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Messages - Princess Celestia

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1
Canterlot / Re: Royal Summons
« on: October 20, 2014, 10:11:58 am »
What meaning the weapon had for the mare did little to persuade the guard. It didn't matter to him if she had been given the sword at birth and then kept it strapped to her side for every second of her life since, rules were rules, and after all the trouble and chaos that had been plaguing the country over the last year or so(Discord, Changelings(especially Changelings), weird plants from the Everfree, Tyrak, the list goes on and on..), he found both the fact that they thought they could get past with plans to see royalty and still have their weapons within their reach and also that another guard had allowed this before him to be odd. If, of course, that was even true. In the end, invitation or no, the guard didn't know these ponies and they weren't any kind of dignitaries or VIPs with special privileges. May have seemed strict to anypony on the outside looking in, but the corp really did need to step up their game these days, and allowing civilians to semi freely carry around sharp and pointy things on castle grounds seemed like a step backwards.

"Unfortunately I must insist," the guard gave no ground, not bothering to go into detail over how, to a pony dedicated to protecting the royal sisters, an alarm placed over a weapon would do little to help if the ponies carrying it were dedicated enough and had already managed to get right behind one of the princesses to begin with, "And you seem to have misunderstood. If Miss Sketch or the Princess decide to allow you to carry the weapons anyway you won't need to come back out here. As I said, the guard you hoof them off to will be escorting you inside. The swords wouldn't even be leaving your sight, and if it is decided that you can have them it would only take a couple moments to have them returned to you."

The air started to smell salty, the GSE ponies nearby having somehow managed to produce salt water balloons to throw at the guards subduing those that weren't running off. More than a couple wanted to point out this oddly hypocritical move of theirs, a few more guards having shown up to help deal with the nuisance after the shouts had started, but the tussle involving duels between unarmed guards and ponies wielding imported fishing rods prevented much of an opportunity to speak.

"For the guppies!"

2
Canterlot / Re: Royal Summons
« on: October 13, 2014, 02:21:11 pm »
While some of the other guards may have been giving the arriving mares a once over, the one who seemed to actually be doing the work in letting ponies in was busy listening to a group of ponies asking to be let onto castle grounds. Their reasons were... interesting...

"... We need to spread the word! Too few ponies are aware of what's happening every day with nopony trying to make any kind of meaningful change to help! If we don't increase public awareness then who knows what could happen within another year? Or a month? Or maybe even a week? We need to open ponies eyes, and what better place to start then at the very heart of the kingdom!"

"... Miss, while I... can understand your concern," maybe after some hard cider or a few head injuries, "I don't think that guppies are endangered enough to justify setting up stalls on castle grounds and trying to get ponies to sign petitions meant to ban drinking water. Personally, and this may just be me, but I think they may unfortunately have a little bit of a bias towards their water already. I think a few even carry it in bottles."

"All the more reason why we should be allowed inside to spread the word about what they are doing to wipe out our fish! If we lose guppies, the mosquito population will sky rocket! Then disease will run rampant! And then the world itself may end!"

The guard wore an expressionless face as he listened to the other pony go back into a tirade about how ponies could survive off of rain water alone or whatever, but also how it would need to be rationed and have most of it be donated to the Guppy Saviors of Equestria so as to be sent off to add to lakes or something.

"... You're going to need to go through a few more channels before I can allow you to enter castle grounds." He turned his head to address the new pair of ponies, it being refreshing to see that they at least had proof of being invited in the form of a letter stamped with the seal of the Princess, him taking a few moments to carefully examine the details of the seal as his ear twitched at the noise of the other ponies starting to talk amongst themselves. Loudly.

"I'm going to have to ask for you're weapons," he told the pair of sword wielding mares, a brief flick of his eyes at the GSE being cast after he heard them claim he was anti-guppy out of some kind of personal stake in companies that sell bottles, "unless I get sent word of you being given the privilege, an invitation alone doesn't grant freedom for a civilian to be armed around the royal sist- Hey!" he barked when he noticed a few of the pro fish activists attempting to slap some posters onto the gate, one of the other guards being quick to use his wings to help him jump through the air and over them and land on their opposite side to effectively keep them from having an easy escape, "That's vandalizing government property!"

"You can't keep us quiet forever! We will be heard! And all of you will learn what you've been doing wrong! You'll see!"

"Anyway," the guard returned his attention to the pair of mares as the GSE were being dealt with by the others, "you're going to need to surrender your swords and any other weapons you may be carrying to one of the guards here, then he will escort you inside to meet with Miss Sketch. We were alerted to her expecting to meet somepony at around this time, so she should still be waiting in the foyer."

"She's got a net!"

"Glub!"

He waved over another of his colleagues, the one not currently dealing with the threat of having fish food thrown into his eyes, who then stood ready to accept the mares' weapons, all the while having his horn glow and his expression remain as stony as ever.

3
Canterlot / Royal Summons
« on: October 02, 2014, 10:47:47 am »
A short while after Honey Dew and Richtor's visit to the castle, and after Celestia had managed to pick out some time within her schedule that was open enough for it, a letter was sent out to a mare down in Ponyville expressing interest in having her make a trip up to the city. Written as a more friendly invitation rather than a formal business like one, it was meant to be taken as an offer for a friendly chat instead of an all important and impossible to ignore summons.

Dear Mrs. Patches Zephyr, it began, written on pretty high quality parchment and bearing pretty fancy and pleasant looking calligraphy, I, Pen Sketch, write this letter to you on behalf of our Princess Celestia to cordially invite you to Canterlot Castle for a meeting with her majesty. A recent encounter between her and a Miss Honey Dew have sparked a curiosity in our Princess in regards towards the Samareai and their history, and having you be referenced as a reliable source of information has lead to her wishing to make your acquaintance...

