{Las Pegasus} Finding New Purpose[Ashton]

[IceStorm]

~~~Nira~~~

 

Life living under the Shogun had it's perks for most ponies, but for this Longma, it just got boring. She loved protecting others, but in the grand scheme of things in Neighpon, there wasn't anything to protect anymore. The political turmoil that had been rearing it's head in Neighpon had dwindled, and while she had made some connections, Nira was just... She was done. Her talents were being wasted being confined to the dwellings of royalty all day when she could be out helping those who needed it. Every since she started her training she still had her military mindset, but that was just that. She knew tactics, assault patterns, how to identify weak points and how to tell that somepony was tailing herself and whom she was protecting. At the same time though, she knew how to do all of those things as well. She was really good at getting information and she was also really good at planning.

 

At the very least. She needed a break from the Shogun life, and leaving Neighpon entirely for a while was the best way to do that. Nira still held her feelings for Ishi, but as long as she was relegated to being his body guard because of the fact that his brother was the ruler of Neighpon made it hard for her to even thing about pursuing that option. As it stood, she was now standing in the middle of something called a casino. This one was a bit odd... well all of them here were a bit odd in some way. All the buildings here seemed to be having a contest to see who could make the weirdest most abstract designs that they could come up with. So far this one took the cake. It had two very tall towers, and one of them looked like a frozen glacier and the other looked like a raging volcano. "Mā... Kono basho wa machigainaku, karera ga ichiban-jō ni nutta namae ni fusawashī..." she said to herself looking to the sign that said "Fire and Ice Hotel Casino". Just because she understood everything here, and could speak Equestrian tongue fluently, didn't mean her own tongue didn't feel more natural to her. She didn't see the harm in using it so keep her thoughts to herself. Her training as a guard though meant that she had to be fluent in several known languages that were dominant in the land so that she could pick up on possible threats in any language.

 

She made her way through the doors and instantly a wave of sensations overwhelmed her. The sounds of different machines making a cacophony of sounds that she could only presumed meant something good, as ponies were reacting happily to the sounds. The smells... there was an ever lingereing smell of tobacco smoke and alcohol on the main floor, and there were all sorts of different tables and machines with wheels and even wheels as far as she could see. For what it was worth though, she could see the extravagence that the owners had went through. Being part dragon she was drawn more towards the volcanic side of the hotel, and the way the interior was portrayed, it looked as if they were in the magma chamber of an active volcano. The carpet was a burnt red, the tables were lined with a dark burgundy felt and everything presented a warm environment. The only thing that made it obvious that you weren't in a volcano was that the ambient temperature seemed to be more akin to what most ponies would be accustomed to. It was a tad on the warm side, but that could be from there being so many ponies as it was.

 

Finally she was able to make her way to the hotel lobby. It was every bit as showy as the rest of the establishment. In the center of the lobby held a merging twist of themes as the environment switched to match the other half of the casino. She could see that a lot of time and thought had gone into this place as she checked into her hotel room, getting her key card for the volcanic side before making her way back to the landing area, looking around to see what she wanted to do first. There were so many options and things that she had never seen in Neighpon. The concept of Gambling she was familiar with. The games and everything that were used to gamble... not so much.

 

Spoiler

OOC: "Well... this place definitely lives up to the name that they have plastered on the top..."

 

[Ashton]

((Well, I had too many ideas, so you get a 'choose your own adventure!' style post! ))

 

(Rainbow Dash)

The casino-hotel was quite the spectacle indeed, and as one might expect it was absolutely bustling with activity. Though what might first catch the eyes of any entering was a rainbow-mane'd pony in a wonderbolt's flight-suit leaping into the air, doing a few small tricks and landing, a small crowd gathered around her. Around her neck was a lanyard that said "WonderBolt - VIP" though the lack of a name meant this was probably a promotion for all the wonderbolts --- no doubt to draw in business. 

 

(Scootaloo)

Nearby the rainbow pony was a small orange filly with magenta mane and tail, who was looking around with a combination of intrigue and annoyance. She was wearing a small set of saddlebags and... was that a spiked collar? it certainly looked like one. It was a little strange, but its purpose became obvious when something caught her eye and she hurried off, though at about 30 feet from the rainbow mare, the filly seemed to have been clothesline'd, flipping into her back like a dog who had run out to the end of its leash... yes, the collar apparently had a magical tie to something the other pony was holding... it really was a dog collar...

 

(Lightning Streak)

Not too far away was another pony in a wonderbolts flightsuit, also wearing the VIP lanyard, but this one was showing off with what appeared to be small magic tricks or minor feats of skill using cards, coins, rings, and other small items. Whether he was trying to entertain the foals specifically or not wasn't clear since he did keep glancing at the mares and smiling playfully.

 

(Dunes)

One figure was out of place among all this though, ht was an earth pony with a battered fedora who was moving about the room, talking to any guest who looked wealthy or well-educated. As he passed by words like 'temple' and 'treasure' and 'traps' could be heard in his speech... he was probably some real-life version of the famed Daring Do, and he was looking for leads on some archaeological place of significance nearby...

 

(Sky Pirate Harle Blackclaw)

And finally, sitting at the bar was a Griffon with blue tinged feathers, while this wasn't too surprising, the large rod coat with the gold trim made her stand out among the patrons, her exaggerated motions and her occasional loud tone and laughter made it clear she had been there a while and probably had her fair share of booze, though whatever she was talking about seemed exciting enough to be drawing several others to listen in.

[IceStorm]

~~~Nira~~~

 

To say that there was a shortage of ponies here would have been like saying there was a shortage of water between here and Neighpon. There seemed to be a few ponies walking around in a blue coat tight uniform. A placard said something about "Wonderbolt VIP". It definitely accented all of their features. She'd heard about this group. In fact she remembered them doing a show in neighpon once or twice. 

