StrongCopper

Accidental Allegro Allgero did not know Onyx. First time meeting the mare and all that... they hadn't even been introduced yet! But right now he focused on the mare with a surprising intensity. His thoughts were... honestly, he wasn't quite sure what he was thinking at the moment. His thoughts were scattered; He was around way to many ponies, the damn noise that... okay, according to Jazz was the 'sound checks' and not the actual music itself, but that was cold comfort really... and the rhyming mare mentioning hybrids. Did she know? Did he not put the illusion on correctly?! His chest... his chest was getting really tight and it was getting really hard to breath. It was... it was all too much. "E-Excuse me, I need... I need..." He didn't really know what he needed, but he felt the overwhelming urge to just get away from the crowd and all the noise but... he couldn't. It was like his legs had stopped responding to him as he suddenly fell backwards onto his flank, sitting down and clearly not in control of the situation that was himself. He didn't know it, but he was having a panic attack.

Accidental Allegro To say that Allegro was not thrilled at the explanation that the noise he was currently hear was, in fact, a concert of some kind would be akin to saying that the ocean was full of water. True, but kind of a simplistic way of describing it. As his ears remained flat against his head, he took a deep breath to try and calm himself down before he asked the question that he was...somewhat dreading the answer too. "How long is this going to last for?" While he didn't know Onyx and Sugar, their statements caused Allegro to look at the pair... and Sugar's comment about his swim speed actually seemed to make him slightly bashful, even if the current conditions meant that he was still somewhat pained. Somewhat humbly, he scuffed a hoof against the ground as he answered "Oh, mum and dad both love the ocean. It's how they met actually... and they both always insisted I learn how to swim. But if you think that was fast, you should see my mother in the water sometime when she gets back. She is a much stronger swimmer then me." The fact that his mother wasn't a pony didn't need to be brought up.

Accidental Allegro Now that he had enough distance to hear himself think and the noise wasn't so... painfully loud, Allegro gazed at the beach and considered his options. Going home was, for the time being, not one of them. He also didn't have any idea of how long it might be until that situation corrected itself. After a few moments, he let out a loud, tired sigh as he acknowledge to himself that he was going to have to go back to the beach and endure the bombardment of terrible noise so he could ask someone how long this was going to last for. Diving back under the water for a few moments so he could bask in the glorious quiet for a moment to strengthen his resolve, a quick song installed the illusion of an earth pony he tended to take whenever he desired the company of other ponies. The form he would have had if he had been born fully pony... Poking his head out of the water again, this time where waves broke against the sand, the soaking wet stallion walked out of the ocean with his ears pressed against his skull and a clear look in his face that he didn't want to be where the sound and crowd was... but after a brief look around he spied someone that he recognized... if barely. "Jazz Hooves? Wh- Why are you covered in metal and moving towards this terrible noise?"

Accidental Allegro To say that Allegro wasn't thrilled with recent events would have been something of an understatement. One moment he had been happily spending time in his ocean cave, messing around with some old clocks in order to try and make an interesting backdrop of noise to try and create some music with and the next, he was covering his ear fins as tightly as he could while... noise happened! Even at the distance he was away from it, the wretched thing seemed to take advantage of the very acoustics that normally made his home pleasant to practice his love of music within to give itself a fresh burst of horrific life so it could pound into his skull like a hammer. Crying out in pain that seemed to be swallowed up and blend into the screeching that was assaulting him in the first place, Allegro tried to wait whatever this was out... and when it failed to end he was forced to abandon his dwelling and dived into the salt water of one of the entrances of his home, swimming as fast as he could to try and put distance between himself and that... that noise! Getting a decent distance out into the Bay, Allegro's head slowly poked out of the water. Even as his fins pressed down against his head, he could still hear the distant sounds and see the colored, bright lights that were coming from the beach. What was going on?!

There was actually a moment of confusion in Ridge's eyes for a moment. "My understanding was that Griffonstone had never surrendered its independence from when it was the heart of griffon society and that the Aquelian government was a break away state that's long overshadowed the original nation it split from. Then again, it has been a while since I did my research into its history so maybe I misremembered something." It did have a 'city state' feel to the place when he had originally arrived there at least. Shifting slightly and lifting a leg up to cross it over the other, Ridge sighed as he answered "I admit it isn't as reassuring as watching the Equestian military put its hoof down in a show of force, but if you can use your influence to at least deny Norton his Tenochtitlan backing and leave him with just his local mob of sycophants..." He paused for a moment before a dry chuckle escaped him. "If you want to lit a fire under the griffons to act, I'm sure they would be thrilled to learn that a Tenochtitlan military force is currently within an Aquelian city without their knowledge or approval. Sure they don't care about Griffonstone, but its the principle of the thing. I'm sure you would be greatly upset if you found out that a squad of Yak solders turned up in..." there was another pause as he tried to think of a horse pun "...Saddle without any warning or discussion of them being there." The news of her sending an agent to help out, as well as indirect resources and aid made him smile and relax a little. "Your generosity is very much appreciated. Hopefully in the near future, this whole situation will be little more then an awkward, griffon shaped bump in the road on the path to a profitable business relationship."

