Traveling Tantalus and Tree Tits Troupe. (Private)

Sugary blinked as he saw exactly the kind of workout Eve was doing while smiling. "Undead, and lively as can be..." So, he then got into position a few feet in front of her and joined her by doing a few basic stretches, and then getting prone right away to do push ups along with her briefly to warm up. "I slept well. You might wanna slow down a bit though. Sakura is complaining a bit by noise. If you're not hungry, then just know we leave once I'm done eating and get dressed. You're welcome to join me downstairs before then, of course."

After doing enough alternated push ups, and some squats for a few minutes, he stretched again and moved to the kitchen for a generous helping of various fruits, carrots, and some nuts to save on time yet still be well fed for the early work day.

Should Eve arrive before he was done, he had an ear to lend for any last minute details. Should she not arrive, he'd just get dressed for work, and try to hurry up and find her to get going...

When he had finished, she was standing by the exit of his airship, smirking and eating an apple slowly, as if wondering what took so long. She had changed into her blouse and jeans, but any well versed with illusions saw it was a mere formality, and she was fully armored still, dagger strapped to her thigh. She idly yawned and kept eating the rather large apple, still looking bored. "Sugary, if I go a little psycho, whenever we get into a fight, just stand back and if I go for anyone I ain't supposed to, slap me, hard." She said, smiling.

Sakura was also getting up, and haphazardly dressed, standing nearby, as if just wondering what they were doing, but the forgetful little minx was obviously exactly that, forgetful. She did not remember they were going somewhere.

Sugary changed clothes after eating into that of his preferred work and travel red clothing. Having gone outside later, he greeted Eve with a wave, but looked to the drowsy looking Sakura with curiosity as he took note of Eve's warning. "... I hope you'll try to exert some self-control regardless. Can't rely on unrestrained power too much, you know. But I'll do my part for you, so count on it."

He then stared at Sakura with a more eased up gaze. "And, hey there! Did you come to see us off, or did I just miss something?"

Eve sighs as if he didn't understand and merely shook her head. She watched Sakura hug Sugary quietly. "Whatcha guys doin'?" She asks curiously, frowning as she struggled to remember what they were doing. Then she noticed they seemed ready for travel, and remembered. "Oh, the mission-thing, now I remember. Well..." She looks disappointed. "Do I get a goodbye kiss~?" She murmured into his ear, grinning. She then, without waiting for the kiss, walked up to Eve and playfully punched her arm. "Bring him back alive, and preferably with all his limbs intact." She grinned, then turned back to Sugary and kissed him.

Sugary didn't quite notice Eve's expression at first due to Sakura being right in front of him, but heard the sigh regardless. Although she was briefly puzzled as to why Sakura punched Eve in the arm and then had his mouth agape slightly as he was left feeling lightly flustered about her request to Eve.

He didn't exactly had the time to protest in any way though as he wrapped his arms around Sakura's waist as he gave her a farewell kiss, though it wasn't a very long one as he still had work to do along with Eve, but it was clear as he stared back at Sakura that, deep down, he wanted to stay with her a bit longer. He then pulled away from Sakura slowly. "Mmm~ I'm plenty tough too, you know. But we got to go, so... Hold down the fort while we're gone, Sakura. We might not be back for half a day for all we know..."

He then moved closer too and looked towards Eve right in the eyes. He might not have said the right words earlier, but he was determined to work with her well regardless. She was his ally and guest, and she'd get treated as such. "Let's get going, Eve. Don't wanna disappoint our employers, do we?" He'd likely be the one to lead them towards their assigned location, but she could lead too if she remembered the route well enough after speaking, or not speaking, what was on her mind as well.

Eve smirked and nodded curtly, then adjusted her illusion blouse, chuckling softly. "I'll try, Sakura." She said simply, and followed Sugary out, eyes closed, as if resting them, while she used her ability to sense auras to keep from bumping into anyone, her own auras suppressed nearly to nothing. She then opened her eyes after a while, and watched Sugary. "She really has taken a liking to you. The lust no longer oozes from her aura, she seems to have calmed down mostly from your attention. I hope you know this, for I think she is adorable, even if she has a piece of stallion as big as my arm." She chuckled, and glanced back at the Black Mambo. "Hope she doesn't touch my stuff, though, it's got protective enchantments, and I'd fancy not having to come back to Sakura missing a hand."

Sugary looked at Eve with a raised brow, then looked back at the ship, and back at her again as they walked to the location they had been designated to meet with the Guards for patroling. "... You really think so? She's been nice so far, so I wouldn't know how big the changes are... But I'll take your word for it. Thank you... I don't think she'd actually try to touch your stuff though... By the way, what kind of... Are you using magic right now...?" He was referring to the illusion. He knew magic was there, but could not tell the purpose of it. Mostly, he was just curious as to what Eve was up to.


