[Canterlot] Spectres of Canterlot [Closed: Dunder and PyroBlaze]

[Dunder]

Celestia's sun had given way to Luna's moon hours ago. Most ponies were in their homes. Asleep after a long day of hard work. Or if the pony was a noble, a lack thereof. However, for the weary traveler Dunder Blust, he had slept on his train ride to Canterlot so there was no point in him going to his friend's house to crash out for the night. Instead, a relaxing trot throughout the beautifully crafted city would be more his speed at the moment. One good thing about having a close friend in Canterlot meant he only had to bring a sword. No saddlebags. And this time he chose a longsword.

The night air chilled him to the bone as it whipped through dimly lit streets and between buildings. Over the wind, Dunder could hear his own hooves click-clacking against the road. The city felt so lonely at night, not even a single pony seemed to be out. He knew of at least one part of Canterlot that was bursting with night-life. But this place felt eerily empty despite all the ponies living inside of the buildings he trotted past.

Unbeknown to him, the building he was trotting next to was actually bursting with activity. Soon, though, this would make itself apparent to him.

[PyroBlaze]

This heist was going well so far. Xan had yet to run into trouble as he navigated the building. While this made the job a little boring, it was better than being chased by guards. Quiet jobs were better anyways, easier to get away with it. He froze in place as he heard the tell-tale clopping of somepony approaching. Looked like his job was about to get a little less quiet. Oh well, it was good while it lasted.

"Ugh, why am I always the one to get stuck on late night watch? Nothing ever happens here at night. Probably why they only have one of us doing this." A voice said from around the next corner. Xan hid himself just before the guard came around the bend. He waited until said guard had passed before exiting his spot and continuing on his way. If what he heard was true, he would only have to watch out for one pony. Good, that meant he was in the clear until that guard came back around. Still being as silent as he could, and while watching out for any automated security that could be around, Xan moved closer and closer to his goal. When he made it to the target, he carefully checked for traps before swiping the item and putting it away in his cloak. It really wasn't a very big item, it fit into the pocket he had for such things with room to spare.

Xan walked off after that, approaching the spot he came in through and climbing out the window. He flew down to the ground, threw his hood off his head, and looked around to make sure he was alone. His eyes locked onto a muscular Pegasus stallion, and the longsword he was carrying, and stayed there for a bit. Of course he came out as another pony was there. Xan, breaking the stare, threw his hood back over his head and walked away as nonchalantly as he could. Hopefully this stallion would think nothing much of him appearing on the road from the second story of that building.

[Dunder]

Dunder was jolted to attention when a shadowy figure fell from the building in front of him. On the road it landed, a figure wrapped in a cloak. Dunder's heart began thundering as adrenaline started to speed up his heart rate and heighten his senses. He was still as he watched the figure pull down his hood to reveal it was just a stallion. The tenseness in the air seemed to subside a little bit when Dunder was able to put a face on the figure, but the cold and emotionless locking of eyes put Dunder back on edge.

It sounded like something out of a mystery novel. Only making Dunder think more and more that he was not supposed to have seen what he just saw.

A cloaked figure jumping out of a building in the dead of night in a quiet part of the city? Things started to smell fishy to the pegasus stallion. And he needed answers for such odd behavior. As the cloaked stallion put on his hood and started to trot away, Dunder began to follow, matching the pace of the other pony. "Hey! Stop where you are!" Dunder called after.

[PyroBlaze]

Xan cursed silently as the other Pegasus began to follow after him. Of course he couldn't get lucky and have this stallion leave him alone. While obviously not a guard, or at least not one on duty, this stallion was probably of the mindset that what Xan did for a living was wrong. He walked on in silence, speeding up slightly as the stallion called out to him.

He didn't have the patience to deal with the stallion, so he ignored the command to stop and kept on going instead. Where to go though? He couldn't really go to his client's house, not unless he wanted to lose a possible source for future work. He didn't know Canterlot all that well either, not many jobs brought him to the city, let alone this part of it. Most jobs here had him in the part of town where the rich lived.

He didn't even have to look behind him to tell that the stallion was still following him. He could hear his pursuer's hoofsteps on the road. This was just great. This job had been going so well until he ran into this little snag. What to do, what to do. For now, Xan continued along the street, not really sure where he was actually going.

