members of our squad."

Fire moved closer to the ground so that she was laying down, she knew everypony in her squad quite well because they had all trained together at the academy and losing 2 was getting to her.

[The Elusive Cinder 1,328]

Bardic yawned a little, carefully folded the papers and closed the books and returned his supplies to his pack, wrapping the blanket closer around him.

 

"Now, I will sleep. Pleasant night to you." He said, mistaking the exact words but capturing the general concept of the night time greeting.

 

Curling up as best he could in the semi-comfortable hole, he gave the fire one final prod to stir an extra spark of life from it as he closed his eyes to drift off peacefully.

Edited August 11, 2013 by Cinderscribe

[TotalNeon 72]

After talking for a while, the ponies gradually drifted off to sleep, while some kept guard during the night. The dawn came with the morning chorus, and the quietness of the forest was broken by the singing of birds of all kinds. The fire had dwindled away and was now only a smoking pile of ash and bits of wood.

 

Driftwood had been awake all night on watchman duty, in the morning he was collecting apples for his sleeping companions as a quick breakfast before heading off into the woods again. He had arranged a pile of apples, there was enough for 2 per pony by the time he had finished, so he began to nudge his comrades awake.

[The Elusive Cinder 1,328]

Awakening groggily, Bardic stretched out out in a less than dignified matter, feeling the cracking of joints after his night on the ground.

 

@@TotalNeon

 

"A pleasant morning to you Driftwood." He said, not particularly feeling that anything about the drab morning was pleasant as he carefully folded the borrowed blanket and packed the remainder of his belongings.

Edited August 12, 2013 by Cinderscribe

[Frosty V 309]

@TotalNeon

Jaeger jolted up from his blanket and was lucky he had no weapons lying around this time. "Good morning Driftwood. So what are the plans for today." he said as he walked out of his tent and began to stretch. "Hope you slept well if you slept at all." he said referring to his own fear of forests

[TotalNeon 72]

@,@@Frosty V,

"Good morning." Driftwood replied. He looked at Jaeger when he asked what the plan for today would be "we're going to be getting as far as we can through the forest today, we'll probably get out if we can cross this huge river near the border of the woods." He motioned to the area on the map showing the forest they were in along with the river. "I haven't traveled to that area of the forest before, so I'm not sure how easy the river will be to cross. I'm hoping for a bridge of some sort."

Edited August 12, 2013 by TotalNeon

[Moonlight Fire 20]

Moonlight Fire yawned, blinking her eyes groggily around the campsite. "Had I fallen asleep?" she mumbled to herself. The mare glanced up at ths morning sky, and couldn't help but feel accomplished the Canterlot Caravan had actually made it this far.

[The Elusive Cinder 1,328]

@@Frosty V

@@Moonlight Fire

 

"I hope that the two of you slept peacefully?" Bardic queried as he stretched and folded the cloak into his pack: he was never going to acclimatise if he didn't at least try to brave the temperature.

 

He motioned towards the pile of fruit which Driftwood had brought. "I believe our friend has provided supplies, in order to preserve our own." He said with a slight smile.

[Moonlight Fire 20]

Moonlight snapped her gaze from the sun and glanced at Bardic. "I slept fine, thanks," she replied, shaking any debris out of her mane. "And you?" the Unicorn asked, greatfully taking a fruit from the pile. She hadn't realized how hungry she was until now, and she took a big bite.

[Frosty V 309]

@Cinderscribe

Jaeger shook his head trying to wake himself up."I slept just fine, thanks for asking." he replied in a mumbled tone still not being fully awake as he walked over to the fruit pile and grabbed an apple. He was more tired than usual "Your just adjusting." he told himself.

[The Elusive Cinder 1,328]

@@Frosty V

@@Moonlight Fire

 

"Well enough." He nodded happily despite his minor issues - he had nothing serious to pick fault with. "Thank you for asking."

 

Picking up an apple telekinetically, he slowly started to eat, savouring the flavour, watching the camp as his new companions stirred to life in the early morning light.

