In The Kingdom Of Hope [Concluded]

"Your information, Blade Shield, is taken under due advisement. I may not be as kind to the next guards we see as I was to you. As a point of curiosity," Mittere said as she retrieved her robe from Sugary's back, taking no great amount of haste as she put it on. 

"How do you not know you yourself are being brainwashed, Mr Market?" Mittere really was indulging her curiosity when she should have begun the journey to the next destination. To rectify that she began to walk out without giving the order, trusting the others. "Are you as loyal to all of your other clients as you have been to me? It would seem I have been given the premium service, that includes several intimate acts, for no cost." Almost as if to prove a point, Mittere flicked the ear with a daisy, which she had taken the little extra effort to keep through the teleportation. 

"One track heroism can get a lot of ponies hurt," Luna warned. "The pony you side with, she twists things. You've probably heard it yourself, she has it out for me and my sister. We have not had the greatest PR as of late, but you know that we would never want to do harm to anypony. Is there any chance you may reconsider?" The guard stood behind Luna was mostly trying to avert his eyes from the back of the princess, especially given One's new granted freedom, his threat still in mind somewhere. 

Cute was not something Zephyr aspired to be, but it wasn't the first time today somepony had said that, so the truth in it was becoming more evident. "Are you going to throw yourself at me too?" He asked the large stallion in front of him facetiously. Zephyr thought slightly more about what had be said, he was technically keeping her confined to a room, as well as keeping everyone but himself safe. He guessed that being cheap was going to leave a bad impression too. "Do you have a specific hotel in mind?"

"I will join you on one, very simple condition. Tell me what is wrong with your sister. Tell me why I shouldn't leave, why I should even consider betraying those I have allied myself with. And you see, if I do this, you are faced with a conundrum Luna. How can you trust me if I can so easily change sides." He cocked his head, half-smiling.

Rain watched them, before following Miterre.

The stallion grunted and sighed, whilst the mare giggled and placed a key to a certain hotel in his hoof. "I recommend this one, I'm sure you'll find it delightful. The room is already even paid for~" she purred.

Sugary was left perplexed with Summer's question, though he thought of it as nothing more than a tease; Not because he was so sure of himself, but because he knew for a fact that he willingly joined her still even when he had asked for little in return right from the beginning. "I recall feeling the same motivation now to aid you as I did days past. Putting me under a spell would be pointless, and I am supposed to be guarding you anyway... Now, as for our relationship... That's another matter entirely; One that I look forward to if all goes well still..." He paused briefly, an amused smirk under his helmet from what he spoke of first. "That aside, while I can see Sir Blade's point, I doubt it will help us much. You've already been seen and identified as have several of us by him and fellow guards with and without that robe... I'll discard my armor for now, since no one has actually seen my face during the raid yet, but I strongly advice we keep a low profile, period..." While he spoke, his armor, shield, and lance were engulfed in a soft light before being taken away into his Inventory, revealing himself as he really was underneath to those that had yet to see him fully bare: Early 30's, large frame, rugged and toned body that even pure-blooded Earth ponies would have a hard time rivaling without proper training or years of dedicated physical labor behind them, long mane and tail, and last but not least his horsetail-shaped pink taffy cutiemark that likely sent a sharp contrast given his career choice. Only the small magical Inventory Bag tied to his leg was showing as anything wearable.

He also showed a partly weary look as they had just gone through a close encounter with the Royal Guards that could have gone much worse, and could be notably seen taking deep breaths and exhaling as he focused, calmed down, and then slowly concentrated on replenishing his Mana again by slowly and subtly coercing the nearby air and ambience to provide him with natural Ether from a land rich in life and magic as Equestria, though the warped nature of the weather meant there wasn't much for him to take properly as intended. "Ah... The name is Sugary Market... Pleased to meet you a last." said he to Blade and to Rain in a calm, if slightly exasperated tone. He then, making similar use of his Inventory, brought out the red cape from his traveler's set, and offered it to Blade. "... It needs to be cleaned properly, but you need something to keep from being recognized just as much as Madam Mittere, don't you?"

