(Everfree) Gathering herbs and possibly culling pests... (Open)

[Ashton]

Trixie Lulamoon

The gleaming white pearl that was the Moon had made it's way through half of the equestrian sky, which was clear and dotted with the many beautiful constellations of Luna's imagination. However, that was far from a comforting thought to the mare who was walking within the outskirts of the Everfree. Ever since Twilight had become the princess, most of the regent gathering had fallen on Trixie. Of course, she had no real room to complain, her time spent living int he everfree had given her a near encyclopedic knowledge of all it's flora and fauna --- or she would claim. At the least it had indeed taught her what plants to avoid and which were safe, along with many of the exotic animals. Though once again, this was a faint comfort when every gleam of light from the unicorn's torch seemed to illuminate another pair of eyes that were never there when she looked again.

 

Trixie sighed "Why does Trixie need Nightbloom? Of all the Flowers in the everfree why must it be the only one that blooms at night, trixie has to go out in hunting gear, prepared for monsters just to find a silly flower..." she sighed, of course it was partly for Twilight as well, but she would not admit that this secondary reason was more of a motivation than the first. At the very least Twilight had given her a home, no, more a palace, and even provided the unicorn with ample laboratories to study anything from the simplest of light spells to incantations that coudl break reality itself... even if there were no other reason, that would have been enough to justify any request that Twilight would make... if there were not other reason... if only...

 

Trixie looked down at a flower as it caught her attention "Well it's only a silverbloom but it could be useful" she said, collecting it "oft' foretelling of a nearby silverwood tree..." she looked around, knowing how useful it would be if she coudl bag some leaves and branches from a silverwood tree "and this... what is this? Trixie has never seen a flower like this..." she said, eyeing a strange, faintly glowing plant "well, no matter, it seems magical, so into the hat it goes!" she said as she floated her hat down over the plant, then lifted it up again, the flower missing. 

 

*SNAP*

 

Trixie spun around, her horn glowing as she also reached for one of her knives, her eyes darting around "Who goes there?!" she asked "Speak now be ye friend or foe..."  and mentally adding 'And wilst somepony PLEASE explain to Trixie why all her thoughts and words art in Old Equestrian!!!'

 

.

[Ciraxis]

 

 

 "Who goes there?!" she asked.

 

.

"It depend on who asks." answered a little husky male voice. With this words an unicorn stallion stepped out of the shadows into the light of th torch. This athletic pony, with indigo mane and coral coat gave the (Great and Powerful) Trixie an analytical look. He just like her was heavily clothed, on his back a long black duster that regardless, exposed muscular chest. Once it had to be a very nice piece of clothing but it was dingy to such point that it's flaps resembled the bat wings, even if it wasn't ripped in other places. On the front legs stallion wore a pair of bracelets adorned with some complicated writings in foreign language.With careful observation Trixie could see the hilt of some exotic sword under the duster.

"So...a mage?" the stallion judged the mare, seeing her appearance. "Although I wonder what kind of mage resorts to the weapon first before the sorcery." the other unicorn gave the Trixies weapon a pitiable look. Stallion shook his head. Also what was that all about with that Old Equestrian.

"You were so loud that I trailed you for five minutes without seeing you. Talking to yourself I judged it was some chimera."  the male shrugged.

"Well, seeing you lack the claws or fangs it would be all." unicorn turned around prepared to leave like nothing happened.

[Ashton]

TRixie smiled as the stallion turned and found a wall behind him, one with spikes that gleamed with poison... probably an illusion but still it was extremely real if it wasn't... 

 

"The kind of unicorn that likes to catch her opponent off-guard" she smirked "And dont be so sure that I am de-clawed and fangless, I may not be Twilight or Luna, but my magic still has a strong bite to it when I choose to use it, and I am not without my other resources" she said "Mind telling me why your wandering around the everfree in the middle of the night? Anyone here would have to be insane, dangerous, or a monster, no normal pony in their right minds woudl come near this palce in the day, miuch less at night"

[Ciraxis]

Well that wall wasn't here before. Still if(Great and Powerful) Trixie made any success stirring any kind of emotion she wouldn't be able to tell it from stallions face.

"Well certainly you have the bark." male unicorn summed up all (Great and Powerful) Trixie's gloating, only slightly turning his head back at the azure mare.

 

However when she asked him what was his motives - along with summing who would be justifying in wandering around Everfree at such hour.

