[Canterlot] A Royal Pain - Act 1: Put up your Dukes

[tacobob]

"If it's of any help, we were told many of the items that were stolen, belonged to a tribe in the west portion of the Uyanazi, I believe a tribe known as the 'Hodari" had requested the return of the 'King's Box'", she glanced back at her two companions, "Ho-dari? Does that sound right?", she turned back to the prince, "I could only assume that your father left or lost his notebook at the Hodari's village, and it was probably snatched up along with some of the tribe's prized possessions by the bandits and was probably passed around through the black market as a set or collection.", once Bluebood returned his eyes back to the notebook, The red Pegasus elbowed Dunder, "Could you at least bring me another glass of the Sangiovese? With a fresh glass, please?"

[Snowshoe]

"Aye, sounds 'bout right to me." Muggo' Ale agreed. He didn't remember too much but that sounded right. With how many days had passed between then and now, and the working of his bar in between then, things like that tended to slip his mind.

He listened to what Fire Walker said, then added his own two bits to the theorizing. "I'd say it's more likely it was lost. A journal's not somethin' ya leave behind unless ya gotta get goin' on the double-quick." he pointed out. "Might'n be that yer father just dropped that on the way, or it might'n be that it's got an answer. If it comes up with more questions than answers, well, ya know who to turn to, I hope." he said with a smile. The bag of bits on the table, and the thrill of going out and adventuring again, was really starting to grow on Muggo' again, though he knew he couldn't keep leaving the bar behind like this. "If there's more out there, we'll find it."

[Dunder]

Dunder was still eyeing the bag of bits when Fire had asked the correct pronunciation of the zebra tribe. "Yeah, you've got it." He kept listening to her and Muggo' talk about the Tribe. After Muggo' he put in his two bits, "He could have dropped it, had to leave it, or it could have been taken from him." Dunder said to Blueblood, "There were more active bandit gangs back then. Also, some of the tribes could mug travelers just for being on their land. Possibly starting with the Hodari tribe we should start asking questions." Dunder said.

He looked over at Fire when she sent him the request. He gave her a surprised look, "What? I don't have cooties." He said and stuck his tongue out at her with a smile, "Anyway, we've shared canteens and drinks before. It's only a little Dunder spit, it won't kill you, I promise." He said and looked away while grinning. He also recalled when she had too much to drink at one pub they visited and started trying to kiss him and Muggo'.

[Stainless Steel Fox]

Blueblood was intrigued by Firewalkers addition to the book's provenance, interested in Muggo's suggestion, and utterly grossed out by Dunder. He gave a shudder. Well what could he expect from a common pony?

"I shall peruse the journal, and see if it sheds further light on what happened to my father. While this speculation is all very well, it is just that."

He put the book in his saddle bag. The big earth pony... he hadn't actually found out the other two's names, unless Dunder was the name of the dopy looking pegasus with the bodily fluid fixation, not that he particularly wanted to... anyway, the big one had suggested they might be willing to go on an expedition to find out more information. Obviously, Blueblood himself wouldn't be able to, but the idea had some merit if there was anything to find.

"I shall contact you, Miss Firewalker, if I have further need of your services. You have an address here in Canterlot I can send word to? Your friend's suggestion that an expedition might find nout more is not without merit. Your other friend's suggestion that drooling in other people's drinks is anything other than gross and uncouth, is. For now I shall leave you, and your friend can slobber to his heart's content."

With that he turned and left.

[tacobob]

"We will be staying in the hall's guest quarters during the week, if you wish to seek us out after that, please feel free to contact me via my parent's residence.", she placed a card on the table which listed the address under the 'Walker Estate'. Blueblood may have recognized it as being one of the older Canterlot families that had proudly served in the Royal Equestrian Army for many generations. From military commanders to simple, beat-guards, it seemed there always was a 'Walker' walking the street and keeping things safe for all those who lived in the great city.

The red coated Pegasus waited before Bluebood got up from his chair, before doing so herself. She bowed her head gracefully and added, "Thank you, once again, Your Grace, and I do wish you Godspeed on your most honorable endeavor.", she kept a professional smile on her face and waited before the Duke had left the room. Once he was gone, she fell back on her chair.

"That wasn't too bad.", she grabbed the nearest drink that her hoof could reach, "I'm happy to say that nearly all the negative rumors I heard about him were not true, at least from the short time we all spent with the good Prince. And thank you all for being totally nasty and disgusting. You just made me look really good.", she playfully stuck her tongue out at Dunder, "I intend on getting smashed, blasted, hammered and maybe a bit shickered during the night. We will be staying in the hall's member room. We only get one, but they're really nice bedrooms. You two will be sharing a bed, or one of you can use the floor. I'll just order an extra blanket. And I do call first morning dibs on the bathroom."

