[Canterlot] The Night Watch (ENDED)

[Corsair]

Bonfire was not a a pony known for holding his temper in check. It had gotten him in trouble with his superiors more than once. Not only because he tended to say things he later regretted, but also because his magic tended to rage along with his anger. Bonfire was rapidly getting to a point where he was having to hold his magic in check, lest something burst into flames. He knew his eyes were probably reflecting this struggle. The fact that he was supposed to be setting an example for the young guard pegasus with him had been completely shoved out of his mind.

"First off!" he snarled a the delivery pegasus. "My authority extends to anything that might endanger the palace, the city, or the Princesses. You two show up right at the palace walls, in the dark, and you're passing a package of who-knows-what. You won't tell me what's in that package? I have to assume the worst.

"Secondly," Bonfire turned his burning gaze to Malediction, "If you really want me to take that package 'by force' as you say, I will be more than glad to do that right now. The way I see it, you have two options. You either let me see whats in that package, OR," Bonfire paused and began to focus more of his magic into his horn, making it glow brightly, "we see what you can do with that little green flame of yours."

[ZephyrBurst]

Things were getting very heated. As Mal took the package, she challenged the guardsponies. This wasn't good, Zephyr didn't want to be in this fight, but he wouldn't be able to just leave at this point. Mal knew what was in the package... was it something incriminating though, is that why she wanted to hide it so much? That couldn't be it though, it's highly possible she simply liked her privacy.

Radiant's claim to speed wasn't a big deal, he wasn't concerned with that as he valued form over speed and shrugged at her claim.

Again, Bonfire asked about the contents of the package. This was so aggravating, Zephyr had no idea what was inside. It was beginning to get hard to control himself from yelling at the guard. His horn began to glow and he accepted Mal's challenge. These two unicorns were about to burn each other quite literally. Things were quickly getting out of hand and if a fight took place between the two, he could wind up staying in Canterlot that night, even if he was not part of it. Trying to explain this one to his boss at work would not be easy. He decided to try changing things to avoid a fight.

He hoped he wouldn't startle Radiant as she had a careful eye on him. Zephyr jumped in front of Mal between her and Bonfire.

"Wait!" Zephyr spoke loudly, trying to keep his tone calm but dire, which was hard as he was still upset. He looked Bonfire in the eyes.

"We don't need to fight! I keep TRYING to tell you that I'm simply a delivery pony. I can't tell you what's in the package because I DON'T KNOW! I don't go looking through other pony's stuff." His tone grew as he continued. It was clear by looking at Zephyr that he was feeling on edge as his breathing was visible.

"She said she's a lock smith." Zephyr glanced back at Mal only shortly as he said this and quickly looked back to Bonfire. "It's probably tools for her. It definitely weighs enough. Why not just let all this go so we can all go home... or you back to whatever it is you two do?"

[Tempest Rime]

"Oh shove off," snapped Mal. "You'd already decided I was guilty from the moment you laid eyes on me, don't try to justify it." She grinned maniacally at Bonfire and laughed. "Hahaha, you're trying to bait me into attacking you? Sorry, I know better than that. Come on, come on COME ON! Trample me beneath the IRON HOOF of the OPPRESSOR! Clearly I gave up any hope of privacy when I DARED to come within a million feet of your TYRANT! Haha, hurry up! Beat up the weak little mare! AHahaahahahHAHAHhaah"

She began to cackle madly, a disturbingly unhinged look in her eye. The anticipation was already making her giddy, and she had no intention of letting the situation calm back down after it had already escalated this far. She glared at the delivery pony, still grinning madly. "What, are you chicken?!"

[RarityDash]

'That's it! I will not stand for this any longer!" Radiant shouted. She had wanted to control herself in front of Bonfire. She had wanted to act cool and think everything through, but she just couldn't anymore. She could not temper her rage any longer. It had all boiled over. She could not hate the unicorn more than she did in that moment. She felt as if the Royal Guard, Celestia and her very honor were being trampled upon with every word the unicorn spoke.

