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       #Post#: 2205--------------------------------------------------
       Re: Float Like a Parasprite, Sting Like a Manticore
       By: Princess Celestia Date: April 16, 2014, 10:06 pm
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       The mare kept her eyes on the notebook when she was addressed,
       her finishing the sentence she was rereading while
       simultaneously turning her ears to listen to the questions of
       the two guards. Once finished she looked up and gave a small
       smile, the mare then tapping a hoof lightly onto the ground as
       she closed her notebook and tucked it up against her body.
       "Hold on..." she said, continuing to tap as she scrunched up her
       face a bit in focus, the pony visibly trying to work something
       out in her head, "... One sec... I know this... Um... Bonjour!
       Comment... e-est la météo? Où pa... peh... peut-on trouver...
       um... une salle de... bains?" She giggled a little before taking
       ok a slight shade of embarrassment.
       "Sorry. I'm trying to improve my understanding of some more
       languages to help with my job. Juuri nyt olen vain tietää
       muutamia." Another smile, followed by a blink and ending with a
       another look of embarrassment. "Er... Anyway, about your
       questions. Princess Celestia has always been trying to make
       plans for bringing over the artifacts left at the old castle,
       but something usually tends to divert her attention. Right now
       though, Instructor Gleam hasn't been giving her a chance to get
       distracted as he thinks he's found a good use for the artifact
       and has been bringing it up with the Princess a lot lately. He
       wants to study it, and she trusts him, so that on top of her
       desire to bring these things here already seems a good enough
       reason to bring it home." The mare took a moment to brush a
       strand of her mane from her face before glancing back at the
       door leading to the Princess' chambers
       "Or, well, that's how it was a couple weeks ago. Originally this
       wasn't going to be as big of a deal, but since then we've
       learned that Gleam might not be the only pony who has been
       looking into this... Gleam actually does have a point about the
       magic surrounding the vault at the old castle. It is indeed
       becoming increasingly outdated as the centuries roll by, the
       power behind the spells and enchantments also losing some of
       their energy as well and simply weakening with age, so... if
       other ponies are looking into this star thing and really did
       want to get into the old vault, we could have a problem... Add
       all of this together and we get you two here gearing up to solve
       this.
       "As for why only just the amulet gets to be escorted to the
       city? Well, if we remove the current item of interest from the
       old vault and put it somewhere where we're sure nopony can ever
       get to it without us knowing, the Princess hopes that will
       remove some of the interest in the old vault for now. You know,
       once news 'leaks' that its safe and sound. Most of what's in
       there is really really difficult to find any information on, so
       chances are the possible ponies looking to pilfer for profit
       won't know about any of the other nasty knick knacks in there,
       and why risk your life on a gamble, right? If the ponies were
       smart enough to learn about the star whatchamathing then they
       are probably smart enough to avoid one of the most dangerous
       places in the country once said object is no longer within
       reach. At least, thats what were hoping. Then there's how taking
       more than one of what's in there would, as the Princess said,
       draw too much attention. Should a unicorn anywhere near there do
       a sweep for magical energies you two would light up like a
       beacon. Best to keep this low key. Especially when you two are
       carrying a certain key."
       Turning her attention to the stallion of the pair, the mare only
       shrugged slightly.
       "Eh. I already know everything they're going to talk about, so
       she probably just wanted to discuss a few things other than
       work. Or maybe more work. I dunno. Either way, if there's
       anything I need to be made aware of for the Princess'
       convenience I be filled in when they're done. My name is Pen, by
       the way. Pen Sketch. Some ponies call me Penny, and I'm Princess
       Celestia's personal assistant. Number one if you want to get
       playful about it. If I'm right about you two becoming regulars
       then I'd like to make sure we at least know each others a bit.
       Bastion. Blossom. Or do you two prefer to be addressed as Aurora
       Noctem when together?"