 

Another that caught her eye was a Griffin that had already been here for a while it seems. Either that or she was really bad holding her liquor. She looked to already be quite inebriated. It seemed that she had a good crowd gathering around her listening to her story. Would probably be best to avoid at the moment and wait for the crowd to dwindle before checking on that story. 

 

The thing that really piqued her interests was the Earth pony speaking about temples. He suited himself in a tattered fedora. He seemed to be specifically targeting those that seemed to have wealth or not inebriated. She tried to follow behind him trying to listen a bit more. The kind of thing she heard him talking about would make great use of what she could do. The rainbow maned mare also held her attention a bit, keeping an eye on her as well making a note where she was going so she could catch up with her soon as well. 

[Ashton]

She would quickly realize that the earth pony indeed seemed to be the real deal, the words he used and the things he talked about made it clear he was well educated in archaeology, and no doubt in adventuring too. Right now he seemed to be looking for clues on an ancient relic that was rumored to have the power to force others to tell only the truth... though he dismissed the claims of it being guarded by a supernatural entity that watched over a large number of relics.

 

 

 

Meanwhile the pair of pegasai seemed to be in a small argument. After most of the first crowd of fans had dispersed, the small one approached the rainbow maned one

 

"Ok, you've done your fan service now, can we please check out some of the games?"

 

The wonderbolt sighed, pulling back her hood and sliding her goggles up atop her head "What did I tell you about that? your dad would sick a cragodile on me if I let you gamble... at least if you lost... if you won he might only sick a landray on me"

 

the filly rolled her eyes "you know landrays aren't real, right?"

 

The other pony sighed "you know what I mean, scootaloo, your too young to gamble, even if the casino would let you"

 

The filly, Scootaloo, frowned "Well can we at least check out the other games? I saw skeeball and a claw machine through one of the doors, they probably have other cool stuff too!"

 

the mare sighed "let me get a few more autographs done, then we'll see. I have to be sure to keep the owner happy or he might kick us out"

 

Scootaloo rolled her eyes "really? if he did you know spitfire would make him curl into a ball and cry" she smirked

 

The wonderbolt laughed "She'd do that just for fun!"

 

The filly smiled "Thanks for Bringing me along, Dash, its fun, but the collar is kinda itchy..."

 

The mare, Dash, sighed "its either that or a literal leash, and hey I got you one that looks cool and tough!"

 

Scootaloo sighed, realizing her attempts to get dash to take the collar off weren't going to work, and she couldn't see it to try and fiddle with the combination lock to get it off herself...

 

 

 

And at the bar there were some cheers, then the group started wandering off, apparently the griffon had finished her story, and she watched each of them as they left, her gaze following each one, but once they all left the vicinity she sighed and turned back to the barkeep "Another round" she said, putting her glass down with a loud thud.

 

((and yes, I usually use blue for Harle since that's her feather color, but I wanted to make sure she and Dash's speech weren't confused, so I went with red since her captains coat is red...))

