Paved with Good Intentions

"Really?" Hoodwink asked nonchalantly, not really listening; seeing a particularly nice golden crown he took advantage of Blueblood stopping for a moment to cough to surreptiously slip just a few drops of acid into the lock on the case under the guise of examining it, following the unicorn prince again lest he rouse any suspicion.

"An interesting collection." Hoodwink said, in an interested if unimpressed tone. Typical strategy; look unimpressed so their ego compells them to show you where the all time greats are. "To be honest I half expected there to be some kind of fortified bunker under the house where all this stuff would be."

- Zen -

At that moment, Sonata would begin feeling an extreme sense of fatigue and weakness spread out through her body, originating from the points where arrows had gone through her back and leg. It would likely hamper her precision and thus her ability to deliver an accurate killing blow. But even then, Cyclone seemed to express no desire for her to shoot yet, still concentrating on the prisoner exchange and remaining oblivious as to Sonata's condition.

---

- Eq -

The other pegasi raised their spears at the Chancellor as Wolfe targeted the Commander with his knife, while yet others moved to block off the Commander from Wolfe's aim. At the same time, Wolfe's soldiers clustered around him to protect their officer.

"All blood spilt here will be for a righteous cause." The crowned pegasus snapped at Wolfe. "You backstabbing traitors don't deserve a nation of your own."

---

- Sharp -

As Accentria walked through the wall she would emerge into what seemed like quite a large bar, with a low ceiling but a large floor area. The interior was dark, but not wholly so, with a little neon sign over the semicircular counter at the back of the bar displaying the words Hole in the Wall, giving dim illumination to the space. Various ponies of all races sat around the assorted tables - interestingly, if Accentria was paying close attention to them, she would notice that they all wore amulets around their necks reminiscent but not identical to Clover's - chatting amiably and drinking. All heads were suddenly turned in the direction of the entrance - which Accentria would now be able to recognise as a simple archway, now that she had passed the illusion.

"Good day everyone." Clover said cheerfully. "I've brought a new friend. She'll be staying here from now on, alright?"

"But Clover," one of the ponies, a pegasus stallion with a purple mane and green coat, "isn't she-"

"Shh!" Clover snapped. "Don't talk about our new visitors like that."

"But-"

"No buts." She said. "She's one of you now, so even though she's a new face I expect you all to treat her as one of you. Got it?"

"Yes, Clover." The bar chorused.

"Great." She smiled, then turned back to Accentria. "Rooms are at the back," she said, pointing to a plain-looking white door next to the counter. "Just pick any free room and then mark it any way you like - without destroying the door, of course - to show that it's yours. All the unmarked doors represent free rooms."

---

- Dragon Soul -

Dusk's charge indeed managed to catch the earth pony unawares, tackling him to the ground and stabbing him through the neck with the halberd. However, that immediately put him against three other enemies, against himself and his ally to whom he had brought some temporary respite. Two of the knights attacked Dusk, one aiming his spear at Dusk's head, though the tower shield was in the way, and the other at his hooves, trying to trip him up.

---

- OP -

Blueblood seemed slightly taken aback by Hoodwink's response. "Well, there is, certainly. These are the less valuable items I put on display. Why don't I show you something slightly better?" He reached the end of the corridor - at last - and stopped at the T-junction, with the corridor continuing left and right. Instead he opened the elegant double-doors directly in front and stepped in, opening it up to a large room with intricate tapestries and beautiful paintings lining the walls alongside stained-glass windows. The red carpet in this rectangular room stretched across the length of it, all the way from the doors to an opulent throne.

Blueblood smirked. "One of the benefits of being the Crown Prince." He gestured to Hoodwink. "Anyway, I don't think I've quite caught exactly what it is you do. What position do you hold? I assume you work for a large corporation."

---

- Arry -

Nothing interesting happened for a long while, with nopony really paying much attention to Griff and his beer. It was only after a little while that the door creaked open again, and a unicorn mare with a white coat and a sky-blue mane walked into the bar, looking around nervously. Her gaze eventually settled on Griff, and with a polite nod to him she sat down at his table, on the opposite side.