The mail carrier had thrust himself between the detestable unicorn and the sergeant, wanting to prevent confrontation. It was too late for that as far as Radiant was concerned. She was beyond the point of finding a peaceful resolution. She wanted to make the unicorn pay for the things she had said. Her wings spread to full span. She kicked at the found at her feet and then took off.

At full speed, she flew straight toward the unicorn intent on tackling her to the ground.

[Corsair]

Bonfire felt as if he'd been doused in cold water; his willingness to get into a magical fight with Malediction had evaporated. The pegasus courier seemed to be close to panic at this point. This point a point towards his innocence in this whole mess, but that was not what had changed Bonfire's mind. This unicorn, with her strange green flame, was not just some trouble maker with a grudge against the Princesses, she was CRAZY! The lock-you-up-in-a-hospital kind of crazy. She seemed to WANT him to fight her, just to prove some insane point about how Celestia was a tyrant!

Bonfire started thinking quickly. He needed to figure out how best to contain this madpony. She obviously some kind of he... Bonfire suddenly caught something out of the corner of his eye, a white and gold streak. No, she wouldn't... Bonfire thought of the argument he'd come upon at the start of all this. Yes, she would. He reached out desperately with his magic to try and grab the charging pegasus. "Radiant, STOP!" he ordered.

[ZephyrBurst]

Things happened so fast after Zephyr jumped between the two heated unicorns. The mare behind him began laughing and provoking the two guard ponies in a maniacal tone. She was beginning to get scary. Even though the red unicorn in front him looked as if he began to calm down, the tense feeling in the air didn't subside. Mal was crazy and he appeared to be guarding her and then there was Radiant...

"That's it! I will not stand for this any longer!"

Zephyr knew what that meant. Things suddenly got worse and he didn't want a fight to start or anypony getting hurt. Radiant charged at Mal at a furious speed. Quite impressive in the armor she wore. Zephyr didn't know what would happen if she tackled the small unicorn behind him. He had no intent to protect Mal, but he didn't want to find out what would happen if the situation escalated. He got himself as ready as possible in the small window of opportunity given to him, and tackled Radiant as she ran by, with only the intent to knock her off course. This isn't what happened, and instead, muscle memory took over and he grappled Radiant as she went by.

Radiant was stronger than she looked. His intent worked and Radiant was knocked offset from Mal as Zephyr grappled her. She lost her balance and tumbled. With her speed and momentum, she kept going and Zephyr came with the tumble. They both rolled a few times before stopping and Zephyr ended up beside her as he lost his grip mid-tumble.

[Tempest Rime]

Mal frowned. She wasn't in the fray herself, which was disappointing to be sure, but at least there was a fight. She was a little surprised that the delivery pony had jumped in for her, it was more than most ponies would do. Unfortunately, it left her at a bit of a loss for what her next move should be.

The giddy feeling didn't do much to help her think, either. She desperately wanted to call up a shower of flame to spray over everyone in range, but her good sense still managed to maintain control. A triple-equicide was an awfully difficult thing to cover up, and... she'd almost kind of feel bad about killing the misguided pegasus who was actually trying to help.

She sighed in exasperation. Well, even if she had no excuse to get into the fight itself, it would at least be more interesting to watch than anything else she'd had planned. She glanced towards the other unicorn, but he too seemed focused on the two pegasi for now. She sat down and watched the other ponies impassively for the moment, though she kept an eye out in case they decided to bring the fight close enough to include her.

[RarityDash]

Radiant was furious at how the events had unfolded. This damn pegasus had got in her way! She growled harshly as she got back on her hooves after they had tumbled to the ground. She stomped her hooves as she glared at the stallion, unable to contain her temper. "Stay out of my way! That pony deserves to be taught a lesson!"

She turned her head toward Bonfire, who had tried to stop her himself, and gave another furious stomp, "You have to agree with me, sir! This pony is the worst sort! In the name of Celestia, she deserves punishment!"

Radiant's eyes darted back to the mail carrier; she stayed on her guard in case he was truly interested in a fight. Her problem wasn't with this pony, as annoying as he was proving. He was just an obstacle in between her and the object of her rage.

