Neoniie

Mirage followed the stallion at a trot, looking around at the other ponies who were seated in the restaurant. She noticed that it was rather busy for a newly opened place, but in a town as small as Dapple Dunes, even having something of this scale was a huge development. She didn't actually live in the town, but she did fly by rather regularly and had gotten a bit of a soft spot for the place. Even if it was part of the desert, which she wasn't a big fan of, the town itself was nice. The table that Vulpus indicated was a two-seater with a lovely view of the brilliant blue skies above the sandy terrain. With a smile at the thought of the skies, Mirage answered, "Looks good to me!" She sat down quietly, staring out the window in a dreamy manner, nearly forgetting about her earth pony companion. As she realized that she was zoning out, the pegasus snapped herself back to attention. "Sorry about that, I got a bit distracted."

Mirage had almost not felt the impact, being too focused on thinking about the food inside their destination. She turned around at his exclaimation giving a slightly embarassed laugh. "Don't sweat it! It seems that we both weren't exactly on the ball." She did notice the unusual amount of embarassment which she was causing, wondering what could be the cause of her increase in akwardness-inducing. "But, here we are. Desert Delights, the biggest, newest, and...well...only restaurant in Dapple Dunes!" The pegasus couldn't help laughing again, but this time it was at her ridiculous salepony-sounding speech.

The unicorn was beginning to consider the possibility that there wasn't anything to be found within the pages of the discarded tome. Perhaps it was just a student in a hurry or a clumsy member of the Library's staff who had dropped the book, rather than the shadowy figure who was responsible for the missing documents. She had flipped through page after page, searching in an increasingly agitated manner. Each page held nothing other than legend of the desert lands. Though they were interesting, Flux was not much interested in them when there was a mystery ahoof. Determination was something that she didn't discard easily, but things were not looking up. She was just about to turn the page with another sigh when a small detail caught her eye. In a curly script, much different from that of the book's authour, had scrawled in a stylized image of a hoof. It was drawn quite carefully and deliberately, leading Flux to the thought that it's presence was not an accidental splatter of ink. She examined the page more closely, drawing her attention from the symbol to the words of the page. It was another legend, but the symbol encouraged her to look at it in a different light. She scrunched her muzzle slightly in consideration, wondering what the connection could be.

Mirage nodded, glad she had said the right thing. Her impulsivity led often to an unconsidered misunderstanding, but it seemed that in this case she was getting better. "At least something good came out of it," Mirage said, remembering something that her mother said along those lines when she was a young filly. However, her reminiscing was short as the pegasus nearly knocked into a support beam for the building in front of her. Walking backward to get a better look at the structure, she noticed the inscription 'Desert Delights'. "Oh..um...we're here." Mirage had a slightly sheepish tone in her voice as she spoke, feeling rather clumsy.

Mirage smiled as Hyphen talked about her possible findings. Though the pegasus was much more suited to legwork than bookwork, she did always make an exception for tales of forgotten civilizations and most of all: treasure. She wasn't actually interested in the contents of the treasures, but rather the adventure that was automatically attached to the search. 'Adventure', if not 'impluse', was her middle name, so to speak. If there was a journey to be had, Mirage would be there as quickly as her wings could take her. "Yep," she answered the unicorn with a wide smile. "What you've told me so far about this site sounds pretty awesome! Maybe you'll end up being famous someday," Mirage said, filling the preparation time with a bit less silence.

(So sorry about the lateness, everyone. I got a bit distracted from this RP. ) Quantum Flux stood at the same time as her conversation partner, displaying her honed Canterlot manners once more. Upon his declaration that he had to depart, she inclinded her head toward him in an imitation of his own bow. "I assure you, the pleasure was all mine, Ember Heart. I also wish you an enjoyable continuation of the day's festivities. Have a good time with your friends." She resisted the urge to wave, feeling it to be far too common a gesture for a place as grand as the seat of government for all of Equestria. The castle did intimidate the unicorn, as it was the home of the Princesses whom were always looked upon with both awe and fear. Having no reason to leave herself, Flux trotted toward the two ponies who remained in the large banquet hall. "Excuse me, gentlemen, but do you have any incling as to why everypony has vacated the premises?"

