A mysterious figure... stumbling through the dark town... (closed - cubbage and strong copper)

[Ashton]

((yes, its not honest --- if you think back, its clearly Loyalty who is the element of stealth  ))

((and dont worry, stealth will the be least of your worries soon *rubs paws together evilly*)) 

 

Harle sighed as she raised her gauntlet and the gem turned to tha faintly glowing yellow again, pointing it at the orb, the golden energy shot out and, upon hitting the glow, caused it to vanish. "Fine. I dont much like magic spells -much prefer artifacts- but I guess its the best option for this..." at the second comment she responded "I'm Captain Harle Blackclaw, that's all the reason I need to be anywhere, anytime!" she smirked cockily, though the others could see her bracing herself for the spell, as if she expected it to be painfull.... which might explain why she didn't trust spells - likely a very bad experience in her past that DID involve a spell that ended up being very painful... though wheather it was on purpose or due to an inexperienced caster was up for debate...

[StrongCopper]

For his part, Strong Copper had little to say. Personally if he was questioned about his presence out on the streets at this late hour he fully intended to be honest; Granted he might neglect to go into full details, but unlike the government spooks he had the advantage that it was his job to interact with strange wild creatures and critters. All he really had to say was that some ponies had claimed to see something new in the area the last few nights and he was just checking it out and seeing if there was anything to worry about.

 

He was also not inclined towards using any kind of night vision spell or artifact, but that was more for theoretical reasons than anything. They were looking for a creature made out of shadows (at least that seemed to be what the evidence was suggesting) at night. While there was one train of thought that suggested that night vision options might make the hunt easier, Strong Copper had pondered the possibility that using magic or technology designed to allow someone to see in the dark might render a shadow entity that was made completely of darkness 'invisible'. To be fair he could have been completely wrong due to a lack of information on whatever they were looking for, thus why he hadn't brought the subject up, but if nothing else this was a good chance as any to be the control group and test his senses.

 

Still, he decided to go and get started while various spells and stuff was done. He wasn't going to use 'em and frankly he felt like it was only going to be a matter of time before Harle and the mare started bickering about something again and he would rather not be in hearing range of it when it happened. "Contact you all shortly."     

[Cubbage]

Lope Lighthoof

 

Lope took his leave as well, heading out and keeping his eye out as he had been doing before. So far, between he and Tangent, they hadn't seen any confirmed sightings, but he hoped they could find whatever it was tonight so that they could leave sooner. While he loved Ponyville, it being his hometown, he didn't want to stay. It was unlikely he'd be recognized, but not impossible. Plus, he couldn't risk getting nostalgic and becoming distracted. He needed Ponyville to be just like any other town so he could do his best work.

Unfortunately, that all went out the window when as he was searching, he noticed the door to his old house. The lights were off, and a few forgotten toys were strewn by the steps, making it evident that a family now lived there. He stopped for a moment and wondered what the current residents were like? How old was their foal? Did his house still look the same on the inside? Of course, he hadn't been back since before he "died" on the train. That got him wondering what had happened to all his posessions. Obviously he hadn't been able to clear them out. Had they been sold? Saved? Destroyed? Buckball posters, his furniture, the health food he kept his kitchen stocked with... Where was it all now?

Movement broke his train of thought. There had definitely been movement. Something darted from one alley to another right in front of him! Without a second thought, he sprinted after it and rounded the corner into the alleyway just in time to see it dart to the right on the other end. "Lighthoof, checking in. I may be in pursuit of the creature," he said into the earpiece, keeping his tone level so as not to wake the locals. As he exited the alley, he saw the mass briefly before it... vanished? One moment it was there, another, there was just the glow of the streetlamp next to where it had been. There hadn't been a magical *pop* like those that accompanied teleportation. It was just gone. He kicked the ground in frustration. "Never mind, it got away. Vanished into thin air right before my eyes. I have confirmed visual, though. Looks like the claims might be real after all."

 

Tangent Line

As the other two left, Line approached the griffon, horn glowing. Her subjects eyes glowed with her aura momentarily, then the spell finished, leaving the creature with night vision comparable to that of a areion. "There you go. Now you shouldn't need that... thing," she said. "Now let's roll out." And with that, she turned and trotted off in her direction.

Unlike Lighthoof, her exposure to Ponyville was minimal, and she didn't really get attached to places anyway, so her distraction by the town was minimal. Rather, her trained eyes logged every house and animal movement. Her ears stood alert, which called her attention momentarily to the annoying earpiece, but she shoved the feeling out of her mind to concentrate again on the task at hand.

Then the call came in from Lighthoof. She immediately turned and sprinted towards his section. "Location?" she asked, but all she got was the news of the creature's disappearance. Frustrated, she still kept running. "Any clue where it might be going?" she asked. It might not have vanished. It could have simply turned invisible. If Lighthoof remembered it's trajectory, she might be able to figure out approximately where it was headed.