Gerrard

The wind howled defiantly in the northern reaches of Equestria as the city of Stalliongrad did it's best to endure another harsh winter. Snow poured down from the sky as it contemplated the formation of a blizzard. Most of the reasonable ponies in town had already sought out shelter, a few stragglers and unlucky guards the only ones braving the freezing cold.

A lone visitor hovered above the frigid town, a large griffon with an enormous black wingspan that was painted white with ice. He flapped his wings roughly and descend to the ground, the hybrid unable to keep flying with iced wings. The griffon glanced back with his yellow eyes and roughly brushed the ice off his wings. "Gah, if it wasn't the fire, it was the ice. Those Canterlot ponies stick me with the worst assignments imaginable. If this job turns out to be a waste of time again, I'm gonna flip some unicorns over," he complained, the griffon rubbing his black talons together as he tried to stop them from freezing.

He wandered along the outskirts of town as he remembered back to his briefing about the irrigation system of this town. "Freeze proof pipes accented with a heating system and elevated above the ground to prevent the system from getting buried in snow," he remarked aloud, the griffon wondering how many violations this system had. Gerrard pawed his way over to the irrigation system, his feet doing well enough to ignore the cold snow as he came upon the system he was hired to fix.

A mess of steel pipes littered the landscape as they stretched out over the distance, fanning out towards all the homes in the frigid city. He strapped on his black tinted welding goggles, the griffon deciding they would best protect his eyes from the frozen weather while he worked on the pipes. He traced the pipes back to their source and saw the main line buried beneath the snow, Gerrard groaning because he realized it would be an absolute pain to fix this system on his own. "Okay, damaged heater, and no snow removal, they only failed two of the three antifreeze precautions," he explained to nobody in particular as he looked over the situation. "Let's see how deep the pipe is under the snow," the griffon remarked, pulling a long crescent wrench out and stabbing it into the snow. When he didn't reach the pipe, Gerrard glanced back to town, knowing that this assignment was much worse than he could have imagined.

The cloaked unicorn was a tall mare with a coat of blackest night, her short scarlet mane draped over to the side of her face as she trudged through the forest. Her ears perked up as the confused voice of a stallion disturbed her trip into the dangerous forest. She carefully steps off a broken twig and slowly approaches the pegasus, the unicorn glancing over to the resident of the forest with a pair of intense crimson eyes.

"I apologize if my intrusion into this forest has disturbed you, it was not my intention," she apologized, the stoic mare not in the least bit frightened as she looked her equally dark counterpart over. Her long black horn glowed a dark red as she lowered her cowl with magic to give him an equal view of her face. "Hello Stranger, I am attempting to pass through your forest, I have no intention of causing unnecessary disturbance to you," she added, in an almost monotone manner.

A light breeze blew through the park, lightly scattering the mane of the attentive unicorn as she stood before the guard. The unicorn lowered her head to get a better view of his face as he hung his head in shame. "May I ask why you seem distraught? While they were not in danger this particular time, there is no way to know with certainty that the children were safe without investigating. Your actions have caused no harm to anyone, there is no reason to move on with regret, especially if nothing regrettable happened. In addition to that, pitying yourself serves no constructive purpose. If a bird decided to not fly after failing in a flight, it would be likely that no birds would streak across our sky," the black mare explained calmly, her words seeming aimed at inspiring the guard.

"I am Asteria Stillheart, honored to meet you sir. May I ask your name?" she politely remarked, the unicorn doing a subservient bow before the sad faced guard. The dark pelted pony patiently waited for a response before returning to a normal posture, the tall mare easily able to look him in the eyes if he decided to stop slouching. "May I ask for the specifics on your occupation? Your disposition seems different from the royal guards," she added calmly, the mare seemingly unable to take any offense from anything as she repeatedly tried to defend his own actions against her. Perhaps there was some trick to understanding this enigmatic mare, something unique about her perspective that would let him read the thoughts behind her stoic face.

Gerrard paused and shielded his eyes from the sun with a black talon as his keen yellow eyes glanced up at the figure, the griffon raising his brow in a sense of disbelief. "Ponies don't have nearly that wingspan. What are the odds of running into another griffon in Beakbreak city," he thought to himself as the stranger came into clearer view. The stranger was a griffon, a normal coloured one at that, his green eyes standing out as the only peculiar thing about him. "Well, I was told by my bosses in Canterlot that I needed to make sure all the ponies over here were properly watered. Wouldn't want them to dry out and wilt, you know, gardening and all that nonsense," Gerrard explained in an overly casual manner, chuckling lightly as he used the standard griffon explanation of his pony related job.

