The Mysterious Mare Meets the Menacing Microfilmist? mmmmm

[Gerrard]

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.

[TemplarFrost]

Featherweight yawned, as he glided across the night sky... That was one tiring day! He had just returned from documenting drill routine at a nearby military fort. His ears, still ringing from the sheer vocal audacity of the event! Never once, had he seen a mare yell at someone for such an extended period of time! Well, besides his mother, of course! Chuckling slightly, he reached into his saddlebag to review his notes...

[colour=#8b4513]Who: Sgt. Major, Tiberia (Drill Sergeant)

When: Saturday.

Where: Royal Equestrian Army, Military Academy. Classified for security reasons. (Had to be blindfolded in order to enter)

What: Drill Routine.

Why: Training for Honor Guard Special Forces.

How: Yelling, and nearly nauseous exercise.[/colour]

Featherweight’s concentration was broken as he narrowly avoided a incoming tree-line. He would have to look this over later! Feather placed his notepad back in his carmel saddlebag, then tucked his wings in for a steep descent, the cool air whistling through his mane. He saw faint lights speckle the horizon... Feather was nearly home. Without warning, a fierce gust of wind battered the colt’s frail body, taking him completely by surprise. He careened uncontrollably across the sky, before finally stabilizing himself. Feather was panting heavily... That was a close call! He also seemed lighter somehow. Then, with a sudden pang of realization, he found that his camera was missing!

Panicking, he instantly flew down into the treeline below, to find his camera. This was bad... Really, really bad... If he had lost his camera, his master would kill him, and his murder would be on the front page of The Heartland Press! He was doomed! Feather feverishly rummaged through the undergrowth of the forest. Nothing. Then Featherweight used his hooves for a different purpose, he took his hooves, and dreadfully dragged it down his face, while letting out a prolonged groan. He slumped down on his back, cursing his horrible luck. After a while, Feather spotted a shiny metal object, perched on a low-hanging branch. His camera! Feather grabbed it with great excitement. What a close call!

He was finally flying over Ponyville, his home. Feather was keeping a sharp lookout for the Golden Oaks Library, which was near his home. Finally, he spotted it and then lowered his pitch, until his hooves touched ground, skidding. He looked up at the marvelous tree... The moonlight glanced of the top of the library. It looked beautiful as ever. After letting out a small sigh of amazement, Feather turned to head home, which was nearby. As he trotted through the desolate streets of a once-busy Ponville, he caught sight of an unusual figure... A mysterious mare, shrouded in dark robes... How odd.

Like clockwork, Featherweight dove for cover, which was a small red wagon. He drew his silver camera, ready for a picture. No doubt that the camera would make a “click” sound, so then he’d have to fly away, as fast as he could. Feather has done this routine countless times before,this was certainly nothing new to him. Nervous and sweating profusely, he slid his left hoof on the capture button, and then pressed.

Click!

The Mare instantly turned his direction.

[colour=#8b4513]Time to go![/colour]

[Gerrard]

The ears of the black mare perked up as she heard the faint clicking noise of a camera. She had been caught, and by a photographer at that. Had he taken pictures of her client as well? She wasn't entirely sure, but lives could be in danger if she didn't stop that photographer. If everyone knew that her friend Gerrard had received such a valuable tool, he would become a massive target for greedy thieves. If her own identity was posted in a newspaper, she could be outed as a secret courier and that would make her job even harder to manage.

"Sir photographer, you I am going to request that not publish any of the pictures you may have taken of my or my colleague. Doing so could cause danger to many ponies and non-ponies alike," she replied calmly, her voice showing no sign of fear or worry as she cantered along towards the tiny photographer. The unicorn didn't sound guilty, but she definitely looked suspicious, her fierce crimson eyes locked on the thin white pegasus. With a good look at her face, the young colt would be able to see her black pelt and scarlet mane, the two rare traits making her easy to identify. Her expression was rather neutral though, the unicorn seeming unassuming as she approached him.

She hoped he would hear her our, the intimidating mare not wanting to chase after a young pony. If he did decide to run off though, Featherweight would learn what was hiding beneath her cloak. Asteria ran between Aquellia and Equestria on a weekly basis and could easily be argued to be one of the most athletic unicorns around, easily able to keep pace with any earth pony and young flier. They were rather close to Ponyville and she could only hope that the whole situation resolved itself very fast. Mugging a young pony would probably look even worse than dealing with shady characters in secret, she didn't want it to come to anything like that.