Fire finally looked at her two friends and she pondered something for a moment, "So, do you two have any plans for tomorrow if Prince Blueblood does not contact us right away? I was going to visit an old friend of mine in the 'Commons'. Ooh!", she pounded the table with her right hoof, "She has a friend who has a friend who isn't seeing anypony at the moment. Maybe I could set you two up Muggo'. A little date. You'd like her. She's a...er..", she tried to think up a proper word, "Voluptuous. An earthie like you, and a blacksmith!", she grinned at the larger pony...

[Snowshoe]

"Muggo'. Muggo' Ale." Muggo' said when Blueblood mentioned him, but not by name. He gave a respectful nod of his head and doffed his cap once again as the prince left them and went to go read through his journal.

"Aye. He's a lot more sober than I thought. Not like sober as in not three sheets to the wind, mind ya. Sober as in...well, I heard say he can be a little on the hoity-toity side. Seemed rather down to earth." he commented, smirking at Fire as she playfully admonished them for their behaviour. "Eh, b'y's gotta learn to loosen up a little." he joked. He got up and stretched out his neck a little as she spoke.

"Warnin' ya right now b'y, I'm a cuddler." he teased Dunder, then looked at Fire and smiled, shaking his head. "Grateful for the offer, Fire, but I think I may have me somepony back home. Least the first date went well." he said with a smile.

"Me b'y Dunder, on the other hoof..." he said with a chuckle, knowing it would make for a hilarious show to watch.

[Dunder]

"That's Dunder Blust, to you, Blueblood." Dunder said as the white unicorn left. He nodded his head in a mock-respecting way as the unicorn exited the room.

"He was charming. I wonder why all the stallions and mares gossip about him being rude or arrogant." He said sarcastically and laughed. He wasn't at all phased by what had just happened, he mostly expected it anyway. He didn't care if that certain pony didn't like him, and it was obviously so. "He wasn't too bad." He said before looking back at his companions.

When he saw a hoof moving for the glass, Dunder slid the wine glass he had shared with Fire over to her hoof. "Yes, we made you look really good, only because we love you." He said with a smile. "And why would be be getting smashed or hammered during the night? I don't drink, as it was made obvious by the wine." He laughed. When Muggo' made the comment about cuddling, Dunder only grinned wide, "Oh, I'm fine with a little cuddle from you, sweetie." He said jokingly and stuck a tongue out at him.

When Fire made the comment about giving a date for Muggo' Dunder looked at Muggo' with a wide grin. Expecting the large earth stallion to blush or get shy or something... what actually happened surprised and shocked him. He slammed his hoof on the table, "WHAT!?" He nearly yelled, "Why didn't you tell me?" He asked and smiled wide. He had something new to tease Muggo' about. "What's her name? Is she cute? Did you kiss her yet?" He asked rapidly. He couldn't contain it, he laughed. He stopped when he made the comment about him, realizing that he now could be teased for being single still. "Huh! So what? I'm fine single." He said, though it did get kind of lonely sometimes.

[tacobob]

“I’m sure whoever she is, she’s bound to be pretty special.", the red Pegasus flashed a smile as she tried to picture this mystery mare. "We’ll have to meet her once...er.”, she looked over at Dunder, “Maybe after the forth or fifth date. After she’s met your parents, and you have met hers, or maybe after the wedding. That would probably be the safest bet.”, she finished off the rest of her wine before adding, “As you know I broke up with Storm Chaser before I went on furlough. He was happy where he was and the idea of getting up and moving off to other lands did not appeal to him. Probably why my father liked him so much. He was stable, he had solid plans for his life. Everything was mapped out for him.”, she sighed ever so dramatically and kept quiet as she listened to the two stallion's conversation.

"Hoity Toity's side?", Fire squinched up her nose, "While I've heard nearly all the Blueblood rumors one could stand to hear, they generally paint him being more into the mares, than stallions.", she noticed something interesting a few tables away, " Ooh. That looks good!", she got up from her seat and trotted over to one of the buffet tables. Moments later, she came back with a small plate of truffles which she held with her mouth and an long, thin glass filled with a frozen yellowish liquid which she held in her hoof. These were placed on the table before she returned to her seat, "The good prince has to put on a certain amount of 'airs' when out and about. There are certain unwritten rules they all must follow when interacting with 'Average Joe Public Pony'. I know he went through an amazing amount of flak after he attended one of the G-G-G's a few years go with some fashion designer that ended in disaster, public humiliation and lots and lots of cake. Heard he vanished for a bit after that. Felt bad for the poor guy. If I were there and not an member of the R.E.A, I would have gladly offered to lick the cake off of him. And speaking of the 'nommies'"

She motioned to sweet treats she had on her plate, “Not sure if you’ve heard of these before. They’re called Ban-annas. They grow in the Uyanazi and they’re like all over the place. They’re actually sort of magical, like ‘Zap Apples’ as they grow in their own wrappers which you can peel off once the fruit is ready. Go ahead and try one of the truffles, but touch my daiquiri and I’ll break your hoof.”, she grinned rather evilly at Dunder.

(Here's a finished pic of young Fire Walker. After she graduated from the R.E.A.'s training school/college/whatever. She had a bit of an attitude problem back then. She felt she had a lot of prove, and her snarl is her 'answer' when the photographer asked her to 'smile real pretty-like!' Thankfully she matured and mellowed out of the years..)