"Wow," Mirage said, still wrapping her head around the story. She couldn't imagine having to live without one of her legs, much less as an earth pony. It would be a bad as losing one of my wings, she reasoned. Though her first instinct was pity, she also recognized how strong Vulpus must be to have persevered through that time, in both senses of the word. The pegasus didn't know if she would have been able to do the same. So, rather than comiserating - though that was clear by her expression of symapthy - Mirage voiced that thought. "You're probably the strongest pony I've ever met Vulpus, and that's no exaggeration." Her sincerity was supported by an almost instinctive bob of the head.

Neon spluttered, not really sure how to proceed. He needed to do something, but what exactly they ought to do was beyond him. He was just a colt underneath the superhero persona, after all. The Earth Pony didn't want to worry PaintedWings any further than she already seemed to be, so he took a deep breath before answering. Don't worry Neon, you can do this. "I don't know," he admitted, knowing that such an answer was not the best way to reassure somepony that he knew what he was doing. "But we cannot leave him on the streets in this condition," he added a bit more of his 'Nighthoof words', remembering that he was supposed to be in superhero mode. He scanned the area, trying to pick out some area that seemed suitable. He noticed the steps of a nearby shop of some sort were still lit at this hour. It's this or the roof, he supposed. As he knew that even with the wings of a pegasus. Painted would have a hard time lifting a fully-grown pony, it did seem to be the only option. "We should try to move him over there for now." He put his hoof under the pony and hauled him to his hooves gently. Or as close to standing as a fainted pony could get, anyhow. He questioned moving the pony for a moment, but even if they did get help, it would take a while to arrive and sitting in the street wouldn't do. He slowly began toward the steps, his steps shaky from her weight of a stallion added to his own.

Flux caught snippets of conversation between the other patrons of the Library, including Colton and Thunder - to which she gave a quiet laugh, as she wandered through the shelves. She had found many a solution or piece of knowledge within the high-ceilinged building; it had never failed her before and she wasn't going to give up on it now. She had leafed through the historical section already, having some aspects of its shelves already committed to memory, so she trotted toward the shelves that held information on the old area that Appleloosa and the Borderlands now occupied. She knew she probably had a good chunk of reading ahead, but she noticed a book laying open on the ground in front of the shelf. Somepony had quite a swift exit, she thought. The unicorn shook her head almost imperceptibly and levitated the book up to eye level. It was then that she noticed the title of the book. Secrets and Symbols: Sandy Superstitions, by an apparently anonymous authour. What luck! Perhaps this will hold the clue behind the actions of the pony who took those documents from the desk in the secret passage! She started reading the book in silence, eyes squinted in concentration. Flux knew that the pony wouldn't want to be spotted easily, if this was another almost victim of his quickhoofedness. Since the book remained, references to whatever interested their quarry would likely be difficult to find or else conceled by the pony. She trotted absentmindedly back and forth, scanning each page closely for some type of clue.

(OOC: No problem, I know how that can be.) "Yep!" Mirage proclaimed. She absolutely loved her job as a weatherpony and getting to help out a nice pony like Hyphen was a bonus. She stretched her wings skyward, letting them catch the small breeze that whipped past the two ponies. "Which reminds me, are you looking for something particular at this dig site? Did you find treasure or something?" Mirage was always interested in the lives of ponies around her, mostly because she liked to make friends. After all, what kind of friends could you make without knowing them?

