private The Missing Townsponies and the Wishing Scroll

[The Elusive Cinder 1,328]

@@MagicalStarRain,

@@AnonBrony,

 

Tripping slightly as she got to her hooves and rushed towards the disagreement, halting beside the outstretched weapons with a hoof outstretched towards them, but not quite touching. Sonnet stood, hovering on the border of the conflict with an uncertain poise - as if determined to intervene but unsure of exactly how.

 

"Can we all just calm down for a moment?" Gasped the mare, looking back and forth between the troublesome ponies with an expression of slightly fearful concern. "We are all adults here, and should solve our problems accordingly, wouldn't you say?"

 

She paused to breath - panting just a little from the sudden, minor burst of action.

 

"Now, can we settle this like civilised ponies? Or if you insist on this little display will you at least go and do so outside?"

Edited January 5, 2014 by Cinderscribe

[Tricksters Pride 100]

@@MagicalStarRain, @@AnonBrony, @,

 

 

Ice

 

When North and Kanon pointed their weapons at  Dorado, Ice was quite amused and even outwardly smirked.  *'Nevermind these two seem reasonable enough.'* Then the crystal pony aristocrat decided to weigh in... Ice wasn't in alignment with her opinion. "I agree we should settle this like adult ponies, but i think Kanon and North already have that covered."

[AnonBrony 1,468]

@EVERYPONY

 

Dorado was surprised by everypony's sudden outburst. Yes he aimed the weapon but he never fired a single bolt. Why everypony was up in arms against him was startling. It's almost as if they actually thought he meant harm to Kanon. 

 

"Ay diosas mio! It's Not LOADED! It was a blank shot for Celestia's sake! Did you two really think I fired a bolt!? You didn't even see me load one in! I was just demonstrating my technique. By Luna you all are paranoid aren't you. What you think I'm here to sabotage you are something? Stop you from getting the scroll? I wish to find it just like you all. And I would be an Idiot for killing the pony that will lead me to it. Now can you please lower your damned weapons!" Idiotas.

 

Dorado would move away from the two mares and begin to address everypony again. "But we must leave soon we cannot wait any more. We already have a large enough group of ponies. The longer we wait the more time we are wasting. We must hurry. We aren't the only ponies that will be looking for this scroll. There will be plenty others and most of them are already on their way there! I say we leave now or we risk losing the scroll!... And as much as I hate to say it... we have to work as a team. So I would at least like to know everypony's name..."

 

 

Eternity was quite shocked as well when he saw everypony draw their weapons. He though they all knew and somewhat trusted one another. Aparently not. And that is VERY reassuring... However he stayed silent as the chaos unfolded. He wasn't sure what to do. None the less things seemed to cool down so it's not like he needed to do much anyway. But again he decided to remain silent as the pony, who's name was apparently El Dorado, continued to speak. There was one thing he did agree on with the stallion. He didn't wish to stay in the shop much longer either. 

Edited January 5, 2014 by AnonBrony

[MagicalStarRain 599]

@@AnonBrony,

 

"That much I had figured out."

 

Dorado's crossbow, North's wing blades, and Kanon's naginata all glowed indigo and disappeared from their hooves. North and Kanon, knowing of only one unicorn who's magic glowed that color, turned toward Star Rain(who was still standing with the two stallions) and they saw their weapons levitating next to her enveloped in her aura.

 

"I agree that we shouldn't stay here much longer, but weapons are not to be played with for fun. It is not very chivalrous to be using a mare, or any pony for that matter, as target practice, even if it isn't loaded," Star said, calmly scolding all three of them. North tried to take back her weapon from her, but Kanon stopped her and took in her words. 

 

"Besides, we have some things to explain."

 

@@AnonBrony,@@Tricksters Pride,@@Windbreaker,@, @@Nomadic,@,

 

The unicorn mare, still levitating their weapons, unhooded herself and said to everypony(without making eye contact),"My name is Star Rain. Shall we start explaining our mission?"