The letter continued for a little bit in explaining the available date for Celestia to meet with Patches should she accept the invitation as well as instructions on how she could find Pen on that day waiting for her in the main foyer of the castle should she accept.

... Understand as well that we will be able to arrange to pay for any expenses made in traveling both to and fro the castle, and also that the Princess fully understands if you are unable to make it or wish to decline her invitation. However, it would still be much appreciated if you would reply to this letter beforehand stating that you cannot make, and it would also please her majesty if you were able to include a list of books or other possible sources for her to find in your stead to assist in her research. Miss Honey Dew is also welcome to accompany you to meet with our princess should you both wish it.

However you decide, know that Princess Celestia looks forward to your response and thanks you for your time.

Sincerely,
    Pen Sketch, First Assistant to Princess Celestia


Well. That signature sure was swoopy. The kind that looked like it was written something like a hundred times a day. Was pretty at least, if maybe a little tricky to read for those not used to seeing it. Anyway, it was written just above the signature royal seal of Princess Celestia that had been stamped down onto the paper, bearing all the tiny and impossible to fake details and even enchantments that came with it to prove that it was legitimate to anypony not easily fooled.

4
General Discussion / Teles
« on: September 19, 2014, 09:08:19 pm »
Thinking about making Teles be a thing around here. For those of you who either don't know or may not remember, Teles was Celestia in disguise as a regular pony during her off days and was meant to be a way for having her interact more freely with characters in regular threads without having it become all about her and her princessnessness.

Wanted to put up a thing here first before I went through with it, though, to make sure this wouldn't just sucker punch people's idea of the character in some odd way or something crazy.

Anyone else think this would be fun?

5
Canterlot / Re: Glory Bound Redux
« on: September 19, 2014, 09:03:39 pm »
"... How dare you even pretend that this isn't just your greed shining through? The entire section of forest you've been plundering is very clearly under my ownership, and yet you still went ahead and allowed them to tear into it like a pack of timber wolves desperate for a meal!"

"Hardly! That sliver of the forest has been up in the air for years with the truth behind its ownership being incredibly vague as its been, more than likely intentionally, buried beneath volumes of fine print and flowery wording designed to side step facts and mislead! Hay, even if it is, somehow, yours you've clearly given up when it come to tending it for the safety and value of your tenants! How often have you had to deal with ponies complaining about their safety and need to hire extra security when traveling?"

"What I do with my land is my own business! It's not up to you to decide what happens in acres clearly labeled as mine! Only the blind could fail to see the evidence that's been provided! Admit it, this isn't about safety, you just wanted to make a quick bit and didn't predict that I would pick up on it so soon! I demand I be compensated for your illegal profit!"

"We'll see. Once the Princess takes care of this you may just end up the one paying me for this silly waste of a trip. I'll accept and fine wine and cheeses in the basket you send as an apology as well."

Land Barons...

Celestia had few options at the moment for avoiding detection, the window of opportunity presented by Honey for repositioning herself being taken without a word as she just... really... desperately was not in the mood for listening to all of that at the moment. Behind new cover, Celestia chanced a small peek out from around the edge of the statue to try and spot the incoming ponies, her narrowing down their approach from the sound she was picking up but unfortunately finding a couple partially secluded and separate paths being likely candidates. Unfortunately for Honey the voices failed to go so soon, the ponies most likely having nothing else to do that night other than argue and look for somepony of authority to complain to in their wish to prove each other wrong. Celestia checked on her tail and mane to make sure they weren't sticking out in a way that would risk immediate recognition and discovery then turned her attention back to the pair of ponies hiding with her as she wore a smile that did a fantastic job at hiding her nervousness over being dragged into a who knows how long exchange between angry ponies arguing over inches.

"Losing my chance to go to bed is what's more at risk I think," she replied to the teasing, voice hushed a bit so as not to give away their position as she could hear the others getting closer, "and it was a pleasure to meet you both. I'm glad to have spent the time to get to know the two of you, and I apologize for having to duck out like this but I'm afraid it's looking like I'm starting to push my luck tonight and will need to disappear soon." She gave another quick look out from around the statue, now being able to see the approaching ponies still going back and forth by claiming each was lying to the other and trying to figure out how to get out of this without being dragged into something that really was not urgent enough to not be able to wait until tomorrow. She'd need to escape somehow... getting away on hoof would be too risky... flying too noticeable with her pure white coat being against the dark sky of the night... magic seemed her only true out, but it may draw attention if she were to try and teleport without a distraction...

Celestia turned back to the ponies again at the mention of Honey's desire to meet her sister, "This hour may be a bit tricky for meeting with my sister," she replied honestly as she thought on Luna's possible schedule for the night based on what matters and issues had been waiting for her attention, "but not entirely impossible.She should be holding her nightly court right about now so chances are she's in the throne room meeting ponies, so if you wish to see her you may want to linger about and wait for her to finish listening to those seeking her help. Bare in mind of course that it's all going to depend on how many ponies she will need to see before getting a break, but lately it hasn't been too bad so I'd encourage at least checking in."

