Shelter from the (muscial) storm. (Sunny, Closed)

[SteelEagle]

"I can imagine how that could make you feel. I wish I had something to say to make it feel less like a slight. All I can say is that its in the past. She's gone, defeated, and you're here. Now. And soon, ponies will see just how powerful and cool you are," she smiled, patting him on the shoulder. Frankly, she would have enjoyed not having any evil Alicorn trying to conquer her world and steal everypony's magic, dooming them to being incomplete and slaves. She could understand not wanting to be forgotten or thought of as weak, but...who cares what some ponies think? "Besides, it was from an insane pony. No reason to allow them to dictate how we feel about ourselves, right?"

 

She picked up one of her broken evil alicorn playset wings and pondered what he said next. Was it dishonesty? Not really, not the way she was thinking about it at least. "Hmm...I don't believe it is. After all, it is just a bit of acting. As for my friends, I don't plan on being, you know, an evil me. That would be really random! Like, they wouldn't believe it. But some new, hereforeto unknown evil Alicorn? Well, apparently Equestria has those just laying about under rugs or something. And we'll set it up right!" She got excited again. It was just like holding a play! "Oooh, this will be so much fun!...But we'll need at least one more pony's help, I think. I don't have anywhere near the level of craftsmareship to fix this or make something even better. We'll need..."

[StrongCopper]

Accidental Allegro

 

The look on Allegro's face suggested that he still wasn't a big fan of this idea. Something about what Sunny was suggesting didn't seem right to him and the urge to awkwardly shuffle around a little won out in the end. "I mean... if evil alicorns are so common can't we just... you know... find one? I mean if they're going to be trying to take the world over or something anyway, is provoking them to act sooner rather then later a terrible idea?" For some strange reason the mental image of finding a sleeping pony with wings and a horn that looked like Sunny, but with a completely black coat that they needed to awaken via poking them with a stick came to mind.

 

Shaking his head slightly to get that image out, he decided to instead ask "So... let's say we go through with this idea and you dress yourself up. Are you... just planning on walking down the street, laughing evilly and announcing for all to hear that you intend to take over the world?"

[SteelEagle]

“Oh Allegro, its gonna be fine! And fun. And then you’ll be a hero and everypony will just ADORE you,” She smiled broadly and warmly. “That will be an easy way to get ponies to accept you. Ponies love heroes and heroines and those that save the day. Or at least, you know, save an afternoon or something. And when its all over, I'm the one who has to deal with the awkward aftermath. And believe me, I'm used to plenty of those," she laughed breezily as she started imagining the look and costume.

 

While her mane was lost to wonder, her brain was allowed to ponder. Why not allow a random evil Alicorn to reveal itself? She giggled. "I was being a bit silly. Alicorns are exceptionally rare. In fact, I think there have only been...seven?...Alicorns in history. Of those, only one- Opaline- seemed to be entirely evil. Another wasn't evil per se but had, err...a period of time she was? It just so happens that between Opaline and...Lunar? Nightmare Moon, I think?...a lot of Equestrian history revolves around it," she finished, then shrugged. "In any case, I don't think we can count on that. Nope,' you'll just have to count on me and...somepony to design a great costume for me," she said, hopping back in place. "How about...Pipp?"

[StrongCopper]

Accidental Allegro

 

The uncertainty was still there. Something in Allegro's gut was telling him that what Sunny was suggesting was a terrible idea for some reason but... well, seeing her get all excited about it and the fact that she was clearly more experienced in dealings with the herd then he was... maybe she had a point?

 

A sigh escaped him alongside a flick of his tail before he finally submitted to her judgement. "Alright." Taking a deep breath, he offered her a small smile. "So... who is Pipp?"

[SteelEagle]

Sunny thought about it for a small moment. If he knew her, she assumed that he had to know about her friends. Of course, maybe he knew of them but not well enough to have a full accounting of their names. pony names could at times confuse or frustrate other creatures, or so the old stories told her. She nodded and cantered on over to a wall that had pictures of her and her friends during their new and joy-filled lives in Maretime Bay.

"Princess Pipp Petals of Zephyr Heights. We just call her Pipp!" She said, pointing at a picture of Pipp as she performed at Mane Melody. "She also owns the new mane-care saloon on the boardtrot," she said as she turned back to Allegro, beaming. "I'm sure you've seen her! She is very creative. If anypony could help us create an awesome costume, it would be her!"

