[PM for Invite] [Manehattan] Of Magic And More

[tacobob]

"It was something, I tell you.", Fire Walker followed the mage with an extra 'bounce' to her step, "The princess held an unexpected and unannounced meeting with my squad to congratulate us after we broke a rather long standing training record. This was the day after we all had celebrated rather long into the night after breaking said record. That morning every bone and muscle in my body ached and I had the worst headache ever. But the second she came into view and all my aches and pains just vanished. Unfortunately I gave a squad mate standing next to me two rather blackened eyes after my wings had managed to release themselves into his face. I was not punished for this, since it apparently happens a lot in the Princess's presence."

[RarityDash]

Arcana just smiled, amused as ever. His petty attempt to read her. How silly. It didn't matter if he approached truth, because those truths themselves didn't matter to Arcana. The same fire that had left her as alone as the stallion assumed--how he assumed while lambasting her for assumptions was in itself a delightful bit of irony--had numbed in her the emotions that permitted to her to be troubled with the words of fools. No, foal was a better word than fool. This was a child throwing a tantrum. Oh how she pitied the guard who had been given the thankless job of acting as his foalsitter.

The mare was more fascinating. She actually possessed the all too rare ability to think. That she threw her lot behind Celestia even still, muddled things, but she seemed more rational with it then most. Perhaps it really was on physicality? Arcana could respect that almost, as silly as it were. Regardless, this was a pony she could actually have intelligent discourse.

She watched as the guardspony ran after her charge. She couldn't make out all of what was said, but the guardsmare seemed to be trying to convince the other to make amends. How entertaining. Something in this mare was actually starting to intrigue her, and it was rare that Arcana found herself intrigued by some common pony. As the thief ran past, Arcana was compelled to follow as well.

She could hear the guard gush about the princess as she she drew nearer. The way she talked it really did have more the sound of schoolfilly's crush than a soldier's loyalty. Arcana smirked. How amusing.

"Before your beloved princess came to power, we were not so helpless as you say," Arcana spoke up in her approach, choosing to return to an earlier point. "Ponykind came together to found Equestria without any one exalted leader. We existed for ages without her. We were strong then." She gave a small laugh. "Though hearing what I do now, I do not suppose I would expect you to listen when it comes to Her Imperial Majesty."

[SirShadowdeath]

Bound's ears perked up, and his eyes widened.

"Existed? Without our 'beloved princess', we could barely fight ze Windigos!"

He turned around, tensed up and looked Arcana straight in the eyes, focused, angry, and unamused. His back leg twitched a bit as his muscles tightened.

"Ye really think quite highly, don't you? Hopeless care, ye are. If I was so far below you, high scholar, why do ye continue to talk to me? To everyone else below your royal hooves? Gah! We should just kick out ze princess and put ye in power, mare. I'm sure everypony would love a cold hearted, selfproclaimed everything like you!"

Bound snarled in frustration, almost ready to lose his temper completely.

"It's ponies like you who caused such troubles in ze first place! Thinking of yeself so highly! Well listen 'ere, Missy," he yelled rantingly. "I don't care about anythin' ye say anymore! Ye are more uneducated than ye think! In fact, just looking at ye poor face burns my eyes!"

Finishing his angry rant, he turned his head swiftly away from Arcana. With his heart beating, he quickly took off in the opposite direction of her.

"Hopeless case! Not even ze princess could correct such behavior!"

[RarityDash]

Arcana shrugged, unfazed by what the stallion had said. Her behavior needed correction? That he would say something like that in the midst of a child's tantrum. How useless. He wondered why she talked to him still without realizing he had long since stopped being the focus of her words. It was the stallion thief who had first risen to her challenge and the guardsmare who now had her interest piqued. She had long since lost interest in this one. And why shouldn't she have? He now mocked her for her claims of superiority, but he seemed unable to prove her claims otherwise.

Turning back to the mare, perfectly fine with letting the fool wander off, she gave a mild laugh. "I know not what manner of stipend you've been promised for your current venture, but I do doubt it could possibly be worth enduring such foalish comportment. I would advise you to let this one be and move along." She shook her head and sighed. "You seem to be a reasonable sort, your Celestial infatuation notwithstanding. The vocation of foalsitter is far beneath you."