"Surely this can wait?" A mare, one Celestia recognized instantly as her assistant still trying to deal with the two arguing ponies in her stead, spoke up during a rare and short lived pause between them. Celestia knew she'd need to make this up to her somehow but was currently too distracted to think of anything glorious enough to accurately express her gratitude. "Wandering around the castle all night and fighting isn't going to solve anything, and as I've already told the both of you Princess Celestia has turned in for the night and can not meet with you until tomorrow. The most that can be done for either of you right now is for me to again offer you both guest rooms to stay in until morning. Or, as I've also mentioned, you could seek Princess Luna instead? She is the Princess of the Night after all, and..." the mare trailed off, spotting the tiniest of hints of a wavy mane slipping out from behind a statue nearby and immediately sharing in the worry her Princess was experiencing. Celestia managed to catch her eye for a split second during another peek, both ponies sharing similar looks of concern before having her again disappear behind the statue.

"And what?" one of the barons asked, sounding as impatient as ever and earning a hesitant look from the mare as she tried to figure out what she could do. Er...

"And... uh... And what the hay is THAT!?" she suddenly shrieked, pointing in the opposite direction of the statue her Princess was hiding behind and causing both of the barons to divert their attention, one wearing a look of confused surprise while the other just looked annoyed. Even a couple guards poked their heads out of a few windows of the castle to check on the shout as Celestia, noting this to be very strange behavior for her assistant, risked another quick look, quickly picking up on what she was doing for her and taking the opportunity to make her exit.

"Again, it was a pleasure to spend time with you both, I want to again apologize for needing to run off like this. I hope I can meet you both again soon. Maybe even at the Gala, hm? Have yourselves a good night, and say hello to my sister for me if you are able to meet her!" After this farewell Celestia's horn began to glow, though Honey and Richtor would not have had much time to see it as almost right away Celestia vanished in a light pop of soft light, leaving no trace of the eldest Equestrian princess behind.

"What was that noise?" one of the barons wondered, looking back in the opposite direction that the Princess' assistant had been pointing.

"I didn't hear anything," she immediately responded, "though I guess whatever I saw was nothing. Heh. So anyw-uh-Sir?"

The same baron, apparently wishing to investigate strange sounds and sights without shouting and directing all attention towards it, had left the small group to trot towards a statue in the gardens, him feeling like something was up but soon being disappointed when his sudden side hop to catch whomever may have been on the other side revealed only a couple of regular ponies who seemed to just be checking out the gardens for themselves.

"Hmph... Sightseers..." grumbled the baron as he left to return to his arguing, "Anyway, this isn't a matter for Princess Luna! I've already told you, Princess Celestia was the one who handled this fool's attempts to swindle me in the past, so she is the one who will be able to immediately see through his lies and grant me what I deserve."

"What you deserve is time in prison! Last I time we had a problem she found you to be the one at fault if you would remember things correctly!"

"Due to your meddling and forging of evidence only!"

"I never!"

"You have!"

"Have not!"

"Have too!"

Maybe a nice vacation in the Crystal Empire... Pen may enjoy a vacation for putting up with all of this...

6
Canterlot / Re: Glory Bound Redux
« on: September 11, 2014, 09:42:49 pm »
Celestia had seen many different ponies run the gamut of reactions when it came to the statues in her gardens such as this one of Gigatrax, Honey and Richtor's falling well within the range of what to expect. While Honey didn't appear too bothered by the statues unusual appearance and odd effect on the eyes, Richtor seemed to be reacting more strongly and looked to be becoming rather uncomfortable as they talked. She couldn't blame him, sometimes even she would get the willies when thinking about some of the statues kept further away from the more public areas of the garden used for tours, but she was starting to wonder if she may have chosen too extreme an example when looking for something interesting for them to see...

"I assure you, he was much less grim in person," Celestia replied to Richtor's description of Legato's work, keeping up her gentle smile though the mention of how the stallion had heard of Legato supposedly going mad caused her to slightly quirk her mouth to the side for a moment, "I can say for a fact that Legato did not in fact go mad, thank goodness, though I can understand how such an idea managed to circulate. Legato was highly eccentric and suffered from mood swings which more often than not would lead to arguments between him and others over how difficult his music was to play. This of course would lead to ponies who didn't know him very well developing a poor opinion of him, and I can only assume that it helped build the foundation for the idea of him going insane.

"In reality Legato only failed to finish his final masterpiece due to his age, not his mental health. He made strong progress and was close to completing it as the final years of his life were dedicated towards it, but his age managed to catch up to him in the end and it was ultimately left unfinished. Since then a few highly talented ponies have made attempts to finish it themselves, but usually said attempts end with them pulling their hair out in frustration. Having had the opportunity to look over it myself before I can see why."

Celestia looked back over at the statue during a pause, avoiding its face as she already knew full well what it would do and wasn't any more of a fan of the sensation it caused in her eyes than Honey or Richtor were. Her left ear flicked slightly as she believed she heard something nearby that first registered as faint voices under the ambient sound of the night, Celestia first giving a very brief flick of her gaze towards the blurry face of Gigatrax with a very slight but suspicious narrowing of her eyes before dismissing such a silly thought. Looking past the statue, the Princess figured others must have been wandering about the gardens somewhere nearby and were discussing something amongst themselves. Returning her attention back to the pair of ponies accompanying her, Celestia moved on to the subject of Gigatrax himself.

"As for the Prince. Yes, unfortunately, he was indeed real. A long, long time ago he had his own lands, ambitions, followers and plans. I'm not surprised you haven't heard any reliable confirmation of this fact. It's far from common knowledge these days, and you would most likely never hear the truth if you didn't spend many hours researching what is now rather obscure information. That's part of the reason we keep this garden and all the statues you find decorating it, though. To make sure such things are never fully forgotten or have their true history be lost in fairy tales.