The stallion was surprised by the Inventory Bag, not having ever seeing one before. He had heard about them, but it was a rarity to see a pony with one. He then noticed how earth pony body on a unicorn. He knew that Sugary was probably pretty fit, but to have a body like that as unicorn. That was a feat in itself. Sugary's cutie seemed strange as well since it was only a thing of taffy and Blade couldnt think of anything outside Sugary was good at making the stuff.

Blade's cutie mark on the other hoof was something that would make his role as a little ironic if somepony knew what the symbol stood for. The eye of Ra, the god of the Sun, and Blade was a solar guard.

Blade continued looked over at the tired Sugary and had the thought of escape cross his mind. A grab to pull Sugary into Mittere before blasting them into the nearby wall as he would create a construct so that he wouldnt get murder by a vampony with a sword. Then, he would finally run like Tarartus before he used a construct to fly himself back to the other guards.

He smacked the idea out of his idea. He had figure out more about these ponies before he tried to escape, though they might actually let him leave afterwards. Blade sighed as the he took off his armor with his magic, the action was natural from how many times had done it in the past. His being something that was on the class of most earth ponies, but fell below those that really worked at it. The guard's cutie mark being shown for a brief moment before becoming hidden once again

"If I were going to use a spell such as that, I would make it so my will is indiscernible from your own decisions. Of course, I would never make you do anything you did not want on some level." The fact that she could now look at Sugary's face instead of a helmet was nice, though not something she could dwell on at this time. Mittere had become rather used to obscuring her own face and body a great deal of the time. Sugary could attest to the fact it was a shame for her to remain covered. 

Were it not for Rain and Spring, Mittere could have passed for an enchanter of men with all the able bodied stallions following her. The group as a whole looked rather suspect regardless of the clothing they wore. Since it was moving to a slightly cooler part of the day, ponies were beginning to leave their homes at this point, meaning more ponies for the guards to search through, but many more ponies to stand in the way of Mittere should they be spotted.  

"I assume that saying because I am a princess and ordering you to do it will not be adequate," Luna said, head pointing down slightly. "There are many things I will find it hard to trust you with, but to keep a functioning government and preserve life are two things I just know you will treat seriously. I also do not plan to pull on any lingering feelings you may have for me. My sister is fine, the same Celestia everypony knows. She smiles at as many as she can who pass, makes an effort to read every letter she gets. She has been incredibly busy as of late, the few times I have seen her she has been very tired. Something weighs heavily on her. She has not snapped as some may be saying, she is struggling with something she knows nopony else can help with. She is suffering to try and save everypony, and from her recent attitude the rare times I see her, it looks as though she is close. My personal judgement may be clouded by sentiment, but I trust Celestia far more than a terrorist who has tried to kill me in the past." Luna did not look like she could say anymore about Celestia, and that was not due to her being sworn to secrecy. 

"Alright then," Zephyr said, looking at the key for a moment, before turning to Isabelle. "Your highness, I believe I have come to my decision. Since you are in my custody, it would be legally unwise for you to disobey my request to take you to a hotel room." He believed he knew well enough the way to the hotel that that key mentioned. 

"I... See." One muttered as he contemplated this. "You cannot save everyone. It is simply not feasible." He shook his head. "I would serve you Luna, happily, were it not that I have given my word to my other allies. I will save as many as possible, even if it means replacing Celestia. I am sorry Luna, that we could not be together... That I allied myself with them while I was not stable. Goodbye." He began to walk away, glancing back at her sadly.

---

Rain smiled at Sugary, and nodded. "A pleasure to meet you properly Lord Market."

---

Isabelle blushed a deep red, and giggle. "A- alright then, let's go." She took his hoof and began to trot to the hotel.

The mare giggled as she nuzzled the armoured form of her brother. "They're adorable, aren't they?"

A rumble that could only be laughter came from his chest. "Indeed, and I have stationed extra guards around that hotel."

Sugary wondered if Summer was being serious, jesting him, or both. As it were, he had no way of knowing at the moment without asking, so he chose to humor her. "I see. So did you decide to take control of me, or have I just plain been loyal out of my own promise instead?" Amused as to where this particular conversation was going, he would give and or take his cape and Blade's gear depending on whether or not he accepted his offer.