[Dunder]

In fact, Dunder heard of a thieves guild existing inside of Canterlot. He always shrugged it off as myths, large organizations like that would probably be riddled with rats and cut throats. Celestia's light is much more warming than living in the dark and shadows waiting for the next opportunity to swipe another's property for bits.

Either the stallions didn't share a common language, the cloaked pony was deaf, or he was up to something. Dunder knew which one of those was most likely and waht that meant. To clear some ground faster, Dunder jumped into the air and began to flap his wings to close the distance between himself and this suspicious stallion. His wing flaps could be heard, so he called out one more time. "I said stop where you are! Stop moving and get on the ground!" Dunder called out, his voice loud and commanding.

If this pony decided to take off, Dunder would be in hot pursuit. His lack of bags made him lighter and more aerodynamic. He could feel his heart thundering as well as the tenseness in the air. All that needed to happen was a spark to set off the powder keg.

[PyroBlaze]

Ugh, this guy was still following him. He'd have to either take care of him, or lose him. The first option sounded like more fun, but he knew losing the Pegasus was probably a better option. Just how to do it. There's supposed to be some kind of thieves guild in Canterlot, they'd no doubt help fight off this Pegasus. The only problem being, he didn't know where the guild's base was.

Great, now his pursuer was taking to the air. Xan was probably faster, but adding in his gear, and the other Pegasus' lack thereof, it would be up in the air as to who could move faster at the moment. He was used to flying in full gear though, so it wasn't too much of a problem for him.

Xan once again ignored the stallion's commands to stop. He raised an eyebrow at the command to get on the ground. Ironic, given that the Pegasus was the one not touching the ground at all right then. Xan continued on his way, speeding up slightly once again. He slowly pulled away from the stallion, and turned around a corner as soon as he felt he was far enough away. He broke into a gallop as soon as he was out of the stallion's sight, using his momentum to launch him into speedy flight. He flew as fast as he could, taking another turn as soon as he could. Better to stay down between buildings, make it harder for the stallion to spot him.

[Dunder]

This cloaked stallion being winged only made Dunder's life harder. For a moment Dunder considered giving up the chase, but not only was this exhilarating but he was more than certain that this stallion was hiding something less-than-lawful. The old days of wanting to be a guard were returning to Dunder, but as far as he was concerned the guard weren't going to be showing up anytime soon. As far as he knew the guard had been bought off.

Dunder closed the distance quickly with his wings, but not quickly enough. A quick turn around the corner and the cloaked stallion broke off into a gallop. Dunder sped up his wing flaps and straightened his body out to create the least amount of drag as possible. The chase was on!

Dunder sped up to catch up while the cloaked pony took to the air. Unfortunately for Dunder, this pony was smart enough to stay low and weave through the buildings. Dunder did his best to keep up, but the cloaked pony had coloring and speed on his side. Quick turns and dark corners led Dunder to losing the pony. But that didn't mean Dunder would give up.

Frantically, he began to fly, trying to predict the trajectory of the escapee to hopefully catch up and find him again.

[PyroBlaze]

Xan had no idea where he was going, but the sounds of his pursuer were falling further and further behind him. Good, he was losing that Pegasus. He took turns whenever he could, hoping to get this stallion off his trail. It certainly seemed to be working. He turned another corner and sped up again. He had to slide around the corners, taking them at this speed while flying would require much more room to turn than these buildings allowed.

He slowed slightly when there were no longer any signs of his pursuer. He was still flying pretty fast, but he had slowed down enough that he could take the corners without worrying about hitting the buildings. Maybe now he should head to the client's house. Of course that would be much easier to do if he knew where he was. He had to get rid of this thing at some point, he had no use for it. He looked around at his surroundings, but he still didn't recognize this part of town.

No doubt he'd have to get above the buildings to really figure out where he was. He knew he should wait until he was sure he was in the clear before doing that, so he stayed down between the buildings. This whole area seemed deserted, though that could just be due to the late hour.

[Dunder]

Dunder could only take educated guesses, some more educated than others, to see if he could find where this pony had escaped to. He had to think like a roach scurrying away from danger. His turns and frantic scanning of the area led him to a part of town where the lights seemed to die out. Of course a criminal would come here to hide, as far as he knew more criminals like him could be waiting around for an ambush. Dunder was just one pony after all. He slowed down a bit to watch the surroundings and make sure his sword was still on his side.