"Apparently though, I found one of those strange ponies with claws and a beak though, how rare!" he added with a laugh, poking a bit of fun at their shared species as he walked up to the somewhat older griffon. Gerrard was an adult as Falco could tell, but it was also obvious that he had spent a lot of time among ponies, his feathers well groomed and his black coat well kept. As Falco mentioned that he must be hot in his dark tinted body, Gerrard smirked devilishly as he stood next to his green eyed counterpart. "Alas, I wasn't planning for hot weather when I went about designing the most handsome body that bits could buy. Normally the mountains of merry mares shield me from the sun, apparently they haven't picked up my scent yet," he explained, showing off his black coat and wings and an equally black talon that almost begged the question if he was part crow or something.

"I must ask though, how does it feel having your picture plastered in every dictionary cataloging our species? Did you tell them your eyes are green, not yellow?" he jokingly remarked, asserting that his new acquaintance looked astoundingly normal. His keen golden eyes couldn't help but be drawn to the crossbow. "You do know that it is illegal to hunt ponies, or any other sentient creatures in Equestria right? Wouldn't want to incite the ponies of Beakbreak City. At least I might learn why it is called such at least," he mused aloud, Gerrard carefully rubbing his longer black beak as he stood beside Falco. "You do know that, right?" he teased, wholly expecting some snarky retort, Gerrard well know for his own. When you were a griffon who worked at the order of Ponies, you learned such defense mechanisms very well.

Luna's beautiful moon loomed over the quiet city of Ponyville on a starry summer night. The air on the outskirts of town was chilly, a stark contrast to the heatwave the town had endured a mere few hours earlier. The streets of the town seemed empty as ponies started to tuck themselves away into their warm beds. That of course was what 'they' hoped, a pair of shady looking figures standing on the edge of town, their dark forms exposed under the light of a street light.

A griffon with a coat of blackest night seemed to be conducting business with a unicorn whose identity was masked beneath a dark blue cloak. The hybrid had matching black wings with silver head feathers, his keen yellow eyes staring at the pony inside the mysterious outfit as the pair seemed to conduct some sort of shady looking business venture. A dark red magical glow filled the air as a large crescent wrench floated ominously towards the griffon. The beaked predator seemed distracted by something, turning his head away as the unicorn raised the clearly heavy tool above his black beaked face. Was he about to be clubbed by the strange unicorn?

Before the tool could be moved any further, it was snatched up in the black clutches of the griffon, his sharp talon pulling it down to eye level as he looked the tool over. His keen eyes widened, the griffon looking the literally gleaming tool over. Anyone with an eye for detail could tell that the tool was something special, perhaps made by an artisan, or crafted out of some super material. As the griffon held it still, the tool was soon revealed to be a crescent wrench, and a large one at that. It must have weighed a lot considering it was large and made of some type of metal, the hybrid carefully holding it with two talons. His black maw move as he seemed to speak with the cowled unicorn, the griffon releasing one talon from it as he firmly held it in one talon. He glanced down and looked at the tool, the griffon swinging the tool around as if it were almost weightless, the unicorn not even flinching at the display. He looked like a strong griffon, but even then, the whole spectacle was a lot to take in, could this griffon be some sort of arms expert?

"Thanks Asteria," the griffon remarked loudly in an intimidating voice voice as he slipped the tool into the large brown bag strapped around his neck. The unicorn, supposedly named Asteria, nodded their head in agreement before hearing the hybrid speak aloud again. "As you know Asty, nobody can know about this, it is too dangerous a secret to get out into the public. I know you wouldn't betray my trust, just gotta cover my bases," he explained with a jovial grin. He balled up his black talon and lightly punched the shrouded figure, eliciting no reaction from them. The strange pony seemed to be some sort of expert too, never seeming to react to anything, no matter how scary or rough the griffon was. "I really owe ya, this should cover your costs and fee," the griffon handing the unicorn a massive sack of bits. The tool must have been made of solid gold or something, the unicorn receiving an obscene amount of money for a mere wrench. With one last bow before the unicorn, the black hybrid turned around and flapped a massive set of wings, carrying his large body off into the night sky.

'Asteria' paused for a moment to give him time to escape off into the night. After waiting a few seconds, the unicorn pocketed the payment beneath their cloak and turned around and faced into town. Any pony who might have been looking in the direction of the dark pair would notice a pair of crimson eyes peering out from beneath a thick cowl, the orbs almost seeming to light up a jet black face that carried the most stoic of expressions. The unicorn was in fact a mare, and a tall one at that, easily able to look the strong griffon in the eyes as they performed their business deal. Her black hooves slowly started to move as she decided to make her way back into Ponyville, the unicorn seeming to have other things to do for the night.