[IceStorm]

~~~Nira~~~

 

 

 

The more that she seemed to trail the earth pony, staying just within earshot to where she could pick up what was going on with what he was saying, it seemed that he was an archeologist of sorts. A profession that could very easily make use of some of the talents that she had. She wasn't exactly keen on how to Navigate a lot of terrains, but as long as somepony else was and she stayed with them, she couple probably figure it out relatively easily. Not to mention there were always traps in places like that. Triggering some of those often left ponies in very undesirable conditions. Especially ones who don't know how to get out of the way. It seemed the target that he was currently after was a relic that the wielder could use to make others tell the truth. She couldn't deny the usefulness that an item like that could have, but at the same time... she also understood how dangerous that Item could be in the wrong hooves. After all, so much of corporate politics and politics in general revolved around the lies that they could funnel through the media to secure their place hold. Such an item could easily destabilize any country.

 

Her attention was quickly drawn however, but the ensuring argument from the Rainbow Mare and the orange filly. Apparently they were here together. Possible mother and daughter, though the age gap between the two didn't seem quite that big. It was apparently a discussion on the fact that what she presumed to be the older mare not allowing the younger to partake in the games that were on the floor. She didn't know anypony here well enough to take a side on that argument with any real conviction, but the over-eagerness of the younger one probably suggested that the older mare was correct. Gambling was a fast way for the over-eager to end up ruining their lives. As it was, it looked like they had finished their little spat and the filly was now working on trying to rig the lock on the device that held her in proximity to the rainbow one. Perhaps she could use this as a way to breech the gap between the targets that she was now seeking. She wanted to know more about this temple that the earth pony mentioned, and the pair had already attracted her attention. Perhaps she could use her approach to them to catch the attention of the earth pony.

 

She also noted that the griffon at the bar seemed to be ordering another round and the group around her started to disperse as well. She seemed to be quite the interesting griffon as well. Perhaps she could attract her attention as well. After all, she didn't see many other longma in these parts so she was certain that one as unique as her would attract attention of those who have spotted her. She made sure to stay within view of the Griffon as she made her way over to the Rainbow maned mare, also trying to position herself in the sight of the archeologist. "Hello there," she smiled, her Equestrian a little bit rusty from not using it in a while. Her accent was thick, but still able to be understood. "I couldn't help but notice the uniforms... You're one of the famed.... Wonderbolts yes?" she said before leaning in close to her ear. "You're little one is trying to escape..." she whispered quickly pulling back, making it look like she slid a little bit on the carpet. "My apologies... I wasn't expecting such sleekness from the carpet. I was wondering... is there going to be a show soon? We've heard stories about you and your group all the way in Neighpon, but sadly we have nothing of the like there that we could compare to. I would be interested in seeing one of these famed shows we've all heard about." She told the mare.

 

Truthfully, she didn't really mind either way. The show would probably be fun, but it was an easy way for her to start a conversation with the mare and put herself out there. It was also the easiest way to let her know what the little one was plotting without letting on that it was her that spilled the beans. She couldn't help but glance back towards the griffon and the other pony to see if she had gotten their attention yet. It was moments like this where she thanked her military training to where she could easily perceive everything around her while still focusing on the pony that she was talking to. If the other two began to approach her, she'd know.

[Ashton]

Dash nodded and opened her mouth to respond when the longma whispered in her ear. Dash's expression quickly turned hard as she turned her head "Scootalo! Are you trying to pick that lock again!"

 

Scootaloo indeed had a lockpick in her muzzle, which was cntorted at a strange angle, manipulating the pick with her hooves. she had a guilty look on her face, caught int he act and said "...No..."

 

Dash's hoof went to her face "If I'd known I couldn't trust you I wouldn't have brought you!" her eyes filled with a silent rage

 

Scootaloo spat the lockpick back into her bag "Well if I'd known you were going to keep me on a LEASH like a DOG I wouldn't have asked to come!"

 

"Well if You'd just....!"

 

At this point most of the casino was looking at the pair as their argument got louder and louder... this drew the attention of two other ponies, the wonderbolt who had been doing card tricks, and a yellow pegasus mare in a military uniform. The male wonderbolt waved down the mare in the uniform, no doubt their commanding officer, clearly saying he'd handle this.

 

"Rainbow Dash!" he exclaimed, cutting her off from her rant "Calm down, your making a scene"

 

Dash and scootaloo both suddenly went silent and looked around, realizing they had been almost shouting at this point.

 

The male wonderbolt sighed "I tell ya what, Dash, I'm kinda tired of all the attention, I was thinking of checking out the magic show, maybe your sis would like to see that?"

 

Scootaloo grinned, nodded "I'd love to!"

 

The male 'bolt nodded to dash "why dont I look after the kid for a while, let you two have some space, after the show maybe you can do something together you'd both enjoy..."

 

Dash sighed, realizing she'd let things get out of control, pulling out the other end of the magic leash

 

"no need for that" said the male as with one tap on the collar in the right place and it fell right of scootaloo's neck, he turned to dash and smirked, picking up the collar and handing it to the mare "I trust her enough not to use that"

 

Dash put the collar into her bags but frowned "your gonna regret that, Streak"

 

the male, Streak smiled "Hey, they dont call me 'Trick Lightning' for nothin' you should have expected it"

 

"what? No, not that, I mean trusting her to run around loose" said Dash "you dont know the trouble she and her friends used to get into"

 

Lightning Streak smiled "oh I bet I can imagine, and maybe she and I can get into some fun trouble ourselves" he winked at scootaloo

 

Dash's hoof went to her face

 

"Catch ya later, Crash" said Streak as he motioned for scootaloo to follow him

 

Scoots playfully stuck her tongue out at dash as she passed, the pair heading off down one of the hallways, presumably to the aforementioned magic show

 

Dash finally turned back to the longma "Sorry you had to see that, Scootaloo and I've had some... disagreements... ever since we got here this morning, thanks for the heads up" she explained "Name's Rainbow Dash, but you probably already know that" she smiled, showing that even with the mild bruising, her Ego was still going strong. "And yeah, we're going to be doing a show tomorrow, the casino owner made some deal with Spitfire - our lead - and we're going to be spending the weekend here. Come by the stage entrance to the arena tomorrow and I'll see about getting you a free seat for the show" she smiled, clearly grateful for the intervention before scootaloo had escaped on her own.

 

 

Indeed, the mare's plan had worked, the archaeologist had indeed noticed her now, though he had an almost vindictive smirk on his face. No doubt he was glad to see that somepony had gotten Dash into trouble. He was now watching for an opening to speak with one of them... though it wasn't clear whether he was planning on talking to the longma or planning to chastise Rainbow for her actions...

 

 

The griffon at the bar had also taken notice of the scene, though she seemed far less interested in getting involved, eventually just turning back to the bar and taking a pull on her drink.

 

((and again... running out of color options so... meh...))

[IceStorm]

