Ponyville: When the Village Witch Leaves Her Cabin (open)

[FlimFlam]

Upon following Shimmer into the store, Riddle was struck by the amounts of different flowers. Impressed, he smiled. Obviously this was quite a well run store. Getting a bit sidetracked, he wandered around looking at all the different flowers. He was enjoying the smell until he glanced over at the daffodils. Frowning a touch, he murmured,

"Now why are these plants so sad?"

Trotting over to them (As the shop keeper was looking for myrtles) his horn started glowing a rather pale aura. In a small feat of concentration

the daffodils straightened out and brightened up. Unfortunately, nature spells were not his specialty and within seconds they started wilting again, almost humorously. Frowning slightly, his horn glowed again, and again the daffodils brightened than wilted. Riddle sighed, before casting one last spell. This time, Riddle focused considerably into healing them, only to be defeated a third time. Disappointed, he continued walking past them and stared at some very healthy looking tulips.

[SilverThorn]

"Here you are deary. The last bunch I have."

"Oh thank you so much Blessed Bouquets, they're beautiful. How much do I owe you?"

"Two bits love, and will your gentlecolt friend be getting anything? A lady always appreciates flowers."

The old mare said with a wink.

[FlimFlam]

((O.O.C. - Others can still feel free to join!))

If Mirage had been drinking something, almost certainly he would have done a spit take right about now. Luckily he wasn't, and he somehow managed to not lose any composure. Still, the store keeper's comment had startled him, and it took a few seconds to gather his thoughts. It took him a few more seconds to make sure he didn't stammer out the following

"Gentlecolt? Oh dear me! No, can't say that I am. Just a friend, really! That's quite a conclusion to jump to, really"

Riddle eyes glinted with a small touch of nervousness, before he sighed gently. Mustering all of his remaining charisma, he tried his best to trot casually towards the door, although he paused before turning back.

"Actually, I will take one of those daffodils. I need the magic practice"

[SilverThorn]

"I'm sorry sir, please take it free of charge for me jumping to such a quick conclusion. Now take care both of you!"

Moonlight picked up her flowers using her magic as a daffodil floated by her. She then turned to head out of the store into the crisp spring air.

"She really is a sweet pony, I'm sorry if she embarrassed you,"

She turned down the street to retrace her path home, and was thankful many ponies were too busy to notice her walking through town. There were a couple of frightened looks in the crowds, but the young unicorn felt much more sure of herself with Mirage around.

[FlimFlam]

"Embarrassed? Perhaps caught off gaurd, but it takes more than that to embarrass me."

Riddle gave a brief smile as he spoke, before continuing to follow Shimmer down the road. Although His companion certainly didn't seem to mind the crowds, Riddle certainly managed to notice the occasional glances. As the ponies gave fearful looks, he was finally starting to get the gist of her problem. For the most part, he figured being ignored would cause a scene, but from that, a few stray thoughts began emerging. He turned his head towards Shimmer, as his trot sped up a little to keep pace.

"Hey, I don't suppose any of these ponies know you very well, do they? Perhaps a good introduction is all you really need. After all, if they know there's nothing to fear, they wouldn't have anything to fear!"

Of course, there was the slight problem of actually accomplishing this...

[Volt]

[OOC: Open means open. Well now ...a witch, a magician and a knight... adventure time or what...?]

~~ Ardent Will ~~

Ardent was a bit disappointed, yet happy. Although his trip to Everfree Forest resulted with no new discoveries concerning herbs, he was glad from spending a few moments in the wild. Currently, he was making his way back to Cloudsdale, flying slowly over the rooftops of Ponyville. Although the slight breeze was giving a rather cool feeling, his armor protected him well from wind. First flights in it were really exhausting, but with time Will became stronger, allowing him to remain in air for longer.

He observed the streets below, greeting few ponies who managed to notice and recognize him. It was satisfying, that during his few short visits here, he already managed to help out few inhabitants of this peaceful town. He had to admit, they possessed an extremely friendly attitude. As he flied above the florist shop, he realized there was a slightest change in the atmosphere below. The crowd was a bit more quiet than usual, as well as it seemed... distracted by something. Will, following a few stares, noticed a pair of white unicorns with black manes.

"And what's this all about?" - he wondered, frowning a bit, as he hanged above, beating the air with his wings. He felt it was his duty to investigate, and make sure everything is in order. Pegasus glided down, landing between the crowd, behind those two unicorns. His armor attracted the stares of some curious ponies around. As he trotted towards the pair of white ponies in front of him, he observed the crowd, trying to understand the commotion. When he approached both unicorns, he noticed they were both still quite young. A mare, and a stallion. "Well now, lets see what we've got here..."