[tacobob]

"I celebrate 'Hearth's Warming Eve' every year, just like every pony, so I know the story.", Fire Walker's tone was not intended to be either rude or condescending, but direct, "Yes, our ancestors were able to come together and defeat the Wendigos, but after that, things quickly got even worse. Those spooky horse-ice-phantom things were just signs of things to come. Discord was able to take control and he nearly drove the world into a state of non-stop chaos. Princess Celestia was able to defeat the draconequus and in turn restore order back into our world. If it wasn't for her, we would not be alive today."

She could not help but smile as Spellbound ranted and raved as the mare got closer. Without Arcane, he was very dull and sluggish with his tone of speech and movement, but when she was near, a fire erupted in his belly filling him with a near unstoppable source of energy and vigor. She wanted to say something in regards to that, but the words that were tucked inside were not suitable to be spoken out loud in public, and especially with a young colt within ear-range. She just followed the stallion, "Burns your eyes? Sir, be honest, she's not that bad looking, and she's as smart a kick to the 'jimmies'. If you intend to find great magic and the what-not, you could use her. I'm sure she probably has a great deal of knowledge when it comes to magical artifacts. Not like 'Scrappy' or I will be of any use there. I know how to handle myself against a magic using creature or pony, and I know the names of a cantrip or two, but when it comes to the technical stuff, I'm lost."

[sevofthesands]

Lucky stopped

"Scrappy? huh cute." he stated almost offended but it was a sign that somepony was warming up to him at least so he smiled

[SilverSwirl]

(I'm officially out of this. You people move too fast and I am overwhelmed by the sheer number of posts. I was going to come back in but the story is moving so quickly and I don't think Timid really fits for this.)

[SirShadowdeath]

(OOC: Sorry. . Next time I'll slow down...)

Bound simply brushed off Arcana's comments and continued of his "merry" way.

"Can't hear ye over the sound of ye ignorance," was all he said as he progressively made his way down the street. He turned back one more time, and the shook his head and frowned. He mumbled some jumbled words, and then rounded the corner at the edge of the street.

[RarityDash]

Arcana shook her head. Was the stallion so shaken by what she had said that he was now shutting everything out, or was he purposefully ignoring his guard's words? it was particularly funny to her, in that she hadn't even said anything aimed at him directly. She was however again intrigued by the guard's take on history; so, while she could care less about the stallion, it still seemed worth it to continue after them.

"Celestia bested Discord, yes, but so too recently did six mares of humble origin," Arcana argued, continuing after the mare. "Was it truly Celestia's power that smote the beast? I think not. It was a set of puissant magic relics, to which our dear exalted princess is no longer even steward to."

Giving a stern nod she concluded. "It was the common pony who today warded off the madness, and it could have been then too. Her Lordly Majesty is hardly so paramount as she or anypony else would want us to believe. Have you not heard of recent events? The invasion of Canterlot? Her Omnipotent Highness bested in combat by a monster queen? It was the barrier magic of your guard captain who won the day while she lie prone, was it not?"

[tacobob]

"The 'Elements' are just useless baubles in the hooves of the unworthy, so while most of Celestia's Champions might have been of humble origins, I'm sure there is something very special about each and everypony of them. The only member of that esteemed group I know of Is Twilight Sparkle, who is both the princess' apprentice and the captain of the guard's sister. I've heard rumors that she is part of Starswirl The Bearded's bloodline, an 'element of magic' and possibly the most powerful spell user since Starswirl himself. Not bad for a mare straight out of school.", Fire Walker was really starting to enjoy her conversation with the unicorn. While she was hardly a scholar, she enjoyed pouring through the history books in Canterlot's famous libraries. She also kept her ears open for all manner of rumors and news from the other guards and city workers, this was something she now missed a great deal.