She cleared her throat. "Um, hello. Could I... speak to you for a bit?"

---

- Wiserodin -

The exit from the dungeon merely brought Auftrag to the basement of the Palace - a rather dark, dim and dank place, but considerably less so than the dungeons themselves. Just out here were two stoic guards, staring forward and not acknowledging Auftrag's presence in the least bit. Torches lined the walls, but not enough to illuminate the place to a comfortable level. Around the corner, a seemingly brighter source of light seemed to be present - the direction Auftrag would know as the way to the usual level of the Palace. Though he would not be immediately aware where Amethyst might be, he would know that the Intelligence Bureau - the place where his report would need to be filed - was not too far away from where he was now. In fact, it would just be down the corridor from where the basement exit was.

Wolfe twirls his knife around his hoof. "Mm, traitors, righteousness, yadda yadda. Can we not just overthrow the current regime and deal with each other later? It's harder to push a stationary boulder and all that." He keeps advancing toward the Chancellor at a slow, calm pace. "There's no need for a conflict here, you see. Is my Chancellor really worth my people's aggression to you? A two-front war is much more difficult than a war on one front and hostility on another. That's simple tactics." Wolfe explains, trying to defuse the situation with a calm, cool voice.

"Something of a freelancer... who happens to be good enough at what he does to be employed by a corporation year round." Hoodwink explained with a confident grin of his own. "As for what I do, I do what any pony with sense knows to do; what his superiors tell him to."

He walked into the throne room and observed it. "You know, it seems odd to have a separate room for the thrown and the treasures. Have you considered taking down this wall and making it one long room?" Hoodwink suggested as he kept an eye on Blueblood; the unicorn was pretty dense it seemed but even the most dense of ponies could figure out they were being had if a stranger acted too suspicious.

"If I may ask a question of my own? What was your business with Xereth?" Hoodwink asked. "He didn't tell me why we needed to stop in here. As I said, I do as I am told, and in this case I was simply told to come here with no context."

"Poison? Damn that's a new low, maybe I should have went with that other pony Sonata thought to herself with a grimace as she felt the drain taxing her body. "Actually, why don't I? I'm no soldier, I'm a damned musician!" she continued to think bitterly to herself, the draw on her bow easing up a bit with each thought word.

"But there'd be no respect from the other races no matter how good I played, then shackles make playing harder, and a cell makes for one poor stage," her mind rebutted and Sonata suddenly drew the arrow back the full draw once again, only to release it at a unicorn that wasn't on the stage as the sudden exertion played against her with the weakness spreading through her body and making her unable to maintain the strenuous position. The shot however wasn't the best aimed and while it certainly wasn't going anywhere near the stage, it had only a chance of hitting it's intended recipient. Still, it might deter somepony else from interfering with the already tense situation on the stage.

Then something else stirred in her mind. The pony she'd seen in the woods, she'd seemed interested despite the racial difference and she'd even put those bloody swords away at request. "Well, I'm not going to be any help if I pass out here," Sonata's inner monologue admitted at last before she set about a new course of actions. Firstly, she fired off a couple more hampered shots at some of the unicorns that were interested in the stage, whether they were throwing spells at it or just moving closer. Then Sonata turned about and flew back off towards the burning everfree. As the fatigue continued and her flying started to become hindered, she increased her altitude to make gliding a possibility along with making it easier to find some relative safety or even that other mare.

Griff had already some alcohol in him by then, and thus took him more than a moment to realize that a mare just sat down in front of him. He lazily looked at his beer, then at the mare, then at the other bar patrons before settling his eyes back on the mare. "Fascinating. Please don't tell me she's here to tell me about all her problems that I couldn't possibly care less about at this moment... And why did she pick me, anyway? There are at least 5 others she could pick, excluding the bartender... " Griff's thoughts were racing through his head while he continued looking at the mare before finally nodding.