"Hypocrisy much?" he answered, both astonished and amused at the same time. "And what would you consider yourself?" stallion decided to derail mare's question, with that of his own.

 

"Still...I could humor you with the reason of my presence. First I culling number of fiends that inhabit those woods. And this lead to the second - improving my own skills."

This straight explanation was followed by a pregnant silence.

"Errr...care to return the favor? Or introducing yourself?" this time athletic unicorn gave a question of his won.

[Ashton]

Trixie grinned a psychotic smile "Who's being hypocritical?" she asked with a creepy almost sing-song voice, no doubt mostly jsut to try and unnerve the stallion, though she doubted it woudl work, it was still worth the try "I would much rather have kept quiet but if you insist" she said, pausing just a moment "You stand before THE GREAT AND POWERFUL TRIXIE!!! as she spoke magical fireworks went off all around her, causing mroe than a few of the less-brave everfree creatures to run for cover and some of the more dangerous to glance her way...

 

"I am the royal magician to Princess Twilight Sparkle" she explained "and I am out here gathering regents for some very important spells" she paused "SSpecifically certain regents that only bloom or come out of their dens at night"

 

though at the mention of fiends, her eyes went wide and she looked like she had to choke back a gasp of horror "Fiends? How did fiends get here?!" she exclaimed "If you discivered a fiend we must allert all three princesses at once!"

 

((and yes, she is refering to the main deffinition of Fiend, i.e. Demon --- lets say trixie has had experiance in dealing with demons.... lol))

[Tymiko]

"AHHHHH!!!" cried a voice nearby at the explosion of Trixie's fireworks. A young stallion crashed out of some nearby bushes and trees, galloping wildly as if in fear for his life. He didn't get very far, however, before he ran straight into a tree trunk with a sickening smack and slid to the ground, dazed.

 

The stallion groaned faintly before sitting up, ears perked and swerving. Abruptly he dashed behind the trunk he'd crashed into, as if praying whoever it was hadn't yet noticed his presence. He must have hit his head pretty hard to have hoped such a thing after his display.

[Ciraxis]

"Well, you are." stallion said bluntly. The tone of Trixie voice seemed to fly over his head as duster-pony kept a blank face....at least unlit she wet into FULL HAM mode. At that point the male's unicorn features pretty much shifted into What expression.

"......I walked through four continents.....and this is the first time I see something like this." said the stallion, not believing the ridiculous show before his emerald eyes. Her ego was so great he could taste it. He rubbed his temple withe a hoof before continuing.

"Alright, let's say I buy it. Despite the fact that I don't really understand why the pony most talented in art of magic would need the court magician....not to mention sending that magician on errands into the evil forest. Was greenhouse too much of the luxury?"

 

When the mare started to panic a little at the mention of the fiends the stallion scoffed a little while shrugging at the same time.

"Fiends, beast, monsters, whatever. Call it what you want....Trixie." stallion said, scoffing a little. "Although that two things that got out of the jar seemed more sinister then most." he added while rubbing his chin. "I sliced the first one and was tracking the second when I heard somepony speaking to herself in third person. Turns out she just wanted some flowers." male said while giving Trixie meaningful look.

 

At that moment they were interrupted...by sompony. Unicorn gazed disbelieving at the other stallion who hid behind the tree.

"What a lively night we have today. He doesn't seem to be the fan. Is your shows always get such reaction, Miss Court Magician?" he said towards Trixie, not missing an opportunity to quip

[SunsetSombra]

                                                                                       

 

 

 

The everfree was still one of Lunas favourite haunts - she very much liked an occasional wander during the night, after she was sure that things were at peace in dreaming and at the castle grounds...she was a princess who, despite her royal status, was never one to sit around and simply wait for something to do, but instead she much preferred being out in the night for her own enjoyment and contemplative thoughts. Of course, she also helped out the occasional wayward souls who dared venture into the unpredictable forests at night - all part of her efferts to dispel any remaining doubts about her loyalties and her place in Canterlot Palace as a whole.

 

It was on this night, then, that Luna had once more roamed into a part of the forest that she knew well enough...having camped here a few times with her sister as a filly - a little bit of nostalgia washing over the night-time princess as she surveyed familiar areas and landmarks - Nowadays, she didn't really get this far into the woods without encountering something that needed reminding it shouldn't try tangling with a princess of Equestria, however.