"Unfortunately I left service before the wedding, so everything I know of the ‘event’ was from other ponies or newspapers.", she sighed, "Figures. I leave Canterlot due to utter boredom, and several months later, the place is filled with excitement. Found out a good friend of mine, 'Thunder Heart' sacrificed himself saving a small group of school-foals.”, she shook her head sadly, “I did hear there was a surprisingly short amount of casualties during that whole fracas, which is good, but those things, those ‘Changelings’, I don’t believe they were all killed, mostly blown away by some spell of sorts. I do hope they sent a squad of warriors to finish them off while they were weak, or at least take out the Queen before she regained her strength. As for our princess. I'm not sure what the deal is. Maybe she is getting weaker with age. Maybe she's planning on stepping down and restoring Equestria to the power structure of the old ways. We'd get a King and Queen, and Royal Wizard of sorts. I could see it happening. Not sure what sort of King, 'Shining' would be. He's a hel..heck of a guy. A real party animal and he really really loves Princess Cadance. The stories I heard about those two.", she chuckled while trying to keep up with Spellbound, "They're going to have a lot of foals, that's to be sure, but I wonder if they're all going to be alicorns?". The armored mare frowned deeply when 'Spellbound' referred to Arcane as being 'ignorant', the pegasus found it so refreshing to hear from a pony that held strong opinions, even if they were negative when it came to her beloved princess. The ponies that lived in Canterlot who were not fans of their ruler generally kept quiet as they feared she might send them to the 'moon' if they voiced opposition to her rule.

OOC: I'm currently waiting for an artist to finish a pic of my OC. This one listed below..Kind of looks like Fire Walker. Mind you, Fire Walker doesn't have a multicolored mane and she has -both- her eyes. This pic was drawn by http://valkyrie-girl.deviantart.com/

[SirShadowdeath]

Spellbound stood quite silently behind the corner of the street. He didn't talk, and breathed almost At an inaudible volume. Bound had a bit of a headache, but it was nothing major. He listened to the conversation between his so called guard and the ignorant scholar. He shook his head listening to the conversation. Clearly they did not recognize the power of the true queen...Nightmare Moon. Celestia was helpless compared to the ruler night itself! But now only a shell of Nightmare Moon was left...Princess Luna. The unicorn shook his head in a mixture of anger and confusion, still trying to ignore his headache.

(OOC: In case the NM part seems a bit confusing, look up his backstory! I'll post a link to his app if I remember.)

[RarityDash]

Hardly paying the stallion mage a mind anymore, Arcana nodded and considered her response to the points the guard brought up.

"Believe me I have poured over myriad articles and records expounding upon this Twilight Sparkle," she said with clear frustration. "I am not one easily driven to envy, but in the case of this pony who has reached such staggering heights at such a young age, and so easily, as a mage who toils tirelessly to better my own magic where I can, I can't help but begrudge."

"However, if the records are any indicator, the other five bearers of those Elements are of all too quotidian stock. Or, well... I suppose to be fair, one of the pegasi has demonstrated to capable of what may be a wholly unique ability; though I will admit I lack the enthusiasm for your pegasus magic to have researched that very far. Nothing of note exists in journals or records on the other four, at least not in the subject of magical aptitudes; they merely exhibit the right set of qualities," Arcana started in a steady nod. "They're a genius if rather silly breed of magical artifact, those Elements, deriving their unmitigated power from commonplace virtues."

She turned to the talk of the wedding next, giving a nod. "Ah, yes, the Changelings. Fascinating beasts, I say. Studying rare, exotic or unusual beasts is a passion of mine second only to my study of magic, you see. Did you know these Changelings can effortlessly take the shape of anypony they please? For as far as either of us knows the other could even in truth be one herself! Isn't that just a delightfully fun thought?" Arcana gave a hard laugh and smiled.

"As for your succession, isn't another in the line before that? Or has that one lost right to the throne?" Arcana started, laughing some more and then sighing. "I suppose after 1000 years the idea of an Equestria ruled by Nightmare Moon herself might have become difficult for some to reconcile themselves to."

[tacobob]

“I have a feeling if Celestia were to step down, her sister would follow her. Let the mortals run things for a bit, see what we can do. If we foul things up, the sun goddess could always pop back into power.", Fire Walker pondered out-loud, "As for the Changelings, from the little that I've heard, the vast majority of them were barely intelligent. They could assume another form, but they could not duplicate the skills or powers of that form beyond basic flight and some sort of green blast power they could shoot from their horns. Physically they were very weak and generally depended on their great numbers to overwhelm their opponents, Their shifted forms could be easily dispersed with a simple spell. Probably something to break their concentration.”, the former guard added with a shrug of her shoulders, “It’s the Queen I’d be worried about, and even Shining Armor. She could have done things to the good Captain while he was under her spell, things that might bite Canterlot in the flank when they least expect it.”, she bit her bottom lip as she pondered this.