[StrongCopper]

Accidental Allegro

 

Allegro followed Sunny a little in order to have a look at the picture that she pointed out. Truth be told he couldn't remember if he had seen Pipp around before or not, but as he gazed at the picture he couldn't help but notice a key difference between her and the other winged ponies he had seen on occasion around the bay. "...Why are her wings all fluffy? I don't think I've ever seen a pony with fluffy wings before." was that a rude question to ask? He didn't know.

 

Glancing back at Sunny through, he couldn't help but narrow his eyes just a little. "...Have you wanted to pretend to be a villain for a while now and you're just using this as an excuse to go ahead with that? Because you seem to have put an awful lot of thought into this plan..."

[SteelEagle]

Sunny gasped. “Allegro!” She shook her head and laughed, hoof to mouth. “Haha, all ponies are unique and special in their own ways. The wings of every pegasus, the horns of every unicorn are different in small ways or big ways. After all, that is part of what makes each creature so lovely and such a gift to the rest of us!” She offered happily as she started gathering what was needed for a quick trek to get Pipp.

 

“Do I enjoy it?” She laughed. “I mean, I did dress up as Nightmare Moon one year. The way I look at it, dressing up as one of the ancient good Alicorns would be disrespectful. And…” he shook her head, then turned back. “Let’s not worry about it. Time to get Pipp!”

[StrongCopper]

Accidental Allegro

 

There was a slight rolling of his eyes, but Allegro conceded as he offered "Alright, I won't ask." in relation to Pipp's fluffiness. Taking a deep breath as Sunny mentioned that it was time to get Pipp, the hybrid couldn't help but look... somewhat bashful as he felt the need to ask "W-Would you mind if I had a shower here? I've used the public ones they've got down by the beach to wash off sand and salt on occasion but... it's been years since I've been able to use warm water for a shower." He honestly hated having to ask but... he stank and he knew it. Sunny might have been polite about not mentioning it, but the knowledge weighed on his mind.

[SteelEagle]

Sunny hadn't given any thought to his smell. He smelled in part like stagnant water, like a pond or body of water at rest too long. She hadn't assigned any quality to it, however. She had never met one of his kind before. How rude of her would it have been to comment on his odor if it turned out that he smelled as he should have? She wasn't going to lampoon a species she had never met before, after all.

 

"OH! Yes, a shower. Well, feel free to use ours. Second floor, top of the staircase. Can't miss it. If you need any help, give me a yell or two. I'll just be down here getting ready," she said happily, allowing him to take care of what he thought he needed to. That would give her time to get ready for their mission, as well as journal all her new discoveries. It had been an eventful few minutes, really, and she was pleased to see where this all went!....And how her friends would react, too!

[StrongCopper]

Accidental Allegro

 

Nodding his head at the directions she had given him, he took a deep breath as he turned to start walking... through paused before he got out of sight. Turning back towards her, he felt the need to ask "If and when Pipp gets here... do you want me to... you know... look like a pony until we explain things to her or...?" Because he really didn't need to hear someone screaming at the sight of him again. Granted, since the ligh... Brighthouse was mostly stone burning it down would be a lot harder to do at least.

 

He had been innocently looking around while he waited for an answer when his eyes landed on a picture and he suddenly tensed up. At first he was just processing the picture until a deep growl started to rise from the back of his throat, the anger that was rising within him unable to be contained or expressed with words. It was innocent enough photo, which seemed to just be Sunny (and Pipp!) with a few other ponies, posing for a picture... but his eyes locked on the one stallion in it with a singular focus. "...That's him. That's HIM!" was hissed like an angry cat, his tail flicking back and forward as Allegro seemed to be lowering himself to pounce and attack. The only reason he didn't was because... well, it was just a photo.

[SteelEagle]

Sunny gave it a quick thought before shaking her head. “What we’ll do is, you get dressed and ready but stay upstairs in the room. I’ll get her prepped and ready for you and then call you down. It should be a breeze! Well, there might be a real breeze as well since she is a pegasus, but you caught what I was saying,” she said with a laugh, tossing her mane off to the side as she started looking around to get her saddlebag ready to go.

 

As she started packing, she thought she heard something growling. Had she eaten? Had it been enough when she had eaten? Usually stomachs didn’t sound so loud but what else could it be? Her mind, so distracted by the events of the last few minutes took a full few moments to register all the obvious clues that indicated that the growling had nothing to do with her poor breakfast and everything to do with her great guest! “Is everything okay?” Sunny asked, her head in her saddlebag before closing it and throwing it over her back and trotting to where she heard his unique cat-like hiss last.