Edited January 5, 2014 by MagicalStarRain

[EcstaticWind 572]

Noble Persona

 

He raised an eyebrow at Dorado. Did he really not expect this reaction to his firing a crossbow, loaded or no? 'Idiota. Still, we may finally hear what they have to say.' He paid for the two cups of tea and the plate of cookies and sat down next to Ice, setting their refreshments on the table and levitating his coat from it's resting place to draped over the back of Noble's seat. Still, this was the part he'd been waiting for, and the part that decides his involvement in this group.

 

 

Kinetic Energy

 

'I don't think I have enough strawberry sweets to diffuse the situation. For now, we're at the mercy of our recent arrival.' It was safe to say that Kinetic was worried now. Between Dorado, North Shine and now the pony he assumed was Star Rain, he was beginning to wonder if he'd lose his sanity by the time the quest was over.

Edited January 5, 2014 by Windbreaker

[Tricksters Pride 100]

@@Windbreaker, 

Ice

 

As soon as Noble set down the refreshments Ice moved her tea in front of her... alongside a pair of cookies. *'So their paranoid because they reacted to getting a crossbow fired in their general direction with violence... No, had you pulled that in another place we'd be cleaning your blood off of the floor..... (sigh) Lets get on with the pleasantries i suppose.'* She then turned to Noble. "Sir if you expect me to work with that without complaint, then i would like a bonus."

Edited January 6, 2014 by Tricksters Pride

[Nomadic 210]

Monkshood
@@MagicalStarRain

 

Finishing off his beverage with one last hearty sip, Monkshood sighed with a disappointed tone. "I guess I had too high of hopes for these ponies", he quietly muttered to himself waiting for the seemingly inevitable fight to break out between the three ponies. Each had drawn a weapon aimed at another. His earlier suspicions had been seemingly confirmed about many of these individuals, at least of the brash one Dorado anyway. He would have to be cautious around some of these ponies. Much to his surprise though, the struggle soon ended without a single action of senseless violence. Impressive, not so many would be willing not to inflict some form of reprisal upon the perpetrator, yet they may just not want to scare away any potential applicants so soon.

 

A voice quickly penetrated his thoughts on the event. It was the sound of the unicorn Star Rain. She wished to begin speaking of the journey ahead. Monkshood's ears perked up, and his eyes intently drifted towards her own. Finally, they could begin, and hopefully the other ponies could cease their mindless bickering of moments earlier. Quietly, he sat intently waiting to hear of what could potentially be ahead.

[EcstaticWind 572]

Noble Persona

@@Tricksters Pride, 

 

"Done. There's room in the budget for such expenses. I guess it's a good thing I keep track of every single expense, then." He noticed Ice take two cookies, and couldn't help smirking. "I thought you said you just wanted tea?" He said. He knew he shouldn't tease her, but at least it would take her mind off Dorado for now.

[Tricksters Pride 100]

Ice

@@Windbreaker, 

 

Still not taking her attention off of the others Ice finishes the first cookie and answers Noble with a very faint trace of amusement in her voice. "Merely testing for poisons Sir. Its also a good thing that i packed your armor, weapons, and various supplies for you... Seeing as you forgot."

[Strong Copper 126]

@@MagicalStarRain,

 

~Myopia~

 

The situation arose and was dealt with surprisingly quickly, much to the annoyed interest of Myopia. His father had once told him that cynicism was just as good as experience. 'Just think the worst about everyone and you'll usually be right.' were his exact words... One day Myopia wished to be pleasantly surprised to be wrong for once.

 

With the prior issue dealt with and the announcement that the meeting was starting, Myopia didn't say a word. It was time for somepony else to take the stage after all.

 

~Thunder~

 

The confrontation and the resulting tension was not lost on Thunder. Despite the fact that he had yet to get an answer from Chocolate Wish, he turned to her and asked in a loud stage whisper "You wouldn't happen to have anything alcoholic back there would you? I get the impression this is going to be a long meeting."