"I would go into detail about the pony who carved out this statue, but they wished to remain anonymous. Was a nice and amazingly talented pony who created several of the other statues you can find here however. Perhaps I can find something a bit more light hearted..." Celestia's ear flicked again, eyes going back in the direction of the voices she was hearing earlier though this time they were more clear. Sounded like arguing. Arguing Celestia recognized.

The Princess ducked her head slightly behind the statue, its size making it easy to hide behind for the most part though her wavy tail and mane were kind making it difficult on their own, as she suddenly looked kinda worried...

"Ugh... I should have known it wouldn't be that easy..." Celestia told herself in a hushed tone, debating whether tossing her crown like a frisby to distract the approaching ponies would be viewed as too inappropriate for a mare of her station.

7
Canterlot / Re: Glory Bound Redux
« on: May 25, 2014, 10:26:02 pm »
"Wonderful," Celestia responded with a glance back towards the pair following her, "perhaps it won't just be me talking your ears off tonight then. Maybe we will find a statue that has or was inspired by a piece done by a composer you are familiar with, Richtor?" It wasn't much of a walk, so they would know soon enough if this would be true, but in the mean time, and to prevent silence from finding a way to take hold of the walk, Celestia turned her head so as to look to Honey.

"Oh, Honey, I've been meaning to ask for the past few minutes now. Does your mother happen to live in Canterlot or plan to be visiting soon? If so, do you think she would be interested in visiting me here in the castle? I must admit that you managed to pique my curiosity earlier when you shared your reason for carrying your sword with you. I would enjoy hearing more about these 'Samareai' if both you and she would indulge me, though there's no rush and I encourage that my invitation only be accepted when and if its convenient."

She finished just as they reached the statue garden, the few closest ones being some of the more commonly known sculptures that one could easily find pictures and history of in most books that spoke of or at least mentioned the garden itself. Drawings and photographs were unable to capture the exquisite detail that was on display however, as each and every individual work of art was so masterfully done that they all looked more like real beings that had been frozen in time and washed of their color than they did chiseled cubes of stone.

Leading them a little ways further, Celestia decided to start they're tour of the garden with a more interesting example of what there was to see, a statue of an oddly shaped beast growing larger as they approached it. It had four limbs which it used to stand, though its front pair was much larger and muscular than its back and ended in hands instead of the hooves used by its rear legs. It's torso mirrored this uneven build with its upper torso bearing a larger and powerful chest that spread wide across the body while its midsection narrowed down into a smaller back end that looked almost atrophied by comparison as well as easily reminding anypony of a goat. The minute and amazing detail etched across the entire statue gave enough clue so as to make the safe assumption that the creature depicted wore a coat that grew gradually heavier and thicker as It spread from the weaker half to the powerful one, this being missing on its chest as well as its face, though... It's face was difficult to get a clear look at...

Despite its being trapped in a single pose, one of strength as though it was facing an approaching adversary, and truly was lifeless in the most literal sense as it could be, the face of the statue was... fuzzy. Blurry. Looking directly at it caused the viewer to feel an odd sensation in their eyes, like they were vibrating ever so slightly in their sockets, and no matter how hard somepony tried to ignore this strange feeling and attempt to properly examine the facial features of the statue, they just wouldn't quite... register. Like their brains were trying their darndest to understand, but just couldn't put the pieces together and decipher the information that the eyes were feeding them, this resulting in the face of the creature to look... smeared. What few features could be made out about the head however were the two curved horns it had jutting out from the top of its skull, again reminding one of a goat, and that, like its chest, their appeared to be little to no hair present.

"Now then," Celestia spoke up, her taking up a position near the side of the statue that was halfway to being twice as tall as she was, "have either of you ever heard of Gigatrax, The Prince of Unreality?" She asked, her focus shifting between the mare and stallion with her, "Richtor, perhaps you've heard of a certain composer named Legato Da Capo that wrote a rather famous piece titled 'Cloven Sentries' which was inspired by Gigatrax's personal guard?"

8
Canterlot / Re: Glory Bound Redux
« on: May 10, 2014, 11:02:46 am »
Celestia patiently waited as the two ponies tried to decide where they wanted to go that night, the Princess understanding that it can sometimes be a bit overwhelming for those who didn't have the luxury of being able to see the gardens as regularly as she could. Well, semi-regularly at least. Still all depended on her schedule after all, and sometimes shed be so busy that it would deny her any chance of getting to take a walk here and relax for quite some time, which would mean, almost humorously at times, that even she would sometimes be surprised by something new in her gardens that would decide to reveal itself during her visits.

Having an easier time keeping her eyes focused on a single thing than her guests seemed to be - something that earned a quiet but melodic chuckle from her as she found their reaction to the grounds to be rather pleasant - Celestia watched them as she kept one ear angled towards the touring pair and the other swiveling a bit in slight worry of picking up the sound of a nearby quarrel between windbags. No sign of them yet... Maybe they did go home like shed wanted them to? Maybe they actually realized that they're squabble over a tiny tiny amount of land was not in the least bit important and was probably born purely out of bitter opinions and boredom? Perhaps... perhaps they even reconciled and realized they'd be happier as friends rather than rivals?

Ha! That'll be the day...

While it was easier to keep her eyes from wandering, Celestia was not actually entirely immune, the occasional brightly colored and almost iridescent butterfly flittering its way between the beds of flowers demanding that she spare them at the least a short glance as they went about their simple business. The fireflies going about their own tour of the shaped bushes and hedges, many of which ha ing seemed to already taken initiative toward changing their poses and even swapping places, illuminating the scene along with the glowing flora as it all mingled into almost being a picture one would find in a story book.