[StrongCopper]

Accidental Allegro

 

Allegro needed a moment in order to collect himself. Hissing, growling and generally wanting to sink his teeth into somepony might make him feel a lot better in the moment, but didn't exactly allow one to hold a reasonable conversation. It was something of a force of will, but he forced himself away from the animal that longed to lash out at a source of pain before attempting to speak. "It's him. I would recognize him anywhere. He was there that night. He was one of the ponies that burned down my home. There was a weedy looking red stallion with him too..."

[SteelEagle]

Sunny looked at the photo, taking in who was there and trying to understand what he was saying. She couldn’t quite process it for a while, as if his growling and change in attitude was hard enough for her to stomach without even taking into consideration what he was growling at for a few moments. In a better situation she would consider bringing out as notebook and writing down the details of what a Siren’s growl sounded like. Hiss. 

 

A growl or a hiss? She couldn’t really decide, and then she realized she was obsessing over that only because she didn’t really want to process what was actually being said. Sprout really was a weedy looking red colt, even when he was a stallion. She would never say this out loud, but he just looked really strange. But the other stallion- was he really part of it? She hadn’t heard anything about this. And was he even part of the Sheriff's department back then?

“...Do you mean Hitch? Hitch Trailblazer?”

[StrongCopper]

Accidental Allegro

 

Allegro turned to look towards Sunny, further trying to reel in the almost feral energy that was urging him onward. "I don't know his name. But that's him, I'm sure of it! Him, some red stallion and a couple of other ponies..." It would have helped if he  had been able to take a picture or something at the time but... that hadn't really been an option in the heat of the moment.

 

Then an idea struck him. "...Do you know where he lives? The red stallion as well?" He asked in a suspiciously calm voice, with a dangerous spark in his eyes that suggested that actual fires might be started in the near future. 

Edited June 2 by StrongCopper
Mixed up a coloration.

[SteelEagle]

Sunny looked at the picture and then back at Allegro, confused. Hitch Trailblazer was one of the nicest and most dedicated ponies in town. She knew the common stereotype of law-ponies were that they could be rough and tumble, but frankly she wasn’t aware of a softer pony in all of Maretime Bay. He was a sweetheart! He couldn’t hurt a fly. Sometimes that bit him in the flank. He was more of the shield sort of stallion than he was the ‘tackle somepony and hogtie them’ style. 

 

“There has to be some mistake. Hitch would never…” She said, shaking her head. Her defenses were up and her shock was apparent. There was absolutely no way Hitch would have done it- even if he had captured a unicorn, the plan was always to release them back out of town towards Bridlewood. Same with Pegasi! Though since the expectation was they could fly, she wasn’t sure how- that didn’t matter!
“Let’s not do anything rash, Allegro. We’ll figure this out, okay?”

[StrongCopper]

Accidental Allegro

 

Allegro... was not a happy camper at the moment. His tail swished behind him, his hooves were stamping against the floor as irritation and rage bubbled within him and demanded to be given an out that he currently wasn't providing. If it had been anyone else asking him to show restraint and not do anything rash, he would have had some very choice words for them before brushing them off completely in order to go hunting for the target of his rage.

 

However... it was Sunny who was asking him.

 

A titanic struggle was clearly being fought within Allegro... and with a sudden sagging of his shoulders and a sigh of defeat, just sort of... drooped backwards onto the floor, sitting upright. "...Fine." he spat, clearly not happy with submitting to her request and making it clear he wasn't but... also still doing as she asked.

[SteelEagle]

She sighed inwardly. He wasn’t happy and so she wasn’t happy, and for good reasons. But she knew for a fact that they needed to be careful about their accusations and even more careful about who they said it too. And she still didn’t think it was Hitch. After all, he was as goodie four shoes as they came! She took a deep breath and then gently rubbed behind Allegro’s ears, almost like how one would a good dog.

“It’ll be okay. We’ll figure that out, okay, and see what happened. But for now, let’s go find Pipp and get you integrated into this community,” she said before she started trotting out of the Brighthouse, then looking back with a swing of her tail, “follow me, Alley.”

[StrongCopper]

Accidental Allegro

 

Allegro... would have liked to stay mad. In fairness, he still was but... well, as Sunny rubbed him behind the ears he couldn't help but close his eyes and lean into her touch. It was really hard to stay angry in the moment when Sunny was being affectionate like that. Taking a deep breath as some  of the fury of the moment faded away and he started to relax, his ear twitched as he heard Sunny walk away... and  beckon him to follow her.