~~~Nira~~~

 

"It's not a problem... Back home places like this... had a tendency to bring out some nasty folk. A young one getting loose, especially one as rowdy as she seemed to be... I can only imagine what she could find..." Nira replied, the more she spoke, the less her accent showed. There was no way for her to get rid of it entirely, but it had diminished a good bit from a second ago to where it wasn't as thick. When she introduced herself as Rainbow Dash, adding that she probably already knew that, she raised an eyebrow a bit. She found it a bit pompous that the mare though ponies from outside of Equestria should know who she was. Did most? Nira nodded in response going along with it. It wasn't worth the possible backlash from it. The mare had already made quite the scene as it was. Certainly much bigger than she had intended it to be. She noticed that the Griffon had turned back to the bar, seemingly uninterested in the commotion, but the earth pony seemed to be approaching.

 

Nira further nodded as Rainbow Dash mentioned that she and her lead, Spitfire were here for a show that they were doing tomorrow night, and that her lead had made arrangements with the owner to spend the weekend here. She said that she should come by the main stage at some point and she could see about getting her a free ticket to the show. She nodded once more. "I will make sure that I do that Ms. Dash. I will do my best to be present. Besides, should the unthinkable ever happen, a show like what the Wonderbolts put on can't ever have too many healers in waiting," she finished waiting for the other pony to close in to see what his intentions now were.

[Ashton]

Dash laughed awkwardly, rubbing the back of her neck nervously "wh-why would you ever think that would happen?" thinking that the other mare had heard streak calling her 'Crash' and that the longma might have assumed she was accident-prone... which wasn't 100% wrong, though she wasn't nearly as bad as she used to be...

 

If was at this point that the stallion made his way over "well, well, well, if it isn't the president of the daring do press club"

 

Dash's eyes narrowed "Dunes...."

 

"I suppose I should congratulate you on maturing enough to get a real job instead of spending so much time fantasizing" he said

 

"Dont start with that, you know-"

 

"I know what?" asked dunes, his eyes glancing over at the longma and back at dash

 

Dash gritted her teeth, knowing she couldn't say anything about Daring Do being real in public like this

 

"Cat got your tongue? a pity, cats deserve better" snarked Dunes

 

Dash looked ready to blow her top, and this time there wouldn't be another wonderbolt to stop her... of course considering their fierce rivalry, this may have been dune's plan all alone - to get Dash to make a scene that this time wouldn't be cooled down

 

Once again though, word quickly spread and the familiar uniformed pegasus rose intot he air directly in Dash's line of sight...

 

Dash snorted "This isn't over, dunes..." she said as she stormed out of the room.

 

Dunes smirked "Dont let the door slam on your tail on the way out" he commended. He then turned to the Longma "My apologies, I dont believe we've been properly introduced, My name is Dunes, Professor of Archaeology at Phoenix University, a local college" he removed his hat and bowed his head politely "May I inquire your name, esteemed visitor from afar?" the change in his attitude and manner was almost jarring, having been so harsh to Rainbow, but now behaving as a perfect gentlepony

[IceStorm]

~~~Nira~~~

 

 

 

"Life happens," Nira said to Rainbow. "Even the most talented guards still have training accidents, or something that goes wrong that's unexpected," she finished as the Earth pony came up to them. Apparently the two didn't like each other much. Something about a fan club... A real job among other things. It so I'm seemed the rainbow mare was going to respond but kept quiet. A tactic commonly used by those who accidentally begin to reveal something they've been hiding for one reason or another. If she were actually on duty, she might have pursued the line further.

 

Alas, it wasn't really any of her business to the nature of their spat, can and rather that create another scene the rainbow mare left. Almost in an instant the earth pony's demeanor changed. It seemed whatever animosity was strictly between him and the other mare. At the very least, her assessment of the pony had been spot on. He introduced himself as Dunes, and said that he was an archeological professor at the local university.

 

When he asked what her name was, she looked back with a simple expression. "My name is Niradaña, but most call me Nira. I take it you've had bad experiences with the rainbow one?" She asked. She didn't want to delve straight into the temple that he was searching for. She was still waiting to see if he found her worthy of the information she already knew. 

[Ashton]

Dunes sighed "I hate to bore you with my past, but if you would like to know... That mare, Rainbow Dash, is a very... vocal... fan of a series of adventure books which portray archaeology in a very poor light. They also display archaeologists themselves as conniving, thieving, reckless adventurers, who more often than not care only about finding and stealing some ancient relic than about preserving the temples they are housed in for study... she has harassed me for years about whether my work was anything like what she read about and how many artifacts I had in my private collection. Fortunately now that she has grown up and has a real job she doesn't bother me as much" he explained, though he smiled again "It is a pleasure to make your aquintence, Miss Niradanna" he said properly, only now returning his hat to his head, having completed introductions. He seemed to be very aware of social expectations, which was quite a change from most ponies.

[IceStorm]

~~~Nira~~~

 

 

 

Nira smirked lightly. She had him now. She listened as he explained how relationship with the rainbow mare and how the novels that were written portrayed a negative light on the study of archeology. That it portrayed them as only caring about the artifacts rather than the temple they reside in. "Really now? And I supposed that's why you're looking for an expedition team to head into a Deidric Temple to pursue a Deidric relic that you said yourself is likely to be guarded by a deity itself?" She said quietly with a smirk. "I didn't become a Royal bodyguard of Neighpon without becoming very good as eavesdropping. Most of the time I use it to pick up threats, but I'm not on duty right now, and your conversation piqued my interest."