[Stainless Steel Fox]

Blueblood headed straight back to Buckingham palace, desire to stay and enjoy the open day overcome by an burning eagerness to read his father's lost journal. He went up to the Ducal suite immediately, and ordered a light tea to be brought up while he changed into a dressing gown. With food to horn, and a comfortable lounger to lay on, he was ready to begin. The tea remained untouched as he read through the pages, utterly engrossed in his fathers notes.

It was all here, the researches that had led him to believe a pre-Ponylithic civilisation had one existed in the south of Uyanazi. The original sources were all third or fouth hoof, pre-Alicorn era codexes that referenced earlier writings from before the great Windigo migration, which in turn told of legends about visitors from the far south, not zebra, not even equine, though their exact nature wasn't described. There were cross references to cave paintings found in the Northern steppes, that showed Uyanazi creatures, including zebra. Thaumic dating had shown they were painted from long before any-pony, or any other creature could have travelled across the Quagga strait. Any creature that was known to modern pony-kind. They generally surrounded a central figure that was shown only as a glowing oval.

The rest was more fragmented, a dozen different clues that his father had found during his previous adventures that taken together formed a map... no it was too vague to be considered a map, just a set of landmarks that if followed might lead... somewhere. It was maddeningly vague, like a gossamer thread that would snap if tugged too hard, but one of the few solid reference points was the Asubuhi mountains. Blueblood stopped at this point to consult his own extensive library, admittedly one he'd inherited as part of the Ducal rooms at the palace, but added to over the years by purchases of his own. For that matter his father probably used the same library during his researches.

His great aunts did their thing, and his only reaction was to trigger a light spell, a radiant ball that hovered above the tip of his horn, illuminating his immediate work area. His own research confirmed that his father had certainly had something to go on, but did not help refine it. He tore (figuratively) into the section of the journal that detailed the expedition itself. It began from the north of Uyanazi, where his chartered air-ship had dropped the expedition. As to why he hadn't gone much further in it, without the support network that covered the great air-ship routes of Equestria, the range of even the best air-ship was limited. Add to that the lack of knowledge of the air-currents and conditions, and you understood why he'd preferred to continue by chariot.

It told of his progress down the east side of the Asabuhi mountains, and the travails they'd undergone. The Hodari tribe had been one of the tribes they'd visited with, and proved to be hospitable and friendly. They'd resupplied his expedition, and sent a couple of thier own as guides. The journal continued, ltelling of some strange things they'd seen as they headed further south, then stopped without notice. Blueblood double checked, but there was nothing more. The last entry described a hard day of travel, but nothing unusual for once, and then nothing more. There was reference to a 'flying mountain' as the next landmark, but no further explanation.

Blueblood finally came up for air, and noticed that it was dark, the moon well up, and that his tea was ruined. He rang down to the kitchens for a replacement, but most of his mind was given duriously to wonder. The journal had poesd more mysteries than it solved. How did the journal get back to the Hodari villiage? What prevented his father making any further entries? What was this 'flying mountain'? not a cloud city, so far from any pegasus... He wanted to find the answers for himself...

Most of his thoughts were horrified at that realisation. Leave Canterlot? Actually subject himself to the danger and hardships of a long journey and the lack of anything but the most basic of grooming facilities? Exert himself and sweat like some common farm--pony under the blazing sun his aunt provided Uyanazi? His mother would be utterly opposed. This was exactly the soert of thing she'd spent years teaching him that a noble did not do. But a small part of him, the part that still thrilled at entering the Explorer's club and reading his father's journals, was emboldened by his recent actions and fought back.

He collapsed into bed but sleep would not come as his body twisted and turned, and his mind wrestled with the idea. What would ponies say? How could he outfit an expedition, even if he was going to? What was he even going to wear...

[Snowshoe]

Muggo' laughed at the news of him going on a date got. He turned to Dunder, addressing him first. "Caramel Apple, aye, an' aye." he said with a smile. "She's great. An' I didn't tell ya 'cos I didn't get the time, b'y. Anyways, ya two can probably meet her any time, we're just datin'." he assured them. He chuckled as Fire Walker misunderstood what he meant. "No, I meant he's got his snout stuck in the air, if ya catch me drift." he said, chuckling again. He understood they had to put on airs, but something seemed almost too natural about the way Blueblood acted that way, like it was how he acted all the time.

Muggo' made his way to the table with the others, nodding. "Looks rather odd." he said, meaning the mysterious curved yellow fruit. The truffles, however, he easily grabbed a few of those, as well as a pint of lager from the bar. He sat down at the table and stretched out a bit.

"So, ya think the b'y's gunna call on us again?" he asked. "Think there's anythin' in that journal?" he added.