[EcstaticWind 572]

Noble Persona

@@Tricksters Pride, 

 

"Indeed so. Seems like this isn't a proposal, but the actual beginning of an expedition." Noble said. He'd expected to be hearing a proposition. Instead, it seemed like he and Ice were now part of a quest to find something that may or may not be there. 'Now I know how it got Kinetic Energy's attention. And personally, I can't resist a good mystery.'

[AnonBrony 1,468]

@@MagicalStarRain,

 

"Hmph. Whatever." 'No es que nadie resultó herido ...' "Fine. Go ahead. Explain our mission. " Dorado said to the mare in an annoyed tone. He then proceeded to sit in a chair with a disgruntled look and waited for the instructions. 

 

 

​Eternity was glad that that debacle was over with. What he was more glad about was he would finally get to hear more about there mission. He was curious as to what they were gonna say or explain. Like what exactly they would be doing or where they were going. There were three of them so maybe they were going to be split into groups. If that were so he wondered if he were to be with that mage. Or perhaps they knew more about the scrolls and were going to tell them more about it. Or maybe more about the city. Or perhaps what we will be up against. It was very intriguing. 

Edited January 6, 2014 by AnonBrony

[MagicalStarRain 599]

@@AnonBrony,@@Tricksters Pride,@@Windbreaker,@, @@Nomadic,@,

 

To Thunder King, Chocolate Wish shook her head "no", silently cursing to herself. It would've made it so much easier...

 

Star Rain settled the weapons down next to her along with her "staff" and her saddlebags. North Shine and Kanon(who bowed to Star, who bowed back, both gestures as a sign of respect) sat on either side of her as she levitated four scrolls and an old, weathered book titled Equestrian Lore From the North and Beyond. 

 

"Now, I'll start by saying that the details included in our letter was only a generalized version of what we'll explain right now. Especially the combat part," she said in a serious tone with an equally serious face. North Shine and Kanon, who were previously smiling to welcome the volunteers, now had serious looks on their faces as well.

 

"If you're wondering why there's a naginata and wing blades here, the high chance of combat is why. There are others after the scroll, but not very many considering it lays past Equestria's northern border and has no trains leading to it. The ones who ARE there though are desperate; desperate enough to take along weapons and turn them onto any pony who enters. There are even some who use destructive spells. 

 

"According to the information I gathered and the text Kanon translated, there are also "spirits of desire" as they're called who guard the scroll. We'll get into them later when I tell you a passage from the book here," Star said, pausing to let this new bit of information sink in.

[Strong Copper 126]

@@MagicalStarRain,

 

Resisting the urge to slam his head into the counter-top, if only barely, Thunder King let out a soft sigh before making himself comfortable resting against the counter itself since he felt no real need to move over to the tables. Besides, he could hear what was going on over there just fine. He subject of combat had been something that had been playing on his mind since he saw the letter inviting him here, but the weather pony had decided to find out exactly what that meant before making a decision. Raising his hoof in the air, he rather loudly inquired "Just to ask, if there are so many different groups ripping apart the city where this scroll is meant to be, how do we know that somepony didn't already find the damn thing and keep it for themselves ages ago? And even on the off chance that such a thing  hasn't happened, do we have an evidence that the scroll would have survived this  whole time intact? Age and neglect tend to ruin stuff over time."

 

As Thunder's questions faded into the minds of anyone listening, Myopia cleared his throat in order to bring attention to himself. "While the winged gentleman raises some good questions, I believe mine might go a long way to answering both. These 'Spirits of Desire', do they merely haunt the ruins or are they actually bound to defend the scroll we are looking for?"

[MagicalStarRain 599]

@,

 

Star Rain groaned and face hoofed herself in exasperation. "I just said that there aren't very many ponies over there. According to North Shine, there are only ten ponies there and we're a group of fifteen. Besides, North explored the city before hoof just to get the layout and already established our base of operations, so she'll help us avoid them. And if that doesn't work, we have Kanon," she explained in the same tone after calming herself. "And the scroll may be gone somewhere, but it's MAGIC! Magic stuff seem to last a long time!" North said in a loud voice.