Allegro didn't like Erget. The way that she looked at him gave him the feeling that she knew way more about things then he was comfortable with her knowing... And then she said the word 'Siren'. That caused him to stiff and go completely silent. The way that she said the word too... a panicked chorus of 'She knows!' ran through his head like a song on repeat that was sped up, unable to break the cycle enough to try and think of some method of getting out of this situation at this point. He had made a terrible mistake, showing off his real form like this.

It was difficult to put into words what Allegro was feeling at the moment. The last time he had been seen in the open without the presence of an illusion make him appear to be a normal earth pony, the family home filled with love that he had grown up in had been burned to the ground and he had ended up having to flee into the night after ponies had called him a monster. Letting the illusion drop, even under the pretense that what was being shown was a mask or costume... The fact that Sunny and Jazz were excited to see him honestly made him want to cry. In fact he needed to take a moment to carefully wipe his eyes as they started to tear up before anything really started. The care being due to having sand on his hooves and not wanting to get that in his eyes. "S-Sorry. Just been under a lot of stress lately." was the only explanation he was willing to offer at this time about why he had suddenly gotten emotional. Needing a second to collect himself, once he did he took a deep breath before smiling in a surprisingly coy manner. "I actually made it myself. Cost me a song to put together." Maybe in time he would bring them in on the joke, but not right now. Turning towards the one eyed mare, he blinked slightly before he countered "I will have you know that I swim in the ocean a lot and I have never looked like a salted raisin." before clearing his throat. "As Jazz said, Maretime Bay really didn't really have much happening after dark until recently. S-So... I guess that just means there is plenty of room for someone like you to set up."

There was a part of Allegro's being that relaxed at the presence of both Sunny and somewhat surprisingly to him, Jazz. There was just something about the company of those who understood what he was trying to get across that made him feel welcome in a way that he hadn't in a long time. Unfortunately, that warm feeling of acceptance was somewhat counter measured by the presence of Egret; There was something about the mare that rubbed him the wrong way and her continued presence made him uncomfortable. However as Sunny and Jazz started to talk about the idea he had been working on, there was a moment of inspiration... or madness. He honestly wasn't sure which it was yet. Under any other circumstances on another other day, he would have rejected the idea outright. But in this moment... "I... actual had an addition to the costume that I was thinking of trying out but... I'm... well, I'm not sure about it." He added rather nervously. More so then normal. "Just... wait here a moment. I'll be right back..." As he turned and walked away from the trio of mares, there was a part of Allegro that screamed at him to abort. To just start running because what he was about to do was incredibly dangerous and stupid and... and... if it didn't go well and Sunny had a horrified, sickened or hate-filled look on her face at the sight... It would shatter his heart. It would hurt him in a manner that a cut in the flesh or broken bones would never be able replicate because unlike a physical knife to the heart, an emotional one couldn't be healed so easily. Anxiety and terror tore at his insides like a ravenous creature with too many spikes and claws and danced their terrible 'what if' dance on the remains, but once he was far enough away from the group where they couldn't see exactly what he was doing, he made a show of...doing something with his hooves. Maybe reaching under the robe a few times to pull something out? It was... it was important that he gave the appearance that what was about to be seen was smoke and mirrors. Because in the event that it went wrong he could at least still wear the mask and interact and gain resources from a city that he didn't care for, but was the only place with ponies in it with access to the sea. The illusion of being an earth pony slipped away, causing him to shiver as he closed his eyes for a moment and tried to control his breathing enough to avoid a panic attack. It was now or never. Pulling the makeshift hood of the robe over his head, he let out one last breath before turning around and walking back towards the group. It was only once he had rejoined the group proper that he lowered the hood. Inpony yellow eyes that seemed to glow in the low light stared back from a face that was equine in shape, but the standard pony form was infused with aquatic features. In no small part he was thankful that they could only see his face and his front legs, with the rest of his body hidden under the robe. "W... What do you think?"