"I suppose... whaddya need to talk about, beautiful?" Half-drunk Griff asked her.

"Erm..." The mare looked around the bar, where several patrons were already turning their gazes - drunk or otherwise - to their table. "Look, I can't talk about it here. Could we talk outside? Please? Somewhere quiet and alone. This is important." Her gaze was nervous, and it looked like she was sweating bullets. Her eyes darted around the bar, notably returning at regular intervals to Griff.

Griff sighed. "Oh boy, here we go.." he thought as he looked around before finally standing up. "Alright, let's go." He said and threw a few bits on the counter to pay for his drinks before making his way out, ready to follow the white mare.

The mare nodded as he stood up, looking somewhat more relieved. As soon as Griff was done she walked out of the bar, expecting Griff to follow her, and turned down the closest dark alleyway she could find. Once she was there she stopped short, took a deep breath, and turned around, looking Griff straight in the eyes. "Alright, look. I saw you go into the Palace just now."

Griff moved a step back as the mare turned to him and notified that she saw him. "Me? Palace? An old drunkard like me? Doubt it." Griff lied in response, not exactly knowing what should he expect back. "Did she really see me? Great, guess I'll have to get out of this damned city for now until all this lays down..." he thought before getting his legs to stand still. "What do you want from me, anyway?"

Dusk was able to block the first blow with his shield, but the second did catch his hooves, knocking his front hooves out from under him. Dusk's confidence suddenly faded and was replaced with some panic and the will to survive. His shield dropped as he did, and in that moment of panic, he unleashed a torrent of flame on the two knights in front of him, which would drain a large chunk of his magical energy.

"I saw you, okay?" The mare said shortly. "Don't deny it. I didn't think the legends of changelings were true, but apparently they are. All I want to know is what you were doing, and why."

Griff took half a step back. "Whoa. Changelings? What the heck are you talking about?!" he asked with a slightly angered tone. "You know they can't possibly get even near this city, right?!" he added, preparing to defend himself if the mare decides to assault him. He was ready to pull out his swords and block her attack, if it were to happen.

The mare raised her eyebrows. "I'm no fool. You. You're the changeling. How else do you transform into a bird?" She shook her head. "No, no, forget it. That's not important. All I need to know is why you went into the Palace. What did you do in there? I need to know."

"For the last time, whoever you are, I am not a changeling, merely a unicorn with a special gift that is rather unique. And why do you need to know, anyway? Stick to your own business." Griff angrily replies and makes a few steps back.

Auftrag tipped his hat to the guards as he passed. "Good day." No response. Good. There didn't need to be a fuss. He quickly took a notepad out from his hat and a pencil and wrote down the entire interrogation on the way to the stairs. As he made his way up, he braced himself for the sudden change in lighting. It usually hurt his eyes. Thankfully the transition was short enough and he began making his way to the intelligence office.

As he proceeded, he took out the whale bone charm he was wearing and kissed it for good luck. It tasted of sweet nostalgia, blood, and the memories of his homeland, Griffonia. But now is not the time for nostalgia. He put the charm away.

“Aren’t I?” Accentria repeated, raising an eyebrow. “You… know something I don’t, don’t you--- You probably do. I don’t remember much,” she continued, suddenly and very quickly closing the distance between herself and the pegasus, she practically crashed onto him as the Geas took positions on either side of the two. “Whatever it is, I want to know...” She asked--- Now ontop of the poor pegasus, as she stared intently into his eyes.

Accentria poked the stallion in the nose with a hoof. "Please?"

- Zen -

One of Sonata's three shots hit a unicorn knight, though only through his hoof. She would notice, however, that none of them were making any effort to advance towards the stage, with only the robed one slinging fireballs at the stage and the others surrounding him in a protective screen. The other two shots went wide, but they were enough to attract the attention of the unicorns. The robed one barked some orders at the others, and two knights detached themselves from the group and moved towards the forest, their full suits of armour clanking noisily as they approached.