That aside, he already knew to follow Summer carefully, so that only left to address Rain in return. "Likewise, Miss... Though the 'Lord' thing is a bit much. I'm not your superior. By the way, if you need anything put away, the offer extends to you as well."

Blade took the cloak and put it on. He continued to hold his armor with his magic as he waited for Sugary to finish talking before he spoke. "Oh Sugary can you take my armor as well. I dont want to leave perfectly good armor laying around in here. Also, thank you." He asked while he tied the cloak so it wouldnt fall off of him and then added the hood onto it. He gave a small nod to Sugary before he flipped the hood over his head and horn.

"I do think it would be more fun to leave you with the thought, or maybe think on it for you," Mittere said. She did have plans to come clean about her innocence in the matter. She didn't need to resort to any control, Sugary was a nice pony who always tried to do good, and he trusted that she knew what was going on with the sun. "And I do believe it should be known that I am not too modest as to reject a tittle. You make me seem even less so by comparison, Mr Market." 

Seeing Blade taking on sone of the appearance of Sugary warmed her slightly to the stallion. It wasn't going to make her too friendly, but certainly less cold and as one of the group instead of a guard, which was an obstruction. Blade's body did not seem bad, but it needed of few extra years to be in same age bracket as Sugary, then she could compare the two equally. Not like Mittere was shallow enough to judge a stallion on looks, no, she was a mare of substance, finding attraction in dorky stallions too. 

Luna sighed and let out a kick behind her, hitting the guard behind her's armour. He was checking her out anyway, and while it was often flattering she was not feeling it at this point. She levitated the crumpled guards for into the cell and locked the door as she walked away herself. If things had to be that way, they had to be that way. She needed to get Celestia's attention, a somewhat difficult task in recent days, but a certain pony's name may help spark interest, as well as the name of the accomplice that just left. 

Princess ranked a little higher on Zephyr's list than he would have ever expected to get. And with a free room it seemed that drawing the right eye came with benefits. "So, your highness, if you are fine by me calling you that, are you fully recovered for any possible activities ahead of us?" 

Rain chuckled at Sugary's comment, shaking her head gently. "Humility, is not something that comes easily to vampires Lord Market. We are naturally a proud race, and oft see ourselves as higher than everyone else. So, I treat everyone else higher than myself, thus, do I avoid allowing myself to be blinded by my own pride and arrogance." She smiled. "Thank you for the offer, but I am quite alright."

---

Isabelle blushed and giggled. "I- I prefer you just call me Isabelle. I hate pulling my rank on ponies, particularly this I have a crush on." She nuzzled his cheek and grinned. "And yes, I do believe I am prepared for what comes next."

---

One trotted out into the street, having left the prison/HQ building, and he glanced around. Almost immediately, he was flanked by two ponies in red coats. "Ah, excellent, right on time. Tell me, how close are we?"

The stallion on his right began walking, and spoke softly. "Close milord. Very close."

One nodded and smiled, fangs bared. "Take me to Miterre, and Mr Market. I will have words with them about their plan." The pair nodded and began to guide him towards the other group at speed.

Sugary took a close look at Blade's gear, and made sure to carefully place it all away in his Inventory. He actually had to smile at that moment; It had been quite some time since he last held someone else's full gear like that, and it made him feel nostalgic. Even so, he was not so nostalgic as to be distracted during this point in time as they followed along with Summer throughout the streets of Canterlot carefully. He was very much alert on whether or not other guards would suddenly show up.

Other than that, he actually did give some thought on Summer's comment, pondering how things might be different if he truly were under mind control. He also had no choice but to accept Rain's decision as it were, but he still hoped there would be no trouble. "Very well... But please try not to show off your weapon at least... The less conspicuous, the better... You could at least wrap the weapon in cloth." That would be his advice to Rain. Afterwards, he'd just hope they'd be able to reach their next destination with no trouble, but he was also keeping an eye out for any of the others from the group that were sent along with One to be on lookout. Perhaps seeing a few of them again might yield some necessary intel for them about the Guards movements, he thought.