Allegro had been shy before, but the moment Sunny appeared... well, he remained shy, but there was a bashfulness about it that made it come across as a different kind of shyness. "H-Hi Sunny. I like your costume. Very... 'do what I say or I'll hurt you' air to it." Truth be told, it kind of reminded him of his mother when she was having a really bad day. Granted she would never resort to something like physical violence just because she was upset, but one days like that dad needed to take her aside in order to let her vent and while Allegro never actually heard the words, the tone she spoke them in was absolutely venomous. Then the strange mare start insulting and threatening Sunny. Allegro might have been silent as Sunny responded, but if anyone paid attention there was a shift in the way that the robed pony was holding themselves; Before it looked like they were fighting the urge to run away or curl up on themselves. Now, it looked like he was prepared to launch himself forward and attack at the first sign of actual trouble... but Sunny didn't seem to consider herself in any danger at least... As the conversation swung him back into focus, some of the surprising confidence seemed to ebb away... but Allegro was still clearly on edge because of this new pony. "I know Sunny. We've met a few times before." He explained to Jazz... before he looked over himself. "I don't really have a figure in mind... I've just been gathering flotsam that washes up and turning myself into some ocean specter. I w-was kind of planning on walking along the shore tomorrow night, singing sea shanties and other creepy sounding tunes in order to help set the mood." The smile turned into a frown briefly as he added "I've been looking for an old ship bell or something, but haven't found anything like it. Can't just go and buy a bell either... it just doesn't have that same haunting melody."

Urban Legends didn't just come out of nowhere. There is always a seed; A triggering event that was usually either tragic or shocking in nature from which stories grew, the shape changing with the telling and whatever message the story teller was trying to convey. For his part, Scarecrow considered himself something of a farmer. After all, one could let nature take its course and wait for a suitable event to come around on its own accord (and in fairness he tended to be quick to seize the opportunity when it arrived), but much like the story of the Ant and the Grasshopper, if one wanted to have a comfortable winter one had to put in the work earlier. As such, Scarecrow the Changeling had arrived at the School of Friendship three weeks in advance in the form of a young colt named 'Spring Fresh' who had earned a cutie mark in cleaning things and a letter saying from his school in Manehatten that he was on a work experience assignment and had requested working at the School of Friendship, since having such a prestigious place of work on his resume would be a major boon, even if it was only for a month. The letter also stressed that payment was optional; Wonderful if the School desired to reward him for his work, but not required due to the experience and opportunity to pad out ones resume being payment enough. So Spring Fresh spent the three weeks leading up to Nightmare Night working around the School of Friendship, cleaning and maintaining the grounds as the job required and on occasion getting to have some small conversations with the actual students. Not enough to really get to know them or be friends with them because they were busy being students and he was working, but enough to be at least a known figure around campus. On Nightmare Night itself, Spring Fresh was working late around the student dorms. Some prankster (It was him. He had set it up) had gone all out with a rather messy prank that included magic, paint, glitter and what appeared to be bread crumbs alongside something that caused it to smell pretty badly that no one had been able to recognize yet that was proving... difficult to clean up. And it needed to be cleaned up as soon as possible because it wasn't the kind of mess you could just leave for tomorrow. Of course, with it being Nightmare Night and all, it was just an additional excuse for students to head out and enjoy the festivities the town provided... through a few hadn't finished getting ready and left yet. The night, however, was young.

With a small degree of hesitation, Allegro raised a hoof to politely bump it with the must better maintained hoof of Jazz Hooves... only to pause for a moment in order to wipe the sand off his hoof before he did so. After all, just because he didn't look after himself didn't mean that others didn't. Before the conversation could really continue, something clearly distracted Jazz, causing Allegro to follow her gaze in order to find out what it was. There was the small, if shady group of mares nearby that was breaking up as a trio of them took off in different directions, but that wasn't what really caught the attention of the pair. Instead it seemed to be a shadowy figure of a pony with both wings and a horn, walking along the railing of the pathway just before one hit the dunes and started stepped into the sand of the beach proper. Tilting his head slightly, Allegro seemed more confused then anything as he turned to Jazz and asked "Someone you know?" surprisingly without the nervous shutter. There just didn't seem to be that unease for the shadowy figure as there had been for Jazz herself when she had started talking to him. He still offered the shadowy, mystery winged, horned pony a wave through.