       #Post#: 2319--------------------------------------------------
       Re: Float Like a Parasprite, Sting Like a Manticore
       By: Blossom Gale Date: April 22, 2014, 7:38 pm
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       Blossom scrunched her face up trying not to laugh as Pen tried
       to respond to what she said in Prench. It was entirely
       unnecessary for her to try; Blossom knew how to speak Equestrian
       and the only reason she didn't were cases when she was excited,
       when she forgot, or when she just didn't want to be understood.
       This had been one of the instances where she had forgotten and
       would have been fine clarifying herself, but it was nice to find
       somepony trying to at least learn to speak her language. Until
       then, she would have to get used to expecting questions about
       the weather and where the bathroom is in response to her
       questions.
       Pen's explanation of what the princess may want to talk to them
       about came as a bit of a surprise though. What kind of things,
       other than work, could be discussed with a princess? Was she
       going to simply ask them how their day was? Or maybe ask how
       their families are? Or what they have learned about friendship
       for the day? That would be interesting, wouldn't it? Asking a
       guard who stood in front of a door looking straight ahead all
       day what they learned about friendship. Considering the fact
       that there was an expensive and important amulet that needed to
       be saved from a crumbling ruin and overzealous treasure hunters,
       surely such discussions of friendship could wait until
       afterwards, and maybe with a cup of coffee waiting in the wings.
       "You can call us either or, we will respond to them just the
       same, miss Penny," Blossom responded in her usual tone, looking
       back to the door a little impatiently. As much patience as she
       had to be able to stand in front of a door for hours on end,
       this wait was getting to be a little excruciating, "If it is
       more work that the princess would have us do, I can only imagine
       what it must be if she would rather us wait for her." She looked
       over to Bastion and said, "It would be nice to get back to
       Ponyville after so long. I remember the last time we were sent
       there; it was the most uneventful deployment ever. It felt more
       like a vacation really."
       #Post#: 2356--------------------------------------------------
       Re: Float Like a Parasprite, Sting Like a Manticore
       By: Bastion Date: April 25, 2014, 3:13 am
       ---------------------------------------------------------
       Bastion gave a slight nod of agreement as Blossom said Pen could
       call them either or, briefly shifting his weight on his hooves
       as he also glanced over to the door with Blossom. He wasn't
       entirely sure himself why they were still having to wait outside
       the door as well, but he supposed the Princess had a good
       reason. Then as Blossom brought up the last time they'd visited
       Ponyville, Bastion glanced over to her with a grin and a shrug.
       "It wasn't that bad of a post. Sorta uneventful, maybe, but
       there were some pretty interesting things for us to do there. I
       mean, there could be worse places to be sent..." He let that lie
       with a shrug before shifting his gaze between Pen and the door
       beside them, obviously growing more anxious by the moment.
       #Post#: 2363--------------------------------------------------
       Re: Float Like a Parasprite, Sting Like a Manticore
       By: Princess Celestia Date: April 25, 2014, 10:05 am
       ---------------------------------------------------------
       Pen let her eyes flick between the two ponies as they spoke and
       stared at the door, reading how they both were growing so
       impatient over having to stand outside the room. She reached
       into her pack and sifted through all the extra pens and what not
       to reach a pocket watch she kept to check the time. It had been
       a total of... Like, eight minutes maybe, give or take. Yeesh,
       these two were impatient. Shed assumed having the amount of door
       duty that these two have would have instilled a stronger
       tolerance to waiting into them. If this is how quick they are to
       get anxious then Pen didn't think they were going to like
       working for the princess directly all that much... Things can
       often crawl rather than sprint around here considering all the
       junk Princess Celestia usually needed to go through to get
       anything done. Deciding to leave them to their door watching,
       Penny went back to reviewing her notes.
       A few minutes later the doors opened, Thunder being the first to
       exit with the stallion appearing less bouncy in his step and
       more serious, him trotting over towards the side of the doors
       and sitting down while Mana exited from behind him and
       approached Blossom and Bastion. His horn lit up as he removed a
       small amulet from under his armor, it appearing very dull and
       relatively uninteresting to anypony who didn't know what it was.