Edited August 12, 2013 by Cinderscribe

[TotalNeon 72]

Driftwood took an apple and started eating it.

 

"Those of you who are awake, you'll want to start packing up your equipment. We're leaving as soon as everypony is awake." he walked over to his shelter and kicked it over, then covered up the remains of the fire pit with dirt and leaves.

[Durandal 623]

Liberta was one of the last to awaken, having slept later than the rest to begin with. Thoughts of betrayal had coerced her into remaining vigilant throughout the night, however unlike Driftwood, eventually sleep took her.

 

Wearily Liberta dragged herself back to the world of the living, grumbling something about hating mornings. Eventually she developed the awareness required to notice the two apples next to her. Taking them, she began to eat.

 

It didn't satisfy her, however. This, in tandem with the increased sense of the emotions around her, told her all she needed to know. I don't even remember the last time I fed, she recalled. The implications of this hit her with the force of a warhammer, expelling whatever drowsiness had remained.

 

She sized up those around her. Driftwood is far too stoic, and seems weary of others. Lightning Chaser would impair me fairly easily. Bardic... Liberta paused. He was one of the more approachable members of their little escapade, and given the fact he was a foreigner, he would no doubt consider any quirks inherent in feeding simply a quirk of Equestrian conduct. He was a perfect candidate, and getting to know at least one of the ponies here would prevent the others from suspecting her of anything.

 

Regardless, it meant direct conversation with another. This always bothered Liberta - the lies that had to be maintained, such as her identity and past, to interact on even the most basic level with others felt unfair to her. Why should she have to hide who she is? She might have been a changeling, and furthermore a part of Chrysalis' hive, however that did not make her intrinsically bad. They didn't just feed off love, they fed off of all emotion - love was simply the most efficient form of energy. And furthermore, they were not all love-suckers - they could feed through genuine interactions.

 

Decided on her course of action, she rolled up her sleeping bag, readjusting it to her saddlebags. Testing it to ensure it was secured, she made her way towards Bardic. She gave him a warm smile.

 

"You say you're from a foreign land, however you never specified where exactly. Could you tell me a bit about your homeland?" She would have been lying if she had said the topic didn't interest her, so hopefully she'd learn from this experience, as well.

[The Elusive Cinder 1,328]

@@Durandal

 

The curious mares voice caught Bardic's attention easily in the still air of the morning. He turned, wondering what had sparked such questions, and though for a moment.

 

"My apologies Zahrah, I should have better introduced myself." He said: it was a nice change of pace, to be the one answering instead of asking. Lost and without his books, his self proclaimed status as a font of knowledge was quickly seeming a lost cause.

 

"I am a scholar of Saddle Arabia, far across the ocean." He would never lie about any of this, but his creative side struggled to stick to the facts and not start embellishing for entertainment value. "It is much warmer there than your land, and much brighter also. Is there anything in particular that you wish to know? I can answer almost any question you may ask, I believe."

 

He smiled, a happy and slightly proud look, at being able to share his knowledge.

[Durandal 623]

Liberta smiled as she felt the emotions flow through her. They were easy to ascertain - pride and joy. Though not nearly enough to be considered a meal, she was sure that a prolonged conversation would satisfy her needs. She was lucky she had caught onto it so early - had she allowed herself to starve, it would have been more obvious something was up, and would have taken a lot more energy to fill her up. She actually heard of instances where changelings would starve themselves for so long that they would be unable to maintain their disguises. Depending on what the changeling had done, it could mean death. Shuddering, she focused on the topic at hand.

 

"Saddle Arabia? I've heard of it, but was never really taught much about it. What's the culture like?" she asked. She had heard about Saddle Arabia a few times in the Hive, however beyond that it wasn't normally spoken of, by changelings or ponies alike.

Edited August 12, 2013 by Durandal

[The Elusive Cinder 1,328]

@@Durandal

Once again, Bardic thought for a moment. He missed the slight shudder: far too immersed in his story.

 

"It is a larger land than yours, yet more sparsely populated. There are cities, but smaller and very few. Most of the settlements are found on the coast or by rivers and springs and are smaller than what you would call a village: much like the port we gathered at."