He picked up speed again. All he could hear was the wind whipping past his ears while he traversed the moonlit landscape from the air. He had given up searching over the buildings and predicted that the cloaked pony was too smart to fly up and risk getting spotted again. For a moment, Dunder considered to bring the guard into this, but this was much, much more fun to handle on his own.

While in mid thought, Dunder turned a corner and sped down the way.. Right as he prepared to take another corner, SLAM! His speed made him broadside something that was flying down the way perpendicular to his own path. Instinctively, Dunder embraced it in his forehooves in a sort of tackle. The force of the impact sent them both crashing through a window. But even after they both crashed through, did the breaking stop. The window they came through was sealed as some wood and rubble crashed down to cover it.

They both landed in an empty room with a big skylight roof that let the moonlight fill up their surroundings. Dunder was jarred from the impact, laying on the floor, caughing, tired, and dazed.

[PyroBlaze]

Now he was actively picking his turns, instead of taking almost every one he came across. He took a turn and continued on, speeding up on the straights and slowing down for the corners. There was still no sign of the stallion, which was good, but he still should wait a bit before checking above the buildings to determine his location. He took another turn and sped along the road, quickly approaching another intersection. Wait, what was that coming towards him?

He tried to speed up to clear the intersection before he got hit, but he wasn't fast enough. The object crashed into him, and he let out a grunt from the impact before immediately trying to twist away from it. It wasn't until forehooves wrapped around him, preventing his escape, that he realized the object was the stallion from before. Great, looks like losing him had failed. On to taking care of him.

Xan grunted again as he crashed through a window. As soon as he was free from the stallion's tackle, he rolled to his hooves and looked at the window they had come through. It was blocked by debris, of course. The other stallion was on the ground still coughing. Xan pulled out his sword, preparing to end this duel before it began.

[Dunder]

Dunder was laying on the ground. His head was spinning and he was struggling to get his senses and get himself on his hooves. He coughed a couple more times just before hearing the rasp of a blade exiting the scabbard. In a sudden rush, Dunder was back to being on guard.

In a flash, Dunder pushed himself up with the aid of his wings to a standing position on his hindlegs. Mid-jump, heinstinctively grabbed the handle of the longsword and summoned the sword from its scabbard. After, he used the momentum of the drawing to aim a cut at anything unlucky enough to be in its arc.

His heart was thundering and his senses were heightened immediately at the sense of danger. Survival instincts and training began to take over as he pulled the sword over his head to cover it.

[PyroBlaze]

Xan took a few steps towards the stallion, who was still prone on the ground until suddenly launching into a standing position on his back hooves and swung his sword in a wild swing as he got up. Xan moved himself backwards quickly using a flap of his wings to avoid the swing.

He stared down the stallion as they both stood there at the ready, swords drawn. He knew he should wait for the other stallion to make the first move. He couldn't be countered if he was already in the process of countering the other`s swing, at least not very easily.

"Don't suppose you'll just let me leave? I've got places to be, ponies to see." Xan said, staring down the stallion with a fierce look in his eyes.

[Dunder]

Dunder had utilized surprise to defend himself, now they were both locking eyes. He was just glad that the duel couldn't end as fast as this cloaked pony wanted. He examined the other's sword. Curved, single bladed, and a weak looking hoof-guard. But he didn't want to underestimate his enemy and end up regretting it. Or possibly not have time to regret it.

Dunder didn't even grace the other's question with an answer, "I've told you already to stand down. Now I'm guessing that you would rather try to take me down?" He said while moving closer and to the side, transferring the sword from guarding his head to having the grip in front of his hips and pouting at the ground He appeared to be open, but a true cross of the blade could end the fight quickly.

[PyroBlaze]

Xan looked over the stallion in front of him. Well muscled, at least knowledgeable in how to use his weapon. As for the sword itself, straight, double-bladed, meant more for power than finesse. It would be best to use his maneuverability to his advantage, overpowering the stallion didn't look very likely at all.

He showed no real response to the stallion's words past a small grunt at the first part. Of course. This stallion was definitely one of the ones that didn't appreciate his profession. He simply watched the stallion move closer and to the side, ready for any attacks that may come. It never did, and instead the stallion transferred the grip he had on his blade to one that made him appear open.