[Ashton]

Dunes raised a brow as she started speaking then smirked "It seems I underestimated you, I promise not to do that again" he said "I was not lieing though, I am upset at the portrayal int he books, from an academic standpoint... but fine, lets be frank, there are plenty of old dig sites to examine that dont have ancient relics of great power inside them" he admitted "and if it makes you sleep better, no, i do not intend to auction it off to the highest bidder, nor do I plan to keep it hidden away in secret - I'd just leave it int he temple where it is" clearly he had some plan for this artifact, and hopefully not just petty revenge "You see, the Talisman of Tonatiuh compels any touch it to speak only the truth, it is invaluable in the right hooves!"

 

 

Now the griffon's head turned slightly towards them... this had piqued her interest, though she was trying to be very subtle about it... which also gave away the fact that she was FAR from drunk, despite how she was acting not so long ago....

[IceStorm]

~~~Nira~~~

 

 

 

It seemed like Dunes started backtracking a bit when she confirmed that she had heard the entirety of the conversation that he was having with the others in the area. He further added that he didn't like how he portrayed the academic side. Not every set of ruins had an ancient artifact of power in them. This was true and there was a lot of history left in some of those. Neighpon had a lot of old temples like that. Though he did say that he was planning on leaving it alone. "I'm not going to be quite that easy to fool either. You want it for something otherwise you wouldn't be trying to find it just to leave it behind. Especially an artifact like that in the wrong hooves could destabilize and country it government as corrupted as politicing can get," she replied. 

[Ashton]

Dunes raised a brow "perhaps something was lost in translation. I was saying that if I were indeed planning to horde it for myself and not tell anyone, then I might as well not seek it out." he explained "of course I have use for it, otherwise I would be researching some other relic" he explained, a little bit of the tone he had used with Dash coming through now. He was not a very amicable pony under the facade it seemed, though he kept it up well enough to make others think he was. "If you are interested in accompanying me, then I will make arrangements, I wish to keep this group as small as possible to prevent any... accidents... befalling larger parties" he explained

 

((yanno... i thought dunes was more of a hero, but the more I play him, the more I realize he's at *best* an antihero and probably closer to an antivillian....))

[IceStorm]

~~~Nira~~~

 

 

 

Nira noticed the shift in tone. It seemed this pony didn't like being caught in his own act. The time he replied to with her was more akin to that of what he has used with the rainbow mare. "I might be interested in this if you tell me why you're really after this. Like I said, in the wrong hooves this could have catastrophic consequence. Not to mention, I am still a bodyguard. Since you're not a member of the Neighpon Royal family, is your want to end my services... It's going to cost you." Nira started.

 

"For one, I will have to have my armor shipped over, as I was not expecting to need it. I will also be letting the Royal family know the basics of what I'm doing. They're going to ask when I request my armor. So don't get any funny ideas. Less you want the Royal army of Neighpon after you, and they aren't as nice as me. Trust me, I've trained most of them." She said waiting for the inevitable question of how much. When it came up. "Sixty-five bits a day, plus twenty-five percent of the profit of the expedition."

[Ashton]

Dunes smiled a sarcastic smile "Of it wont be any trouble at all" he said "I'm leaving int he morning, and I'm sure I can find somepony else to accompany me that doesn't need a two-week lead-time" he explained "There are plenty of thrill-seakers and daredevils in los pegasus, that's one of the reasons I'm here. Some of them are even competent" as his eyes landed on Streak and Scootaloo "...and I think I know exactly how to acquire the services of one of them...." he paused only a moment as he spoke again "If we have nothing else to discuss, it was a pleasure making your acquaintance, miss Niradanna longma, and I bid you good night" he took off his hat again politely, then replaced it and started to follow after streak and scootaloo....

[IceStorm]

~~~Nira~~~

 

 

 

Something felt off. He was definitely hiding something and the fact that he's rather find somepony else other that a proven bounty guard for the task meant that what he was planning with this artifact was in fact not good. He needed to be stopped. The way he kept looking at the filly and her caretaker also made her uneasy. The words he chose also made it sound as if he was going to try to use her as leverage over someone. Possibly the rainbow mare. 

 

As Nira kept all eye on him, she also noticed that the griffon from earlier was now paying attention to them. It seemed subtle, but it was there. She looked briefly towards her pulling out a rather large and definitely hefty coin purse, jiggled it lightly and then nodded towards Dunes. 

 

Afterward she made herself one with the crowd, and watched. Whatever he was planning with the filly... Nira couldn't do anything until he made a move to grab her. Otherwise he could turn the confrontation onto an act of defense against her trying to take the filly. She knew no pony in Neighpon would believe that, but she was m also knew she wasn't in Neighpon. She hoped that the griffon caught the hint and would go up to Dunes and create a distraction.

[Ashton]

The griffon rolled her eyes, clearly insulted that this mare wanted to hire her for roughing up a pony.

 

Dunes meanwhile, approached streak and Scootaloo, but he did not make any effort to grab her, instead he was speaking, quietly this time, to ensure nopony was eves dropping, even leaning in close to whisper something to the pair.

 

Scootaloo started getting excited, shifting back and forth on her legs, looking up at streak with a grin and a silent "pleeeeeeaaaaaaaase?"

 

Streak laughed and rubbed the fillie's head "I suppose a quick look wouldn't hurt" he said

 

Dunes then began leading the pair towards the stairs...

 

Now the griffon set down her mug, tossing a few coins on the bar and began following them... suspicious herself of what was going to happen, and having standards that Dunes had just dropped below...

[IceStorm]