Despite her efforts, it was clear from the little jump that the stallion did that he had been caught off guard and startled, stopping their strange little tune dead in the process. It was hard to tell through, from the nervousness of his features, if he had been startled by her sudden appearance or the fact that anyone was talking to him at all. "O-Oh. Hello." was the shy first reaction. Hearing her question through, he did get a bit more confidence through as he answered "A-All evenings are a wonderful time for a song. It's just that sometimes we don't like the tune that is being played." Now that Jazz was closer... well, despite the makeshift clothing that covered a lot of his body, it was hard for Allegro to hide the fact that his coat and mane were... well, completely untidy. Part of it looked like damage caused by long term exposure to sea salt without properly cleaning oneself afterwards, but a lot of it looked like neglect... beyond what was clearly a self inflicted mane cut that had no eye for fashion or style and everything to do with getting hair out of ones eyes. A strong scent of sand and sea likely didn't help. It seemed like without intending too, Allegro may have been one of the worst case scenarios a stylist could witness. Ignorant of this fact, he bashfully glanced around before softly introducing him as "M-My name is Allegro." as he resisted the urge to fold in on himself to try and hide.

Walking along the beach of Maretime Bay, Allegro was looking for flotsam that had washed ashore. This wasn't a strange activity for him to be doing, but their attire was somewhat eye catching if for no other reason the because they were actually wearing something for a change. It seemed to be some sort of homemade robe, crafted from different sackcloths with wear and tear that was either a sign that Allegro was a masterful costume designer or the sackcloth had originally been salvaged some the sea and they had made full use of it. It didn't seem finished through. Considering the patrol that Allegro was currently doing, more resources were needed. He also appeared to be humming to himself and practicing... a rather interesting trick with his voice. Harmonization of voices was normally something that required at least three different singers working together to create, but despite being by himself Allegro seemed to be creating a humming harmony with two different tones while trying to work in a third. This might have been impossible a few years ago, but in this day and age... well, Allegro had a cutie mark in music and they didn't really seem to do a lot of what was being viewed as earth pony magic so maybe this was just how his abilities were manifesting? Either way, the tune was pleasing to listen too... if a little creepy for anyone who actually understood music and how harmonization was meant to work.

"Very well, from the beginning then. And I would welcome a snack if you're offering Princess." Ridge answered with surprising politeness for a dragon, even as he softly shifted the claws on his feet. Sitting down and having a conversation like this wasn't that strange for him, but he found that staying completely still irritated him and he needed to move something. "It started with a chance look at history. Reading through some books on the former griffon kingdom before it collapsed, I noticed a passage or two that said that the griffons had gem mines in Griffonstone that they dug up and traded with the Crystal Empire... right up until the latter vanished and deprived them of their biggest trading partner. What sources I was able to look up on the matter never said anything about the mines running dry, instead focusing on the collapse of the kingdom that came about shortly after the Crystal Empire disappeared. I made the logical guess that the Griffons had simply abandoned mining operations because, to them, gems are little more then a luxury good and they had more important things they needed to do in what was dire times for them and simply never reopened them." The dragon had done his research... in more fields then one. After all, the Princess was a well known fan of research and scholarly pursuits. "So I traveled to Griffonstone to test my idea and lo and behold, I was correct. The gems were still there, waiting to be mined." There might have been a small but smug grin. After all, being right was a hell of a rush after all. "Now... I could have just stayed down there, slowly clawing these gems out and keeping them all for myself in a horde created under Griffonstone, but I didn't. Instead I looked above at the run down, largely abandoned city of Griffonstone and decided that, instead of hording all those gems to myself, I would use them in order to create industry and an economy upon which to revive this neglected city and population. In fact, it seemed that providence was gracing my endeavor, since on the very same day that I had my suspicions confirmed, I happened to encounter Fleet Admiral Ice Storm as she examined the city for an Equestrian military base nearby in order to help it recover in her own way." Pausing for a moment to take a sip of tea and to let the information that had been offered sink in and be examined, Ridge's state was relaxed as he continued "Since we both had the same goal in mind, we quickly worked out a trade agreement. A few shipments of Griffonstone gems sent to Equestria in order to show support for the venture and get money flowing into Griffonstone again." The dragon's stance... changed as he carefully put down the cup of tea. His tail started to sway and his eyes slowly narrowed into silts as a deep seated anger started to grow. "Then he showed up." "'Emperor' Norton Breakbeak I of the Griffons, and Lord Protector of Equestria. A ridiculous, made up title created by some homeless griffon from Breakbeak City. But he decided to show up in Griffonstone because griffons with nothing better to do decided to tag along and help him get there. At first I believed him to be little more then an annoyance; A loud pest that was actively trying to stop me due to some insane belief that Griffonstone was his and that outsiders had no place in his vision of restoring it. But then he turned bandit lord and the joke stopped being funny." "The first shipment of gems meant for Equestria that was paid for in advance... he openly stole it. If that was just the extent of it, I would have sorted this thief and his followers out myself, but the old bandit is surprisingly cunning. He took the stolen shipment and offered it as a gift to the Emperor of Tenochtitlan in order to buy their support. With Tenochtitlan backing and an active military presence from them, he had the audacity to say that his banditry was nothing more then 'taxation' and tried to declare my company and all the time, effort and money spent to establish it as 'a national company run by the state'. " To say that Ridge was enraged would be an understatement. There was smoke coming out of his nose... but he forced himself to relax, if only a little. "His Tenochtitlan allies have been made aware of the fact that he is a bandit who stole goods that were rightfully purchased by Equestria and offered them as barter to cement a trade deal with them. They don't care. They have so little respect for you and Equestria that they don't believe there will be any repercussions for their actions. Thus... why this is as much your problem as it is mine."