"Beakbreak City, I don't know what is worse, the name of this city or it's location. Who builds a city on the edge of a desert, smack dab between two mountain ranges. I could only imagine trying to walk to this infernal town," Gerrard growled as he landed on the outskirts of the strangely named border town. Tartarus itself was a few miles away, the griffon guessing that it couldn't be much worse there as the sun shined down on his black pelt like a laser. In fact, everything about the griffon happened to be black, from his tail to his beak, the only exception being his silver head plumage and his keen yellow eyes. What luck, he was wearing all black on one of the hottest days of the year.

He was here to investigate reports that the town was having water shortages. And as usual, the flying architect was assigned to get over to the town quickly, his associates in Canterlot probably giggling at his misfortune of being stuck with such an awful job. Regardless, he went to the Royal University of Canterlot to be trained in ways to deal with irrigation, the griffon well qualified to deal with a mere water shortage. In just a few mere moments of searching, he stumbled upon a literal oasis on the outskirts of the city. "There isn't any natural water for miles here. The only way anything could grow here would be if..." the griffon explained aloud to himself, his voice sounding exceptionally as he came to a realization.

"Unless the system was leaking water," he added, the griffon spotting a bolt missing on the main irrigation pipe for the town, a thick stream of water continuously pouring out of the system. Bushes were practically sprouting out of the expensive mistake, the griffon in awe of how simple and wasteful this problem was. "Wow, one bolt missing and they literally waste thousands of units of water," he growled, getting called across Equestria to fix a simple bolt. He slipped a black talon into the large brown bag he was carrying and pulled out a bolt and his trusty crescent wrench. The large tool gleamed brillaintly in the sun as it proudly showed off it's master craftmanship to the griffon, the spanner bouncing the bright sunlight right back into his face as he screwed the bolt in. And just like that, the problem was solved, an obnoxiously long flight over a giant lake and the Everfree Forest the only things Gerrard wanting to remember about the whole trip. He slipped his special wrench into his bag and tried to collect his thoughts, the griffon trying not to think of ways to get back at his associates.

"I've got to salvage this trip somehow. Maybe there is something redeeming about this town?" he commented with a sigh, Gerrard looking back towards town. His keen eyes spotted a few buildings of questionable craftsmanship, clearly created with inferior wood, not that there were any trees for what felt like a hundred miles anyway. His thoughts would soon be realized as he saw the silhouette on a large figure approaching his general direction, the stranger holding something.

Asteria listened closely as the griffon fawned over himself in the reflection cast on the armor of the pegasus. It was quite the spectacle, Gaston more worried about his appearance than the feelings of the pegasus. The stallion seemed deeply offended and left, her crimson eyes tracking the movement of their feet in an unassuming manner as she let them resolve the conflict on their own. When the dust settled, the unicorn returned to a standard posture, the tall mare roughly similar in height to the brawny griffon, her long legs providing her additional height over most mares.

"Sir Gaston, I was told to discuss these matters in private. I am not at liberty to release any information in the open public. If we are to have any discussion sir, it must be in a private area away from the eyes of others," the unicorn explained in a very literal manner, her eyes avoiding any prolonged stares into his own as not to offend him, the mare seeming a bit aloof as she followed her protocols. "Do you have a preferred private location?" she added calmly, her expression remaining completely stoic as she looked to his face for an answer. Her vaguely alluring voice could have been misinterpreted, but the mare had no intention of flirting, especially with a potential client.

The Painted Pinto was on the griffon's least favorite regions in Equestria, his heavily feathered chest prone to getting hot and bothered in the warm climate. It was unbearably hot and and devoid of interesting things, ponies and griffons included. A smirk spread across his maw as the town brought back flashbacks to his youth in Aquellia. He remembered living in a large family of griffons and playing with his siblings in the badlands just outside their home in Talonopolis. That of course must have been almost a hundred moons ago, the griffon the only one in his family not interested in following in the footsteps of his parents. While banking and the military had their own 'unique' benefits, he found his calling in irrigation, an art that his hunter gatherer brethren often scoffed an mocked. Regardless, he applied and was accepted as a foreign exchange student and managed to spend the last five years of his life in Canterlot, working amongst ponies, designing and maintaining the irrigation that helped supplement the pegasi across Equestria.

Of course being the only architect in Canterlot who could fly and manipulate dangerous tools without magic had it's obvious downsides for the griffon, the foreigner often getting assigned to work on the outer fringes of the pony homeland, the capital of Equestria saving a fortune in horsepower expenses as they kept a thin lean crew of workers. And here Gerrard stood, on the outskirts of a ghost town named after a headless monster, the griffon realizing why his coworkers were so eager to pass this assignment on to him. This place sucked in every way he could imagine, it was hot, dry, abandoned, and most of all it felt like busy work. "Nobody even lives here, how could anybody be messing with the water here, this portion of the pipe network isn't even being used. I thought the hazing period was already over," he sighed, the griffon shaking his head as he tried to understand why the higher ups in Canterlot would send him literally into the middle of nowhere.