[Dunder]

"Wedding? I'll go during the wedding and eat all the food. And object when the priest says, 'speak now or forever hold your peace!' What will I say? I don't know. I'll make up something on the spot.: He said, "At least she's cute. And I wouldn't want to meet her. It'd be awkward just sitting there while you two make out or whatever you guys do." He said. The thought of reliving awkward moments like that brought shivers down his spine. Anyway, he wouldn't want to mess it up for Muffo' which he knew there was definite possibility of doing.

When Fire brought over the food. When she mispronounced the name of the banana, he cocked his head. "What? A Ban-anna? You mean a banana, right?" He asked Fire, baffled at why she didn't know what a banana was. He took one of the bananas in his fetlock and with some careful biting and tearing managed to rip the peel off. He bit it in half when Fire challenged him. It might not sound like a challenge, but in situations like this where it was Fire vs Dunder over something silly it was a challenge.

He leaned back on his chair as Muggo' spoke, "Blueblood will call us again. It'd be silly if he called in another team when we already know the back story of the journal and some of our way around the Unyazi. Anyway, this isn't just something that we found and it's second-rate collectible. This is his dad's journal. He wouldn't want to leave this kind of stuff unchecked." He finished off the banana, covering his mouth with his hoof as he spoke next, "Anyway, more bits for us and I have no problem getting paid by a noble." He said. He stood up, hooves on the table, "Speaking of getting paid, it's about time we get each of our shares." He grabbed the two bags of bits and started taking out 100 bits from each of the bags, leaving three groups of two hundred.

He shoveled his bits into his saddlebag, "Well, seems like I'm ready to go to the room. I'm paid and I need to oil my rapier and longsword anyway. Also we need to check out the sweet Canterlot room we get and I need to claim my side of the bed." He said with a grin.

[tacobob]

"Wow.", Fire Walker was pretty impressed, "Carmel Apple, of the Apple family? You might as well be marrying into royalty from what I've heard about that clan.", she paused to try some of her drink, which she apparently liked very much, "The Apples founded cities and villages from Ponyville to Appleloosa. Wonder if you'll be allowed to sell their famous Cider at your tavern? Heard ponies line up for miles to get a fresh mug which they apparently brew only a few times a year.", she glanced over at the raw bananas and after trying to figure out how they got their, just shrugged her shoulders. "Never seen one of those yellow fruits until today. Weird."

Trying to outdo her companion, the overly dressed Pegasus placed her head down onto the table, near the strange fruit. She bit down onto the skin and gracefully pulled out the hidden treasure from its organic pouch, lifted her head from the table and grasped the banana with both of her front hooves, which she lifted slowly into her mouth and started to slowly chew on until it vanished into her maw, "That was actually really good, I should try mo...why is everypony looking at me so strangely?", she noticed that her simple action of eating an banana in public had caused more than a few of the party goers to turn their attention to her. She could only grin, and while it was next to impossible for a red coated pony to blush and show it, somehow the fur around on her face seemed to glow almost like lava.

"Bits. Great!", she collected her coins and got up from her chair, "Let's just go to the room and get some rest. I wouldn't be surprised if Blueblood contacts us tomorrow, after he read the journal!', she cantered over towards the hallway, which would lead into the hall members bedrooms. Once in her room, she quickly crawled out of her party dress and into the welcoming silk sheets on her bed. Sure beats the old cots they had to put up with back in the barracks.

[Snowshoe]

All the talk of weddings and such made Muggo' Ale a little embarrassed. He chuckled nervously, sipping his drink. He and Caramel had had one date together, and here his friends were talking marriage.

"Aye, Caramel Apple o' the Apple family." he told Fire, smiling. "Didn't know how big a family it was 'till I talked to her. Celestia t'underin', y'ain't kiddin' when ya say that. Would make Hearth's Warmin' dinner a little crazy, aye?" he said with a laugh.

He looked up at Dunder and nodded. "That's presumin' he finds somethin' in there. Might'n be that he doesn't find anythin', or he gets the answer he needs." he pointed out. But he, like Dunder, liked getting paid, so he hoped that Blueblood called on them again.

He nodded, collecting his bits and standing up from the table himself after downing the rest of his drink. He set his newsboy cap properly on his head, then grinned at Dunder. "Shall we be off, or ya goin' to stay an' try to impress the elite o' Canterlot?" he teased.

[Dunder]

As Dunder was getting ready to leave, he eyed the glass. After Muggo' made the remark about impressing the elites of Canterlot, he knew Fire would say something, even though it was directed at him. Now was his chance. He scooped up the glass and took a big sip from it before setting it back down on the table with a sigh of satysfaction, making sure that Fire knew well what he had just done. " I'm getting tired of these Canterlot ponies." He said, his voice still rough from just drinking. "Anyway, lets go back to the room.... er, go to the room. We haven't gone there yet." He said as he trotted off.

After the standard procedure to get access to the room, they opened the door. The room looked exactly like a regular hotel room, except way fancier. He felt almost bad to live there and know he was going to mess up the incredibly nice room. "Wow, this is good looking." He said after throwing his stuff on one of the beds, "Righto, this is our bed. And I get the left side." He said, not really having a preference to either.