Taking a moment to adjust his leathery wings a little, the white dragon was more then happy to offer a closed mouth smile in return. After all, he had noticed that ponies tended to be... put ill at ease by the sight of dragon teeth. There may also have been a respectful little bow. "Princess Sparkle. A pleasure to finally meet you... through unfortunate that the situation required such a meeting so quickly." Following the Princess as she left her throne behind to trot towards a small side table, Ridge was quick to join her as he answered "A drink sounds lovely. Thank you." There was no harm in being civil after all, but even as he took a seat he politely stated "I am aware that you are a very busy mare and I do not wish to waste your time. Would you care for a quick recap of matters in Griffonstone for the sake of context or are you up to date on the matter?" There was a brief moment of pause. Of thought. Before Ridge added "Not that I would blame you for being somewhat out of the loop when it came to Griffonstone. It is rather isolated, difficult to travel to safely and... let's be honest, a long neglected backwater. Even with plans to change that in motion, you've had bigger matters to deal with. Unfortunately, the actions of a rogue element have not only endangered those plans, but also created a political problem for you as well."

It had taken... far longer then Ridge would have liked in order to get this appointment with the current ruling Princess of Equestria. Personally he had a sneaking suspicion that her staff had striven to waylay him due to the fact that he was a dragon and wasn't here to represent the Dragonlands, but he couldn't prove anything so he wasn't going to bring it up. Said delays, while frustrating, could be overlooked. After all, considering how one of the current objectives for this meeting required some good will from Princess Sparkle, it was in Ridge's interests to promote that good will. So it was that the well dressed, respectable CEO and Founder of Prosperity Mining, currently the largest mining enterprise in the Griffonstone region, the teenage dragon Ridge entered the audience chamber/throne room of one Princess Twilight Sparkle with the intent of speaking to her. Granted the white scaled dragon had only elected to don a black coat that went well with his coloration, but by dragon standards the effort of wearing clothing at all was a sign that he had dressed up for the occasion.