Before he could dwell further on his self pity, the griffon's keen hearing picked up the voice of an energetic sounding mare as she decided to boldly accost him from behind. He carefully dug his sharp black talons into the sandy earth as he turned his head to look at the young adventurer. He couldn't help but raise his brow as the mare in front of him bore a striking resemblance to the famed literary figure, the griffon having to do a double take in disbelief. He knew the books were a work of fiction, but she could probably trick many a ponies with such an outfit. "Uhh, hello my little pony," he remarked slowly, the griffon not sure if he should feel insulted to be so casual described.

He paused to speak, the eager pegasus interjecting with another comment as she interrupted his thought pattern, the griffon blinking his golden eyes as he gathered his thoughts. "Yeah Dullahan Springs, I know my way around Equestria, only spent the past five years in this country," he explained, his long black tail wagging slightly in the dusty desert air. "And no, I'm not lost. I'm here on a top secret mission that the princess herself decreed necessary for the very survival of Equestria itself. I'm not supposed to tell anyone about this super secret mission, but you know what they say? You can always trust a pony with a pith hat!" he cheered playfully, the griffon using hyperbole as tried to make a bit of a spectacle.

His keen yellow eyes glanced both directions off into the distance, the griffon making sure nothing was around before he decided to tell his dark secret to the pony. The black griffon leaned in close to her, turning his head to the side as not to poke her with his long black beak as he thought over the most dramatic way to phrase his explanation. "A dastardly deviant is diverting the delicious downpour of this district to destroy the denizens of... Equestria" he theorized in the most over dramatic and unnecessary manner imaginable. "It's just you and me horsefly! It is an hour trip as the pegasus flies, perhaps less by a driven griffon, but Equestria needs us more than ever. You can fly to Appleoosa and tell them to save their water for the coming end of days, or you can assist me in saving this land from the clutches of evil!" he replied, coming up with a nickname for her species as well, his perhaps being a bit less friendly.

"Before you decide on your course of action though, I must know your name Lady Pegasus. I am Gerrard Grayfeather, Alumni of the Royal University of Canterlot," he replied in a formal manner similar to what a Canterlot pony would say, his tone being much more sincere and welcoming than what you might expect from a citizen of the capital. The griffon did a polite bow before her, spreading out his enormous black wingspan for her to see. He soon returned to a normal posture and extended a talon to her for her to shake if she were up for such a thing.

The black mare blinked in the darkness, her crimson eyes vanishing for just a moment. She looked over to where she believed the pair were, her eyes having trouble making out their forms in the limited light. "The darkness, while bothersome, can be alleviated on a temporary basis with an efficient use of magic," the black mare calmly explained. It seemed as if she were speaking of a light spell, a simple spell for most unicorns. Her horn glowed a dark red, the colour of her magic aura as the room lightly illuminated in a visible tint of red. "While manipulating your magic power into an intense light will greatly illuminate the car, a great deal of energy can be saved if you keep your magic in it's natural unaltered state," she explained calmly, her horn glowing with it's normal magical aura, the magic waiting patiently to be changed.

Asteria looked to the shivering mare, then back to Gearly, the unicorn offering him a choice for their next choice of action if they were simply going to wait around. "If we are going to wait until the train is fixed though, it may just be easier to sit in the darkness. I don't think I can perpetually channel light for much longer than an hour, even with this technique," she explained in what seemed like a modest manner, her voice still showing no pride or fear. "What would you like to do Sir Gearly? I have no preference of my own, I can appreciate light or the darkness," she added slowly for him, the mare seeming to do her best not to bias his choice.

Gerrard smirked, the griffon figuring he was much more social that the dark pelted mare. He took a seat at her table as the pair sat down to enjoy their meal. "So, you work at the library right? You been to a university?" the hybrid asked, carefully licking his orange colored ice cream as not to give himself a brain freeze. "I am an alumni of The Royal University. I can't believe I've never seen you with how often I go to the library. You must be good at hiding your presence," he explained with a smirk, wondering if he just never paid enough attention when he went to the library. She seemed like a nice enough of a pony, perhaps she just needed to get out more.