This stallion couldn't be serious, could he? He really thought this invitation was something he'd jump for? This was probably a trap. And even if it wasn't, it could easily turn into a bad situation for him. This stallion would likely win any blade locks they got themselves into at this point. He switched his own guard to have the blade in one hoof, and to turn his body so the side without the sword was facing his enemy, the sword held so that it was next to his cheek and pointed outwards towards the other stallion.

[Dunder]

Dunder was disappointed. This stallion was smart enough not to go for a cut at a seemingly open target. Fortunately for Dunder, though, he wasn't smart enough to fix his stance and adjust properly for Dunder's advance. Or maybe he did in a way Dunder wasn't familiar with. He actually turned to get his exposed back closer to Dunder and switched his guard to hold the sword in a single hoof.

It could have been a trap, but the brown stallion felt confident enough to protect himself. The back of his target was exposed, a single hooved grip and unthreatening stance, his hips and body were turned away to make protecting himself harder. Now was the time to strike.

Dunder took another quick step toward's Xan's back and transferred the blade to be slightly more left of Dunder's center. From there, he took another step forward still keeping his hips aligned to face Xan. Dunder cut, lifting the blade from pointing at the ground to aiming the blade at Xan's back. Hopefully to catch a wing or at least do some damage. He was also ready to take retaliation or possibly spring back if needed.

[PyroBlaze]

Xan simply stared down the other stallion, practically inviting him to make the first move. He had even arranged himself to appear as open for attack as possible. Really, he was prepared to move at a moment's notice. This was hard to hold, this stance. All his instincts were telling him to close up the holes in his defense that he had purposefully opened.

Shouldn't be much longer, he could practically feel the stallion analyzing his stance. Swordfighting, when between two ponies who were actually good at it, assuming this stallion was, was as much a game of wits as it was a physical challenge. You had to create your own openings by outsmarting your opponent. Looked like the fight was starting now.

He kept his eyes on the stallion as he took a step to Xan's back, and Xan watched as he took another step before swinging at him with an upwards slash. Xan jumped into a backflip, launching himself over the stallion's head, landing with the stallion's back to him. After he had landed, Xan took the opportunity to slash diagonally at the stallion before him, using a two-hoof grip for more power and hoping to inflict some kind of damage.

[Dunder]

Dunder watched the cloaked pony do a backflip over. It was quick, but not quick enough. At least, an entire pony jumping over another was not as fast as Dunder's response. Mid-cut, Dunder completed the cut, but instead of putting the blade over his right shoulder, he turned 180 degrees to face his opponent again. His sword was held above his head and perpendicular to his center line. Blade facing out and ready to block the descending blow the came in.

The swords clashed with a shrill clang showing that both were made of good steel. Dunder didn't even have enough time to be thankful of how lucky he was that the blow wasn't ascending. He quickly took another step at an angle both forward and right. He kept the blade above his head, but shifted his guard so that the sword was pointing forward at XaN. If Xan wasn't careful, his blade would get locked between Dunder's blade and quillons and the point of the longsword would drive home into Xan's body.

[PyroBlaze]

Their blades locked, great. Xan was helpless to stop the stallion from pointing the longsword towards his body. He needed to get out of this position, he was wide open to an attack from that stallion's sword. So far neither of them had dealt any damage, and Xan was determined to be the first and last to do so. He was not losing this duel.

To escape, Xan twisted away from the longsword's point before pulling his sword out of the lock. He did a very quick spin after it came out, using the momentum to add to the power of his next slash, which was from right to left across the stallion's midsection. This slash was also supplemented by the dagger he had thrown mid-spin towards the stallion's chest. It was supposed to go towards the stallion's head, but Xan's spinning had thrown off his aim a bit.

[Dunder]

Dunder watched the spin. He knew he should have acted on it but he was held back by the desire to break engagement for a moment and rethink his attack. He kept up his guard on watching Xan's spin and adjusted to make sure he was always facing the cloaked pony. He was expecting some form of attack and was ready, but waht he didn't expect was the object that flew right past his face.

It made Dunder flinch. And in the proceeding horizontal cut from Xan, Dunder was unable to protect himself. He held the sword point up and the grip at his hips frantically to try to block the blow, but the cloaked pony was too quick. Dunder blocked the brunt of the force, but his weak guard caused him to get hit on the foreleg, a few inches above the hoof.