Roleplay Type: World of Equestria Name: Scarecrow Gender: Male Age: Stallion Species: Changeling (Unreformed) Eye colour: Dark Orange Coat: Black Carapace Mane/Tail: Dark Orange and fin like. Physique: An old school, unreformed changeling. Through one that is physically a little taller but leaner then the norm. Residence: Nomad Occupation: Scary/Urban Myth/Horror story villain. Cutie Mark: NA Unique Traits: Veteran Solder: Much like the rest of the Changeling Hive when it was under the command of Queen Chrysalis, Scarecrow was trained in combat in order to be a useful solder during the Canterlot Invasion. Just because he has left the service of the Hive when the Queen was outest and replaced by King Thorax does not mean that the skills that were drilled into him have faded away. Veteran Infiltrator: Prior to the Canterlot Invasion and the mass conscript efforts of the Hive to maximize it's pool of Solders, Scarecrow was an infiltrator for the Hive. His profession was to select a target, if possible do a background check on said target to get an idea of history, personal relationships ect, replace the target, then either gather love or perform whatever task was required for his mission and get out with no one being the wiser. He was actually fairly good at this, to the point that he was actually deeply insulted that Queen Chrysalis replaced Princess Cadence herself rather then ask him to step up and do it. The fact that the Queen was terrible at pretending to be a pony beyond knowing how to use sexual appeal to her advantage only deepened the insult. She didn't even do a basic background check and got blind sided by a freaking future Sister in Law the Princess of Food foalsat! Naturally Empathic: While it might surprise many, Scarecrow is a natural empath. He is easily able to read the emotions of others and with a bit of time and effort can figure out the deeper causes of these emotions as well. Not only is this employed in adding him in the harvesting of various types of love, but he actively takes full advantage of it when he actively pursues his new 'profession'. History: Prior to the Canterlot Invasion, most of Scarecrow's history can be summed up with a collection of mission reports for the Hive and harvesting the love of others. He was just another drone that was raised from a grub to serve the needs of the Queen and Hive, through even back then his natural inclination towards scaring his fellow clutch mates was noted and was seen as a good sign for his future. He didn't have friends since being on such good terms with other Changelings was a rare experience in those days, but he was respected by his peers. Being introduced to Equestrian Society was an enlightening experience for the young Changeling when he was sent on his first operations out of the Hive. Ponies were so... different from the Changelings he had grown up around. They were so bright and colorful, but also so skittish around the dark places of their own homes and cities. This natural inclination to being afraid became a fascination for Scarecrow and he needed to learn more about it. Spare time when in the field was a rarity to be found, but where there is a will there is a way and Scarecrow was able to justify his little research project to those he reported to as a new security measure. Changelings had benefited from Urban Legends before, even if it was more by happenstance then anything; Such myths tended to create relatively safe places where the Hive could set up outposts or safe houses for their drones in the field that ponies tended to actively avoid. Scarecrow's research into the matter not only allowed a more proactive method of locating these places, but also allowed them to be better defended by the Changelings themselves. By understanding the stories connected to a given location, it meant that the Changelings knew what monster to change into so that they could frighten off any pony with more bravery then common sense who happened to be exploring it... or alternatively what to stage so that a disappearing pony would be chalked up to a local legend. Scarecrow's understanding of Urban Legends and what made Ponies tick grew to such a point that he could actually create Urban Legends if given enough time that would have just the right combination of weight and deniability that it would frighten off the locals while preventing an actual investigative group from looking into it. He was so good at this that for a time his primary duty for the Hive was to go into a location where they intended to set up future operations in order to create these urban legends so that outposts could be set up in advance. While this did provide Scarecrow with a degree of renown and respect from the Hive and his fellow Changelings, the truth of the matter was that he simply loved inspiring fear and all its wonderful forms in others and he had simply spun that passion to the Hive successfully. Scarecrow played very little role in the Canterlot Invasion itself. With the Gem mines in the mountain largely forgotten and the Queen taking a personal (if ill advised) role in the matter, Scarecrow was simply another drone in the swarm that descended on the city... and was later ejected out of it again by the Princess of Food and her husband to be. This turn of events spurred an impulse decision, but one that Scarecrow didn't regret in the slightest. With the swarm scattered to the winds and regrouping back at the Hive in the Bad Lands, Scarecrow... simply never went back. His disappearance would just be attributed to having died, either during the Invasion itself or on route back to the Hive. He didn't have anything against the Hive or the Queen, but the fact that his obligations to both always got in the way of him pursuing his true passion had long worn down his loyalty. The fact that the Queen had been arrogant enough to try and do his job better then he could and only got away with her terrible performance because ponies were kind of stupid was simply an insult to his craft too far. Since then he has enjoyed a rather fulfilling nomad existence. Without having to report to anyone by himself he was free to select his targets for food and 'play' at his leisure. He didn't have to take the love he harvested back to the hive to share, so not only did this mean he didn't need to harvest as much love as he did in the past, but the first time in his life he was full after his meals. He was also free to fully delve into the fields of fear and terror, with one of the only ways to track his progress traveling being a surge of belief in local legends and campfire stories as fresh witnesses and stories gave the old tales a new life... or even just the whole hearted creation of new ones. Character Personality: Even when he was young, Scarecrow had a fascination with fear. This was interpreted as a desire to be feared, which was a positive trait for a drone to have back in the days of Queen Chrysalis' rule and marked him as a natural 'go-getter', but while it did result in him getting favorable attention and more of the Hive's limited resources Scarecrow's interest was always in the emotion itself rather then having it directly focused on him. Fear by itself was an emotion that caused the body to surge with a new found strength, but when it was mixed with other emotions it heightened them... made them so intense! And everyone had their own unique blend! Once he encountered ponies, this interest quickly grew into a obsession. An addiction that he was able to find justifications and praise for as he channeled it into his work and the benefit of the Hive. While this was enough for a time, like all addictions it started to grow to the point where his duties weren't enough to cover his desire. Duty and loyalty to Hive and Queen were actively starting to hamper his research and efforts to enjoy his craft, through this wouldn't to a head until the the failed Invasion of Canterlot. Combined with Queen Chrysalis' somewhat insulting performance at his job, once the Invasion was cast out Scarecrow simply abandoned the Hive to freely pursue his own interests. Scarecrow doesn't care about ponies beyond the fact that they are an easy source of food and entertainment for him. They are a prey species after all. That being said, he can still develop favorites both to encourage love in and haunt in a variety of ways. That being said, it is still rare for him to hurt a pony unless it is absolutely necessary; This is due to pure, logical pragmatism rather then traditional morality. Physical wounds tend to draw the attention of the authorities and give credible evidence that something happened to one of his playthings where psychological attacks can be excused as 'just in their heads'. Character Summary: An Old School rogue Changeling with an obsession with the emotion of fear and a love of either playing the part of the 'Urban Legend' monster or outright starting new ones.