Blade was tempted to hug the vampony from what she said. All the others had been full of it and hopefully their egos got knocked down a little from today. He also wanted to ask about how many vamponies were still in existence, but decided that was a later time. They had spent enough time in one place and they had to go. He looked over at the setting sun and wondered what was happening with Zephyr especially since he had left him with Isabelle. He doubted the stallion was harmed, but it still made him feel uneasy to think about Isabelle getting stronger.

He shrugged off the idea and went back to the matter of concealing Rain's weapon. "Sugary has a point the guards are going to be on edge and if we get spotted with a weapon in the open. They'll use it as an excuse to take us in and question us." Blade paused for a moment and thought about the ponies he was with. "Or at least try to."

Mittere carried on walking, not having much of interest to point out. Sometimes she liked being quiet, watching others and how they engaged one another with interest. A guard could happen upon her, or more accurately her into them, without her notice as she looked upon the group, so she soon rectified that and looked ahead. Mittere honestly found reading a chore, one which was only barely worth it as she led the path. Her head lowered slightly, feeling under pressure from the heat until she resolved herself again. Shadows were beginning to lengthen from this point onward, they were too high profile now to rest for the afternoon, so forward it was. It was not like she was enduring needlessly, she had a mission. If Mittere's plans were to hold, and she had read the right stuff, the palace's walls would be an easily navigable obstacle. 

"Really?" Zephyr asked, turning his head slightly. "I don't think some ponies are aware how awesome leadership is. It's all about the little things you can have fun with. I've been caught making rookies do my job for me before." He shut up at about that time, at least until he got a reaction, as he probably wasn't giving Isabelle the best impression he could.  

One trotted towards the wall, his ear twitching. Dismissing his guards, he turned and trotted round the corner, waving quietly to the group, he smiled toothily. "Well, well, well. What do we have here?" He asked as he trotted over.

Rain nodded and wrapped her blade in a cloth. "As you wish Lord Mar-" she paused and turned her head, before galloping over and hugged One. "Lord Night. You have returned."

He chuckled and hugged her back. "Rain, good to see you again."

---

"Really? You enjoy leading ponies?" She blinked and rubbed the back of her neck as they slowly approached the hotel. "I hate leading ponies, having them look up to me... Trusting me to ensure everything goes well." She blushed and giggled. "You should do it better next time, make sure you don't get caught."

There were several things Sugary expected to see in the immediate future. One was not one of them given recent previous events. Of course, given said recent previous events, he was most certainly not glad to see him as he might have been otherwise. "You...!? You got a lot of explaining to do! And don't you dare act like everything's fine either, I am not in the mood! What the hell happened to you, what happened to the others, and did you actually speak to Luna!?" He spoke in a hushed, but furious tone as he tried to look around as inconspicuously as he could to make sure they weren't being watched or focused upon. Perhaps one of the things he was grateful for at the moment was having Rain and Blade cooperating.

Blade glared at One when he returned. Blade's work for the entire day had been undone for as long as it took for him to do it. One was not somepony he wanted to see. His chance in being able to talk to Celestia was gone, while it was slim that he would be able to in the first place. The unicorn listened to Sugary's quieted anger be expressed at the Vampony. He was also a little surprised by how Rain had been so happy that One had returned and felt a little annoyed for anyone to be happy with him at the moment though he had accidentally gave Blade the idea to go to the school in the first place.

Spring giggled again at the tone of Sugary's voice, Mittere seemed to smile to. It was a serious matter to have conflict inside of the group, and if it persisted she was going to have to deal with it. Whatever she and Blade had, which mostly boiled down to her giving a stare and look down every now and then, was a totally different thing. "I would also be rather curious to know if you had a discussion with Luna, though I agree with Mr Market's earlier point of responsibility, which is doing what is expected of you. You may have pulled through by securing us extra assistance, but you failed to give us much warning about our dear friend Blade. I am of course understanding of personal issues, and I am sure there are things that would make Mr Market do the same." Mittere began to turn and kept walking around the outside of the wall. "Though I would request you make this the last time." 