Neon looked curiously at the filly, her bow catching him off guard. He wasn't sure exactly how to respond, so he copied the respectful tilt of the head that he had seen his parents use before. PaintedWings, huh? I wonder if I've seen her before. We do probably go to the same school, after all. He quickly focused himself, however, and answered PaintedWings. "I arrived in Manehatten recently. Before, I defended the streets of Fillydelphia. My par- I mean, my duty called me to this city." Neon had to resist the urge to bonk himself on the head. He wasn't used to being Nighthoof around ponies his own age and it was causing him to slip up. Her caught the pegasus' abrupt ending of her words and shake of her head, but he thought better of bringing up the subject. "And I, you." He had noticed the improving in his superhero voice ever since his parents had taught him Manehatten ettiquite. He just had to add in a bit of formality and already he sounded more professional than his actual amateur superheroing was. When he saw the cookies, the colt couldn't help but have his attention drawn to the box. It has been a slow night, he thought. I can spare a while. He smiled a bit too widely, but caught himself before it became noticeable. "Why not? I think I have some time." However, he noticed that the hoofbeats of the stallion who passed them a few moments earlier had stopped. Neon was a bit incompetent, but he knew that something was amiss. With a urgent look toward PaintedWings, he dashed off down the street. When he reached the stallion, it seemed as though he had collapsed on the concrete. Unfortunately, Nighthoof was still just Neon and he had no idea about what to do in this situation. He turned back to Painted with a slightly pleading expression. He knew it probably diminished his superhero rep, but Neon figured that it was better to take a tiny blow to his pride if it could shead some light on the situation. Besides, he could tell that she knew he was not exactly a powerful stallion, as much as he tried to look the part.

Mirage wondered briefly whether she should ask about the likely magical properties of the leg. It would be interesting to know, but she could likely discover the same information from hearing the entire story. She figured that if she and Vulpus were to travel into the Spidersilk Caverns, she may as well know his story. If she was honest, she did want to know more about this mysterious stallion's past, not just his leg. "From the beginning's fine," she said.

“I hope you like your meal Miss. Is there anything else that you need?” Quantum Flux looked up with a small start at the words of the stallion. She had been lost in her thoughts, as the unicorn was want to do when she was not occupied with a conversation or other such task that required her attention. She straightened up a bit as she looked down toward the pile of pancakes that had been placed in front of her. They looked almost like small, brown, disk-shaped pieces of cloud due to their fluffiness. "Not at all, thank you." She gave the stallion a small smile as he trotted off to assist other customers. As she dug into her pancakes, which were probably the best she'd ever had, the mare overheard the conversation between the owners of the establishment and a grey stallion. She also noticed the white pegasus once again. With another tiny start, Flux found herself on her hooves as well. Though it had been reactionary, the mare could trace the impulse to its roots. The curtousy that her parents had ingrained into her as a young foal that was only overridden by her more manic phases. The snow-white unicorn made her way toward the pegasus and hesitated slightly. "I would like to offer my assistance as well." After a brief pause, she elaborated. "It would feel nothing less than rude to not offer, at the least."

Mirage nodded, wondering whether it was really a good idea to ask this earth pony whom she'd only just met to tell her something probably rather personal. Aw, c'mon Mirage, her mind retorted. That's not the pegasus of speed and impulse we all know! Besides, he did agree to tell his story. Mirage grinned slightly, she gave herself the best pep talks. Her thoughts still buzzed with ideas about the day ahead, but a low growl interrupted her pondering. Looking around quickly, the pegasus realized that it was only her stomach protesting a lack of food. With a slightly bashful smile, the pegasus said, "Sorry about that. I probably forgot to have lunch yesterday." She laughed again, trotting alongside Vulpus.

It was really Neon's favourite time of day, nighttime. He felt so much more free under the cover of darkness and the city itself had a more mysterious quality to it. He remembered his first few nights as Nighthoof and the rather painful experience of learning how to leap across the buildings properly. It was certainly an aquired skill for the Earth Pony, as he had no wings to ensure the absence of a nasty fall. However, it had eventually gotten a somewhat shaky hold upon the ability. The gaps were slightly farther apart in Manehatten, which made this first night out a more difficult experience than usual. He had just taken his first steps into the jump when a voice interrupted his movements. Nearly making a temporary head-to-roof fall, the caped colt managed to catch himself as he toppled off balance. Thank Celestia that I caught that. I wouldn't want to be seeming foalish on only my first night here. Neon turned his muzzle toward the creator of the voice, a creamy brown pegasus. She was a filly, about his age, which made him feel less concerned about his blunder earlier. The Earth Pony cleared his throat quietly, "Yes, miss? How may I, the great Nighthoof, be of service?" He attempted to keep the excitement out of his voice, knowing that he needed to seem professional if this was somepony who was in danger.