If there was one thing Copper could find some comfort in, it was the fact that Crystal really did turn a beautiful shade of blue when she got flustered. Still, as tempting as it was to see just how much of her face could darken, they did have some things to do. "I know a couple of furniture stores but... I can't help but feel like this might be a bit of a custom job. I mean, there's no harm in checking to see if they have something in stock but I suspect someone is going to have to make it." Watching her reaction to being invited to spend the holiday with him, he couldn't help but smile just a little... before an idea popped into his head. Yes, they really did need to get going but... he stilled leaned in to whisper to her "Don't worry about eating before you come. I promise that we'll spend plenty of time wrapped up in a blanket by the fire, snuggling." would the affection from that act be enough to feed a Changeling? He didn't know... and honestly he looked forward to finding out.

There was something absolutely precious about watching Crystal get all shy and bashful. Maybe it was just the fact that this entity that existed via the eating of affection and love just... didn't know how to respond when someone actually offered it freely... but Strong Copper took a step closer to her and affectionately bumped against her. "Only the ones with taste." He teased softly, trying to give her a bit of a confidence boost. Returning to the matter at hoof, Strong Copper listened to the suggestions... before with a small tilt of his head he couldn't help but make a somewhat pleased sounding noise at the suggestion of a multi-use table. "That... might actually be really good. After all, she does have limited space in her living area so... something that would allow her to make full use of that space sounds like a great idea." Not only did her help and suggestion get a bright, warm smile but Crystal would almost certainly feel the actual affection connected with it that was being aimed directly at her. That affection quickly turned bittersweet at her own story through, and the lack of friends that she could be spending time with filled him with worry and concern for her well being... before an idea came to him. He needed to consider it for a few moments but... "I know it's kind of last minute but... if you wanted... you could come spend Heart's Warming with me down in Ponyville. I wasn't planning on doing much on the day itself but... if you want to stop by and stay a while I wouldn't object. No one should be alone on the holidays after all."

While Sugar seemed per-occupied with searching for some large stones in order to set up a fire pit, Allegro took her permission towards his request as acceptance as he started to look around for a suitable place in order to dig out the pit in question. For him, the presence of stones in order to ring the pit in order to better highlight where it was and provide an extra layer of protection from the fire spreading was somewhat optional. You just had to dig the pit correctly with the right degree of depth and steepness along the sides and it would be fairly self contained. Finding a spot that looked like it had nothing else happening with it (Because digging up someone's garden would be a terrible idea) while also being central enough that it could serve as a source of warmth for those gathered here even after the cooking was done, Allegro started to dig at the ground with his hooves. As he dug, he glanced over at the other ponies... namely the winged mare who looked rather familiar to Pipp. His ear had twitched as she had been talking after all. "It's nice to meet you Pipp's mum. You don't seem old enough to have a daughter her age." He offered earnestly, if a bit shyly. His mother had always told him that mares liked to be complimented about looking young. Pausing in his digging of the fire pit for a moment in order to remove the pot from his back and place it safely on the ground in order to ensure it didn't fall off and spill, Allegro offered a small smile at the encouragement he had been getting from the ponies there. "To my knowledge, this isn't a typical pony dish... my mother created it herself. She absolutely loves making use of the various bounties the sea has to offer and I wanted to share a bit of that with you all. I even went diving earlier in order to collect them myself!" He said somewhat proudly before he went back to digging. The pit didn't need to be too deep but... he was using his hooves to do it. It also seemed to answer the mystery of why he smelt of the sea; It was because he had been swimming in it.

Strong Copper was not the most social of ponies... and that was okay. Even more so since Lily seemed to do the talking of at least three ponies rolled up into one brightly colored body. Honestly as she started to circle him he actually stopped trying to follow her after a moment because he feared that trying to follow her movements would, between the motion and the bright colors, actually result in feeling a bit sick. When she finally came to a stop, his hoof met hers after a moment for the shake. "Alright... I could use the company." After a quick thought, a small, teasing tone entered his voice as he added "However, please try not to get flustered if you start feeling a lot of envy and anger heading my way. After all, they're just bitter they don't have a beautiful changeling marefriend walking beside them." Slightly flirting tease aside, they were here to do some present shopping and he would much rather get something nice for Zecora anyway so... "The first gift we're after is for a zebra mare who lives over in the forest near Ponyville. From what I know of her and her living situation, everything she has was either originally brought from her homeland, made by herself or brought locally when all else failed and she needed something to do a certain job. So personally I was thinking along the lines of something that she couldn't just make herself while being sturdy enough to withstand her active lifestyle... or failing that, easy to maintain and repair if it does break. If it can also serve some function she would be able to make use of would be a great bonus, but I feel like that's kind of secondary." Pondering for a moment, he was quick to ask "Are you doing any shopping yourself? I wouldn't mind returning the favor by trying to help out... or at least be a good sounding board for ideas."