The sun had yet to rise, but there was a fair bit of lighting on the streets of the Crystal Empire to provide enough visibility along the way on top of the fact that many of the normal ground features were easy enough to see as it was. Eventually, once the duo reached their assigned location, a couple of Guards, one tall and somethat middle-aged looking crystal pegasus that resembled most of the others so far, and a more average-sized blue maned and orange coated pegasus that looked more like he was a recent transfer as he was not crystal-like in any way and looked much younger by comparison. Each was holding a lamp with glowing crystals inside, and the regular pegasus wielded what looked to be a signal flag with him waving in the wind bearing Cadance's seal. The two of them then saw the mercenaries approaching, and the older one called out from a distance. "Are you the mercenaries we're to work with? You've brought your permits, haven't you?"

Sugary would be the first to show his and greet them with a quick nod as he got closer. It was up to Eve to introduce herself now...

Eve was silent after speaking, then looked at her illusion. "I'm wearing my armor." She said simply, her mind elsewhere as they walked. She watched the guards closely through a bored expression, flicking her fingers and her permit seeming to appear in between two fingers, before she put it away after a few seconds, not meaning to be rude, but making her intentions to not be social very clear. She watched the younger one more than the older, guessing he might be a rookie, but then stopped her militaristic evaluations and looked around their surroundings, as if thinking they might be watched, and Sugary might be able to guess at her paranoia.

Sugary raised a brow at Eve, curious to know what she was actually planning. All he could do was to assume that she was keeping the armor hidden as a means of surprise.

The smaller of the guards stared at Eve with a fair bit of wariness. And by wariness, he was shaking lightly as she got closer and closer. "... T-Tall..."

The older of the two was much more stoic, and eventually lightly smaked the younger one's helmet to bring him back to proper focus and discipline. "Look alive, Flash! The morning's not that cold, is it? Or is that mare giving you cold hooves?" He barely cracked a smile, but showed he had a good enough sense of humor and duty.

"Gah! Flint, don't do that! This is my first time heading out the open snow fields and you know it!"

"Excuses! Why did you sign up for anyway? Frolicking!?"

"I was told mares like a stallion in uniform...?"

"You better believe they do! But you better have a spine to back it up!"

"Y-Yes, Sir!" Flash Sentry saluted, looking slightly more confident, though he was no more comfortable in the presence of Sugary and Eve as it were as his view on Mercenaries was not particularly positive due to rumors.

"You'll have to forgive Flash, he's a fresh recruit. But since you two look like you're ready to go, then..." Flint looked over to the far distance of the Empire where the filds of grass ceased and snow and tundra reigned supreme. "... Then we better get marching. First, we're to examine the border from within. Look for any unusual signs in the soil even. Then, we go past the border and into the outskirts to really explore. So I hope you like the cold, cause that's what we're getting. Let's go."

Sugary had expected more of a formal greeting between the 4 of them, but understood full well there was a job to do. He was alright with just following orders for now as he followed, waiting on Eve to do the same.

Later on, perhaps most notably to Eve, was a sensation of mild dark energies in the air as they got to the border...

"Fear is natural, Flash. You must learn to control it before it controls you." She said, tone either threatening or amused. Possibly both. She looked at him, and let her dark aura creep out at him for a few seconds, before it faded, and she grimly looked away, at the other Guard. She followed, then let out a low, feral growl as she sensed the energy, it reminding her of enemies. "Do you sense that?" She asks the others softly. "The dark magic." She explained, barely, still growling softly, lip curled in disgust, her hand straying towards her dagger slowly. "It does not bode well." She grunted.

Sugary had spotted the feeling of the dark aura shortly after Eve did, Flint drew his lance right away and tried to scout for any danger, and Flash briefly jumped when Eve growled and panicked lightly at the mention of dark magic, but eventually composed himself well enough as he stood close to the senior guard.

Sugary would warily move slowly in the direction where it was felt the strongest, but given how early in the day it was, it was hard to see anything noticeable on the ground, but the aura was there... until eventually, it simply withdrew away again. "...!? It moved away...! Past the border, I think." He looked to the duo of guards. "Hey, did you two feel that?" He would be met with nothing short of confused shaking of heads however, and so he looked to Eve. "... There's definitely something out there though, right? You all ready to give chase?" This time, Flint hesitated but nodded, while Flash shook his head, got glared by Flint, and quickly changed his mind as he agreed instead.

Eve stared at the ground silently. "It's underneath the ground. Tunnels, possibly. Or it's merely invisible. Even then, it would have to be very powerful to mask itself from a unicorn's trained eyes." She said, meaning herself and Sugary, while she drew her dagger and dropped her illusions, getting mana ready to use for a bit of kinetic magic, just in case, her hand glowing softly as an orb of energy formed slowly, into the size of a tennis ball. She then glanced at Flash. "Hey, Pretty Boy, hope you know how to use your weapons. If not..." She trailed off, smirking as she bolted before they even moved, jogging at a quick, easy pace, while she her her mind and senses looking for the dark energy, knowing she'd be the most sensitive to it.