~~~Nira~~~

 

 

 

It appeared that the griffon want paint as close attention to them as Nira had thought. If she had been and actually knew the situation she wouldn't have been offended that Nira was offering to pay for her help. Nira didn't have time to concern herself with that right now though. Right now she had to focus on the pony that was in front of her. Especially since Dunes was now leading the filly to a set of stairs. 

 

She moved closer. She remained lost in the crowd as much as she could be for what she was in a room full of Ponies and Griffins. She made it to the steps after then when she noticed the alarm systems. On her way past one of the casino's security guards, she gave them a heads up on the situation. It appeared they were now mobilizing as well. This would prevent Dunes from being able to talk his way out of the situation should there need arise to get physical, which... it looked more and more likely by the second. Now,v she watched and waited for her moment to strike. 

[Ashton]

((woah woah woah.... "Alarm system"? I think in equestria that's a security guard. Remember this world doesn't even have radios, much less TVs...))

 

By the time they got there, this had already gotten quite physical...

 

the door had been kicked in, lightning streak was on the floor out cold. Scootaloo was bound and gaged...

 

But the apparent situation was not what anyone expected to see...

 

Dunes was backed against the wall, looking like he had been burned several times, not to mention looked a little bloody and beat up...

 

the window had been kicked out and the griffon was holding scootaloo under one arm.

 

Dunes turned to the guards "thank celestia your here! Harle Blackclaw, the dreaded sky pirate, assaulted a wonderbolt, kidnapped a filly, and attempted to mug me!"

 

The griffon seeing how the deck was stacked against her, drew out a flare gun, and shot a flare into the sky, then leapt out the window, muttering something to scootaloo as she took the filly with her.

 

It was only a minute or so more and the whole town was being hit with Harle's massive signature blue smoke bombs from the airship's cannons, completely covering her and her crew's escape to... wherever she was taking scootaloo...

 

Back in the hotel, Dunes was being the perfect gentleman and hero, pulling streak from the room as the smoke from harle's escape began to fill the room thanks to the broken window despite hit own wounds, though there was a good chance they were more superficial than dangerous. "We need to find them! That was Harle Blackclaw, there's no telling what horrible plan she has for that filly, She might be going to ransom her, Sell her as a slave down south, or even..." he shuddered "Eat her!"  he looked at Nina "While this changes nothing between us, I suggest we put aside our petty differences and work together to try and save this innocent filly before she meets a dreadful fate!"

 

 

[IceStorm]

~~~Nira~~~

 

 

Well, that escalated much faster than she had anticipated. Apparently the Griffin had accepted, or she had ulterior means. As it is, the Griffon now had the filly, and Dunes.... Dunes was trying to play hero. Of course he would. She was expecting this, and while she didn't have a whole lot on her to prove who she was, she did have one thing, the most important thing with dealing with a situation like this. Ambassador Identification, from the times that she had been over here on political business with Ishi parleying with the two sisters before they stepped down. Something told her that they would have to renew said alliances with Princess Twilight now that she has been put into the position.

 

When Dunes got in her face, she pushed him back with a hoof. "I will Deal with Harle Blackclaw. If she's anything like the pirate's that plague Neighpon's waters, they are at least honorable among their own and follow the pirates code. That is of course, more than I can say for you. A dishonorable archeologist whom is one of the most two-faced individuals I have met, and I deal with the Yakuza on a daily basis. You come to me for assistance in going after what's likely an illegal artifact, and then try to use a filly as leverage. I daresay Ms. Blackclaw is a hero minus the broken window," she said turning to the guards that were now surrounding them.

 

 

~~~Ice Storm~~~

 

 

Before anything else could be said though, a biting cold began to fill the room. Everyone, including the guards went silent and all of them went straight to attention as a blue unicorn mare entered the room. She took in the scene of the smoke that was now billowing in through one of her broken windows and then back to the ponies that were in front of her. "You know what I hate?" the blue mare started. By now everypony in the room should have noticed the icy spheres that were orbiting her, as well as the floor freezing with every step she took "I hate ponies who have so little respect for a place that they are privileged to stay in that they have to destroy things that don't belong to them... Papers, both of you." Ice Storm demanded. The first to provide them was the Longma. She grabbed the passport in her magic, clearly noting that she was in fact not an Equestrian Citizen. "Niradaña... A Royal passport. I thought I recognized you. If you're here, then I can summarize I have a few more dignitaries here as well. " she said waiting for the documentation from the other ponies in the room. She noted that there was also one of the wonderbolts that she had invited in the room out cold.