[Corsair]

As Bonfire's magical grip began to tighten on the irate pegasus guard, the courier pegasus suddenly blurred into motion and tackled Radiant. Bonfire watched as the two ponies tumbled over one another until finally coming to a halt. Bonfire shook off a moment of shock and once again took stock of the situation. Radiant and the courier were down, but appeared to be uninjured. Had the pegasus protecting his accomplice, or was he actually trying to help the situation? It was hard to tell. Meanwhile, the insane unicorn had stopped raving for a moment, but somehow looked disappointed that she hadn't been successfully attacked yet.

Radiant shot to her hooves, and pushed the courier pegasus out of the way. "You have to agree with me, sir! This pony is the worst sort! In the name of Celestia, she deserves punishment!" she yelled at him.

"Stand down, Guardspony!" Bonfire shouted at the irate pegasus. He didn't know what had gotten into the young pegasus' head. She should know better than to attack a unicorn with no magic of her own. Who knows what this crazy pony could do? It was ironic that moments ago, Bonfire had been ready to fight Malediction himself, and now he had to try to defuse this situation. At this point he really only had one option.

He stepped back to address the two suspects. "By the authority of Her Royal Highness, Princess Celestia, I am placing both of you under arrest; for interfering in the duties of a Royal Guard, and suspicion of contraband smuggling." Bonfire focused briefly, and shot a pair of flares into the air above the castle wall. That should bring in reinforcements from the other guards on duty. "Radiant Steel," he called to her, "Secure the pegasus until backup arrives." The unicorn then turned to Malediction, readying a spell. "Come along quietly, or I will take you in by force," he growled, menacingly.

((OOC: Sorry for taking so long guys. New temp job is soul-suckingly boring, and I've not had too much inspiration to write this past week. ))

[ZephyrBurst]

Zephyr had gotten to his hooves a bit slower than Radiant did and prepared himself in case she tried to fight. Zephyr knew what it meant to strike a guard, but that thought had escaped his mind at the time. He kept himself between Mal and Radiant, wings spread, watching her closely for any movement. He was calm a moment ago, but the Radiant's actions had riled up his nerves.

"Stay out of my way! That pony deserves to be taught a lesson!"

Zephyr flashed back momentarily to Max, who he had beaten up simply over words. It was a mistake and this was no different to him. The unicorn behind him was definitely crazy, but perhaps there was a reason for her madness. Zephyr shot back a quick response.

"You're gonna have to get thr..." He was cut off by Bonfire's shout, "Stand down, Guardspony!"

Zephyr knew the pegasus would do as told, and decided it safe to turn his attention to Bonfire. 'Wonder what great speech he's going to have this time or how he would throw his authority around on others.' What was said wasn't what Zephyr thought. His wings snapped back to his side and a terrifying dread came over him at the mention of arrest. Just then, a flare was shot into the sky from Bonfire's horn. Zephyr had seen that in Manehatten. It was a signal for back up.

"Radiant Steel, secure the pegasus until backup arrives."

Zephyr quickly brought his attention back to Radiant. He was not about to let some guardspony put their hooves on him. He knew his arrest was immanent, but Zephyr panicked. He returned to his defensive stance, ready to keep Radiant from restraining him and growled at her.

"Don't you DARE touch me! Arrest me if that's what you feel your self-righteousness desires, but you will NOT lay your dirty hooves on me!" He kept a piercing glare on Radiant, sending her an unspoken message to keep away. Zephyr was frightened and angry. Scared of being incarcerated and questioned. This was one of his fears during his times in Manehattan. He was always able to manage to escape then, but things were different here. He couldn't just fly away.

((OOC: It's all good Corsair. Though I think I was starting to anticipate your post more than Season 2. ))

[Tempest Rime]

"Ooohhhh, yesss, I deserve to be punisssshed," Mal hissed at Radiant, scornfully. "After all, I'm certainly guilty of the unspeakable crime of criticizing our Glorious Overlord. What's the punishment for that, nowadays? Death by torture, perhaps? Banishment to the moon is so last millennium."