 

There was a reason he had kept his tales short previously: the more he spoke, the more he felt he should relate some glorious tale or song about his homeland, to truly capture the feelings. He didn't, of course. That would have been inappropriate.

 

Besides, he would have needed an instrument.

"It is a fine land where wealth flows as freely as water does here. Aside from certain issues which can arise around nobility..." He said with somewhat more force than intended, horn flickering as anger surged through the last few words. "... there is very little which seeks to harm us. Many of the dangers stay away from society and even invaders seem to avoid us."
 

[Durandal 623]

Liberta listened intently. Though a bit vague on the details, a glimpse into another culture was a fascinating thing, especially if the explanation in question came from a native. It also helped collect emotions - the closer one evaluated speech, the more one could uncover the emotions conveyed in them. The fact that this concentration was causing an ever-so-slight green glow to encompass her eyes was quickly forgotten by the topic at hand.

 

The sudden flow of anger left a bitter taste in her mouth, however. Sadly, it was the most efficient route at this moment. Anger was oftentimes a more passionate emotion - the flow of energy was stronger. It was, however, what changelings called a 'bitter emotion'. The meaning was quite literal - anger, much like other negative emotions, had a bitter taste to it. Less commonly known, however, was that changelings felt another's emotions as if they were their own. This effect was heavily muted, however it led to many a changeling avoiding feeding on negative emotions - after all, who wanted to feel angry, or sad?

 

"What's wrong with the nobility?" she asked. "Are they abusing their power?"

 

She, on the other hand, had much to say on authority. A bitter taste in her mouth was worth it.

[TotalNeon 72]

The other ponies soon began to wake, and pack their things. Driftwood had already reattached the cargo cart of seashells, and strapped on his knapsack. The caravan was ready to move on again, towards the river in the woods which would hopefully lead them to the other side of the forest and a little further into their journey.

[The Elusive Cinder 1,328]

@@Durandal

 

"In a manner. There has always been a divide: this has worsened over many years."

 

Bardic was aware that he was speaking without properly considering his words but he had already begun: he had already almost let slip his peculiar form of magic once - he would just have to be careful not to let him emotions run too high.

 

"Most do not care for the divide, but some believe some families to be of more noble heritage than those of... lesser races." He spat out these last words as if fearful they would poison him, horn flickering again, less so this time: more controlled.

 

"It is least fortunate that those who believe this are the most powerful of our society. I fear what may become if we do not solve our differences peacefully."

 

He glanced around at the others: Driftwood seemed impatient to leave. He motioned for them to follow with a hoof and a bow of his head.

 

"It is a sad state of affairs, I should not trouble you further with it."

 

Bardic steadied his breathing: speaking openly was dangerous and he knew it: though he doubted that telling this pony that his country was on the brink of civil war would really effect anything in any large way. It was actually a relief of sorts, being able to speak without turning facts into some kind of story to hide their true meaning.

[Durandal 623]

Liberta attempted to bite back a hiss. Though certainly a normal reaction, even when disguised a changeling's hiss sounded more like a cicada's than a pony's. If it didn't give her away immediately, it would have been fairly awkward.

 

"S-Sickening! Just because they're another race doesn't make them inferior! It reminds me of how we-"

 

Liberta immediately swallowed that line of thought, scrambling for a fallback. You idiot! Do you want to get yourself killed?

 

"-unicorns used to look down on earth ponies! Luckily that doesn't happen anymore, or at least, I certainly hope it doesn't."

 

Utilizing the pause in the conversation to compose herself, Liberta shifted topics.

 

"Anyways, what about you? You said you were sailing here, what happened, and what were you planning on doing?"

 

The topic was much more innocuous, and at the moment, a lot safer. If she was going to have an outburst such as that, she couldn't allow herself to become opinionated. A slight slip of the tongue could result in a world of trouble for her, and given her current odds, she may as well kill herself to save them the trouble.

Edited August 15, 2013 by Durandal