As the situation seemed to calm down and their host reveled that yes, they were in fact in the location... a great tense knot seemed to relax its tight grip on Allegro's chest. They were in the right place. Of course, the presence of a team of ponies wearing armor who looked like they lived for professionally beating up other ponies ensured that the knot of tension never completely went away, but as long as he didn't do anything that would draw their attention like that he would hopefully be fine. Just an ordinary earth pony with a pot on his back... As much as he would have liked to just stay and talk with Sunny, Allegro did have something they needed to do first. Carefully walking past the guards and up to Sugar, the salt smelling stallion offered a nervous smile as he requested "H-Hi. I... know the flier said to bring a gift so I decided to prepare a dish that my mother created and absolutely loves... but since it's best freshly cooked... can I borrow your kitchen for a bit? I've brought everything I need, I just... need a stove or a fire pit to cook it on."

If there was one good thing to come out of Crystal Lily's chatterbox nature, it was the simple fact that as Crystal kept going on and on, the part of Copper that clung to the phobia of Changelings seemed to loosen its hold further and further; It was just impossible for the mental image of one of the solders/drones of the invasion to properly line up with the bright and colorful Lily before him... in more ways then one. "Copper is fine. Using my full name always feels best suited for formal things and just referring to me as Strong has always come off as weird to me for some reason." He answered truthfully, hopefully ending her internal debate on what to call him in an acceptable manner for all involved. "Slight misunderstanding... I was more asking why you picked this city to visit or move too as the case may be compared to, say, Manehatten." He decided to explain, trying to answer the questions she had given him in a timely manner while focusing on the next round. "I was born here and moved away years ago, but my parents still live here and I decided to stop by to visit them while I do some early Hearth's Warming shopping. At the moment I've got two presents that I'm focusing on... One is for a friend I made during the year who lives by themself in the wilderness who I kind of want to surprise, both by the fact that somepony cared enough to get them a present for the holiday on top of making it a good present they'll enjoy. The second is a present that requires enough thought and insight put into it that the pony has to pretend they like it and actually keep it somewhere they can retrieve it from instead of just throwing it away or hiding it somewhere they'll forget about it, but privately they'll hate it." Considering how counter to the spirit of the holiday this was, Strong Copper couldn't help but smile. "The pony in question for that second gift... I don't like them. They are a shallow, elitist and petty pony, but I still need to work with them and have the pretense of a friendly working relationship. So I'm going with passive aggression and making her believe I put a great deal of thought into a present but don't know her well enough personally to know that she would dislike a given thing."

Strong Copper. Spearmint Sovereign. As for gifts... I honestly don't know. Neither of them really expect anything.

Being bumped into was a tradition for most cities that ranged from the harmless to the 'They stole my wallet!', but normally the acceptable response in busier cities to it was to make some kind of noise like an apologetic grunt; Canterlot didn't generally have enough ponies on the street at the same time for that, so an actual 'sorry' was expected, but honestly it was just routine to do it rather then an actual meaning or harm being done. Strong Copper had been about to dispense with this ritual when the source of the bump started talking more in-depth then he was actually expecting. The barrage of talking did serve a wonderful purpose though; As Crystal Lily was talking, Strong Copper looked at the Changeling in question and felt an old fear stab itself into his heart as panic threatened to overwhelm him in a singular moment. Seeing a Changeling in Canterlot brought back terrible memories of the Wedding Invasion. Namely of the paranoid state of mind he was in as he barricaded himself in his family home, booby trapping the place and forcing the royal guard to waste several days trying to dig him out of the defensive position he had created for himself. Thankfully, despite his best efforts, no one was seriously hurt nor did they feel the need to press charges against him. It took several seconds for Strong Copper to force the fear down, but it lingered because fear sometimes wasn't a logical entity. The past was in the past, and a very pretty changeling mare was talking to him. "You're fine Crystal. I admit I was kind of distracted with some of the rather pleasant holiday smells myself and wasn't watching where I was going either." Granted he wasn't going at the time, but he could afford to be polite "I'm Strong Copper. So what brings you to Canterlot of all places?" She seemed to like talking, he was happy to just let her do so.