The look of the bed was too inviting. Dunder couldn't help but feel the overwhelming need to sleep. He took off his shirt as he spoke, "I'll oil the stuff in the morning, now I want to just lay down." He said before jumping on the bed and curling up under the blankets away from Muggo's side.

[Snowshoe]

[should I break the post order and finish off the day, or let SSF pick up during the next day?]

[tacobob]

[Yeah, let's give the poor guy time to read all of our posts and to start the next day..And we do have an OC board: ]

[Stainless Steel Fox]

(OOC: It's okay, I'm just having a hard time putting this together.)

When Blueblood woke up the next morning, he had a firm resolve in mind. He would do this! Typically, he knew he should have had some lucid dream sequence full of portent and symbolism, but he didn't dream, and hadn't since he was a colt, or rather since he'd found out he was the new Duke. A noble couldn't afford to dream, he had to stay focussed on real things, like social status and being seen at the right places.

Fortunately, in this case he could turn his mothers words back on her. The journal was about as real as it was possible to be, and he would brave any hardship, even his mother's displeasure, to find out what really happened. An expedition would cost tens of thousands of bits to outfit, but he would find the money somehow. An outsider would have figured that to be trivial, he was after all a member of the Royal family, but that didn't necessarily translate into bits. His status as Duke gave him access to Palace resources, but that was things in the nature of food, housing, sevices and transport. The only actual money was from his modest civil list stipend.

Likewise his family estates were worth hundreds, even thousands of times the cost of such an expedition, but although he was the Duke and head of the family, his mother actually controlled the full income, and his own allowance was only a fraction of it. Of course he'd never had a problem convincing her to provide additional monies for anything he needed to get ahead in the social scene, but the chances of her giving him the money for this was about the same as his great aunt bringing the sun up in the west by mistake. By his rough calculations, it would cost more than his combined income from both sources for a year to do the thing properly. He would have to borrow the money from a lender. At least his credit should be good.

He would also have to find out more about those pegasi that brought him the journal. An expedition needed guides and bearers after all. That, the palace could provide. He would see to it immediately... after his gym session, morning bath, a spot of breakfast, his pedicure and mane-dressers appointment...

(OOC: Could you each provide a quick sketch of your character backgrounds, the sort of thing he'd read in a report.)

[tacobob]

Unlike Dunder or Muggo', Fire Walker had an R.E.A Report that was easily obtained.

The report goes into minor details, such as her name, birth date (She would be 25 years old in human terms) and family history. It appears that she had some rather major health issues as a foal, but by the time she was old enough to admit herself into the RASVAB (Royal Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery) test, these issues had been taken care of. She passed with flying colors, doing exceptionally well in most of the physical categories. There were notes in her attitude assessment exam. She had a bit of an 'chip' on her shoulder, but with special counseling, she was seen fit to join basic training. The report goes into her training and how she was a model student. It also lists the assortment of recognition certificates she received during training, along with a few letters of recommendations. She passed all levels of training and was posted in Canterlot as part of the watch during the year of (six years ago). Once there she continued to receive rather excellent reports of her service. She was an overly exceptional member of the watch, both polite, punctual, and there was hardly any complaints about her service. She was well liked by her fellow guards. There are a few notes marked with a recent date (6 months ago). There were notes that she was starting to appear rather restless while on duty and was easily distracted, and she even was sent for counseling due to substance abuse. A few notes also mention that she had been seeing an physiatrist and she had suggested a temporary leave of absence or furlough for Fire Walker. This was approved.

******* ******

Fire opened her eyes and let out a stretch. As she slowly sat up from her bed, she noticed Dunder was gone and Muggo was sleeping soundly. She paused to wipe the dried up drool from her mouth when she felt something horrible inside of her, "Oh Sweet Luna.", she grumbled as she tried her best to get up from the bed. She was feeling just ducky a moment ago, and suddenly it all hit her at once. The drinks. The red wine. Why did she drink all that red wine? She managed not to bump into her other companion's bed as she quickly made her way into the bathroom. Ignoring Dunder for the moment, she scurried over to the toilet and said a rather quick prayer to the porcelain god. Once she was finished, she wiped her mouth once again and looked up at the Pegasus, "Good morning Dunder. Could you be a dear and give my punch daggers a good cleaning? I need to throw on a few things on and get some orange juice. Best cure for the red wine blues that's not magic. You want anything?". She noticed her bed-sheet was still wrapped up around her left hind leg and quickly kicked it off.

[Dunder]

The sun rose and Dunder did too. He opened his eyes, quickly jolted by the breathing on the back of his neck. He slowly turned over, his eyes still tired, but he could see Muggo' behind Dunder with one of the earth stallion's forelegs wrapped around Dunder's chest and pulling him close. Dunder looked around, making sure Fire wasn't laughing her flank off. Dunder grabbed Muggo's hoof and gently lifted it off of him before crawling out from under Muggo's reach before letting down his hoof again on the bed.