       "Have you two been given one of these yet?" Mana asked them,
       floating it out enough for them to see better in case the answer
       was 'no', "a Blinker? The Princess asked us to check with you
       about it first and give you one if you don't have your own yet."
       #Post#: 2382--------------------------------------------------
       Re: Float Like a Parasprite, Sting Like a Manticore
       By: Blossom Gale Date: April 25, 2014, 4:48 pm
       ---------------------------------------------------------
       Unbeknownst to Pen, the two of them did have quite a tolerance
       for waiting for things, given the fact that the two of them
       would be tasked to stand in front of a single door for hours on
       end. However, there was a difference between standing guard at a
       door, and waiting outside of a door for the most important
       individual in all of the land to come outside and discuss things
       with them. One of them involved expecting nothing to happen the
       entirety of the day, though still keeping an eye out for
       suspicious activities or individuals. The other was
       understandably much more stressful, especially for those who do
       not stand around the princess all day, since they needed to be
       on their best behaviour and able to show their best at all
       times, even if that included waiting, which they were both very
       good at.
       In fact, Blossom did not do much to showcase any sort of
       impatience, with her four armoured hooves remaining rooted in
       place after her enlightening chat with Pen, and the banner on
       her polearm swaying ever-so-slightly as it was balanced against
       her side expertly. If there could be any sort of impatience seen
       in the pinkish coloured mare who stood with as much of a sense
       of honour and dignity as she could, it would be the eagerness to
       serve her leader in however way she could. "... many worse
       places, oui." She muttered in response to Bastion before her
       ears perked up as the doors opened and Mana walked out,
       levitating a device for the two of them to see. "Non," she said
       in response, "we have yet to be given any equipment other than
       our armour and weapons. Assuming that this Blinker was being
       offered to them, Blossom would take it and look it over before
       giving it to Bastion as she asked, "but if her Highness wishes
       for us to carry one, then we shall."
       #Post#: 2411--------------------------------------------------
       Re: Float Like a Parasprite, Sting Like a Manticore
       By: Bastion Date: April 28, 2014, 4:49 am
       ---------------------------------------------------------
       Unlike Blossom, Bastion really was showing signs of anxiousness.
       He could hardly stand still as his hooves fidgeted on the
       ground, a knot growing in his stomach from anticipation. But,
       with something like having to wait for something as exciting as
       the mission they were given, that reaction could hardly be
       called unprecedented. Standing guard at a door or something
       similar was one thing--waiting to hear more about something that
       you were looking forward to so much was another. Really, though,
       he just wanted to finish the briefing so they could both get on
       with the mission, already. Not that he wasn't grateful they had
       the opportunity, but with how much energy he was struggling to
       contain, he would have much rather been acting rather than
       chatting idly--to say he was hardly vested in the conversation
       that was had would have been an understatement.
       His ears perked when he heard the door open, and the anxious
       knot in his stomach tightened as he turned to look, though he
       couldn't hide some of the disappointment he felt as his heart
       sank when he realized it wasn't them being called in to finish
       the rest of the briefing. No, it was just Mana and Thunder,
       asking if they'd been given some kind of amulet called a
       "Blinker". Without telling them any details. Which means they'd
       have to ask and waste more time--whether that was intentional or
       not, it still made Bastion groan quietly to himself, almost
       inaudible to everypony else nearby, before piping up flatly,
       hurried even, with, "What does it do."
       #Post#: 2445--------------------------------------------------
       Re: Float Like a Parasprite, Sting Like a Manticore
       By: Mana Burn Date: April 29, 2014, 11:13 am
       ---------------------------------------------------------
       As Blossom took the amulet, Mana glanced back at Thunder, the
       pegasus unfurling one of his wings to show another of the
       amulets being held in his feathers. Mana then gave a nod and
       almost turned to Pen before hearing the question about the item
       he'd just given the guards.