Flash Sentry lightly wimpered, but had little choice on the matter and followed Flint, who followed Eve somewhat reluctantly in turn as there wasn't much either of them had to go on.

Sugary knew there was something for sure, and so he kept pace. "Under... Not sure about that, but definitely further..." As he had claimed a short while ago, the more the group came closer to the border, the more they might notice a few things differently.

For starters, a section of the ground seemed to have weakened or dead grass as if something had tampered with it in random patches recently, but the real difference came once the true border of the Crystal Empire was reached as snow became more abundant and the Crystal Heart's power from the castle weakened in its reach. The precense of dark energies could be felt subtly once more, but the snow meant movement would begin to see itself more limited for the group as a whole as well as the temperatures dropped. Sugary moved more methodically, and the guards were seemingly used to the temperatures but on edge.

Sugary quickly looked to Eve again. "... This is tricky... Eve... Can you follow a clear trail just yet?'

Eve didn't answer, eyes locked on where the energy was, a very venomous look in her eyes, still growling ever so softly. She was a machine, stride never faltering as she moved, dagger in one hand, the kinetic magic in the other. Her arm made no sound as her legs moved, rhythmically and with unnatural endurance, it obvious she would not stop unless they spoke up on needing rest. She snorted as she saw the snow, but before she got to it, used a spell to snowshoe her footfalls, before jumping upwards onto the snow and throwing three bursts of magic to give them the same temporary enchantment, before her incessant stride returned.

Sugary was, for the most part, the only one to gladly take advantage of Eve's spell for movement, while the guards flapped their wings and proceeded to hover around the two low so as to keep shining the lantern for them all.

Eventually, there would be a relatively weak, but noticeable surge coming from just a little further away. Should Eve be close enough, a very small cloud of darkness would become steadily more visible and move towards her slowly first.

Eve instantly stopped. She surveyed the cloud, magic and dagger at the ready. She glanced back at Sugary and the guards. "It approaches." She said softly. "Though it might evade and run off..." She added, trailing off as she let the ball of kinetic energy flow up her arm and become wisps of ready energy, while she flipped her dagger into a reverse grip. "Part of me is itching for a fight." She purred, looking irritated.

Sugary's coat seemed to stand on end a bit if one looked close enough while his ears perked up in the cloud's direction. Since Eve had the lead in the ground so far, he would take the role of support for now. "It's kinda just-...!? Eve!!" At that moment, the small dark cloud accelerated as if pushed onward by an ominous wind straight at her with the purpose to try and asimilate her into it and feed off of her essence.

The guards, who were hovering up ahead, tossed a lance each at it at Flint's command and Flash's mild panicked shriek, but they went right through and latched onto the ground instead as it advanced on Eve. Sugary was starting to charge up for a spell to intercept if she were somehow unable to beat it herself first...

Eve smirked, opening her arms as if welcoming an old friend, before, an inch away, her aura, her concentrated, suppressed aura that had been growing stronger for over three hundred years, flared out violently and started assimilating it, her voice purring to it softly. 'Submit, dear~ Let me know all you know~ You won't need to work or struggle any longer~.' But really, she'd merely steal the dark clouds knowledge, then crush it to nothingness. She was smiling benignly, magic dissipating from her arm, dagger sheathed now as she concentrated on taking over.

Sugary was about to open fire on the dark cloud, but he needed to trust Eve to know what she was doing as well. That, however, did not keep him from being surprised in what she was doing to it. His only concern now was that she didn't suddenly turn on them as the cloud was simply a minor threat compared to Eve's fell powers and was thoroughly absorbed.

Knowledge, it held little of. But it held feelings with it. Feelings of bitterness and hatred. Feelings of jealousy. Feelings of... wanting to become whole again in it's trip of absorbing others like it. The dark cloud was but one of many spread about on the cold northen borders of Equestria and near the Crystal Empire. They were once part of others that shared the same coldhearted views Sombra did, and were finally getting a chance to resurface as well. Sombra's defeat was not the end of his ancient regiment. There was still unfinished business...

Meanwhile, the guards seemingly froze in place as they kept bearing withness to Eve's ability. Already they were skeptical of continuing to work with her even if she was being effective.

Eve slowly pulled her aura in, as if savoring the moment of crushing another's spirit. She slowly turned to the others and relayed what she had just learned. "I suggest Unicorns well versed in negating dark magic, I know several techniques that could help as well. Though, being subjects of The Dark Master...they might have defenses against anything you can normally learn, so my spells are the best bet." She paused. "Yes, I called Sombra 'The Dark Master'. All creatures of shadow know him by this name." She then sighed, as she began feeling a little sick. "Oh, shit..." She grumbled, looking like she was about to hurl. "That is a lot of uncontrolled emotions..."