Dunder didn't know what else to do, nopony seemed awake right now. He trotted inside the bathroom with his thick cloth bag with his two swords. He took out his longsword first, and laid the blade down inside the tub, holding the handle in his fetlock. He took out the metal tin of clear sword oil and unscrewed the lid before dripping the liquid on. He carefully ran a cloth over the blade since it was sharp.

The sharp blade didn't agree with Dunder much when he gripped it and ran it over his fetlock a bit when Fire burst into the bathroom with a need to throw up. As she was doing her thing, Dunder was wiping his cut with a clean cloth he had gotten off the counter next to the bath tub. After it calmed down, he wrapped his fetlock in the cloth, he'd change it to a bandage later anyway. All the while Fire was talking to him.

"Yeah, sure, I'll clean your daggers... bring them in here, though. And I'll cook breakfast... just hold on." He said. He was usually designated chef, because, well... he was a chef. "And morning, Muggo'! Just oiling the swords." He said as he went back to work, not looking at either of them.

Dunder's report was not easily found, it was filed with the REA files but forgotten long ago.

He was named Dunder Blust and born in Solstice heights to an immigrant family. His family records weren't too detailed, only basic things like his mother was a pegasus and his father was an earth pony. He had 3 siblings and was one of the middle foals. His medical record showed he almost never got sick, but nearly died when he was a foal due to pneumonia. Also, he was very large for his pegasus body and age. His school records showed he was a pretty good student, passing most classes and all government exams. He had been training in the sword fighting arts since he was a colt and won many tournaments. He hadn't gotten in trouble with the law, except for suspicions he was involved the the injury of a mugger in the everfree. He also had applied for the Royal Guard 6 times and was denied each time for "misconduct." Specified for taking matters into his own hooves too much in dangerous situations or protecting other ponies with a style the REA didn't agree to.

He recently led on an expedition with 5 adventurers, some inexperienced and some moderately experienced. They all 5 got captured by a large number of gryphons and diamond dogs. Dunder was still the leader, so he led them to the escape. Most were wounded, but all escaped alive. Interrogation on methods of escaping and location of the capture are still at hold.

[Snowshoe]

[Report to follow the post.]

Muggo' snored in his sleep, and hadn't even realized he'd flopped over from where he'd been sprawled out on his side of the bed, which had the unintentional side effect of draping a foreleg over Dunder. He woke up a few minutes after Dunder, his body's internal clock telling him it was time to open a bar he wasn't in. "Mornin', b'y." he said, hearing Dunder working at cleaning and sharpening his swords. He got up out of bed and stretched, his spine cracking gently. "Oof. Never done that before." he joked with a chuckle. "What ya up to?" he asked, trotting over to watch what he was doing and wondering if Fire Walker was even awake yet, or if they had any actual plans for the day, beyond waiting to see if Blueblood still needed them for their expedition. He looked up as a figure ran past him, running like a bat out of Tartarus.

He raised an eyebrow as Fire Walker came out of the bathroom, looking dishevelled in the extreme. "Well." he said with a chuckle. "This, b'y, is a good learnin' experience, for why ya don't toss yerself three sheets to the wind." he teased. "Ya look like ya walked into a griffon city an' called the nearest one a featherbrain." he said with a laugh, looking at Fire Walker.

Muggo's Report

Named Muggo' Ale. Born in Fillydelphia. His parents and grandfather were from Hoofington, but his grandfather moved to FIllydelphia shortly after the death of Muggo's grandmother. His mother had been sick most of her life, and passed away six years ago. He owns a bar in Fillydelphia that used to belong to his grandfather, his father, and is now in his hooves. Does not have much family beyond his father left, and is unmarried and without children. Mostly flawless record with the law, but was once involved in an altercation when he was a colt, where a bully from the school insinuated his father was a drunkard for owning the bar. The reason the guards were called was due to the fight spilling into the street from the alley next to the school, and from the fact the other colt ended up with a fractured foreleg from the affair. Frequently tells stories of past adventures as a colt and young stallion.

The report goes on to include a portion of a griffon military report. It details an event where a group of three ponies, Muggo' amongst them, found their way into griffon territory, specifically the city of Rockwington, all the way out from his usual home of Fillydelphia. The report states that their intended destination was the far, and rarely explored, West Coast of Equestria, to see what there could be to see. The griffon report initially assumed that the trio were spies heading that deep into griffon territory.

The report also talks of an event in which Muggo' fought a manticore alongside a pegasus by the name of Dunder Blust, reported by an REA soldier who heard the story while off-duty in Muggo's bar. The fight was successful, driving the manticore off from Ponyville and preventing any serious injuries from interfering with Winter Wrap-Up that year. The final adventure is a mention of the same one from Dunder's report, taken from the same soldier who heard the previous story. This one involved an exploration of some ruins and subsequent capture and escape from the hands of a griffon-diamond dog group. The report details Muggo's involvement, which included getting one of the leaders of the griffons to back down from their threats, and acting as a helper for the group.

The general feeling one would get reading the report is that, while mostly unremarkable, he is a dependable Earth pony with a love of adventure, as well as the strength and loyalty to help out a group.