He immediately grunted, cut Xan's sword away, and took a few steps back. He was gritting his teeth now, not wanting to even look at the bleeding wound.

[PyroBlaze]

The dagger had missed, unfortunately, and Xan's sword once again clashed against the stallion's own. At least the dagger seemed to have accomplished something, as the guard was weak and obviously hurried. The dagger must've distracted the stallion for a bit. Xan smirked as he saw his blade bite into the stallion's foreleg, not far from the hoof.

Good, he had scored the first hit, now to score the last. Xan took a step back as the stallion broke the contact between their swords and retreated a bit. He smirked at the stallion as the injured leg bled and the stallion gritted his teeth.

"Want to reconsider the whole letting me go thing? I'm still willing to leave you alone at this point." Xan said, still smirking.

[Dunder]

Dunder took a deep breath, trying his hardest to block out the pain in his foreleg. He could tell that when the adrenaline subsided, the pain will be more intense. "If you want me to get rid of me, you're gonna have to do better than that."

He stoped gritting his teeth, he tried to be more relaxed, but he could feel his coat around his wound dampening. How many more throwing daggers did this guy have? they could cause problems, but Dunder just had to end the fight quickly. He was confident that it could be ended quickly. the cloaked pony was only able to land a hit because he got lucky.

Dunder approached again. Stepping forward and at angles. He kept his sword grip beside his hip on his right side, sword pointing behind him and to the floor.

[PyroBlaze]

Xan's smile widened slightly as the stallion said he'd have to do better to get out of here. Just as well, he kinda wanted to fight this stallion, see how good he actually was with his sword. Xan typically didn't use his, daggers were more his style. Some days he wasn't quite sure why he kept it, then he remembered it was for times like this, among other things.

"Very well. Let's get this over with then." Xan said as the stallion stopped gritting his teeth. As the stallion stepped forward, practically dragging his sword behind him, though it wasn't touching the ground, Xan matched the steps, causing the two to circle around. His smirk stayed on his face as they circled. He switched his stance to a more offensive one, his sword held in both hooves out in front of him.

[Dunder]

Dunder watched as Xan matched the steps. And for once the pony seemed to be taking the offensive. Dunder hoped his opponent would be more cocky. One slip was all Dunder needed to make this pony pay. More importantly, Dunder needed to make sure that he kept himself guarded.

Dunder didn't even respond to the pony. Half out of fear of the pain coming out in his voice and half becuase the pony was getting cocky. To respond to the pony's agression, Dunder pulled his sword back to be in front of his hips and pointing at the floor in front of him. He complimented it with another step closer and at the angle to get out from in front of Xan's direct line of power.

[PyroBlaze]

Xan continued circling the stallion, matching his every step. This stallion seemed to be staying on the defensive side of things, which may be a problem. Xan was confident that he could win this, but he was still wary of the stallion's power. It wouldn't be good to leave an opening for the stallion to end this fight. He had to win, he had no plans to go back to jail. Not like he'd be in there for long though.

Xan also matched the stallion's angled step, bringing the circle in closer and keeping the stallion in front of him. How to end this fight though... The stallion looked like he was waiting for an attack to come. He was leaving his top half open, but it wouldn't take long for the sword to be raised to defend the area.

As the stallion took another step, Xan stepped in the opposite direction, bringing them closer than before. As he did so, he slashed downwards diagonally from right to left.

[Dunder]

Dunder was wrong. The cloaked pony was audacious enough to attempt a descending cut while Dunder was set to counter such an attack. As soon as the sword began its decent, Dunder's sword sprung up. He used his hoof to push down on the pommel to lift the blade up and clash his point with the lower part of Xan's blade. the impact derailed the strike enough to protect Dunder. As an added measure, Dunder stepped into the cut, but this got him too close to counter effectively with the point of his blade.

After Dunder parried the blow and stepped close, he knew he would have to do something drastic. He used his left hoof the wrap around Xan's right foreleg. Dunder raised his other foreleg to lift the sword in the air, point facing behind him to show the pommel. From there, he stepped forward and aimed a blow to smash Xan in the face with the pommel of the sword. The force would definitely be enough to break something.