"A stallion of history, Richtor?" Celestia asked once a decision on their next destination was made, the princess turning herself to her left so as to begin leading the way once they were finished taking in their current surroundings, "I'll admit I haven't taken the time to walk the grounds of the statue garden in some time. That section is becoming unfortunately less popular these days with how it seems to only get traffic from the occasional group of school fillies and colts visiting on field trips, and its becoming even more neglected now that one of its more important statues are gone, so its nice to see somepony showing an interest in the lessons it can provide. I would also recommend you try the maze when you've got a solid block of hours to dedicate to it. Sometimes it can be a bit more than a "mini"-adventure." She added, smile deepening a touch as she recalled a certain afternoon shed spent with her sister after shed returned home where all the decisions of which way to go were left up to Luna. They got home at around Celestia's bedtime.

The statues weren't too much of a trot, and the path leading there would have plenty of what was on display already, so Celestia was in no hurry to go, allowing the others all the time they desired to linger as she both waited for them to be ready to move on and begin following.

"Are either of you two well educated on the many talented sculptors our country has been blessed with over these last few centuries? Or will I be having the pleasure of informing you of a few tonight?"

9
Canterlot / Re: Float Like a Parasprite, Sting Like a Manticore
« on: April 25, 2014, 10:05:47 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."

10
Canterlot / Re: Float Like a Parasprite, Sting Like a Manticore
« on: April 16, 2014, 10:06:33 pm »
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?"

11
Canterlot / Re: Float Like a Parasprite, Sting Like a Manticore
« on: April 10, 2014, 11:07:21 am »
"Simply picking up a few extra rings would surely fail to grab any notice," Gleam grumbled a bit, he too having been asked to grant the Princess and her guards privacy and leaving the room, "a scroll, some gems, maybe a small weapon or two. Would rather we risked it than lose everything when a tremor brings what's left of that castle down..." Passing by the other two ponies outside the room without so much as a glance, the stallion continued on with a few more grumbles before vanishing with a pop as he decided to teleport elsewhere in the castle. Meanwhile the only other pony to leave the room was the mare with her notebook, her stepping out and exchanging a few words with one of the door guards before trotting off to the side and sitting down, the mare then flipping through her notes to review the recorded conversation and extra information gathered.

12
Canterlot / Re: Float Like a Parasprite, Sting Like a Manticore
« on: April 04, 2014, 11:54:01 am »
"It depends," Mana replied with a flick of his eyes up at Blossom before turning them back to the map to finish marking it, "we tried to stick with a maximum of three different styles when hiding them. They're either hidden inside a hollowed out tree trunk," he went continued to explain, tapping the map as he went to point out examples of each that he could remember, "buried at the base of a tree and covered with a small pile of stones, or tied onto a tree branch. Each location has the royal seal burned into the nearest tree's wood, not the tree or stump its actually found inside, on or under, and all of them have their own minor enchantments set into place for different effects. The hollow stumps don't sound hollow when you knock on them, the piles of stones are 'glued' both together and in place so they remain where we need them and can be recognized while the caches in the branches are semi transparent and give off no scent so as to blend in. The royal seals are also protected from being scratched or otherwise destroyed by the local wildlife, so as long as you go to these specific locations and look around you should be able to find them without much difficulty. They're relatively easy to spot when you know to keep an eye out for them."

"I don't believe there's much of a chance of you accidentally activating the artifact," Celestia answered Bastion, "it requires a certain careful approach to how its handled to properly function, so you both should be safe from it doing anything on its own."

"Not that its really even dangerous on its own if handled correctly and for the right reasons anyway," Gleam added, "even if it does activate itself I doubt you two would even notice." His ears perked up a little when he heard Bastion mention bringing more than just this one item back from the old castle, this being something he himself had brought up with the princess previously. "I think this one actually went and accidentally showed some small trace of wisdom, Princess. The vault is old with the magic meant to ensure its security becoming increasingly outdated and out performed with every passing year. I have more confidence in my medicine cabinet keeping things secure than that crumbling problem waiting to happen. Why not bring a few of the smaller things back at least? Like that... Um... What was it called..."

"We built it to last, Gleam," Celestia repeated herself, "the contents of the vault will be moved, but they will be moved when the time is right. I can't deny that it would be safer keeping them here, but moving such items needs to be done carefully and only when we are sure its safe to do so. Putting all of our eggs into one basket because we want everything here now could spawn countless problems and threats should the worst come about and something happened to Blossom and Bastion on their way back. No, for now, the vault will hold. Just as it has for a millennium."

"... And ignore the smiley face underneath one of the royal seals," Mana mentioned to Blossom, "that would mean you found Thunder's 'special' stash."

"Hey, that just means they'd get extra out of it! You should keep an eye out for it! You'd get what the others have and more!"

"The juice is probably sour by now, Thunder."

"Pfft. I'd still drink it." This, along with every other important, nay, nearly vital piece of information being shared among the pokies in the room was, of course, recorded by the mare taking notes.

"If you say so, Princess..." Gleam muttered, the old stallion not agreeing but not exactly about to argue with Celestia either since it was clear shed made up her mind on the matter.

"Now, is there anything else I can help you with?" Celestia asked Bastion and Blossom as Mana finished his marking of the map and kneed Thunder when the pegasus almost asked him if it would be a good idea to visit all of the supply caches again soon to add certain small crumbly baked goods to them for the sake of restoring moral to anypony who used them, "If not, then I'd like to ask that you all wait outside for a few minutes while I discuss a few things with Mana and Thunder."

Thunder, suddenly paranoid he had indeed caused trouble because of his stop on the way here for his tasty and hot beverage, raised a slightly concerned eyebrow at the mare who hadn't spoken yet, her returning the look with a small smile and and equally small wave of her hoof to dismiss his concerns.