       "It's a distress beacon of a sort," the unicorn explained with a
       turn of his head towards the anxious pony, Mana having not
       explained what the Blinker was as he'd just assumed they'd
       already known, which would have meant that explaining it to
       someone who knew about it already would have only been an equal
       waste of time, "just firmly tap it against any hard surface a
       few times and it will start to flash. Any other Blinkers nearby
       will begin to shake and flash along with it to call others in
       for assistance. Thunder and I are going to be in Ponyville while
       you two are fetching that artifact from the vault, so the
       Princess wanted to make sure you had a means of contacting us in
       case things go bad."
       "Anyway, you guys can head out," Thunder spoke up, "The Princess
       said you two are free to make any preparations you may need
       before leaving, but once you're ready you can go right away. The
       sooner the better and all that." Thunder turned to trot away
       while Mana lingered behind to share a few words with Pen.
       #Post#: 2526--------------------------------------------------
       Re: Float Like a Parasprite, Sting Like a Manticore
       By: Blossom Gale Date: May 3, 2014, 3:52 pm
       ---------------------------------------------------------
       Blossom nodded to Thunder and Mana as they explained what the
       blinker was before telling them that they were free to go
       prepare themselves for the trip to Ponyville, offering a simple,
       "Thank you," to the two of them before turning to Bastion,
       motioning to him with her head that they should get moving. When
       they were a few corridors away from the princess' chambers and
       on their way back to the barracks to pack their things, Blossom
       spoke up and said, "Shame the princess did not want to come talk
       to us for that last bit, but I suppose that there was really
       nothing else to say." It wasn't hard to tell that she was a
       little disappointed, but really, they were on a mission given to
       them by the princess herself, and complaining about anything
       else would be the last thing on her mind. "What did you think of
       that old stallion, Instructor Gleam? Kind of... entitled even
       for who he is, vous ne pensez pas?"
       #Post#: 2533--------------------------------------------------
       Re: Float Like a Parasprite, Sting Like a Manticore
       By: Bastion Date: May 4, 2014, 1:45 pm
       ---------------------------------------------------------
       Bastion nodded once to Mana's explanation of the amulet and how
       to activate it, keeping it in mind as Blossom thanked them, his
       own "thanks" and a farewell wave being offered before he turned
       to follow her through the castle. He shrugged at her
       disappointment over the princess not talking to them to finish
       the briefing, before glancing over to her when she asked about
       Gleam. "I think we should put that behind us, because we're
       better than stooping to his level. Not quite professional of us
       to talk about him behind his back. What all do you have to do
       before we head off to the train station, Salmon?"
       #Post#: 2559--------------------------------------------------
       Re: Float Like a Parasprite, Sting Like a Manticore
       By: Blossom Gale Date: May 5, 2014, 11:11 pm
       ---------------------------------------------------------
       Blossom scrunched up her face as Bastion said that is was
       probably not a good idea to talk behind Gleam's back, wondering
       when he decided to take up that kind of stance when all she
       wanted was an opinion. "Who says anything about there being
       professionalism involved when discussing another individual? I
       could give as much praise to the princess and her assistant, or
       to Mana for being so well prepared, or you for being the best
       partner I've worked with. That's just simply one end of the
       opinion spectrum, and I doubt anyone would bat an eye at my
       'professionalism' for that." She looked up at Bastion again,
       arching an eyebrow inquisitively before asking, "So just because
       my opinion of him is as glowing as 'I'm not fond of him'
       suddenly makes it bad?" She shakes her head before saying, "It
       must be how different manners are between Canterlot and Prance;
       in Prance, it was only terrible to give an opinion if that
       opinion was to purposefully slander somepony, and as far as this
       is, this is just between the two of us, oui?"
       "Things we have to do only boil down to packing our things and
       making ready to leave, perhaps even checking our armour and
       weapons in with the security at the train station to make sure
       we are free to go. You are going to remember to pack all of your
       things this time?"
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