 

To answer Myopia, Kanon explained,"According to Star-chan's research and my translations, they have a connection of some kind to the scroll, but we are not sure what it means or if they're even there anymore. However, they were apparently part of the reason why the sages allowed so few to enter the scroll's shrine, along with the fact that any pony could use it to wish for destruction, among other things."

[Tricksters Pride 100]

@@MagicalStarRain, 

 

Ice

 

Considering that her employer seems to be interested in this outing Ice decides that it would be a good idea to offer her opinion. "1: You only have twelve ponies who don't know and likely don't trust each other unless you have 3 more somewhere else, even so that's only two more than they have and they likely know each other even if they don't trust each other making your numerical advantage moot point. 2: Out of all of you only North has accurate knowledge of the terrain giving them an advantage over you, especially if they know your coming. 3: Numbers mean almost nothing if their well trained and prepared, and your not..... Though i second the fact that magical artifacts tend to last for a very long time."

Edited January 7, 2014 by Tricksters Pride

[AnonBrony 1,468]

@@MagicalStarRain,

 

Eternity eyes widened in awe at the old scrolls and book. It was all very interesting. 'Wow! Ancient texts! Fascinating! But what's this about Spirits of Desire? Sages? Interesting... wait did she say North?'

 

"Excuse me? Sorry for interrupting 'Past Equestria's northern border'? Is that what you said? As in... The Frozen North?" Eternity took a mount to look around at the others. "Umm... that probably would of been helpful to mention considering I think I'm gonna need my winter saddle... Or were you providing gear for us? And uhh... about the scroll... Magical Artifacts may last for a long time but they don't last forever. The magic could decay or the item could be destroyed. And there's a possibility somepony could of taken it... what would we do if we don't find it there and/or if it's just somewhere else?"

 

Dorado decided to interrupt "It could all the way in the Griffon Kingdoms by the time we are just READY." He said still annoyed and rolling his eyes.

Edited January 8, 2014 by AnonBrony

[EcstaticWind 572]

Noble Persona

@@AnonBrony, 

 

"If you're worried about gear, I already told Kanon-sama that I would provide a generous donation for equipment and supplies. That is barely an issue, sir." Noble said, adressing the unicorn who spoke up first and ignoring Dorado completely.

 

Kinetic Energy

 

'There is a possibility that somepony could have taken it, but we don't know for certain. There's only one way to find out, really.' Kinetic thought, sitting quietly and enjoying his strawberry sweets. It would be safe to say he was rather addicted to them.

[The Elusive Cinder 1,328]

Sonnet - having returned to her seat quietly - listened with a smile toying on her face. Th frozen north? Even her persona couldn't supress the entertainment over the reactions of the others at this revelation.
 
She had almost died out in the Crystal Mountains: had survived horrors out there and come back with nothing but a crippled wing... what was the worst that other ponies could do?
 
"Well this sounds delightful!" Chirped the noblemare. "I've always wanted to visit the north and doing so with stallions such as Senor Dorado to escort us I'm certain that we shall be quite alright. When do we depart?"

[Nomadic 210]

Monkshood

@@Windbreaker, @@AnonBrony

 

The hired blades here were already tedious to deal with. They seemed to be completely oblivious to the dangers that the land itself could present to these travellers. Glancing over to the raven-haired unicorn, Monkshood told him with a twinge of nervousness in his voice, "If we were to travel into the Frozen-North, I would like to remind you that the land is mostly inhospitable. It will take more then just equipment and supplies to get us to this city. I would hope that we have some planned route through this barren stretch of nothingness?".

 

His gaze slipped over to Dorado. He was annoyed at the pony's impatience. If Dorado was to continuously act like this, it would most likely come at the expense of everypony else. "As I was telling are friend here", he pointed to the raven-haired unicorn, "the biggest issue right now is the surrounding wilderness and not bandits. If you could wait a mere moment, and stop acting so myopic. You might be able to see that we need more than foolishness to get us to the city". Afraid he had just made a public spectacle of himself, Monkshood tried to slump back into his seat. Hoping that he would not be questioned or noticed any further.