The sun rose high in the Appleoosan Desert sky, it's fierce rays casting the enormous shadow of a large winged creature against the sandy wasteland and his massive wingspan carried his from across the sandy expanse. A squinted look up at the high flying character would reveal the silhouette of a griffon, his exact form and coloration blocked out by the bright light of the sun. After flying a great deal of distance across the desert, he descended dramatically, towards the ground. With one large flap of his black wings, he landed relatively cleanly in the sand outside a deserted town. The griffon was clad in a nearly uniform set of black that started at the tip of his long wiry tail and drifted all the way through his wings and torso. His head was covered in silver feathers, a large sharp black beak protruding from his face as his keen yellow eyes looked over the abandoned town that stood before him, defiant against the seemingly endless heat of the area.

He raised a black talon from the ground and shuffled it through the large brown backpack that was fastened around his neck. After a few short moments of fishing about, he plucked a map out of his bag, the griffon carefully unfolding it as he looked at what seemed to be a detailed representation of this particular portion of Equestria. He quickly spotted Appleoosa, a nearby town, the hybrid trailing a claw up the map as he searched for his location. "Dullahan Springs, also classified as a ghost town. I probably wouldn't want to live in a town with a name like that either," the griffon commented with a light shiver of his neck as he looked the map over one last time. "It is strange though, this is the only abandoned town that is listed as a ghost town, I'll have to go tell the map maker about the minor inconsistency when I get back to Canterlot," he explained to nobody in particular, the griffon slipping the map back into his back pack as he thought about entering the shady looking town.

"Meanie," one of the foals snorted as they hopped away from him and back to the spooky mountain they were trying to climb. Asteria did not laugh at the silly spectacle, her focused eyes simply tracing the movement of the children as they gravitated back to her. "I had no intention of threatening the children. That is of course my story and you are in no ways compelled to believe me," the mare explained in a strangely objective manner as she defended his honest mistake in an eerily understanding manner.

"I have been told that my face is as static as a statue, that would likely not be an efficient way to determine my guilt. Regardless, I have already forgiven you, it is only natural for a peace officer to investigate screams related to a questionable looking character. Protocol likely dictates that it would be unprofessional not to investigate a scream, regardless of the intent of it," she explained in an infinitely objective manner, the mare almost making herself out to be a criminal. This mare seemed extremely used to being investigated for some reason, but at least she didn't seem too torn up about it.

The children tried to follow her carefully chosen words but were soon lost in their meaning as she spoke in words that they probably didn't fully understand. One of the foals tugged on Asteria's scarlet tail and made a scrunched up face as they looked to her. "Miss Asty, you're weird and funny," the child complained in a non serious manner. The black mare blinked for a moment and thought over the comment. "I am sorry for speaking in such adult terms. Perhaps you should go find your parents. There is a high probability that they are worried and looking for for you," she explained with a voice that always seemed to border on monotone, the unicorn never seeming emotional at all as she simply made and replied to statements addressed to her.

Asteria blinked as he corralled the very foals he had just frightened. A dark red magical aura shrouded her cloak as he ordered her to show face to him, the mare carefully lowering her cowl to reveal her face. A clear look of her face revealed a black mare with a short cut scarlet mane, her intense crimson eyes peering across to the angry looking pegasus. "May I help you sir?" she calmly replied, not sounding at all like she had been caught doing something illegal. Asteria seemed to have an amazing poker face, or was actually not doing anything wrong, her presence making it a bit unclear as she stood before him.

"Miss Asteria, I don't wanna go with the scary stallion," one of the foals whined as they tried to squirm away from the strange police pony. Something about the whole situation seemed strange as the unicorn made no immediate attempt to defend herself from his accusations. It was hard to put a hoof on what exactly was wrong, but one thing was clear, Asteria was a very strange pony.

A tall unicorn shrouded in a dark cloak stood before two fillies in the park. She had been accosted by two fillies, the mare respectfully stopping as they poked a glance under her cowl. They seemed unusually curious, wondering who this stranger was, the children not accustomed to seeing strangers garbed in any sort of disguise.

"Hi, are you a pony? What's your name? Are you mean or nice?" one of the foals asked in a hyper voice, lightly poking the black hooves of the mysterious stranger as the pair encircled her. The unicorn blinked her crimson eyes as she thought over appropriate responses to each question. She knew that children had to be treated differently from adults, and decided to carefully word her responses.

"Yes, I am a unicorn pony. My name is Asteria and it is not up to me to decide if I am mean or nice. That is a thing determined by the reactions of others to my own actions," she explained calmly to the children, seeming to have infinite patience as they asked her semi insulting questions in a curious manner. When she explained that it was up to them, the foals cocked their heads, an adult never really letting them decide for themselves before. They looked to each other and silently discussed something in secret, grins spreading across their faces.