Having made a final jeer at the pegasus guard, she sauntered towards the delivery pony, getting quite close while he eyed the guard. She whispered, "No good deed goes unpunished, Don Juan" in his ear, and grinned sardonically before stepping past him and towards Bonfire.

"Well, I suppose I can't exactly stop you from arresting me, but I really don't like people going through my mail. So I'm going to open it myself before you get the chance." She pulled the package open and pulled out the book within. "Hmm, Energetic Geometry in Aetheric Forms. This one's gonna be a dry read, I can tell already. That is, unless a simple book on magical theory is now 'contraband.'"

She set the book aside and stepped closer, walking towards the other unicorn with a sneer plastered across her face. "Anyway, I don't plan on being quiet while you drones oppress me. And I know you'd just looove to use force, so don't let my lack of overt resistance stop you. After all, you can just say I resisted and you had no choice. And what's a few bruises on a mare who's already a patchwork of scars, right? And you clearly know best, anyway." Though she made no move to attack, she kept stalking closer and closer to Bonfire, testing to see just how close she could get before he lashed out.

[RarityDash]

Radiant shot one more angry glare at Malediction before deciding to follow Bonfire's orders. Her fight was with this unicorn, but she was more than a little angered by this pegasus as well. He was getting in her way after all.

She heard the unicorn blathering on about whatever. Apparently the parcel wasn't contraband, but instead some book. It wasn't like it mattered though. The first charge Bonfire had announced, interfering with the duties of the Royal Guard, would definitely hold up. There was no doubt these ponies were purposely defying them. Radiant was ready to make an arrest.

"Yes, sir!" she responded to Bonfire as she stared Zephyr down and stepped toward him.

"Don't make any sudden moves!" said Radiant to the pegasus. "Calm down and come quietly or I will be forced to get physical."

[Corsair]

Ponies tended to react in certain ways to being arrested. The courier (Bonfire still hadn't gotten his name during this whole time) appeared to be panicking. He was trying to hide it behind brave words, but Bonfire could see the whites around the pegasus' eyes. He still was not sure what the stallion's motive was in this whole mess, but the attitude was not helping matters.

"Consider yourself lucky I'm not charging you with assault on a Royal Guard," Bonfire snapped at him. "Cooperate, and we won't have to add that on."

Malediction, however, didn't respond in a normal fashion. Her haughty attitude returned, and she suddenly pulled the mystery package out of her bags before Bonfire could react. It was... a book. A magical theory book like the students at the Gifted Unicorns school would use. This? THIS was what she had been so eager to hide?? But Malediction went on with her rant, talking about how she expected to be beaten and silenced for her insane beliefs.

Now Bonfire thought he had her number. Anytime she was threatened, it seemed to feed into the unicorn's paranoia. She fully believed she'd be silenced for her views. Bonfire put a pitying look on his face, and a sympathetic tone in his voice. "You poor pony," he said, shaking his head. "You really believe all that, don't you? Don't worry, I'm sure when Princess Celestia hears about this, she'll want to see to your care personally. Some of the best doctors in Equestria live here in Canterlot. They'll be able to help you." Bonfire turned away quickly so that Malediction could not see the smirk on his face.

[ZephyrBurst]

The unicorn mare passed by and whispered something to him. "No good deed goes unpunished, Don Juan." Zephyr tried to ignore it as he didn't know what she meant. His eyes were fixed on Radiant, waiting for her to make a move. If she got close, Zephyr would strike. He wasn't about to just let her restrain him. He felt it was unnecessary when he was willing to come along on his own.

"Consider yourself lucky I'm not charging you with assault on a Royal Guard. Cooperate, and we won't have to add that on." The male guardspony was right about that. It had already crossed his mind as well. Zephyr still kept his eyes pinned to Radiant even as Bonfire addressed him. She would not get the jump on him.