13
Canterlot / Re: Float Like a Parasprite, Sting Like a Manticore
« on: April 01, 2014, 10:09:23 am »
"Is that supposed to impress me?" Gleam replied to Blossom as she answered him, "You think you're the only ones who have graduated at the top even this year alone? There are a lot of guards out there who can say the same, and I know of plenty who have lost their lives in very embarrassing ways due to their own incompetence. Such a thing didn't impress me when those two jokers over there tried it and won't work with you either."

"Aww... It didn't?" Thunder said, though the slight jab from Mana to do so quietly worked as the unicorn hoped to just get past this ranting as soon as possible so as to focus on why they were actually here. Thankfully Gleam seemed to have missed Thunder's voice as he just continued on with the other pair of guards.

"Correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm actually fairly certain there are many other tin suits who do those exact same duties as you've mentioned, so I fail to see why you're special. The two standing outside the doors to this room are defending the Princess' life right now but you don't see them standing in here for a briefing. There are other guards escorting VIPs here in the castle right now, but none of them are being pulled away to come see us here. And, honestly, being sent far away from Canterlot can be viewed as a punishment just as easily as something to be proud of. All in getting here is that the two of you decided to give yourselves a cute little nickname to try and stand out, and its starting to seem like you might have been chosen just because your groups little name might have been at the top of some list organized by alphabetical order and was briefly glanced at by some assistant on her lunch break." A brief glance over his shoulder shot an accusatory look in the direction of the mare scribbling away, the pause then causing her attention to focus directly onto the old stallion after which she only raised an eyebrow and silently assured both that she hadn't done such a thing and that she wouldn't be taking any unnecessary crap over it.

Gleam turned back to the guards, the misunderstood gesture from Thunder apparently managing to serve its purpose anyway as the male of the duo spoke up, though as his voice carried his meaning both Mana and Thunder cringed internally. 'Please don't get him started...' They both thought at the same time, both Thunder and Mana not wanting to spend the next twelve to thirty some hours listening to the old pony rattle on and on...

Gleam just smirked at Bastion's words, whatever damage they may have been hoping to inflict seeming to roll off of him with little affect. "... You've never heard of the Cortoza, have you?" He asked before looking over towards Celestia and legitimately asking, "What do they teach this cannon fodder of yours these days?" He shook his head and sighed before moving on to a request, "Is it at all possible for me to make some last second changes here? What about bringing in that... oh what was his name... Um... Principe! What about that Principe fellow from last month? I could trust that one with this... Maybe..."

"These two were chosen for a reason," Celestia answered both to clarify that the presence of the two ponies he'd been yelling at hadn't been determined by the lucky draw of names from a hat and to deny his request, "I am confident that they can handle this task just fine. Have some faith in the new guard, Gleam, and take a breath before you pass out." The Princess advised, her using her magic to spread out a map on the table as she had decided the old stallion had criticized enough for now and that it would do them all some good to move on, the mage grumbling a bit but not protesting. "Now then, the job we have for you two shouldn't be very complex or difficult on its own, but the location will bring some danger on its own. What well need you to do is head into the Everfree forest and travel to the old castle there." The map displayed was of the forest, Celestia assuming that everypony present already had the route memorized but wanting the map for another purpose. "We need you to retrieve an artifact from the old vaults in its lower levels then bring it back here with the utmost subtlety."

"The item in question should look something like this," Gleam chimed in, his own magic being used to pluck one of the scrolls off of the table and unroll it for the pair of guards to see. It was some kind of jewel, most likely precious and cut into a diamond shape, set into a star that was carved out of a material that wasn't obvious just from the drawing, colored in as green for the gem and a dark purple for the star, the apparently large medallion, if the note scribbled under it regarding its size was to be believed, had several several arcane symbols etched into its points, however each one was also accompanied by a question mark that made it obvious that such things Amy not actually be present on the real thing. "Though, I've never had the chance to actually see it myself to know of any finer details beyond that."

"Nopony has for over a thousand years," Celestia informed as the scroll was offered by Gleam to the guards for them to study, the old stallion needing to bite down on his tongue to avoid telling them not to rip it or something similar, "even my memory is fuzzy on it, as back then it didn't spend much time outside of the vaults. What I do remember is that, in low light conditions, the star should glow a dull purple. If its as dark down there as I'm suspecting that might help it to stand out some. On top of that the lower levels of the castle can easily double as a maze, and while I can provide you with a general floor plan, much of the old magic and plenty of the old traps down there are still, last we checked, active and can cause any map I gave you to become confusing as some hallways may shift or change depending on how you proceed through them."

"Also, the vault is locked," Gleam spoke up again, "though I personally am confused as to why that still is. Figured those old enchantments would have died by now, and that the whole thing would have crumbled after a millennium of zero maintenance."

"We built it to last, Gleam. And, yes, the vault is still locked. You two will need to use a specially enchanted shard to open it." Another glow of magic and a small box on the table was opened, a black and sharp looking stone that appeared to be similar to the blade of a knife being carefully removed then laid out onto the map that covered most of the table. "You'll find the old royal symbol carved into the vault's door," the Princess went on to explain, "just beneath it will be a small slit big enough for the shard to fit into. Just slip it inside and the magic will do the rest. It's single use though, and the enchantments aren't indefinite, so you'll only have a small amount of time to collect the artifact before the vault door shuts behind you. At most you will have two minutes, but given how old the magic in the door is, I can't have full faith in it holding out that long. This is, at best, an estimate made after I crunched the numbers, so you may have a few seconds more or less. I advise one of you stay back to watch the door while the other collects the star. If the worst does happen and you both get trapped inside the vault, don't panic. That's part of the reason I wanted Mana and Thunder here to be present." She nods towards the other pair of guards, Thunder smiling while Mana just gave a nod of his own to Blossom and Bastion.