"You're mean! You're scary!" the pair squealed loudly with delight, as they tried to climb up onto the unicorn's long legs. The pair of children had decided that the mare was something they liked, regardless of what they had actually said. Asteria blinked and glanced down on the children, confused that they liked her scary appearance. The mare was paralyzed in a matter of the word, not wanting to move her long legs because she might injure the tiny foals. When a deep voice called out to her, the ears of the mare stood up, carefully listening to his command as he ordered her to stop.

Asteria remained paused, the unicorn not moving regardless as he spoke to her. She had no intention of running, the stoic expression on her face not showing any trace of guilt as she contemplated lowering her hood to give him a better view of her face.The fillies were startled by his deep voiced shout, jumping off her legs and cowering behind the mare.

Gerrard let out an audible sigh, finding the pegasus to be unbearably stuffy as he always felt the need to lecture him. "Yes, I brought a first aid kit here to help you out. Do you have one Colton? I guess not, we can use mine," the griffon retorted to the pegasus as he pulled out some ointment and bandages for her injury. The griffon carefully helped Colton and Telki as the trio carefully exited the building. Gerrard looked over her small cuts and carefully dabbed a bit of ointment on a strip of cloth. "Okay, you gotta promise not to kick me in the head, this will probably hurt a bit," the griffon explained, looking over the cloth with his fierce golden eyes.

Before she could reply to him though, the griffon dabbed it onto her chest in an attempt to not make her realize it was on her. "Better?" he asked, probably unleashing a stinging sensation on her as he treated her superficial injury. In the bright light of the sun, it was a lot easier to make out the details of the pair, Gerrard looking a bit unusual, even for a griffon. His black beak practically shined in the sun, and his coat and talons were a similar colour, his head and eyes the only things that seemed to deviate from that pattern, being silver and yellow respectively. He sat on his haunches and patiently waited for her response, deciding to delay his job for a bit to make sure nothing was too wrong with her injuries.

*looks at organizer's avatar and sees Applejack, sees two apple family members in the lead on race* #consipiracy

I need to learn how to make that 2.67% possibility dice luck. I mean I SUPPOSE someone could have rolled that. 5 on 1-5, then 4 on a 1-5, then a 5 or 6 on a 1-6

If the second roll was actually a 5, the % chance is 1.33%

I will not stop thinking that. -,-

Asteria's soft black ears perked up as she heard the country accent of a clearly displeased apple family member. She paused for a moment, glancing back to see the irritated earth pony making her best efforts to protect her crop. The unicorn decided to avoid physically helping her, sensing that Applejack was very particular about how she cared for her trees. "Caretaker of the grove, I apologize if my actions may have influenced ponies into stealing your apples without proper payment. I made a verbal declaration that I would deliver payment to the appropriate owners when circumstances allowed. I was under the impression that this event was used to rid the local trees of their decaying foliage, my intent was not to rob in an attempt to gain an unfair competitive advantage. I hope these twenty five bits will cover your losses, in the event that it does not, feel free to contact me at my office in Canterlot," the strange mare politely explained, doing a subservient bow before the orange earth pony as she pulled out her emergency supply of bits and a contact card. The unicorn slipped the card into the bag as discretely placed it in one of Applejack's well hidden bushels of apples as not to attract the attention of an unscrupulous racer.

And as quickly as she had started speaking, the black mare returned her focus onto the race before her. The scarlet maned mare was a bit confused as she thought over the events that had transpired during the race. She was by no means an expert in this particular race, having never ran it before, but the other participants seemed to take the offerings of the trees for granted. She even noticed a pegasus that seemed to be related to the caretaker taking apples, no doubt inspiring the other racers to join in the pillaging as well. Still though, there seemed that a communication error of some kind must have been made because she, clearly a pony foreign to this even, was the only one to actually offer payment for the goods taken. Alas, such an assertion was one that she had minimal evidence to make, and the mare could not operate on limited information, deciding to continue on down the path. The trail that the racers were on was forgiving at least, relatively flat and devoid of impediments for racers to trip over. She could only hope that the Apple Family could be forgiving of the seemingly innocent mistakes that a few racers had made on their quest for first place on this particular race.

Asteria remained calm as the train lurched dangerously close to sliding off the tracks. It soon righted itself as it trudged onward through the snow, the mare not showing any sign of concern as she heard a loud scream from Storm. Her ears perked up as she tried to locate the source of the sound, the mare tracking the source of it as she darted through the cars of the train. The unicorn blinked as she watched the frightened mare slip back into her spot beside her friend.

"Hello stranger. Would it be appropriate for me to assume that you are Lady Stormsong? There is a substantial amount of evidence to support such an assertion," Asteria calmly remarked, her tone making her seem like a mechanical construct of some sort. The scarlet maned mare looked the new pony over as best she could, noting all the differences between her and the seemingly disgruntled earth pony. Their sudden snuggling, albeit a frightened one, seemed to indicate some sort of sincere relationship. "Huddling together for warmth, an interesting idea," she commented objectively, clearly not familiar with normal acts of friendliness. If anything was clear, it was that the black mare didn't seem to get out much.