[Stainless Steel Fox]

Blueblood read the reports with distain. What a scruffy lot! Firewalker had once been a guard, but apparently had suffered some sort of burn-out. The big pegasus, Magoo Ale, was a barkeeper and this Dunder fellow was some kind of hothead, good with a blade, but not exactly the sort you could rely on even if he had escaped from some thugs. The better solution would have been never to get caught in the first place. It was clear that they were amateurs who'd lucked out rather than experienced explorers, which was exactly what he was going to hire instead. They would be lining up to work for someone as distinguished and important as himself. With that he headed out ot arrange things, head held high.

He trailed back at the end of the day, in a far less upbeat mood. The meeting with his mother had gone about as expected. He'd been surprised that her horn hadn't stuck in the ceiling when she hit the roof over his plan. She'd absolutely forbidden him to do anything of the sort, and normally he would have gone along with it. But this day he'd been determined. She threatened to disown him, and he reminded her that he was the Duke and head of the family. Eventually she'd been reduced to screaming at him to get out, with many comments about ungrateful sons, and disgraceful behaviour. Considering this was more emotion than he'd ever seen her show in the last decade he was rather shocked.

She couldn't touch hias basic allowance, but she most definitely wasn't going to provide him with one bit more. Still, he'd gone and found other sources of funding, though not as much as he'd hoped. He didn't have anything particularly expensive, like a private air-yacht, to use as collateral (he'd been meaning to get one,or rather thave his mother get one, but had never gotten around to it), and it appeared that his title alone didn't count for much among the money-lenders and bankers, though his connections among the wealthy, but less well connected ponies of the Canterlot social scene did get him some.

He'd had to scale back his original plans some, rather than chartering an air-ship for his own use, he'd have to take4 passage on board one of the regular packets that travelled across the Strait. While there were luxury air-liners that went as far as Corralwood Corral, there was no other choice but to travel by tramp air-ship the rest of the way to Uyanazi, shoulder to flank with common ponies. Finding the experts to fly with him had also been harder than he'd expected.Though it appeared that heading home to read his fathers journal had been a good idea. A lot of the top explorers had been at the VIP buffet he would ahve gone to, and a bad carrot thrmidor had laid them low. They'd be out of action for weeks. The onces he could contact either refused to work for him at all, or demanded outrageous fees.

He slumped down on the couch, and picked up the dossiers he'd left lying around. Maybe he had been just a bit hasty. Thery did have at least some experience,and if their reaction to that 100 bit finders fee was any indication, they would work for cheap. He moved over to the writing desk, and took up a quill.

"Lieutenant Firewalker,

I have examined my father's journal in great deatil, and have determined that it provides sufficient information to retrace the hoofsteps of his last expedition. I have determined, therefore, that I will outfit an expedition of my own to do so. It is my intention to book passage to Coralwood Coral in the Gallopocus islands, where I shall acquire supplies and equipment for an extended expedition, and from there to Uyanazi, where I will retrace my father's hoofsteps in order to find out what happened to him.

To this end, I require the services of ponies of courage and skill to assist me. The pay is B2500 each for the expedition, and an extra B500 if my mission is successful, and we do in fact discover my father's fate. I have reserved a table for four at Le Grand Cafe in the Noble quarter for eight pm, where we may discuss the specifics of the job, and your participation in it. Please ensure that you and your companions are suitably groomed, attired and sober.

Prince Blueblood, 53rd Duke of Canter, Protector of the Princesses and Defender of the Weak."

[tacobob]

Fire Walker rolled her eyes at the earth pony, "Three sheets? Please, I was two sheets. Nice and balanced. Only had a few drinks.", she rubbed her forehead as she let out a pitiful groan, "Probably should have eaten more and stayed away from the red wine though.", she glanced towards the mini fridge, "There's a little corner shop nearby, so I'll pop over there and get some orange juice. Best cure for red wine hangovers.", she left the bathroom and cantered over to her pack, where she threw a simple smock on, "If you two need anything say it now or forever er..not say anything at all.", she quickly tied her mane into a slightly presentable ponytail, "And please don't touch the minibar. They are notorious for holding ancient and overpriced foods. If you eat anything from it, you will be the one to pay.”, she warned.

She will give the two a few minutes to figure out what they want before she heads off to the store. She won't be gone for long, so they have about a five minute window between her leaving and coming back. (I will be working a very long shift tomorrow, so I won't be reading/sending any posts till late. As I type this, I'm really really tired, so might edit this later..or not..)

After a few minutes had passed, the red Pegasus returned with a small bag, "Ran into two of my brothers in the store.", she dumped the bag onto one of the small tables, "Sky and Jay. Told me father is still very upset with me. And apparently my parents, my middle-aged parents actually adopted a foal named Wind. Said she was a distant cousin whose parents met an unfortunate end. Wonders never cease.", she cracked open a small vial of pain relievers which she took with a plastic cup filled with orange juice, "I do hope breakfast is close to being finished.", she called out as she glanced at herself in the mirror and muttered to herself, "Yer getting old little 'Fire, yer getting old."