 

It was at this point that Luna heard...something that sounded like fireworks? Whatever was going on here tonight, Luna asks herself inwardly, as she turned to the direction that the sound had come from - trotting briskly towards the source, hearing voices now quite audibly as she drew closer towards where the sound had seemingly originated; What careless fool is letting off fireworks in the everfree forest...did they not know of the dangers attracted to loud sounds and excited chattering?

 

" Is somepony there? " Luna asks aloud, treading carefully but deliberately as she neared the voices she could hear in the shadows nearby.

" This is hardly a place to be acting carelessly - who is out here at night without any such considerations for their own safety and wellbeing? "

[Ashton]

Trixie looked surprised at the pony seemingly just bursting out of the darkness and stumbling around, though she couldn't really say much since during her exile between her two attacks on ponyville she had spent more than a little time living int he forest herself --- one of the reasons she was so familiar with the flora --- and perhaps she really should tone down ehr introductions... nah, that was something she was famous for!

 

Catching only a few snatches of what the stallion said she paused "actually we tried using a greenhouse, both a natural and a magical one, and even when taking soul from the everfree and directly transplanting them, many of the flowers refused to grow or even wilted, Poison Joke being the worst culprit, it seems entirely impossible to grow outside of the forest" she explained "And while Princess Twilight might be the greatest unicorn mage short of the Sisters, she must spent much of her time running her kingdom, so she has me do many of the more... intense... jobs" not really wanting to explain that at the moment trixie was the only official royal staff besides Spike and she did ALL the jobs Twilight didn't attend to...

 

She frowned "I hope whatever monstrosities have been released, they can be contained without resort to Eldrich magic" said trixie, of course that left open the question of whether such abominational magic even existed or was merely the product of a warped horror writer... and if ti did exist whether trixie knew such spells... though it seemed unlikely she would explain that herself...

 

"Are you injurred?" she asked, looking to the apparently stunned pony who had burst from the forest into the little clearing, still more than a little concerned

 

The additional voice only seemed to add to trixie's anxiety, though she made sure to hide it once she realized who she was addressing "Princess Luna!" she gasped, bowing and sweeping off her hat appropriately, letting her cape fall across her throwing knives as well to make it clear she intended no malice...

[Tymiko]

Upon realizing the other shapes weren't creatures who planned to eat or dismember him, the young stallion ceased his trembling, but still remained tense. He looked from the male unicorn to the female and back again, backing up slowly. He still wasn't sure he trusted them, especially so heavily clothed in garments as they were. What did they have to hide, anyway? Did they plan to cut him up and use his parts for potions? What were they doing sneaking around at this time of night, anyway?

 

"Uh...I...I...um," he stammered, unable to speak coherent words even when the female unicorn asked if he was hurt. His body continued to back up absently until he heard another voice from behind and jumped nearly straight into the forest canopy. Pivoting sharply, his jaw dropped and he threw himself at the alicorn's hooves.

 

"P-p-p-princess Luna! P-please forgive me, I - I'll get out of your way!"

 

He looked up and frantically glanced to his left and his right, but he was surrounded by ponies. Worse yet, he had no idea where he was. Beyond these ponies' light, the forest was pitch black.

 

[Ciraxis]

"Errr right." stallion responded when Trixie explained uselessness of greenhouses in cultivating Everfree plants. Guess it made sense, this land being unique in it's characteristics as far as information of the known world go. They were still unexplained lands, probably even whole continets unknown by equestrian ponies. But as far as common knowledge goes Everfree was one of kind forest. Why wouldn't it's plants be different?

"Her kingdom....which is what exactly? Ponyville? Doesn't it already has a mayor? Nevermind forget about it. If it's your wish to come here searching for some magic weed that's not my business."

 

 

When Trixie expressed her concerns about that two...somethings that get out of the jar unicorn only sighed.

"They tried to jump me. First one got diced for effort, and the second run away after seeing this. I say common steel would be enough." swordpony replied. Well he might downplay the 'steel' part a little. After all the exotic sword resting inside the scabbard was very far from common.

But there were more pressing matters to attend to then some pathetic beasts. Namely the the terrified pony..or rather half-pony in front of them.

 

"Are you injurred?" she asked, looking to the apparently stunned pony who had burst from the forest into the little clearing, still more than a little concerned.

 

 

"He's not....at least not on body." said the indigo maned unicorn. Sarcasm in his voice disappeared. He too sounded concerned, but more with well being of this confused pony, then anything else.