"And before you ask, no, you can't have more than one shard to take with you," Gleam again, this time speaking as if he knew such a question was on its way already, "not only is there no slot to use on the inside of the door for you to stick it in, but the materials used in creating them are extremely finite, and the magic very difficult to weave. They're for unlocking what was the most secure vault of its time after all. Pending collapse not withstanding." Honestly believing that such an event was doomed to happen soon, Gleam glanced over at the Princess, eyes sending what wa apparently a silent plea that went ignored by the royal pony. "Time also presses us to want to get this done sooner rather than later."

"Mana, Thunder," Celestia addressed with a gesture for them to come closer to the table, "there is something you can help them with when it comes to the Everfree, yes?"

Thunder hummed as he approached the table, whatever she was talking about slipping his kind for the immediate moment while Mana only gave another nod and recognized immediately what she meant. "We've set up a number of emergency supply caches in the Everfree," he told the second pair of guards, Thunder then giving an 'ooooh' as he remembered the week he and his partner spent burying stuff.

"Right, in case the creepy crawlies get you or you eat the wrong kinds of berries."

"Dry rations, clean water, small medical kits, maps and compasses in case you get lost and lose yours."

"Basically whatever you would need should things suddenly get unpleasant."

"Just to be safe," Celestia chimed in, "I doubt any of these will be needed as this shouldn't take you very long, but you should at least commit a few of these stashed to memory. Mana, if you would please show them?"

"Yes, Princess." The unicorn agreed, him taking up a pen on the table and proceeding to circle locations on the map where the other guards could find what they needed should they need it.

"Oh! Don't forget this one!" Thunder reminded his partner, the pegasus tapping the Mao with a hoof and earning a rolling of Mana's eyes because of it.

"Thunder, I can't possibly imagine a time when somepony would need juice, cookies and a few comic books while out in the field."

"Everypony could use juice, cookies and comic books out in the field."

"Do you have any questions so far?" Celestia asked Blossom and Bastion as the other two guards went about marking the map for them.

14
Canterlot / Re: Float Like a Parasprite, Sting Like a Manticore
« on: March 27, 2014, 11:21:18 am »
"But just think about it!" The robed stallion urged the Princess with a weathered voice, hooves gesturing this way and that as he displayed plenty of youthful body language in an attempt to get his point across, "a mage taking his last breaths on his death bed could pass along everything to an apprentice! A royal messenger could pass along entire documents worth of information! This could even eliminate the very need for schools in our society! Every young colt and filly could receive the best forms of education in every field of study, leaving no direction left for them, or all of us, except forward into greater discoveries! Who knows what we could accomplish if we were all thinking on that high of a level together?"

"Need I remind why it was left behind in the first place?" Celestia gently interjected before the stallion could lose himself to his fantasies and ideas again, "The sacking of Swayback? It would have never happened had Whisper not gotten her hooves on it. You understand how much of a pain this will going to be for you if we actually take it out and bring it here?"

"Yes, yes," the stallion answered with a dismissive wave of his hoof, "heavy security, all kinds of hush hush security nonsense, being limited to brief visits on the weekends, and having the constant possibility of having all the work done on it go up in flames at the drop of a cheap hat hang over me every second I'm near it. No need to remind me, Princess, my memory still works fine despite the jokes. This simply is too great a chance to possibly-" he was interrupted by the sound of a pair of guards announcing themselves, the stallion flicking his eyes towards them before immediately continuing, "to possibly ignore, and-" another interruption from the guards, this one irritating the older pony and actually getting his attention.

"Yes. Hello! We see and hear you. It's hard not to notice four guards clanking into the room." The unicorn snapped, both Mana and Thunder just kinda averting their gazes, both having known how he was and would have warned the other two guards about him had they known he had been lying in wait to bite a few heads off within the room. "Do you want some kind of commendation for managing not to tip over and pin yourselves to the ground beneath the weight of your plate? I swear, back in MY day the grunts around here knew to only speak when spoken to! And-"

"Gleam, there's no need for that," Celestia sternly cut the now grumpy pony off, though didn't appear to be all that surprised or even upset with him for going off the way he did, the Princess knowing that that was just how he was these days. "Besides, these are the guards I sent for to help you with this." She smiled at the new arrivals, nodding for them to relax, "unless you honestly thought I expected you to go out there and bring it back yourself? You might still be able to chew somepony out with the vigor and energy of our fiercest drill instructors, but I don't think that would help you much should any creepy crawlies stumble upon you before your nap." She teased with a light smirk.

"Ha! You make outlandish assumptions!" The stallion responded, the small jab bouncing off of him as though it were a dull arrow against the annoyingly loud armor of the guards that nopony else ever seemed to be bothered by, "Within me still burns a spirit that can only be matched by a young hot blooded colt trying to win the affections of a mare! I could bring down a hydra if I needed to! And its flood to see that this is getting the necessary security it deserves." He moved on, point having been made in his book as he looked over the  four guards present.

"Actually, not quite," Celestia corrected, nodding for Thunder and Mana to split from the group and stand more off to the side with her, "I want to keep this relatively quiet, and having an obvious squad of soldiers deploy to a small town would probably cause a slight ruckus and encourage rumors among the ponies living there. Two would be noticed but brushed off as a simple check up after the usual weekly events that seem to go ok down there. Mana, Thunder, stand over here with me please. This assignment isn't for you, but I want you to listen in all the same in case something happens and you're needed to assist." With a pair of nods, both of the guards spoken too gave nods and did as they were told, the two walking over towards and settling next to the mare who continued to scribble everything down.