He snarled at Radiant. "Calm down?!... I've just told you I would cooperate as long as you keep your hooves off me. I'm telling you that if you touch me, then I'LL get physical! You sound as if you want it to happen." He was still riled up from the turn in the situation. Reason told Zephyr that what he was doing was making things worse, but that thought was so hard to latch onto at this time. Now he felt he had no choice but to continue on his current course. He would stand defiant. Zephyr lowered his head a little, readying himself as he was sure the pegasus would strike at this point.

Reason was still there and he spoke calmer, though still glared at Radiant. "So what's it going to be?"

[Tempest Rime]

Mal continued walking slowly towards Bonfire as the pegasus ponies bickered. Then the other unicorn said something that froze her in her tracks. She looked aghast and took a step backwards and gulped, her prideful attitude vanishing instantly, replaced with fear.

"WHAT!? No... You wouldn't... You can't. I won't let you! I'll die first!" Panic shone in her eyes and she turned to flee, but she was too late, as the other guards on duty had wasted no time in responding to the flares, and they were right next to the castle, after all. Mal stopped short as another pegasus guard closed off her path of escape, and more guards began to file in from the street. She darted back towards the green pegasus.

"S-STAY BACK!" She yelped, a few tears forming in the corners of her eyes. "You can't do this! I didn't even do anything wrong! I... I was just messing around, I don't want to be brainwashed." Fear overcame anger, and though she tried to conjure up flame to defend herself, she found her emotional reserves too low to summon up more than an ember of cold, emerald flame, which she waved in front of herself defensively.

[RarityDash]

Radiant smirked. She supposed the other pegasus had a point. She did want it to happen. She wanted to hit something. That unicorn had offended her every sensibility so badly that she just wanted to strike something to let out her anger. Though the unicorn was still the top candidate for that something, this pony was pretty high up on that particular list as well.

Yet as much as Radiant wanted it, striking this pony unprovoked would reflect badly on her and the guard. If he wasn't going to act, she couldn't. That was that. She mustered every ounce of her restraint to keep things civil.

"You hardly sound cooperative," Radiant barked at the pegasus. "Me telling you to calm down is hardly unreasonable when you're so worked up."

The guard pegasus took a few steps toward the stallion.

"But if you truly intend to cooperate, prove it and come quietly," said Radiant with a slow nod and a bit of a snarl.

Radiant seemed to notice some other guard ponies showing up about then to back them up. Things were about to be wrapped up it seemed. Though with that, the chances of her being able to find a suitable target for her anger were reducing significantly. For this, Radiant Steel was not pleased.

[Corsair]

Bonfire stepped back from Malediction as the other members of the guard began to arrive. He glanced back to the unicorn smugly as her haughty facade broke down. She veinly tried to fend off the arresting guards, but in her panic she could only wave a ball of her odd green flame around. Two unicorn guards approached her, horns glowing, and even that flame was snuffed out.

Certain unicorns among the guard had a spell that could suppress the magic of another unicorn. The spell took a lot of concentration and energy, however, and was something Bonfire himself had never mastered. These two unicorns would hold the spell on Malediction until they could reach the cells in the palace, where enchantments in the cells could perform that same function.

Bonfire spotted a winged shape descending on the scene. It was a young pegasus, wearing slightly more elaborate armor than the other guards. The on-duty Lieutenant landed in front of Bonfire, demanding explanations. The red unicorn began explaining the events of the evening to the young officer, but he downplayed Radiant's attempted attack on Malediction, not wishing the young guard to get into trouble.

As Bonfire and the Lieutenant conferred, they realized that there was not much to hold the two ponies on. They would most likely spend the rest of the night in a cell, and be released in the morning. Bonfire wasn't happy with that, but the law was the law. He did not trust Malediction, but she'd committed no serious crimes that they knew of.

As the Lieutenant moved off, Bonfire focused on Radiant. She still looked as though she was ready to charge Malediction, or the courier, or anypony that got in her way. Seeing that the other guards could take custody of the suspect pegasus, he called out to her. "Guardspony Radiant Steel. I'd like to have a word with you."