 

Of course this was the moment when they were graced with the presence of non other then Princess of the Night herself.

"This is really starting to be All-Stars gathering. First, Equestria newest Princess Court Magician and now Moon Ruler herself. Next thing would be Wonderbolts dropping from above." swordpony didn't missed an opportunity for another sarcastic comment. He decided to not mention that he fitted right in in this....which was the reason for this disguise.

 

Still more important was this scared stallion, glancing left and right in panic.

"Please get up." he surprisingly gently addressed other male "You are a pony, not the doormat." stallion added, still in soft voice.

Afterwards, the male unicorn addressed Luna....

 

                                 

" This is hardly a place to be acting carelessly - who is out here at night without any such considerations for their own safety and wellbeing? "

 

"First part, I agree with...." he said..."...while regarding the second, I may speak only for myself. Who said I didn't? To 'consider' I mean."

[SunsetSombra]

It took a moment for Luna to get a real feel for the situation, but it wasn't too long before she spoke to the group after acknowledging the numbers of those present, even if her level of familiarity with them wasn't particularly all that great. She wasn't even really all that familiar with Trixie - only having heard of her by name and thus having no reason to assume that the mare before her was the one and the same.

 

" Just why are you all out here? " she questions, a somewhat amused eyebrow raise given as she poses the question - it wasn't often that ponies came out here this late during the night without at least having some level of experience within the wild forest itself. " There are few ponies who do not know all of the dangers within the everfree - it isn't wise to be here for too long without the aid of a guide, especially when the sun lowers and the roles of predator and prey become...a little more unpredictable! "

 

The nighttime princess glances towards the cowering pony and approches a step.  " No need to fear my presence, I merely wish to offer some assistance - this has long been a place of personal choice for exploration, and I believe I know enough about the everfree to offer support if it is needed...but of course, those who feel adequately prepared are free to do as they wish. " 

 

Luna surveys the group for a moment, not entirely sure she could determine which of them were likely to be informed - the unicorn mare was certainly seeming as though she had some level of readiness about her, but something was not quite right about how she carried herself. The more scared of the group clearly was unlikely to be truly informed, if he was this likely to be so very unnerved so quickly - this leaves her with the other stallion, whom seemed to have a particularly calm mannerism about him...easily, Luna considered, the most likely one to have a decent amount of knowledge about the forest to a degree. 

 

She decides, therefore, to let the others consider their position on things...if there was anything any of the ponies here needed to gain from the everfree, they would surely discuss it with Luna quickly enough!

[Ashton]

Trixie smirked "That's a relief" she said to the stallion "My blades are twice-forged and thrice-enchanted mithrill silver, I'ms ure they can handle whatever should be roaming these woods" of course wheather trixie was telling the truth was always up for question, given she once claimed to have single-horned defeated an Ursa Major, one could never know when her words were an empty boast, but then her gear made it clear she had at least some level of experiance with these creatures and was ready for a fight against unnatural beings...

 

She laughed "Ponyville? Please. PRincess Twilight's kingdom is all of equestria, all of the world, she is the princess of friendship, the element of magic, anywhere that either roams free so does she" it wasn't exactly a straight-forward answer, but it also wasn't exactly a straight-forward position either - even Twilight herself was a litle unsure how far her kingdom extended, especially since the appearance of the magical map that seemed to emcompass the whole world, insidcating some form of influence over everything.

 

The unicorn then turned towards the lunar princess "I beg your forgiveness if I am causing any trouble, your highness, I am out gathering special herbs and flowers that only bloom in the everfree at night, for Princess Twilight, who, last I checked, was still in her study going over a rather extensive ammount of paperwork" she explained "Most importantly I am seeking nightbloom, and if it should be nearby, some Silverwood, considering it's impressive magical poperties. Though other plants are on my list, should I run into them" she explained.

 

((the irony is I do have a wonderbolt (or I did... I dont remember if I still have him or not..) though for the life of me I cant think of a reason for him to show up, sorry to dissapoint you,  Cirax lol))

[Tymiko]

"Please get up." he surprisingly gently addressed other male "You are a pony, not the doormat." stallion added, still in soft voice.

 

Blinking in surprise as he heard the other stallion ask him politely to get up, Lycoris looked back over his shoulder before obeying. It wasn't exactly that he had feared the princess' presence so much that he wasn't sure how else to address royalty, but however it was usually done, evidently nopony did that. He swallowed to wet his dry throat. How come the unicorn stallion was being so nice? Was he simply annoyed by Lycoris' behavior? Or was it something else? Lyco glanced his way out the corner of his eye as the others spoke, trying to figure out what it might have been.