 

"Fetch me Captain Spitfire and Rainbow Dash at once. This window was broken from the inside and these smoke bombs came from an airship. Mobilize two gunships from Hanger 5 to intercept this ship and bring whoever is on board back to me. Alive. Do not engage in combat unless provoked," she ordered as one of the guards saluted and teleported away. She then looked back over to the earth pony that was there and awaiting his identification as well.. Something seemed familiar about him as well. "Now, tell... what in Tartartus is going on in my casino?"

[Ashton]

Dunes looked shocked "How can you say such things? There must be some mistake, I am a humble college professor - I spend my time teaching my students, improving the lives of young mares and stallions, I assure you, I would never do such an underhoofed thing!" clearly playing up his reputation for the guards present.

 

when the owner came in, Dunes turned his attention to her, as he pulled out his college ID badge, he politely took of his hat "I am professor dunes, resident archaeology professor at phoenix university" he explained "and I myself am unsure what happened, I invited one of the wonderbolts and his young friend to my room to show them some pictures of recent artifacts that I had been investigating" he motioned to an open photo album showing many old (non magical) artifacts, the pictures all take in an obvious laboratory, presumably at his college (with none of the images in the album being from the temples themselves) "When all of a sudden the door is kicked in by that brute pirate, she caught my guest off-guard and knocked him out quickly. I fought her as best I could, but being a simple archaeologist, I was greatly outmatched, she then took the filly hostage and escaped as soon as the guards arrived"

 

by now the smoke had almost completely dissipated and faded away, clearly meant only for a quick getaway and not long-term incapacitation.

 

It took a few minutes for the other two wonderbolts to be located. As they arrived, Dash sent a split-second glare at dunes but said nothing

 

Spitfire took responsibility for Streak, carrying him off to receive medical attention, as she left she left Dash to deal with the situation, telling her "Handle this like I would"

 

"oh so I'm supposed to yell at them at the top of my voice? I can do that" she smirked

 

Spitfire gave dash a faint smile but also a glare. No doubt rainbow would hear about this later, but the wolderbotls commander had more important things to deal with than a little snark. She politely, if a little harshly, excused herself and took Streak to get medical attention.

 

"So let me guess..." she said with a sigh "Scootaloo blindsided you and she escaped through the window?" she asked, her hoof on her face, clearly embarrassed about what happened "just send me the bill for whatever she breaks... I'll deal with her as soon as I catch her..."

 

By the time the other airships had taken to the skies, harle's ship was nowhere to be found. Clearly she had some tricks up her sleeve and had already somehow stashed her ship somewhere it wouldn't be found......

[IceStorm]

~~~Ice Storm~~~

 

Ice Storm looked over to Identification that was presented to her. Everything seemed to be in order. She handed the Identification back to him as the guards relayed to her the counts of what happened, the warning that they had received, and all other relevant information. "I see..." She said as one of hey guards brought in a crystal vial that was glowing. She motioning to the crystal beacon in the room. 

 

"The ship that was used doesn't appear to be in the area anymore." One of the captains told her.

 

"Scour the area. A ship like that doesn't just disappear. Check the jungle. It's easy to hide a ship there, be I've done it. Check over Echo Charlie Echo three five one," she said getting a roger from her staff.

 

"I'm going to have both of you detained while I piece together what's going on," she said turning to Dunes. "Your hooves are not clean here, professor Dunes. Reports from my guards confirm the fact that you were seeking assistance in hunting an artifact. However not caught the name of type of artifact that you're after. That and the warning that an emmisary gave right before all this came to happen is coincidental to say the least. I'm not going to say you're guilty by any means, but surely you can understand my suspicion. If you truly are innocent, you'll have no problems waiting here while this little matter is resolved. Besides, someone's paying for that window," I've started before turning to Nira. 

 

"That being said, you owe a bit of an explanation yourself. Guards inform new they none of the Royal family after here. That means your are not here on their orders but if your own will. While I appreciate that name of my establishment has made its way to the far East, I must say that there's plenty of suspicion around you as well. The fact that one of the guards saw you motions back to a griffon in the bar with a coin purse and then the warning, and now there's a missing filly. Likewise if you have nothing to hide, then you won't mind coming with me. And to make sure I was clear... That's not an option for either of you... Follow me. I'll take your statements from a more secured location." she added.

 

The Rainbow Dash and Spitfire arrived to take care of the Wonderbolt. When Rainbow asked about the window, Ice shook her head. "Unfortunately, it's a lot worse than that. Gonna need you to come with me as well. Already been enough things broken here. If much rather you lose your temper in a room with less breakables," Ice told Rainbow as her guards gestured and waited for the others to follow.

[Ashton]

Dunes nodded, returning his id to his bags "I dont understand why it seems unusual for me to be researching artifacts, I am an archaeologist, and any expedition will need funding well beyond what I can provide on my own even with help from the college, I assumed with the good reputation this establishment has that I would be able to find backers and perhaps assistants for the expedition" he explained "I dont mind helping in whatever capacity I can, though I do have obligations to my university, so I hope this can be resolved quickly"

 

Dash looked a bit nervous "Ok, sure, but I gotta let my commander know about this, just a sec" without even waiting for permission, which was really just par for the course with dash, she sped out and down the hall to where spitfire was, keeping in line-of sight, she explained the situation... though if anyone was paying attention and could hear the conversation well enough, they would notice something vaguely suspicious, instead of a salute or even a 'talk to you later', Dash ended by saying "Magenta Bravo" to spitfire. Though it was possibly just some bizarre wonderbolt sign-off, it did seem a bit out of place. 

 

Spitfire didn't seem to react unusually to any of this simply repeating the phrase as they split up again.

 

Dash returned quickly "Sorry, I'm sure you know how important protocol is to the wonderbolts" she explained, not going any further in depth about it. Though it was quite clear she was nervous, and rightly so given Ice's comments and the fact that the pony dash had left in charge of her 'little sister' had just been carried off unconscious, though she was trying to remain as calm and processional as possible...

[IceStorm]