 

Opening his eyes and looking towards the door, he considered making a stand about going and having that shower... or even just reapplying his disguise as a full blooded pony. But in this moment when listening to her was the only way that he was going to avoid running into town in order to locate this 'Hitch' pony with a vengeance and not breaking his implied promise to her, he made himself stand up and follow. "I'll follow wherever you'll lead me." He confessed with... well, a small smile just for her.  

[SteelEagle]

She wasn’t worried about him having to re-apply his disguise. The town was in full music mode and she knew the back alleys, mostly from her younger activist years. She had to learn them all in order to sneak about town and take down all the anti-unity signs and post her own. It never seemed to have an impact back then, but she thanked her lucky stars as she led Allegro through the back alleys and darkened streets of the Bay, outside of the festival and the sights and sounds. She knew where she was going.

 

Mane Melody. Pipp’s part in the festival was done by now, judging by the power chords that went waving across town. She’d be there and they could work together from there and it would be in all their best interest’s to do it soon, because she didn’t think the festival would be going on for too much longer. Not using the front entrance, she jiggled the handle once, twice, and then started knocking somewhat feverishly. “Pipp, it’s Sunny. I need to talk with you!” She said before she leaned over to Allegro. "Hey, just stand around the wall. You’ll still be covered- just wanna prepare her for you, okay Alley?”

[StrongCopper]

Accidental Allegro

 

...This was the first time that Allegro had ever entered Mareside Bay in his natural form.

 

This was, of course, not counting that brief moment he had let the disguise drop during that Nightmare Night holiday and claimed it to be a costume, but that was... different.

 

This was the first time he was in the city as himself. And it was utterly nerve wrecking for him. The only thing that was preventing him from changing his mind was the reassurances and presence of Sunny, whom seemed to know a surprising lot about moving through the settlement without drawing attention to herself for some reason. Maybe because she was so pretty that she got stopped a lot?

 

In the end, they ended up stopping by the back entrance of a building. Nodding his head at Sunny's request to allow her to... prepare her friend for the encounter, he politely retreated further in the alleyway, ducking behind something to stay out of sight... and focus on trying to keep his heart rate down as he closed his eyes and concentrated on breathing.

[Dusty]

“Roll out the red carpet 'cause the queen is here! And bow down before me and be of good cheer! Have my bath ready, and my food prepared! So mirror mirror on the wall, who's the prettiest of them all?” With a kick of a hoof the closet door shut with a hard snap as golden hooves glided along the floor to a beat only in her head. “Me! Me! Me! I'm the queen of them all! I will rise, never fall! I'm forever standing tall!” Her voice sang alone to the clop of her hooves as she trotted across the tile flooring. Closing the shop alone was only as much a drag as one let it be… Even if it was a task underneath her. You gotta do what you got to do sometimes and letting the serfs off early to party was such. It kept them happy and let her enjoy some R&R after a busy day. Maybe she will grab a ride back to the palace and crash at home? She can use the hot tub. 

 

Her daydreaming of sinking into a hot tub bigger than some houses was disrupted by some frantic knocking. It almost made her leap out of her own hide, but thankfully she was alone so no one saw that. Taking a deep breath she perked her ears and took a moment to work out it was Sunny yelling for her. “Oh, what has she done now…” She rushed for the door, only stopping at a mirror to give herself a pass over and swift touch up, then reached the lock to flip it over and push the door open as she peeked her muzzle out. “Sunny? What are you doing banging the door down this late?” She fussed softly. “If you need me to buy something for you again, you don’t have to put on a show you know.”

[SteelEagle]

Sunny sighed as the door opened. She could finally relax a little bit. Don’t let Pipp’s sometimes vain attitude fool you- she was one of the kindest and most accepting ponies she had come to know. She would be a wonderful help when it came to integrating Allegro into Maretime Bay Society, she knew it. Or at the very least, she would write a hit song that vaguely alluded to it. She was just that sort of mare.

 

“Ha, no, I’m good there,” Sunny said nervously, her eyes darting to and fro to make sure they were still clear outside. Then she poked her head inside to ensure it was clear there, too. “You’re alone, right? I figured you would be. Jazz is probably home by now,” she said as she pulled her head out again and took a deep breath.

“I need to show you somepony, but you need to promise to keep. Cool. Keep. Calm,” she said, enunciating very precisely, “we need your help, but this might be a lot to take in. Okay? Okay, deep breath in, out, in...Allegro, you can come out now.”