Edited January 8, 2014 by Nomadic

[EcstaticWind 572]

Noble Persona

@@Nomadic, 

 

Noble had to admit he was amused by the sand colored pony returning to his seat. "And what do you know of the rest of us? Do you naturally assume that we disregard this important factor? While I cannot speak for everypony, I personally have enough experiences with travelling to know that the terrain and weather can make all the difference." He said, hiding a condescending and arrogant edge to his tone.

[Tricksters Pride 100]

@Windbreaker,

 

Ice

 

After Noble decided to call out the other pony on his assumptions Ice sighed and shook her head slightly. *'True but a bit tactless... as per usual i suppose.'*   "Making friends already Sir..."  *'Well i'm going to be earning my pay... At least i wont get bored.'*

[Strong Copper 126]

@,

 

While he hadn't really spoken to the crystal mare beyond the whole 'you should be speaking to her' thing, Myopia couldn't  help but raise an eyebrow at the suggestion that the presence of Senor Dorado would have a positive effect on  this trip. There was being polite for the sake of being polite, but that suggestion alone gave the business tycoon the sense that Lady Sonnet was full of something that wasn't candy. That mare was up to something...

 

@@Nomadic, @@Windbreaker,

Shaking his head a little to get back to the topic at hoof, hearing what appeared to be his name brought his attention towards the tanned pony. Raising his eyebrow a little, he simply said with a neutral tone of voice "Alright then. Why don't you inform us of what we will need then?"

[MagicalStarRain 599]

@@Tricksters Pride,

 

North Shine leaned in toward Ice and said,"Look, my friends say that I have street-smarts. Star isn't the only one who can pretty much be invisible around here." "It's true," Star Rain said, backing her friend up. "When we got the news that the ponies in that city disappeared, we had to work fast, so we split up. I was at Canterlot gathering information, Kanon was in Neighpon getting the necessary gear with her connections, and North was performing recon," she explained flatly.

 

"And about the 'well trained and prepared' part, I can guarantee you that they really don't know how to handle those weapons. They aren't even teamed up. All of us on the other hoof, with Kanon here, we all can be a tight-knit group! If she fails, we'll be fire-forged!" North said enthusiastically. Star couldn't help but lightly laugh at her friend's enthusiasm.

 

@@AnonBrony,

 

At the sound of Dorado being annoyed, Star simply turned to him and flatly said,"It could be all the way in our hooves if you'd let us explain."

 

Star turned to Eternity with a calm face and explained(with a little bit of stuttering),"Kanon got us all the gear we may need, so don't worry. And about the scroll, I read that there was a very powerful magic involved when it was created. I think we're both mages in this, so you know that very strong magic lasts a very long time, right?"

 

@@Nomadic,

 

"Well Monk-san. You just need have some more faith in us." Kanon said calmly while looking him in the eye like the diplomat she is.  "Do you really think that we are so idiotic as to just go into this without a plan? But since you seem to know so much about our mission already, why don't you be our guide?" There was a rare hint of snark in that last line. Hanging around with Star can cause that.

Edited January 9, 2014 by MagicalStarRain

[Tricksters Pride 100]

@@MagicalStarRain, 

 

Ice

 

Ice looks unaffected by their response or behavior and choosing not to offer her opinion on being part of a 'tight-knit' group, she responds in her usual monotone.  *'Thank you for the freely confirming that information... though i have no idea how we got on the subject of 'street-smarts'.'*  "Skill in being unseen mainly depends on weather or not the other pony is any good at looking. Though its good to hear that this isn't bring planed by incompetents who don't even know the basics of a successful mission... And if their that pitiful then what even makes them worth noting? With an artifact that potent bandits and treasure hunters are to be expected regardless... They also sound weaker than most roadside bandits."