[Dunder]

Dunder finished oiling the swords by the time she was done talking. She exited and he sighed, turning to look at Muggo' "You go cook, just make eggs or something. I'm pretty sure I have some bread for toast and a few eggs left from our journey over here. I need to go oil Fire's daggers, I'd let you do it, but I know how stupid you are." He teased Muggo' before putting down the swords in the tub. He trotted out of the bathroom and retrieved Fire's daggers from her bags.

He went back to the tub and began oiling the daggers and giving them a little sharpening. That took long enough to occupy him while she got back, "Hey! Fire. I finished your stuff." He said as he trotted over to her and laid the daggers on the bathroom counter. "What? Your parents are crazy enough to adopt a foal now?" He asked, slightly surprised. "And Muggo' is cooking."

[Snowshoe]

"Darlin', I own a bar. Don't be correctin' me on the number o' sheets ya put up to the wind." Muggo' Ale teased with a smile. He waved to Fire Walker as she left, then was about to go out to the lobby when Dunder suggested he cooked. "Gotcha, b'y." he said. He grinned. "Aye, good idea. Don't give me the sharp bits." he joked, heading to the kitchen after retrieving some of the food from Dunder's pack. He went to the kitchen, humming gently to himself as he got the stove going to get the cast iron pan heated. His humming eventually turned into idle singing, with the sizzling of butter in the pan and all that making it so that he didn't hear Fire Walker come back in the room over.

"I drank sixteen doubles for the price o' one, tryin' to find the courage to talk to the one, I asked her for a dance, not a second glance, me night had just begun..." Muggo' said, lifting the cover on the frying eggs to see the state of them, poking them with a spatula he grabbed with his teeth to check consistency. He set the spatula down and kept going.

"Well I drank to the father an' the holy ghost, I'm kneelin' at the altar o' me nightly post, so I raise a glass, not the first nor last, come join me in this toast! 'Cause the ol' black rum's got a hold on me, like a dog wrapped 'round me leg..." another pause in the song to check the eggs and get them onto a plate before cracking two more into the pan.

"An' the old black rum's got a hold on me, will I live for another day? Hey, will I live for another day?" Muggo' continued, grabbing the plate between his teeth and trotting out to set it on the table. He spotted Fire Walker's flank in the open bathroom door. "Welcome back!" he called out. "Breakfast's on, for one o' ya, at least. Try not to get blood on the carpet fightin' over it!"

[

Was trying to find a way to ponify the second verse and it's Christian references, but couldn't find a way to fit in the -ost words with it xD]

[tacobob]

(This will also be a two-part post. Before they get the letter, and after. Don't want to make SSF wait too long..)

"Thanks Big-Dee", The Pegasus glanced at her punch daggers before turning her attention back to the mirror, "I'm guessing after my youngest brother, Cordell went off to college, my folks were starting to feel a little alone in their big ol' house and they were starting to get the 'empty nest' blues.", she lifted up her smock at took a good hard look at her own flank, "Also got a note from Docket..The mare I was telling you about. We're going to be hitting the spa in a little bit. Maybe I'll melt away this extra poundage. Maybe the prince was insulted by my big rump.", she let out a pathetic whimper before she adjusted her clothing and made her way over to the breakfast, "Do you two have any plans? I have a feeling if Blueblood is going to hire us, he will send us something before the day is over. At least I hope. I'll give the good prince a day. If we don't hear back from him in a day or so, it will be back to the job-board. Just hope none of my old friends catch me there."

The Pegasus ending up snatching up just toast, coffee and the rest of her orange juice before heading off to the spa.

----Several hours will pass. Fire will spend her time hanging with her old friend at the spa and probably do some shopping and some other marey stuff. No boys allowed!---

Fire Walker returned looking a little less hung-over and a little more tantalizing. She carried two small shopping bags on her back and a small rolled up letter in her mouth. Once she saw the two, she placed the letter on a table and started to read, "Yammer yammer yammer, 2,500 bits, yumma yamma.", she muttered, "500 more if we do the job.", she frowned deeply as she read the last few lines, "Well, maybe I was a little on the tipsy side the other night, but I sure as heck was perfectly dressed and groomed that night.", she tossed her two bags on top of her bed, "Went to 'Sass & Bridle' with Dockey. I thought even if we didn't get the call from Blueblood, we could at least hit the clubs tonight, but I guess we're off to seek adventure!", she stood proudly for dramatic effect before adding.

"This time we need to look extra fancy! No tweed!", she glared at Muggo, "And definitely no cap. I think you look absolutely rustic in it, but we need to dress to impress if we're going to be spending time in the 'Le Grand', she glanced at her second bag, "We popped over at the 'Buck 'N' Hope' and got you two some respectable clothing. Thankfully my old friend is loaded, so she helped cover the cost. Before we go, you two need to get a little scissors work. Don't want to anger our future boss. So you two ready for some adventure?"