 

The unicorn mare sure seemed to like to talk. Once she and the stallion had both explained themselves, however, Lyco realized it was his turn. He scrambled for words as his mind blanked. How was he supposed to address the princess? The others seemed to talk to her like any other pony. Whether or not that was proper, Princess Luna didn't seem to mind. Perhaps he could give it a try...not that he often spoke to 'any other pony', either.

 

Clearing his throat, he dipped his head and said, "My name is Lycoris, your Highness. I, uh...I leave on the edge of the Everfree Forest. Usually I'm back home by the time the sun sets, but I fell asleep in the afternoon and woke up when - uh - those...fireworks went off. I thought it was some monster come to eat me and kind of just took off." He blushed, unsure if the others could see it in the light they had, but hoping they couldn't. "I guess my orientation's all messed up now, because I can't remember which way is back to my hut."

[Ciraxis]

Unicorn risen the eyebrow at the her boast about her knives. If there is the one thing that he was was very good with (aside from art of the swordfighting) it was judging the quality of the weapon. And from the quick glance he cough when she drawn it against him, stallion had serious doubts about Trixie claims.

"I am sure that every hydra, dragon and cockatrice are shaking in their lairs right now." he answered in extremely deadpan tone.

 

When unicorn mare explained the extent of Princess Sparkle rule, the swordpony nodded in recognition.

"I see. Although I have the feeling that outside Equestria they would be many refusing to acknowledge this. She and her companions has much work and battles before them." unicorn said, while making a mental list of places at which Princess Twilight could receive a rather cold reception.

 

And then it comes to troublesome part. Every other pony except him made introductions (aside of Luna, but you had to live under the rock for the last few years to not recognize the Princess). This was bad for Swift Squall. After all, one couldn't say that they were quite famous pony, who passed away and was buried two months ago.

Even if it was true.

And he couldn't straightly lie either. Squall had a feeling that such experienced pony as Princess would sniff deception right away. But there was still a way of keeping the disguise and at the same time informing the most important one in this gathering that he was a cover up pony. When he signed up for this ride, Swift was told to utter a certain phrase in presence of some big fish from government or military. Noblepony hoped that Moon Princess remembered to as well. Otherwise him, and by extent EPIC as well risked unmasking, before those two clueless ponies.

"I am Quattro...Quattro Badge from the Silver Thread." stallion put a certain emphasis on the last two words while looking Luna directly into the eyes while speaking them. He really, really wished to talk privatively with the monarch. Seeing that it was impossibility at the moment, his only chance was belief that Ruler of the Night hadn't any memory problems right now.

"I was spending my time in this woods, training my skills in preparation of other duties that will await me. I also culled beast and monsters that inhabit Everfree and would gladly prey on the other ponies. However right now I was tracking one of the creatures that by accident I freed. By chance I run into Trixie and Lycoris standing before you while doing just that." he explained while dusting off flaps of his the tattered duster. At that moment a reflection hit him. How ironic that to protect the new masquerade, he had to don a mask of old, false name.

[SunsetSombra]

There seemed to be a lot of elements at play with this little group, and she needed a moment to ponder just what she should focus on dealing with - obviously, the nervous Lycoris was in need of speaking with to help put his mind a little more at ease with his nerves...and thus, once he finished his comments, she responded to him first with intent on reassuring him about things better.

 

" Ah, I see - a somewhat local resident to the area? " she says with a small raise of an eyebrow - she had heard of a few brave ponytypes who had made their homes near everfree, but didn't come across them too often seeing as the forest itself was a much larger place internally than it was perceived from the outside. " Yes, I suppose I can imagine how curious hearing fireworks in the middle of such a usually more peaceful area would be...seeing as you appear to have admitted being lost, I don't doubt we can get you back to your home soon enough. "

 

It seemed that the Unicorn Mare wanted to apologise for anything she believed had been done wrong - Luna was uncertain if anything had truly warrented such an apology, since there was no law or regulation in Equestria restricting a pony from going to Everfree at dark...but if it was an apology believed needed, then Luna would gratify Trixie with an acceptance, as seemed to be what she was desperately attempting to gain from the Princess by apologising. " It is quite alright, I don't think any harm has been brought - but in future, perhaps take care with creating loud noises in the evening here, as it could very well attract some...undesired attention from residents who are a little less 'amused' by your showmareship. As for the herbs you mention, no doubt we can find some within close distance from here, but clearly we need to be careful in finding them, 'lest we are found first by things we would rather not encounter! "

 

With Trixies apology and comment addressed, she then continues on to acknowledge Swift Squall, who seemed rather anxious - she wasn't sure about what, but it seemed that there was something peculiar that was on his mind. It was, then, by the inclusion of a particularly familiar phrase that she realised that there may well be things not yet revealed that she needed to 'dig deeper' about regarding the stallion currently talking to her. 