"Alright then!" The pegasus declared her words with significant force, causing the cloud above to waver. "Oh yeah," she recalled. "Just a sec." Mirage swooped up toward the cloud and guiding it out the window and back into its native blue skies. Stretching her wings, she lifted the cloud back toward its fellows and basked slightly in the warm glow of Celestia's sun. However, it was only a moment, as the impulsive pegasus had no time for awe. Dashing back inside, she trotted over to the door. "It is a bit of a walk, so maybe you could tell me your story on the way?"

Flux almost didn't catch Thunder's question, as she was grinning at the well-kept shelves of her second home. No matter how many times the unicorn visited the Library, it never ceased to amaze her. Though it was a cliched thought, Flux had always enjoyed the other worlds and perspectives that books could bring. Even though her preferred material was certainly non-fiction, they had a similar quality about them. She could marvel at the Library for days, but then she remembered her company. "Not particularly," Flux said, the truth still slightly there in her words. "I've just got a couple tomes to collect and such. It is a bit difficult to give a tour of a library, so I suppose you can choose your own destination, Colton." She looked carefully about the many rows of shelves, hoping to find a place to begin her search.

Mirage looked in interest toward the prosthetic leg, never having seen such a device before. She guessed it was probably magic-powered, but still, it was an amazing phenomenon. Realizing that she was staring, she cleared her throat and look back into the eyes of her companion. "Yep! In fact, I have a suggestion for breakfast. A small place called 'Desert Delights'. I saw them building it when I was down here last. Wanna check it out?"

The pegasus could still sense the mild tiredness in Vulpus' voice. She hoped that she hadn't woken the earth pony too soon, as her mornings usually began before even those of most pegasi. "I guess so," she answered, pawing slightly at the groud. "I don't really remember it much. I think I was too excited for today." Her voice pitched upward slightly on the last word, a tiny laugh escaping with her sentance.

Wrong Note was taken aback by Monty's accepting manner toward the odd quirk of the earth pony. The ponies she had encounter in the past had looked significantly less favourably upon her pattern of communication, generally finding it to be an unwelcome trait. However, it did not dampen the purple mare's mood, in fact lifting her confidences. If the zebra did not seem to mind her singing, perhaps Hoofington was truly the right choice for her future life. She watched his trot around with shop quietly, trying to think off a way to answer the inquisitive zebra. With a breath, she explained her situation as well as she could, hoping her meaning came across correctly to Monty. "Well, sir, there is indeed a tale to this strange speech, that begins quite far from Hoofington beach. Manehatten is our venue and a young filly is our subject, with tone and pitch quite correct. A cutie mark in singing and a high class upbringing, though her words could be quite stinging. A unicorn with magic far reaching, decided a lesson to the Andantinos needed teaching, A curse she placed upon the filly, to make her sing badly and quite silly. She left Manehatten with a background of laughter, and found herself in Hoofington not too long after. Along her way she learn the way, to fish rather than sing all day. With knowledge in hoof she took wood from tree, making that which you now see." After a pause, she gave a small wave of the hoof and a quick tune of explanation. "As for your manners think nothing of it, formalities are no longer something I covet. Your own story is interesting as well, is there any more of it to tell?"

Neon had been staring in awe at the huge machine, watching it with a singlemindedness that had unfortunately left his feet to their own devices. Trotting on autopilot was generally not the greatest idea for the earth pony, due to his propensity for clumsiness. Sure enough, he managed to steer himself right into a passing stallion. He snapped his gaze from the airship, thankful that he hadn't sent the older pony sprawling. "Oh, yeah. I'm fine. I probably should have watched where I was going a bit more carefully." He picked up on a specific part of the stallion's sentance and wondered aloud, "I guess he isn't from Manehatten then." Realising that his words had been audible, he quickly corrected himself. "I mean, you. You aren't from Manehatten." The colt now had a rather embarassed look on his face, mentally berating himself for such rudeness. He wasn't exactly high class, but manners were certainly not beneath him.