In an effort to keep ponies somewhat quiet, she had the idea to play the tourguide. "In unlikely event it would escape your notice the palace wall stands to our left. There are of course, other buildings and monuments in Equestria that are more impressive in both scale and architectural wonder. Canterlot, at its construction, was a testament to the emerging art of the time. It was built with deliberate effort to look splendid for years to come. Such spirit was poured into the wall as well. Though the basic wall has remained the same as it was built, It has undergone a few changes throughout its lifespan. One of the ponies working on the project was obviously wise, as they had awareness of the fact that time does not stand still. A fortification was a waste to maintain in a time where it was not needed. It is because of this fact, that times change, the walls were built in free standing sections and connected to one another by seamless looking sections, giving a space for whatever is needed." Mittere quietened down her voice for the next part to make sure there were certainly no other ponies listening. "A wall of this age has several difficulties keeping its splendour, meaning there does need to be restoration work done. It is skilled work, but they are not very concerned about security if the work remains uninterrupted. A group of 'tourists' such as ourselves should able to make our way inside with little issue." Like Mittere had anticipated, there was scaffolding seemed give an easy climb up, over and down, were it not for the ponies at work of course. 

"Things are easier said than done, right? So if I'm the one saying then, then I have the easy job," Zephyr said with a shrug. He smiled as he saw Isabelle blush again, she seemed to be easy to fluster under heat.
"And I switched my napping spot accordingly after that, don't worry. Even if they find out, they won't know where to find me." 

One rolled his eyes and chuckled. "The others are fine. My guard escorted them back to the hotel. As for me, our guard friend here arrested me, because he thought I was lying to him. Tell me Blade, do you still doubt that I am the vampire who led the guard all those years ago?" He shrugged and smiled sadly. "As for Luna... Well, it seems that like all other things in my life that I have loved, save my daughter, she has left me. Not through fault of her own of course. My own weakness is to blame." He brushed as strand of his mane out of the way and smiled. "Blade, you should stop glaring, it'll ruin your face."

One listened quietly as Mittere played tourguide, chuckling as he remembered it's construction. He glanced at Rain, who appeared downcast. Lifting her chin, he smiled. "Rain my dear, you need not worry for me."

Isabelle giggled again as she stopped outside the hotel. "You're actually hilarious Zephyr... Shall we go in?" She asked, glancing at the large building.

Blade wanted to tell One that a construct going through the a pony's hooves was bad for his legs, but decided not to. It was petty and undeserved. He simply played walked around and looked over at the wall as Mittere played tourguide. The stallion had patrolled this part of the wall, numerous amount of times during his time as a guard. Blade looked over at One as he comforted Rain and wished he could be so sure about his ruler. The fact he was with this ponies, not even trying to plan of a way to escape was going against Celestia in his mind.

He sighed and turned his attention to the ground for a moment. This hectic day had managed to make him aligned with revolutionaries that wanted to take the throne and Sun from Celestia, something Blade would have thought could have never happened. But, it still happened.

Sugary listened carefully to Summer as she made her Tour Guide impression, while pointing out exploitable segments that were likely to be relevant later on, or so he thought. He looked at Blade to see if he would have any particular reaction to what she was saying, but he seemed passive enough, which was probably for the best for now.

Even so, he still had more to ask One as he had yet to elaborate on a very particular detail, the annoyance of having to deal with his relaxed attitude somewhat showing in his hushed voice. "One... That's fine and all that the rest might be okay... But what exactly did you talk to Luna about!? Did you actually accomplish anything regarding problem number one!?" He briefly pointed over to the setting sun. "Unless you managed to learn how to resolve that issue, I'm still pissed at you! So quit stalling and tell us already...! ...!!! On that matter, did you or did you not tell her anything about us!?" The idea that One had only been dealing with personal issues was still grating to him. It did not help that One had such personal issues to begin with with as it were as it made Sugary think the vampony could not be relied upon if something like this were to repeat itself. A troubling and deeply concerning issue to be sure. It was also unsettling to think that Luna might have learned something about the group from One he rather it weren't shared.