"These are the two who will be carrying out the task," Celestia clarified, turning her attention to the remaining ponies in the line up to introduce them, "Blossom Gale and Bastion, two members of my personal guard. Guards, this is Instructor Gleam of my School for Gifted Unicorns, one of the oldest members of the faculty there who doubles as one of my more respected court mages when he can."

"They look soft," Gleam criticized, narrowing his watery yellow eyes at the pair of guards, "probably not much experience in doing anything actually important. And only two? You're the one constantly going on and on about security and you are only going to send two ponies to retrieve it?"

"Right now its existence is only known to a hooful of ponies. We have a chance at keeping it that way should we proceed with caution. As I said, sending a full battalion to pick it up would draw everypony's eye and interest while only two could slip in and out without much notice. We spoke of this already. Unless you forgot?"

Gleam grunted, the unicorn of course viewing this assignment as being the most important thing that could possibly be going on in the entire country right now for the sole reason that he was involved in it and because it was important to him, "I'll defer to your judgment then, Princess, but I do feel this may be a mistake. You two!" He turned his attention to the ponies who would soon be doing his bidding, "How well do you handle tasks that don't involve walking up and down a hallway for hours on end? I trust you stumble only twice a day? Any more than two and it would just be silly. Have you ever actually served your country, or have you only played soldier with sticks in the fields?" Thunder, from his place next to Mana and the scribbling mare, just rolled his eyes and gave a small and silent gesture of his hooves as if to say 'just play along'.

15
Canterlot / Re: Glory Bound Redux
« on: February 18, 2014, 09:35:17 pm »
Honey Dew managed to make one of the guards in the castle feel awkward? Now that was something Celestia wish she had been able to see. Even with an alarm set over it the sight of an armed visitor was a rare one at the castle, so however their talk with the guard had gone must have been something to see... That sword was obviously very important to this mare though. The idea of an individual becoming attached to a favored weapon to the point of viewing it as an extension of themselves wasn't too rare when one thought about it, but her explaining that she had in fact gone so far as to bow to it made it clear that she saw it as much more important than that. Celestia listened as Honey went on to explain the other weapons she either carried or has trained with, Celestia not having asked for such an elaboration but not minding the branching of the conversation as it easily prevented them from walking in silence.

Samareai, hm? Celestia took another moment to try and digest the name in her mind. Hmm... They sounded like heavily armed and highly trained warriors with an interest in protecting those in need. Sounded nice at first, but she wouldn't form a full opinion on them without learning, or possibly remembering if she was lucky, everything she could first. Maybe she could ask Honey more about it, or just pass the name off to Pen and have her see what the library could offer on them? Surely they'd have something sitting on those shelves and possibly gathering dust that could shed some light.

The continued shows of affection between the two guests to the castle brought some extra warmth to Celestia's smile, the princess finding it to be sweet and also feeling glad that they were comfortable enough around her that they didn't try to hide it. The warmth faded however when Honey asked about the past year, Richtor then stepping up to explain one of the most recent, important and biggest examples of the troubles they'd had to deal with during those months. "Changelings." Celestia corrected, her mind jumping back to the wedding the invading force of shapeshifters had attacked during. Memories of how shed failed to protect her ponies against Queen Chrysalis, been hung upside down in a cocoon and forced to watch everything start the situation only grow worse, and how she hadn't listened when her faithful student had tried to expose the behavior of the disguised changeling queen briefly flooded to the front of her mind, this all being expressed with a small frown that replaced her smile. "I agree," she concurred with Richtor and his urging for them not to dwell, "that is not something that's terribly appropriate to think about on a night like this."

The continued affection between the mare and stallion following her was able to remedy her momentary drop in mood as Celestia replaced her frown with another easy smile. The comment over how difficult it could he to remember where things were around the castle was... mostly lost on Celestia, her having lived there since its original construction but still having to deal with the occasional renovations here and there that would mix up the floor plan a touch. "Thank you for allowing me to tag along," she lightly replied as they began to approach a set of doors, both of which bearing large and beautifully crafted glass windows that allowed for a view of the outside, "though I doubt it would have taken you all that long to find what you were looking for without my help. As I promised, the gardens were only a quick walk down this hall after all."

To prove it her claim, Celestia opened doors they'd found, the view waiting beyond proving to be very much worth their time as the gardens greeted them. The smell was delightful, fresh and sweet, and while most of the flowers had closed their petals for the night, many other more nocturnal varieties looked to almost glow under the moonlight, a few rarer plants actually doing just that as they gave off ambient blue and purple light. Hedges and bushes were masterfully trimmed into detailed and beautiful depictions of life, them almost being enough to fool a pony into believing they were the real thing when viewed in the dark or at a distance as well as actually seeming to occasionally shift their poses or even reposition themselves whenever nopony was looking their way. The winding pathway leading from the doorway the three ponies stood at snaked its way forth, around and deeper into the gardens, it serving as a kind of inanimate tour guide for those who wished to enjoy the sights it would take them to, Celestia stepping out and onto it as she took a long deep breath of the cool night air through her nose, savoring its flavor before turning back to speak to the others. "Was there anything specific you were hoping to see out here tonight?" She asked, the soft and constant billowing of her multicolored mane and tail adding to the scene around her, "Perhaps our maze or the area where we keep the statues?"

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