Sugary was hesitant to approach Eve, at first, but the more he saw the state she was in, he soon got close to her despite what she had just done. He wasn't nearly as bothered by that as her being forced to feel ill. "Eve!? You gonna be okay? Need help?" He extended an arm for her, so as to hold onto or even lean on if she was really in need of leverage for the time being. He heard her suggestion well enough, but first things first.

The guards then flew slowly, wary of Eve and Sugary as they retrieved their thrown weapons. Flint then called Flash closer to him, and the two would speak in whisper. "... This feels wrong. She absorbed that dark cloud when we could do nothing to it. How can we trust her not to turn on us?"

Flash, looking nervous, hesitated to give his answer as he just wasn't sure what to do at this point. "B-By trusting them both...?"

"Are you nuts!? What she did is right up Sombra's alley! Were you not briefed on all the trouble he caused!?"

"B-But they haven't attacked us!"

"Yet! I want you to keep sharp... If they do anything too suspicious, we're getting them arrested."

"Um..."

"Got it!?"

"Y-yes, Sir!" Despite being green for a guard, young Flash's morals were more flexible than his companion's as he still did not think Sugary and Eve were a threat to the Empire, or rather, he didn't get the feeling they were.

Her hand went up, forestalling any aid, and she took a deep breath, letting it out in a sigh. "I'll be fine, have not had to face spirits in a long while, I merely forgot to destroy the emotions within to save myself from harm." She stood straight, and looked at the guards. "I do hope you paid attention to my advice, for it will end up saving you from a terribly painful death at the hands of those clouds. And also, I could hear your conversation. If you think you have a chance of beating me, do not try. In a fight, a serious fight, I'd crush you both, without hesitation. But since I'm being paid to help, harming either of you would be idiotic and foolish." She said in a very neutral tone, watching them blankly.

While Sugary did refrain from helping Eve, he did not back away as he still watched her for her condition.

It was a different story for the guards as Flash shook in place, mostly from the cold and confusion of how Eve heard them so well, while Flint was left stunned but lightly scowling as he felt he was right by not trusting Eve as he felt she could turn on them any second regardless of pay. They would keep their distance, but still had a job to do as they both had orders from above until further notice.

Sugary was not liking the way the mood of the group as a whole was, so he tried to just stick to the task in the hopes keeping busy would superceed all other issues. "Eve... If you think you're ready to keep moving, then we better try and keep finding more of those dark clouds or anything similar while we can... But this time, we weaken anything else we find before you try something like that again. Alright?"

"No. I'm sorry Sugary, but I we are paid to protect these Guards, and I'd rather not risk failing that or letting you possibly get harmed. No offense intended to your own skill. The Dark Master's minions' spirits will not be prepared to fight their own power, as I know some dark magic as you saw. They will be very prepared for any Light Based Magic you might have, Sugary. At least, that is my guess. And my guesses on creatures that thrive in darkness are rarely wrong..." She said very slowly as she uses her magic to scan out for any more of the spirits, her aura being forced to show itself as a black, fiery haze around her body, very faint figures of ponies within it, all in positions that suggest pure agony, or death. Her aura was different from most, the images of those she has killed, including the spirit she had just crushed, were imprinted upon the Aura, to be seen as a record of what she had done as a Dullahan. She knew they might be afraid, or even attack her for the simple reason it was visible, but her determined, angry glare at the horizon would put off any thoughts of fighting her.

Sugary would quietly listen while giving Eve a firm stare, but then smirked when she was done. "I'd like to think I didn't spend my time training as a Mercenary to lose against Dark magic users as if I were an amateur. Light can pierce the darkness, and I intend to show how well too when done right... But it's not like that's all I know how to fight with. I'll be more than happy to put my knowledge against other Wizards to the test..." While the circumstances were one for high alert, even he could not deny the thrill and excitement of a good challenge and experience.

Sugary, as well as the ever distant and tense guards, watched Eve warily as her aura incresed. It was a worrysome sight, but at the same time, it helped put things in perspective for what was to come. Still close to Eve, with a light struggle to not let her aura damper his mood and senses, would speak again, more softly. "... Eve... I appreciate you not wanting me to get hurt... But I've seen my fair share of horrors. I swore to fight evil many years ago, and will continue to do so... Call me a dreamer if you want, but I'm here to be your ally against evil and that's that..."

With Eve exuding her aura like she was, the air on the cold fields stirred somewhat, and from distant corners, her presence would be becconed by an unseen force as more entities like the dark cloud were beginning to move about in unrest.