Blade seemed as though he'd shrugged One's comment pretty well, which was good. If he did keep causing tension though, Mittere didn't plan to protect him. She would not take kindly to the group being compromised. Sugary seemed to be rather caught up in blaming One, but she held enough trust in him to not give anything compromising away, not like she had revealed too much as it was. "I am dreadfully sorry for how these two are behaving," Mittere said quietly into Blade's ear. "I understand you only have my word, but they are not normally like that. We get along rather well, friendship is magic and such things like that." 

"I am? That's good, I mean, it doesn't suck," Zephyr said as he nodded, holding the door open. "Go on in, it's not like I'm shirking work for this." 

One rolled his eyes. "Mr Market. You seem to have a simple mistake. I am not who I was. Firstly, the only thing I told her was that you were ruthless. Which you are. As for what I learnt about Celestia, something is wrong I think... Luna wouldn't tell me everything. As for what I intend to do, I have already started, haven't I Rain?"

Rain nodded. "Yes Milord. We have mobilised the last of the troops, they will arrive within the next two days."

She trotted inside and smiled. "What number is the room?" She asked quietly

By that point, Sugary had had it with One. He took a very deep breath... and relaxed, trying to find peace of mind in what was slowly becoming a bigger reason for him to make good on his promise to hurt One... out in public. "... Congrats, you learned something is wrong with Celestia. You now know what half the world thinks of her already..." He merely kept that to his thoughts, but it was clear through his eyes he was rather vexed to say the least. "... I hope you'll actually tell us everything you know and intend to do while you're with us, if you're planning on staying with us... Because it sounds like you're about to bring in a battalion that we never heard of into what's happening..." He then leaned closer to Summer, passing his head just over Blade's as he stood on the opposite side that she was to the smaller stallion while One spoke to Rain. While he wondered what Summer might have said to Blade, he was more concerned with sharing some of his thoughts with her and Blade as he whispered somewhat awkwardly to both of them. "... That does it. I am not asking him any more questions for now. I am losing my patience... Madam, how close are we to our next destination? And Sir Blade... Just... Sorry... One too many surprises keep happening lately..."

Blade nodded his head. "I trust you on the part of Sugary, but for One..." He stopped as he heard about the troops. Now, he suddenly wanted to make One a bloody mess on the pavement. The stallion seemed to have been bringing an army to Canterlot and forcing Celestia of the throne, publically. The dethroning of the Solar Princess left a bitter taste in his mouth, but what he thought One was planning enrage him. What would that teach the ponies of Equestria? That they should use force to solve their problems? Or maybe to even let the vamponies run things?

The stallion snorted and dropped his gaze to the ground. If One didnt explain himself before they reached their destination, Blade would ask the stallion himself. Blade hoped that he could calm himself before they got there. It have been a misunderstanding.

He glanced over at Sugary as he apologized. "There's no need for an apology. You have been kind to me so far and I know you are a good stallion..." Blade turned his attention to One and starred him down as he finished his sentence. "...and I question thoughs that say otherwise." He moved his attention back to the ground.

"Such a force would have been useful to have at our disposal from the outset. We could sit idle, and risk ourselves during the time that would take, or we could proceed further now." Mittere was in disapproval, but mostly for her own reasons. She had to wonder what would happen to herself when she was victorious. Would she be forced into the will of One's little army at risk of ending up like Celestia? She knew she shouldn't judge One to same standard as herself. Was he likely to do that? His behaviour had not been among the most consistent in the world, so it left a slight of uncertainty. "And I have already made the decision to proceed."   

She looked down to Blade, then to Sugary before smiling a little. She swirled the idea around in her mind to ask playfully if they could keep him. "We are close. All being well. I could force us in at any point should there be an immediate need to move." 

"Let's see..." Zephyr looked to the key, turning it so the the number was the correct way, though that didn't make much of a difference to what the number was. "Room eleven. That'll be...Um..." He began to look around on the spot for an indication of what rooms were where.