"There is no need to cry in fear. Such an action has no bearing on the outcome of this train ride. If we crash it will happen regardless of our control. It is best to not stress yourself over what might help. There is always a chance that a meteor from space will suddenly crash down upon us, worrying about it serves no constructive purpose," she explained in what seemed like a heartless manner, the spooky looking mare wearing a completely stoic face as she finished her monologue. Before she could add anything further though, a painful creaking noise filled the air as the lights of the train blacked out, leaving the trio in an uneasy darkness. Asteria blinked her crimson eyes and glanced over to where she thought Gearly was. "It appears that the train may have lost it's source of power. Perhaps we can aid in the repair of the train in some manner. It would serve us well to attempt to find a mechanic on board the train. If we don't it may be a day before help arrives," the mare explained in her same almost dreary tone, her voice never showing any sign of anticipation.

So is this happening at all?

The pace was faster than the unicorn was initially expecting, a monsoon of racers cascading down the path as they sprinted onward for glory, fame, or even exercise. The tall mare soon found her hooves tangled with other runners in the initial pack as everyone tried to stake their claim to a forward position. She managed to avoid tripping, recovering at the last moment as her free hooves kept her large frame upright. She was not sure about the other racers though, her pace slowing for only a moment as she glanced back to see an imposing looking griffon that she may have offended by crowding the running lanes. The expression on the cloaked pony's face remained the same in the face of the sharp beaked hybrid, the mare seeming either brave or oblivious to the potential outbursts of an enraged griffon.

"I apologize for hindering your running experience lady griffon, the density of participants was beyond what I had initially expected," she explained calmly in an eerie voice, the unicorn directing her words at Gilda, an athlete she had never personally met in her many years of working with griffons. The black pelted mare continued on with her usual dedication, limbs moving in perfect unison as she cantered along into the famed apple farm on the outskirts of Ponyville. The faint patter of rain filled her ears as she continued onward, her weather proof cloak slowly starting to form tiny pools of rain water on it as her form carried her through the poor weather. Her heart rate was increasing as she continued on, something she knew well enough from her many years of running. Even a seasoned runner would tire a little but from any amount of running, and she could see that clearly as a few ponies ahead of her struggled to retrieve apples from trees along the side of the road.

Before she could press on any further though, the black fur on her back stood on end, sensing the electricity in the air as storm clouds threatened to release a mixture of water and lightning upon the racers, herself included. The mare broke off into an all out Gallop as she sought out cover beneath one of the larger apple trees. Her dark hooves slid in the slowly loosening dirt on the ground as she came to a halt under her destination, a tree capable of shielding her from the rain. She had spotted other racers struggling in vain to remove apples from the trees and decided to be more careful in her own efforts to remove the fruit. A dark red glow emanated from her horn as her magic aura engulfed a half dozen of the lower hanging apples. In one swift motion, she struck at the stems of the apples in her grip with a jolt of magic, freeing the fruit from their housing as she lowered them down to ground level.

"Feel free to claim one of these apples if you require a temporary boost of energy to get your limbs churning towards the finish line. I will make sure to compensate the apple family for their effort after the race has concluded," she explained calmly, her voice staying relatively static even with a slightly heaving chest. Before she could add any further words to her public address, the unicorn saw a soaked leaf fall from the apple tree as she stood in cover from what she suspected to be a strike of lightning, as unlikely as it may have been. Her crimson eyes traced the movements of decaying light absorbers and the unicorn came to a sudden realization. The rain was here to aid in their efforts, the additional weight it brought down on the leaves only serving to weaken their grasp on the trees.

Asteria soon found her hooves moving as she marched in place beneath the tree, the unicorn deciding to keep releasing leaves with her hoof steps as she carefully devoured the one apple she kept for herself. While she was not the type to marvel in the beauty of the autumn trees, her efforts were working somewhat, leaf after leaf cascading to the ground as they prevented the ground from getting too muddy. The leaves were quite the sight to behold, the poor weather only able to partially obscure the spectacle in the large apple orchards the participants were standing in. The mare shook herself roughly, discharging the water on her cloak in every direction, as she waited for the tingling sensation in her body to subside. When she felt the electricity in the air subside to a safe enough of a degree, the mare darted off back into the race with a renewed fervor. Her gallop was much less impeded as the crowd of runners spread out over the path ahead. The famed white tail woods could be seen appearing over the horizon as she marched onward, the scarlet maned mare wondering if there were any local residents about in the poor weather that promised to get worse.