 

" Well then, it sounds as though we might need to pay more due attention than I first expected - if there are angered creatures out here, in part, to what you yourself were doing, then clearly there is little we can do but make doubley sure we are not careless enough to become targeted by such things. " She states with a light frown. " Hopefully, they will leave well enough alone...but I suppose we can never truly be too careful - certainly, of course, no harm is to come to creatures that do not classify as pests...this forest maintains a certain level of aetheric balance, and for us to do anything that might distort that balance in any way could very well have potentially harmful repurcussions...if we are confronted, defense is to be our *primary* resort before we even consider other options - is this understood? "

 

She glanced around at the three - there was, she hoped, no reason for them to go against her words. Afterall, it was true that this forests balance was a unique thing unto itself, and nopony really knew what might happen if anything were to happen with it to a great extent...The preservation of a magical ecosystem was a massive consideration, and one she wished to not particularly let get interrupted on this night.

[Ashton]

((Actually Trixie never drew her weapons, she merely reached for them - in theory an enchanted blade would glow when unshiethed (especially when it's made of silver which would only work to amplify the glow due to it's reflective properties) and given an enemy an advantage in knowing the weapon's nature --- though what nature that is has not yet been revealed, she may be quite honest or she might just be boasting again... hopefully we wont have to find out...))

 

Trixie opened her mouth to retort to the comment (well snide remark) about every enemy shaking in their boots, but something caught trixie's attention first, the stallion's unusual name and action when giving it... she might not know what precisely it meant but clearly there was more to it than a simple name, including the princess's reaction. Clearly this was some false name and part of a conspiracy! She would have to be sure to report this back to Twilight at first chance, no doubt Twilight would either be aware of it or else would research it until she found the truth (whatever the cost to the alicorn's fragile sanity, no doubt...) Trixie may have been many things, but 'fool' was not one of them, even if she openly acted like one to throw off enemies and give fans some amusement... oh sweet celestia how she missed the limelight, but this was not the time to be thinking of such things!

 

The unicorn nodded "I take the defense of any under my charge quite seriously, and as a member of the royal court, I will swear to all your safety from external threats till the reaper take me" she said, of course whether it was yet another empty boast or perhaps a deeper issue of seeking out martyrdom was left unanswered, in any case Trixie seemed capable of assessing the situation at the least... hopefully she would not have to act on it... that could get... messy... having to explain everything...

 

"My gathering of herbs is inconsequential at the moment" she said "they are not part of some immediate experiment that could result in a catastrophe, so my first priority is ensuring the safty of the rest of the party... especially any with lesser defenses" she glanced at luna and the stallion though her eyes rolled to firmly settle on the near-quivering lycoris, trying to make it clear who she felt needed the most protection while trying not to make him feel scrutinized...hopefully the others would not misinterpret it as an insult, she knew luna's power far outweighed her own natural abilities and while she was uncertain about the legitimacy of the stallion, he seemed to at least be capable of defending himself... though his antagonistic attatude thus far made her weary of him... the last thing she wanted tonight was a fight, especially against what seemed to be a highly skilled opponent, inside the everfree... there was absolutely no way for that to end well...

[Tymiko]

((Sorry for the delay, guys. Been really busy as of late. Thanks for your patience with me!))

 

Lyco took note of the others' names and faces as best he could while listening to each of them speak. He felt much better being with ponies - especially such capable-seeming ones - in the forest at night. At least they seemed to know what they were doing. Well...until Lycoris began to comprehend 'Quattro's' words.