"Praised be Princess Celestia, my friends!" - he exclaimed behind their backs, hoping to draw their attention, as he pulled his helmet and tied it to his left bag, which was filled with various medicine. Stallions mane immediately expanded, flowing on the back of his neck naturally. He smiled, as he caught a glimpse of sapphire implemented in front of his armor, and raised his head again. "I admit I haven't seen you around yet. Are you new in Ponyville?" - he asked with friendly voice, raising an eyebrow.

[SilverThorn]

"Oh.. umm... hello..."

Moonlight immediately went back into her shell when the pegasus approached them.

"I... I've lived here for almost a year. Wh-Why do you ask?"

The young unicorn couldn't look the stallion in the face, and unconsciously scooted a little closer to Riddle as she spoke.

[FlimFlam]

Riddle, for one, was fascinated with this armored pony's sudden appearance. Okay, well maybe at first he was slightly annoyed. He never was fond when new questions just flew out of the sky. Anyways, he looked over this new stallion for a good second or two, thinking to himself all the while. 'Armor, huh? Who would wear armor around Ponyville? More likely that he's out of town. What did he say earlier? Praise Celestia? Yes, that was it. Ha, this is getting interesting.' He was quite aware of how Shimmer shied up again, but that couldn't be avoided now. Pausing for a second, he gathered some stray thoughts.

"I suppose you could say I'm new here, yes. Than again, I'm really new everywhere. Now, my friend here brought up a rather good point, and I must admit I'm thinking more or less the same. Why do you ask?"

Riddle stopped and waited for an answer, and turned his head facing towards this armored pony.

[Volt]

Stallion was used to different reactions towards him. Fear, fascination, curiosity, cautiousness, hesitation... he simply learned to get over it quickly to daily basis. Although he couldn't help throwing a fleeting glance at young mare, who obviously felt intimidated by his presence. That was a reaction he hated the most, as he usually had to start with the official presentation and questioning. It never helped with ponies oriented negatively at his persona. Ardent decided it would be better to address second unicorn, who seemed more confident about his words.

"Perhaps first question from your side shall sound, 'Who are you?' " - Will switched his eyes upon stallion - "My name sounds Ardent Will and, as one of Destrier brothers, I've pledged my loyalty to our most beloved ruler, Princess Celestia." - Ardent spoke, staring right into the eyes of unicorn standing vis-a-vis. His smile faded away, his voice sounded official, an intonation which Royal Guards would probably use - "But, returning to your former question. My oath obligates me of maintaining peace and safety amongst the ponykind, even if it meant throwing my reputation onto the scales. I've noticed from above that crowd around you seems to be much more... tense, than usual..." - Pegasus frowned, realizing his words may sound hostile. But it couldn't be helped, it was his duty towards Princess to investigate any potential threats to society. - "Is there any particular reason behind this?"

[SilverThorn]

Moonlight Shimmer dropped her head, and the bouquet of flowers she had been carrying with her magic fell to the ground. All the eyes in the crowd were upon her now, and she could feel them. She tried to speak, but no words came. Tears started to well up in her eyes, and she could feel her legs growing weak beneath her. She began to chastise herself inside her head as she could do nothing more than stand there and cry silently.

"It's because of me! They think I'm evil, and are wary of me! I should have stayed in the forest where I belong!"

[FlimFlam]

Riddle was beginning to panic a little. Not for his sake, but for Shimmers. She was obviously, well, miserable. 'Oh, dear Celestia, this is not good.' Riddle was fretting a bit, when out of the blue, a thought struck him. He was considering some way of introducing Shimmer to the town moments ago, was he not? Even thought the answer was a bit of a deus ex machina, it was a rather sound one. Still facing the armored stallion, Ardent Will apparently, he spoke.

"Yes, I'm afraid there is a reason behind this, but it certainly isn't us. No, if I might say, the citizens of Ponyville brought this on themselves. Shimmer here seems to have gained an unfair reputation as the town witch, when she does nothing of the sort. Not a curse in sight, but still the ponies fear her. Why? Well now, I believe that's the real question."

At this point, several ponies in the crowd were a bit stunned and looked straight at Riddle. Not quite the reaction he was working for, but hey, take what you can get. He continued on

"Speaking of questions, I do believe its my turn to ask you one, is it not? You mentioned the princess, so does that make some sort of guard, perhaps? Wait, no... a guard probably wouldn't leave his post. So, then, what does that make you?"

Riddle adopted a more curious tone of voice, but a few ponies still stared oddly at him.