Asteria's black ears perked up as he spoke, intent on hearing everything he had to explain or say to her. The mare listened to him as he compared her to a robot, the mare cocking her head to the side as she made sure to understand him as best she could. "That is a wise statement Sir... may I ask your name?. It is hard, to change our construction. Dwelling over the abilities of others has the tendency to create resentment towards the person you dwell over. Instead, it is wise to use your abilities as best you can. While you may not be optimal, sometimes there are advantages to being suboptimal," she vaguely explained, the unicorn looking across to the earth pony as he seemed to curse himself for being born so normal. The unicorn seemed to have contemplated such thoughts before, but what she was worried or concerned about in particular was hard to determine, at least beyond her obvious appearance.

"I see, I am glad to hear that my presence will not cause an unnecessary distraction for you and your companion. I will respect your request to not search for Lady Stormsong. It would be rude of me to assume the she was helpless. I will have faith in her abilities to return to this cabin," she explained in an understanding, if not vaguely over analytical manner. Her eyes drifted over to the windows he was examining, the mare pausing for just a moment to place some words together in her mind. "It would be in her best interest to arrive soon, the weather will be getting worse soon," she added in a solemn manner.

The tall mare pulled her long legs up to her torso, conserving her warmth as she rested beneath her weather resistant cloak. Asteria watched him struggle fruitlessly as he failed to rediscover his previous comfortable position. She seemed to have found her own, or at the very least, one that didn't disturb her too much. The mare noticed him looking over his own well worked legs, the unicorn saying nothing as he seemed lost in thought.

As he smiled, her ears perked up ever so faintly, her stoic expression remaining unchanged as she anticipated his speech. Even after being called imposing, her face remained as static as a marble statue, the odd mare having an unbelievable poker face. It was extremely hard to determine what her specific thoughts were behind what seemed like a facade of some sort. "I don't intend to be imposing, I suppose it alienates some from me. It would require a great deal of work to appear less ominous, and I must admit that it is not an effort that merits a great deal of time investment. Regardless, I would be willing to leave in the event that your friend arrives in this particular car. Is your traveling friend on this train? Perhaps I can help you two reunite before the train reaches it's destination. It might be hard to spot them when we arrive in Stalliongrad, the weather forecasted to get much more intense before it dissipates," she politely remarked, the lights suddenly flickering off for a moment before turning back on, the train shaking roughly in the wind. Her expression remained the same at the sudden change, the unicorn not in the least perturbed from the sudden aching of the train.

"The purpose of this race is to remove the leaves from the trees in the Whitetail woods? Wouldn't it be more efficient to remove the leave with a direct force?" Asteria asked her fellow competitors as her crimson gaze glanced over her immediate surroundings. Her long black horn glowed a deep red as her magic enveloped a tree and deftly removed all the leaves from it in one swift motion. She blinked, finding the entire concept of the race a bit strange, the mare always thinking in the most utilitarian of manners. Before her thoughts could drift off on completely unrelated tangents, the unicorn paused and refocused her mind on the race at hand.

A griffon associate had explained that this event brought out many of the greatest racers in Equestria, and a great performance would serve as evidence to the speed at which she could perform her work as a courier. The initial offer was refused out of desire to retain her privacy and anonymity, but the strange black unicorn was coaxed into the race when her friend insinuated that it would be disrespectful to the runners of the race if she thought herself above the customs of the locals. And here she was, standing at the starting line of a race, surrounded by unique ponies she had never been honored to meet before.

Against the direction of her friend, the unicorn stood at the starting line while garbed in the thick weatherproof cloak that she carried around as her protection against rogue weather. She was told that it would weigh her down, and seeing very few racers garbed in any protective clothing seemed to suggest this as well. Still, the ultimate goal of this event was to release the leaves from the grip of the menacing trees that clung to hope for an extended summer. It was not set a world record time, or Celestia forbid, have a bit of fun, concepts that were both probably lost on the business minded courier. Asteria dug her hooves into the ground and thought over her training as a cross country courier, the mare knowing that speed was only relative to the distance it could be maintained. She heard a countdown slowly begin, the black mare wearing an almost somber expression on her face as her body prepared itself for the start of the race.

Her fierce crimson eyes focused on the Sweet Apple Acres off in the distance, the unicorn blocking off all other thoughts as she flicked her scarlet mane to the side. Her consciousness blocked out all other noise as she lowered herself to a proper running posture, the unicorn knowing that the race would start at any moment. As the whistle blew, the tall mare jettisoned herself off the starting blocks, her long lean legs giving her an immense stride in an attempt to get out of the parade of ponies that were clamoring for early position.