[ZephyrBurst]

That pegasus guard still didn't get it. He was willing to come quietly, but she refused to agree to his terms of going unshackled. She was aggravating at best and he so wished he could knock that point into her head. He was starting to feel better about tackling her earlier. The mood had changed however, as more pegasus guards began to swarm down and close off any exit point, some even hovered in the air to keep any would-be fliers from escaping. Zephyr's anger rose, but fear had started to creep in as well. He just needed to remain calm, they would only keep him overnight right? They wouldn't ask about his past, would they know about that? Are there unicorns that can read minds? He started to get paranoid.

Just then, the blue unicorn had gotten upset. His attention was broken from Radiant as he watched Malediction run about and eventually end up next to him. What had that red unicorn... Bonfire was his name, said to her to get her so worked up. She screamed about not wanting to be brainwashed. Had Bonfire really threatened her with that? Could they even do something like that? Mal was scared and had even started to cry. The unicorn from before that scorned and taunted the guards with piercing words was no longer there, but replaced by this poor frightened blue mass. Zephyr felt sorry for her, she was even more scared than he was. She seemed much smarter than him and must know something he didn't, which frightened him more. Zephyr wasn't familiar with what went on when somepony was arrested.

The guardsponies all kept their distance for the moment while Bonfire had spoken with another pegasus wearing armor that looked to be worth more than everything Zephyr had ever owned. All these privileged high class ponies, it upset Zephyr. He was torn between wanting to stay compliant, and his fear and anger which said to strike anything within reach. He looked back to Mal, who was still very frightened and on the verge of a breakdown, he decided he had better try to stay calm.

Everything was fine until Bonfire spoke to Radiant and asked for her attention. At that same moment, a pegasus guard had come closer to the two ponies being apprehended. He caught the movement of the guard out of the corner of his eye, reason said to remain calm, but fear and panic took over. Whatever this unicorn was so scared of, he wanted no part in it. Without provocation, Zephyr lunged at the pegasus guard and body checked the guard hard, sending the unprepared pony back. "Stay back!" He shouted at the guard. His action alarmed another guard behind him, but Zephyr heard the hoof steps. The guard must have started the moment Zephyr made a move, for the guardspony was close. Zephyr had his weight shifted forward after his lunge, and in a fairly graceful manner, reared low and bucked the oncoming guard in the chest. Zephyr's senses awoke and he found himself completely on guard as the pegasus he first lunged at tried to tackle him down, but Zephyr ducked to the side and body checked the guard from the side this time. His fur stood on end and his heart pounded in his chest. There was no way out of this and that thought had cemented as he felt a sharp pain in his side which left him with his hooves to his side. The guardponies were actually very coordinated and the moment Zephyr hit the ground, he was pinned by two others and struck again. Zephyr was told to stay down from an angry source, not that he had any choice in the decision any longer. Whoever had struck him, hit him hard. He would feel that later and would definitely bruise.

Fear overpowered his anger now. With how scared Mal had been, he could only imagine what would lay in store for him. He silently cursed his panic induced actions as he laid helpless before the guards.

[Tempest Rime]

As the guards closed in, Mal's perceived island of safety shrank rapidly. Then she felt a strange pressure, like something was pressing on her horn. She recognized the feeling immediately as a suppression spell. The guards in Trottingham had used it on her multiple times when they'd caught her vandalizing things. It relied on metaphysical brute force, something Mal had in spades. She could tell immediately that she could have easily shattered the spelled on a good day. Unfortunately, her poor mental state meant that her power was currently at its nadir, she couldn't muster up an ounce of anger to power her flames, and they were snuffed out.

Then the delivery pony assaulted a guard. With no magic and no confidence, Mal's higher thoughts shut down and she reacted purely on instinct. She bolted, aiming for the nearest gap in the guards. They had been expecting it, however, and they tackled her with ease. She screamed and thrashed, making a cacophony as she did so, but she wasn't trained in escaping holds, and she was not anywhere near strong enough to they the guards any trouble. She did, however, continue to scream, in spit of the fact that most of the local buildings were administrative, and there would thus not be anypony there to help her. She was beyond reason, and screaming was the only recourse left to her.