[Volt]

In different circumstances, that answer wouldn't surprise Will. But it was Ponyville they were talking about. It was unimaginable for him to even assume local ponies could act this way. But, on the other hoof, he saw incidents of unjustified condemn in past already. Ardent made a closer inspection of the crowd around. Their reactions on unicorn's reply seemed to confirm what he just said. Those two weren't guilty... they were victims.

"Well? What are you all glaring at?" - he exclaimed to ponies gathered around. He noticed long ago that his armor gave him that piece of authority he lacked in the past. - "Have you never seen two unicorns walking the streets? Shame on you, citizens of Ponyville! Move along, I am more than sure you have different matters to attend to." - Ardent finished his short speech. One could clearly hear a threat hidden in his voice, not mentioning an expression of anger on his face. Even though it was faked, naturally. But it seemed to work this time, as he noticed agitation in the crowd. Will kept observing them until he was sure they've, in most cases, lost their interest.

Stallion lowered his voice, so that nopony unwanted could hear his words anymore, as he turned back to white unicorn in front of him. He replied in friendly way, without a sign of recent anger - "Sort of, you could say. I am a brother apothecary in Destriers organization. Some consider us as knights, due to the traditions of our past. We're an unofficial group, serving Celestia with our lives and deeds, but our presence is tolerated by Royal Forces. After all, our goals are similar in the end." - Ardent explained quickly. He considered this explanation traditional already. Having to repeat it so often... "Now, if you'll excuse me..." - threw Will, as he dropped on his four in front of young mare.

"Please, accept my sincere apologies." - he directed those words towards the unicorn of opposite gender, speaking softly - "It was not in my intentions to hurt any of you, but I must follow my duties above anything else. It is not the first, nor, as I believe, the last time I'm being put in situation like this." - Will noticed a bouquet lying in front of her. He recognized them easily. "Myrtles, aren't they? Quite interesting gardening plants, but, more importantly, with some ingenious solutions, really useful in medicine. Not mentioning the aromatic oils..."

[Volt]

[OOC: Derp, why did it double post...?]

[SilverThorn]

"I.. I... I need them to make an antidote for a p-p-poor little bunny..."

Moonlight was still having a hard time speaking. The crowd leaving had helped with the anxiety a little, but the new stranger hard really startled and upset her. He seemed like a nice pony, but it was taking her some time to recover from the ordeal. She still remained close to Riddle, but she did manage to look up at the stallion in armor.

[FlimFlam]

Riddle was a bit taken aback when Ardent dropped on his fours, although by now he was used to being taken aback. Hmm.. He had thought Shimmer would have begun to unshell herself by now. It had to happen eventually. In the meantime, he used levitated the myrtles off the ground (an injured plant can't be better than a healthy one) and proceeded to explain

"I believe what my companion is trying to say is that a bunny was bitten by a swelling sally. The myrtles were to be part of one of the ingenious solutions you mentioned."

All of a sudden, Riddle practically facehoofed himself.

"I forgot to introduce myself, didn't I? Most folks call me..." Riddle paused with a sly grin. He had already introduced himself today, and he had a few ideas floating around. "Why don't we make sort of a game? If you guess right, it'll be as clear as one of those desert illusions. Name always escapes me for those. Anyways, Here's you're hint. It ends with a riddle"

Perhaps not his most ingenious riddle, but it served its purpose.

[Volt]

Ardent was relieved, although he chose not to express it. Thankfully, he managed to force a reaction out of young mare. He wouldn't care much if she hated him, but why should he add more foes onto his, already long, list? Pegasus straightened up after hearing an explanation. It seemed that those two really weren't dangerous at all. But he found himself a tiny bit surprised as stallion unicorn filled in some more information.

"Swelling sally and... solution? It would take some medical knowledge to create a proper antidote." - wondered Will, as he eyeballed them both. They weren't looking like they'd know much about medicine. But, on the other hoof, he wasn't looking like this at all either. Afterward, as stallion mentioned a little game to play concerning his name, Ardent made a wry face. It wasn't in his competence scope to be solving riddles... In fact, he hated those. "Riddles are much like metaphors..." - he shivered as this thought flashed in his mind.

Will turned his words towards the riddler: "I am sure I'll have enough time to solve this puzzle as we travel, because right now I feel it should be your priority to go and help the injured one." - he stated neutrally. He wasn't in mood to be solving these kind of issues in this very moment. - "I'd be glad to accompany you in your way and make sure you're not bothered by anypony anymore." - it was partially true. After all he wanted to protect them from others the same way he wanted to protect others from them. But additional reason which pushed him to this decision, was fact that they were somehow connected with medicine and, he had to notice this, swelling sally. "It's not like they grow everywhere around, this is becoming quite interesting." - Pegasus smiled to them upon thinking this - "Shall we proceed?"