~~~Ice Storm~~~

 

 

Ice Storm rolled her eyes as she walked in front of the group. The archeologist apparently had a listening issue, or he completely ignored her. Either way, it irritated her. What part of waiting until they were in a secured area did he not understand? Still, she remained silent. She was in no mood to deal with this here. Of course, she gave a small nod as Rainbow Dash told her that she needed to report to Spitfire and let her know what was going on. That was common practice and she acknowledged this. Naturally, the mare had no idea what was actually going on, so there was probably some sort of contingency there. The wonderbolts may have been Canterlot's elite fliers, but there was still one thing that had to be respected about them and not taken lightly. They were still military. That alone was nothing to be taken lightly. She moved forward as soon as Rainbow returned.

 

Then Ice started leading them from the hotel part of the building to the elevator through the casino. It became eerily quiet in a hurry. All eyes were on them as the security detail escorted them in, everypony curious now as to what was going to happen. Even the machines that were usually loud were almost silent. Enough to make anypony feel unease. At this point the floor was no longer freezing under Ice, and the spheres were orbiting much closer around her neck as they got into the elevator. With a quick flick of the lever once it was sealed, they ascended.

 

When the arrived at her office, the first thing that they would notice is the sheer amount of magic in the room. Several unicorns were using scrying spells to keep an eye on many things at once, and something a bit unusual was that not everything seemed to be inside the hotel at this point. The other thing that they noticed was that there wasn't anything viewing inside rooms. Ice valued privacy of her patrons over anything else so what happened inside her rooms was of no business of hers until it became her business in situations such as the current one. Perhaps the most unusual thing in the room though was the fact that almost everypony in the room was wearing a military uniform. One that wouldn't be recognized by most and bared a very minimal tie to Equestria by design.

As they entered her Office, they would notice Ice's magic flare up once more as piece by piece her armor began to don itself around her, and by the time she reached her desk, she was now wearing her complete set of what looked like modified Lunar armor. The most important features on it, were the five stars in the shape of a pentagon on her helm, and the insignias on her shoulder pauldrons. They were that of one large solid gold bar on each side with four smaller gold bars moving up her shoulder towards her neck, accented with a star at the very top. The last thing that they would notice was a second elevator in the room. One that was heavily guarded by two armed guards that didn't even flinch when they walked in. Ice Storm gestured to the chairs. "Sit" she said plainly. "Now, tell me everything. Let's start with you," she said pointing to Dunes.

 

 

~~~Nira~~~

 

 

Nira remained silent as they made their way through the casino, heeding the mares orders. Something told her that this wasn't a mare to be trifled with and that she should follow her instructions to a t. For starters, she owned the establishment that they were currently in, and that she was planning on getting a room at. due to the incident at hoof, if she failed to correct the situation, not only would a room here not be allowed, it was very possible this could be turned against her. She had to hope that the what little reputation she had with this mare was good enough to convince her that she was not in the wrong here. Neither was the pirate. That everything had happened exactly as she said that it had happened. Plus there was the fact that the mare was not wrong. She had used an underhoofed strategy to try to ensure the filly's safety. One that she realized now that the griffon was actually gone might have backfired and created an even worse situation. Nira took in the silence around them. There was only two ways this was going to go down now. Either she was now branded a criminal, or she was branded a hero. Only time would dictate that as they got onto the elevator.

 

The ride on the elevator was quite a long one, and the longer they were inside of it, the colder it got. She could feel the power emanating from the mare next to her. It confirmed her suspicions earlier of the mares strength. Definitely not a mare to make angry, and every bit of deserving of the few times she'd seen her posted outside of their summits with the princesses. Then when the elevator stopped, and the longma stepped into the room, she noticed a complete change. This looked almost more like a military outpost than the owner's office of a hotel. She also noticed the armor don itself around the mare as she walked to the desk and noted the insignia. Being military herself, she could say for certain that while she didn't know what the rank was in Equestrian, but she could very clearly see it was high. At the very least on par with her own. If not, higher, most likely higher. When she was instructed to sit, she did so, and she waited for her turn to explain what was going on.