"DOES ANYPONY KNOW A QUIETING SPELL?" Yelled one of the guards over the din as he held her down, but the unicorns were busy holding the suppression spell, and couldn't silence her without letting up on it.

[RarityDash]

Radiant watched as the other guards seemed to handle things. Bonfire went to discuss things with a lieutenant while the two criminal ponies were cornered. Bonfire then returned and called her to attention while the guards went to apprehend the othe two ponies.

The pegasus stallion seemed to go down fighting, the other guards pinning and striking at him. Meanwhile, the unicorn was screaming sharply as she was cornered and arrested. Radiant was a little disappointed she wasn't going to get a hoof on either of them herself, but Bonfire had called to her and she wasn't going to disobey a superior's orders. She needed to be obedient now to avoid being reprimanded. She really wanted to avoid having to deal with her father should a mark against her be placed on her record.

"Yes sir, Sergeant Bonfire, sir," Radiant started dutifully, trotting towards the stallion, the screams of the rogue unicorn still audible in the background. "What do you wish to discuss?"

[Corsair]

"Hold that thought, Private." Bonfire said to Radiant, looking back at the assembled guards. He had thought the two trouble-makers were subdued, but now it was taking three to four guards each to keep them still. And Malediction was screaming incoherently. Bonfire definitely felt like these two ponies needed to be scared down a peg or two, but blind panic was just going to get somepony hurt.

Maybe he'd over-done it on Malediction? Nah... But it seemed that her panic was inciting the pegasus to panic as well. Bonfire thought briefly about her green flame (why was that so familiar??) and her cutie mark that also depicted that flame. Her magical talent seemed very similar to his own, and this gave him an idea. Something his mother had done to help him focus his emotions as a foal.

With a flare of magic from his horn, he created a small, intense, white flame in front of Malediction's eyes, and made it slowly rotate. Many ponies had an instinctual fear of flame, a remnant from when their ancient ancestors had lived in herds in dry grassland areas. But for a unicorn with an affinity for flame, a fire could be a comforting presence. Hopefully, this would at least distract Malediction and stop the screaming.

Now, Bonfire turned back to Radiant Steel. The young pegasus still looked like she wanted to kick somepony. "Private, you see this horn?" he growled, gesturing to his forehead. "That horn means unicorn, in case you forgot basic pony anatomy. Unicorn means Magic. That unicorn over there could have probably burned you to a crisp. What the HAY were you thinking, charging in there like a like a foal??" Bonfire got up into the face of the pegasus mare. "What was the FIRST thing I said to you tonight??" he asked her forcefully, trying to keep his voice pitched low. "I don't care how much you feel you need to defend the Princess' honor, getting into a brawl over it is the LAST thing she would want!. You're LUCKY I don't put you on report for that little stunt!"

Bonfire took a couple of deep breaths, stepped back, and composed himself. "But you know what?" he asked Radiant, in a calmer tone. "I didn't tell the Lieutenant about that. You obviously have your loyalties in the right place, and I know what it's like to loose your temper. Trust me on that. That unicorn almost got to me as well." he admitted. "Now, you calm down, then we'll see these pains-in-the-flank to a cell for the night."

((Seems like the thread is coming to an end, might want to think about wrapping up in the next few posts.))

[Tempest Rime]

The flame did serve to snap Mal back to reality, but for a rather different reason. Her own flames burned cold, and the palpable heat from his flame caused her to flinch. Returning to her senses for a moment, and she blinked back tears to shoot a murderous stare at Bonfire. She spat in his direction before speaking, her voice gravelly and ragged from the screaming.

"Buck you, you snide, self-righteous sack of manure. If the stick were crammed any further up your flank you'd choke to death on it. A pox on you and your family, may your skin rot and your eyes fall out!" She took a few deep, ragged breaths, before calming down. "Get your pathetic little spark out of my face," she snapped as the guards dragged her away. Still, the fight had gone out of her, and she bade her time, conserving her strength for what might be coming later on.