Fire Walker noticed the poor shape that the other unicorn was in, “Sir? Are you feeling alright? Should we get something to eat?”, she glanced at him feeling somewhat sorry for the stallion, “A nice hardy meal should breathe some life back into your bones! What do you say? This area is just littered with cafes and decent restaurants.”, she pulled out a small booklet from one of her saddlebags, “There’s a place nearby called 'Pete's Apizza'. Would that be suitable for you?"

[sevofthesands]

Lucky nodded.

"yeah i like the place its cheap but its good quality." he then decide to comment on the current discussion "i also hear that the elements are all lookers so if nothin else there's that." he said hoping for a chuckle

[tacobob]

"Really? You're going there? All 'lookers'?", Fire Walker kept her eyes on Spellbound as she spoke with Lucky, "I never actually met Twilight Sparkle, but I saw her brother, and he is rather easy on the eyes, so I guess she would be attractive as well. Princess Cadance on the other hoof is very gorgeous, but she could afford to put on a few pounds. Poor mare is skinny, even for a alicorn. You'd think they'd eat better in the castle.", she continued to wait on the stallion and started to regret her decision on taking the job. The pay was great, but all this standing around, it was like when she was back on the 'beat', but even then she was permitted to move her legs during certain shifts. At least Lucky was amusing and the other unicorn was interesting to chat with.

[RarityDash]

"Nightmare Moon once instigated a massive war for her sister's throne. I wonder if she'd just relinquish all right to it now, regardless of how far she's regressed? A diverting thought, I suppose," Arcana said with a sigh to the mare, noticing the stallion mage had went quite quiet.

"As for the beasts, I don't believe any were captured alive for study. I'd hazard a guess that there's more to those creatures than what the ponies who won the day would have us believe. Though indeed you are correct when it comes to their queen being the most parlous menace..." Arcana said with a pleased laugh. "And your hypothesis about the guard captain is a very reasonable one. There's no telling what fantastic that monster queen's magic might be capable of. The abiding effects could certainly be worth vigilant surveillance."

The conversation turned to the thief and the guard discussing the appearances of the element bearers. Arcana was not a pony concerned with such things. it was silly talk to her, who had no real opinions about such things. Physical beauty was not something that particularly compelled her, especially when compared to power. Still she listened and nodded along.

[tacobob]

"I've read more than a few theories on what happened to Luna." Fire Walker paused to study Spellbound's eyes, "Discord has been known to be able to pervert the minds of others, but would he have been powerful enough to meddle with the mind of an Alicorn? I do know she was getting rather restless before their battle with the Draconequus. I know she was getting extra cranky over the whole 'ponies not celebrating her er, shift'. Things were different then. When it was dark, ponies made sure they were inside, with their doors barricaded. There was no 'night-life' in Equestria. No night-clubs, no twenty-four hour open all day and night general stores, and ponies sure did not have night-jobs. You were safely barricaded inside, or something horrible outside would probably grab you or your family and gobble 'em up. Things were tough.", she waved a hoof at her boss's son, "Also heard rumors that she was possessed by dark spirits, or a spell or magic item she had backfired and turned her into Nightmare Moon, but if you've ever got the chance to meet Luna, which I have more than once, you'd really feel bad for her. She's so shy, so sweet, so innocent and so very young, at least in the whole 'maturity' side of things. But she walks around like she's stepping on eggshells. She never seems to know how to react when it comes to others, so she spends a lot of time by herself. She is nothing like 'Nightmare Moon'. Just don't know why Princess Celestia hasn't set her up with a stallion. She could use the aggravation and the..er..", she quickly remembered the youthful 'Lucky' nearby and continued to try her best at keeping her usually 'salty' language back a bit, "And the company. Yes. Company."

She cleared her throat, "How familiar are you with this city?", she asked Arcana, "Could you recommend anyplace to eat? I'm a little worried about sir here."