 

"C-c-creatures...?" he repeated, eyes widening at the unicorn stallion. "...Accidentally freed...?" What little ease he had previously felt from being with a group dissolved and his legs began to shake beneath him, threatening to give way. "Wh-what do you mean, 'creatures'?! What exactly are we talking about, here?" Did he mean it was dangerous? Was it big? Small? Nocturnal? A hunter? Natural or unnatural? Did it eat ponies? Maybe zebras? Everything? "Why do you need to find it? Is it a threat?" His pitch and panic rose with each word. He swallowed them both down and tried to retain his composure as best he could in front of these strangers, one of whom was royalty.

 

They all maintained their dignity; why couldn't he? He was the one who lived on the edge of the forest, so what right did he have to lose his head? More than they do, since I'm more familiar with the terrors in this place, he thought quietly to himself. Not to mention they're all gifted with magic. What do they know about being defenseless and totally helpless?

 

"U-um...I thank you very much for the offer, Princess Luna," Lyco managed to reply with another dip of his head. "And I think I'd really like to get back to my hut as soon as possible, especially if there's something extra hazardous to our health on the loose tonight." His gaze drifted to the stallion before looking back.

 

"If...'Trixie', was it?" he asked, glancing to the female unicorn. That was what he'd heard the male call her, anyway. "If she wants to follow me back, I think I have some herbs and plants I can give her that she might need."

[Ciraxis]

was was patient enough to answer most of Lycoris questions.

 

"Yes, creatures or rather monsters, considering they had claws and fangs looking like knife exhibits. And yes, accidentally." unicorn said completely unfazed. "Twice my size maybe? It was in the cave. About what it was..." swordpony shrugged. "I have no idea. What I know that it fears and bleeds like any normal living thing. And it isn't against eating a pony. That's all information I need."

 

Then stallion turned his attention towards the Luna.

"Do as you wish Princess, I am going after this thing. When one makes a mess - intentional or not - it's his or her duty to clean it up." Squall said bluntly.

"With your sheer magical power and skill those two would be safe with you. Juju to you all." he said before turning around and actually walking in direction leading deeper into the forest. As he walked next to Lycoris 'Quattro' stopped for some advice.

"Change your residence. This is no place for you, if you can't deal with it without fear. I don't know what this represents..." at that moment unicorn looked at half-zebra Cutie Mark "...but if it is what I think, then you have no hope of guarding others if you can't guard your own emotions." with those parting words, noblepony resumed his walk and disappeared into the dark thicket.

[SunsetSombra]

It appeared as though the tension in the air was remaining relatively high - Trixie seemed to be trying not to display any nerves, but luna could tell the mare was clearly not entirely sure on what this situation would turn into. With Lycoris, his was clearly an obvious case of low tolerance to unusual situations...his nerves were being worn honestly in front of everypony - as much as she commended him for this, Luna too questioned internally why he stayed in a place that had a bad habit of being quite unpredictable as a place to visit, let alone somewhere to live.

 

Still, with the odd sudden departure of Quatro, Luna found herself a little troubled in just what exactly was to transpire now?

Should they simply take Lyco back to his own home and then tend to Trixies herbs while there, or should they risk hanging around out here for fresher variations? She needed to clarify what should be done...

 

" Miss...Trixie was it? " she starts, glancing in the direction of the unicorn mare with an eyebrow raised. " I understand that there may well be some relevence in the freshness of the ingrediants you are using - given we don't exactly have the most luxurious options of choice in the everfree, would you be requiring freshly picked or...would the alternative answer of using the benefit of Lycoris' nearby living space be a sufficiant idea? I do not think either of you desire to be out here for an entirely long period of time at the current moment, it stands to reason that there may be a benefit in using the option that caters to your wellbeing rather than your current wants. "

 

Luna didn't exactly want to say it out loud, but the idea that Trixie could wait until morning had also occurred to her...but something told her this was not exactly an option.

[Ashton]

Trixie watched the pony go, shaking her head, clearly wanting to say something, but deciding to hold her tongue.

 

She looked at the cowering pony and with great difficulty she said "Trixie cannot accept... a reward... for what is proper to do" it was clear this was extremely hard for her, but she was showing humility and honor, something rare for her... of course it also was no doubt beat into her head by Twilight, so maybe it wasn't so amazing...

 

Trixie looked to loona "my appologies, princess" she said, with a polite nod "however my own needs are irrelevant, I must help those who need help, both our friend here and Princess Twilight, who sent me on this mission, my not returning at all is more honorable than returning without the herbs I was sent to collect" a bit overboard with the honor now... it was starting to look like trixie was specifically hamming it up... but then trixie had always been hammy, so it was never clear when it was an act and when she was jsut being herself...