Flux noticed the odd behaviour of Sparks as well, knowing however the likely reason for his actions. She turned her head in concern, attempting to spot whatever the bird had seen. However, what she did see was almost worse. The path behind them was completely deserted, giving off a slightly spooky feel. She had always found unseen things to produce more fear in ponies that those that are seen and she definately had the evidence to back it up at the moment. Turning her gaze ahead once more, the unicorn took a barely audible breath, telling herself menatlly that it was just an overactive imagination. "Indeed," she said, following on Thunder's thought. "Is something going on?" Flux knew perfectly well what had called the bird's attention, but she didn't want to worry the grey pegasus unduly and decided instead not to mention that knowledge. However, she was beginning to see the Great Library of Canterlot upon the horizon and any worries she had vanished. Knowledge was power, as they say, and the Great Library was full of the former. There had to be something on the dig site that would help them discover who had taken the documents. "There is it," Flux announced, mostly for Colton's benefit.

Mirage was usually much more of an early riser, not wanting to waste a second of time in the coming day, but she did not have the sun's rays to awaken her this particular morning. Her position upon her cloud made it difficult for light to reach her at all. However, due to her own habitual patterns, the pegasus jolted awake rather suddenly and nearly toppled out of the cloud. Catching herself and rubbing the tiredness out of her eyes with a hoof, she noticed that Vulpus was still quite asleep. Not wanting to wake him quite yet, she quietly returned her hooves to solid ground and trotted out of the room. The lobby was mostly empty, except for the desk pony and several cleaning staff. Light streamed in from the windows and invigorated Mirage with excitement for the adventure ahead. She walked toward the bulletin board, hoping to find a good breakfast destination and a smile appeared as she located a brightly coloured flyer. With a quick scan of its message, she returned to the room and woke the earth pony softly. "Vulpus."

Mirage trotted off down the hall after aquiring directions from the receptionist to the office of the weather supervisor. The pegasus looked carefully around the structure, trying to begin to memorize what would become her place of work for quite a while. The hallways branched off in several directions, all of which looked the same to the slightly perplexed mare. Hoping that her sense of direction for the building would improve over time, she followed the directions that the receptionist had scribbled down on a slip of paper. The office was the last door on a right side of the building, a bit more out of the way than Mirage would have suppose such an important place to be. Nonetheless, the plaque on the door proclaimed that it was the weather supervisors office. Dropping her suitcase only to knock sharply on the door, the mare looked around absentmindedly as she awaited the supervisor. It was not a long wait and she was quickly ushered inside. "Hello, I'm Mirage, the desert specialist that was transferred from Cloudsdale." The supervisor nodded, head in a pile of documents as he listened to Mirage talk. "I was just wondering where exactly I should...um...put my things?" With a quick scribble, he wrote some direction to the crew quarters. "They're jus' temporary," he said. "One night won't hurt tho'. I suggest you get goin', weather team is out in a few minutes and you're apparently on it." With a nod, Mirage picked up her case again and trotted off to the quarters. She could see why they were temporary, since they were only a series of beds stacked against the wall. Choosing one that seemed vacant and placing her belongings atop it, Mirage resolved to find lodging elsewhere as soon as possible. She quickly returned to the front desk and gained a list of names from the receptionist. Assuming that they were her fellow weather team members, Mirage held tightly to the note and trotted out in search of Hyphen.

Neon trotted absentmindedly through the streets of Manehatten, feeling like a zombie from lack of sleep. He had been out all night on patrol and the huge stack of work that his schoolteachers had presented him with hadn't helped matters. The older colt sighed, once again remembering the suspicion that his parents had been developing lately. They had noticed his constant state of fatigue and his slipping grades much quicker than he had hoped. The yellow earth pony couldn't figure out what they thought he was involved in, but he knew it couldn't have been anything good. He turned a corner, suddenly feeling the urge to punch something. His patrol last night had not been one of his best, ending up as a complete and utter humiliation and embarassment once again. The colt didn't understand. Nighthoof was supposed to be the defeater of the dastardly, not the dope of dismalness. He was starting to question his resolve.I don't know what to do anymore, he thought, a complete sense of failure falling over the earth pony. He couldn't in good conscience stop trying to help the downtrodden, but he never seemed to do more than amuse or occasionally distract any of the criminals he came across. Combined with his persistant lack of a cutie mark, Neon couldn't help but feel worthless and helpless. His vision had blurred slightly and the colt angrily brushed the obscuring liquid away. However, the sudden landing of an airship distracted the colt from his woe, bringing forth his curiousity instead. He began to trot toward the impressive vehicle, never having seen such a contraption before.