[ZephyrBurst]

The guards didn't waste any time bounding Zephyr's wings. After his stunt, two guards remained at his sides constantly and kept a tight watch on him in case he tried lashing out again. Zephyr had no intent to do so, any other actions to resist would be wasteful and only result in him being struck again. He had nothing against the other guards anyway and felt he was rightfully struck after what he had done. His thoughts and anger were focused squarely on Bonfire, whom he had more to say to. However, there was nothing to say, Malediction had delivered what he had in mind far better than he could ever say, though far more extreme. Linguistics were not his specialty in the slightest. If he wasn't so angry at Bonfire for their unfair treatment, he would have disagreed with going as far as she had stated it.

As he was being dragged away by the guards, what Bonfire said to Radiant bugged him. It felt incredibly condescending and even though it was not aimed at him, he felt somehow insulted by it. He was brought right by Radiant, and looked straight at her...

"Private, you see these wings?" He said mocking Bonfire's tone and voice. "These wings mean pegasus, in case you forgot basic pony anatomy. Wings mean Flight." Zephyr changed his tone to a more dire one. "You should never let anypony talk down to you like that, even if they outrank you, or whatever. Nopony deserves to be treated how he's treating you. He's no better."

Zephyr turned away after he spoke to Radiant and complied with the guards... for now.

[RarityDash]

Radiant listened to what the other pegasus and the sergeant said to her, while ignoring the mad babbling of the unicorn Malediction as she was carried away. She had to say she agreed with the pegasus' words to an extent. What Bonfire said was rubbing her the wrong way. Unicorn magic was beautiful to her. It reminded her of her mother. However, Radiant was still a proud pegasus. The sergeant seemed to be saying unicorns were somehow superior, that a pegasus could never hope to defeat one in a fight. In Radiant's eyes, this was absurd.

"I understand your concern, sir, and I do appreciate what you've done for me," Radiant started tersely, trying to still be respectful even as she was offended. "However, I think you are overstating things. unicorn magic can indeed be powerful, but we pegasi are not so fragile. The result of a clash between the two is not so evident as you say."

[Corsair]

As Radiant Steel turned away, Bonfire brought a hoof up to rub his eyes. He had been tired before this whole mess had started, but now he was tired AND had splitting headache. With a thought, he dismissed the flame in front of Malediction and felt the magic disperse from his horn.

Magic. Radiant really seemed to have taken his comment about magic personally. That arrogant pegasus courier hadn’t helped with his smart remarks, but still. Bonfire had not meant that unicorns were superior or anything, it was just common sense to his combat-trained mind. You combat magic with magic. If you don’t have magic, you have to hit the unicorn when they did not expect it, not when they are staring you in the face. Malediction was obviously out of her mind; who knows what a crazy pony could be capable of when attacked? Bonfire considered talking to Radiant again, but in her current mood he doubted she’d be receptive to his comments. For now, even if she didn’t like his words, hopefully they’d make her think twice about flying headlong into fights.

The unicorn turned his attention back to the prisoners. The pegasus had earned himself at least a week in the dungeon now, after resisting arrest the way that he had. Malediction, as much as he hated it, would probably still be out by tomorrow afternoon. Nothing she’d done allowed him to hold her longer than that. No matter what the crazy unicorn thought, Princess Celestia’s laws were clear, but fair.

Finally taking the hoof away from his eyes, Bonfire looked up into the night sky. The moon showed that it was just past midnight. The unicorn groaned. That meant that he still had half the watch to go, when all he wanted was to get back to his quarters. Most of that time would probably be spent on the paperwork needed to arrest these trouble-makers too. He looked over at the guards holding the two prisoners and gestured with his horn. They began moving toward the palace guard house with Bonfire following. The two unicorn guards were still holding the suppression spell on Malediction. They’d hold the spell until the unicorn was escorted to the dungeon cells, which were warded to prevent the use of unicorn magic. Bonfire hated going down there himself; being cut off from his magic always made him feel like he was freezing.

Bonfire tallied up the night in his head: two ponies in custody, one pegasus guard who thought he was a bigot, four hours of paperwork, and one whopper of a headache from the whole thing. The next time somepony asked him to take this night watch, Bonfire would tell him where they could stick it.