[StrongCopper]

Accidental Allegro

 

Allegro's eyes were closed, trying to focus on keeping his breathing quiet and steady... and his heart from exploding out of his chest. This was... so much different then presenting himself to Sunny, because at least he had something akin to groundwork there to hopefully prevent her from screaming and running away. He didn't have that same kind of groundwork with Pipp. He wasn't even sure if he had ever met Pipp before or not, memories of the boat trip where he met Sunny being dominated by her!

 

When Sunny asked him to come out... he stalled. He shuffled his hooves enough to make a little noise that would at least let Pipp know that someone was actually there and Sunny wasn't just going crazy but... anxiety really didn't want him to step out into the open.

 

However... it was Sunny asking him to do so.

 

After  a few awkward moments, Allegro's eyes opened as he physically forced himself to step into Sunny and Pipp's line of sight, body shivering and clearly prepared to bolt at the first sign of something being thrown at him.

 

And so Pipp would see what appeared to be an earth pony stallion... that had scales and fins seemingly coming out of random places in his sea salt coated coat. His mane looked more fin then hair and clearly hadn't been taken care of for an extended period of time... and even at the distance between them, he had a strong smell of sea salt and fish. His hooves also hadn't been taken care of for a long time... and there appeared to still be pieces of sand stuck to hair and scale alike in some places. His eyes weren't that of a pony, a golden yellow with silted pupils... and he clearly had fangs. He also had a rather beautiful gem that seemed to be implanted into his neck.

 

After gulping rather loudly, he found that he couldn't bring himself to speak in the moment... but he did slowly raise a hoof to offer a shaky, nervous wave.

[Dusty]

Pipp gave the mare a rather concerned look. “Ooook, what did you do Sunny?” She asked with a soft huff, less one of anger and more the sound of one coming too terms with the fact her night far from over it seems. When the topic moved too showing off some pony… Well. That made her mind wonder. Just what DID sunny do? Well, less do and find. This mare had an insane talent for finding things. For good and bad. Mostly good! But the amount of nonsense that followed was hard too ignore. But Pipp was stuck in it now wasn't she? Some part of her brain told she can shut the door and be free of whatever was about too happen. But she can’t do that. So she just took a soft breath and mentally prepared herself whatever nonsense was bound to happen and opened the door fully, following the mare out. 

 

“I can keep calm.” She muttered. Allegro? What an odd name. It made her brain tickle a little, she heard that term before… Oh! It was one of the honestly too many names for a tempo beat. Her trainers are rolling in their sleep knowing she can’t list them all off the top of her head. Anyways, she liked to go off vibes not old pre-built nomenclature for how her music was structured… 

 

She blinked a few times, eyes moving up and down Allegro’s body. Hooves to ears. Nose to tail… “ah.” Her muzzle scrunched as she took a step back. “Oh… Ok…” She switched too mouth breathing too keep that horrible smell out of her nose. WHAT did sunny drag out of the sea? “You!” She aimed a hoof at Allegro. “Are getting a bath. Now. I can't even focus. Did you sleep in a fishing trawler's hold? Over here this way.” She trotted more outside and shut the door, then moved down the alleyway a little ways and stopped by a hose mounted to the wall of the shop. A drain was close by. “Stand over that. Sunny, grab soap and some brushes. And shame on you. You have a perfectly fine shower but let him wonder around looking like this?"

[SteelEagle]

Allegro came out hesitantly, and who could blame him? Poor siren had to hide his whole life, had to bide his time and lie to survive. She felt nothing but sorrow and sympathy for him- what a sad life he had been forced to lead. And while she was sure it was going to turn around and they had a great plan going, that didn’t mean she assumed it was all going to go free and easy. She half expected Pipp to scream, other half expected her to faint.

 

No part of her expected her main concern to be his look or his odor. She took the news of a siren well enough it seemed, which was happy news. Almost so good that it took Sunny a few seconds to realize what was happening. “Uhh, sure!” She said, still reeling as she ran inside and looked for some supplies. Mane Melody was familiar and well organized and it only took her a few seconds to find what she needed and come back out. She still wasn’t full processing what was happening. “Got it! And, uhh-” she thought about revealing just what had interrupted his quest for a shower and then thought better of it. If the revelation of who Allegro was didn’t shock her, then his belief that Hitch had burned down his home certainly would. “-Yeah, my bad. I felt a little overwhelmed,” she said honestly, hoofing the stuff over as she smiled at Allegro. "Alley, Princess Pipp! Princess Pipp, Allegro!"