Meanwhile, the delibitating effects on Sonata seemed to no longer worsen, although they did persist. It made flying difficult, but she was still able to fly as high as she did. However, the darkness pervading the entire forest below the treeline would prove obstructive to her efforts; only the areas near the portions of the forest on fire - about ten metres into the forest from its current perimeter - were readily visible.

---

- Eq -

The crowned pegasus rolled his eyes. "Funny, since we tried that before and all we got was a knife in the back. I don't know how stupid Mantle thinks we are, but we learn. Fool us once, shame on us. Fool us twice..." He shook his head, sighing. "Well, that's just not going to happen. Pegasopolis can hold, and we will. If fighting a two-front war is what it takes to keep you underhoofed scum from taking over, then so be-"

thwack

All of a sudden, a crossbow bolt the length of four ponies shot out through the flames in the encampment and struck a full row of pegasi on the stage, propelling them all off and killing several. The crowned figure's head snapped to the side, where all at once several more enormous bolts came shooting out of the tall fires and catching more of the pegasi in the side.

"Alright, let's get out of here!" The crowned figure snapped, and as one the pegasi rose up into the sky and began to make for the clouds, amidst a new volley of anti-air shots that sent a few of them careening towards the ground.

---

- Sharp -

"Uhh... well, uh..." The stallion was sweating profusely now, partly because of his nervousness and partly because of Accentria's extreme proximity. "Um... I know nothing. Nothing at all." With a hoof, he pulled his amulet - identical to Clover's except for the background, which was green instead of blue - in a nervous gesture. "Really I don't Not even your name." He insisted. "Here, we haven't introduced ourselves yet. Let me start. I'm Blackwing. What's your name, Accentria?"

---

- Dragon Soul -

The torrent of fire had a devastating effect on his foes, forcing them to stumble back and recover, though their full body suits kept them safe from actually catching fire. However, they were both very much on edge, not yet moving forward to attacking but using the superior range of their spears to stab at Dusk from a relatively safe distance. However, Dusk would see that they were tensing up, likely preparing for another charge.

---

- OP -

"Hm. Perhaps I might, but I feel that the current setup is best. Considering that I played a large role in its design, after all." Blueblood said. He then donned a thoughtful frown, directed at Hoodwink, as he appeared to contemplate... something. "... Xereth is the inspector responsible for evaluating the living conditions of my slaves, and thus granting me I the legal authority to purchase more. I'm surprised you didn't know at all."

He continued eyeing Hoodwink for a little while longer, then spoke up. "You know, it's improper to keep your headwear on indoors, in the presence of your host. Especially when your host is the Crown Prince. You should remove it."

---

- Arry -

The mare frowned. "Look, if you don't tell me, I'll have to report you to the authorities. There's been a crackdown on spies and such since the war began, and something like ponies breaking into the Palace gets the Court angry." She stomped her hoof. "So just tell me what you were doing."

---

- Wiserodin -

The intelligence office was at the end of the corridor, as expected. Upon opening the door, Auftrag would find a busy office with many cubicles, with stacks of paper and empty ink wells cluttering the floor like nobody's business. His familiarity with the Unicornian Intelligence Bureau's office layout would allow him to remember that it was always the case that the lower-ranking ones would have their cubicles closest to the entrance; the others, with their own private offices at the higher ranks, would be located further inwards. The door at the very end was that of Lady Plant herself, head of the Intelligence Bureau, and which, by personal experience, would be full of greenery of all sorts, as well as the odd vine on the floor that would cause someone to trip. He could expect her to be present, as she most always was.

---

- Khaos -

The sky in Pegasopolis, the (sort of) utopian city in the clouds, was majestic today. The sun was high in the sky, bringing a warm but not uncomfortably hot feel onto the skin of anyone exposed to it. Of the few clouds floating above the altitude of the city, most were the white and fluffy sort, indicating the lack of any inbound storms. Indeed, the weather schedule available to anypony in the city would indicate that no such inclement weather was scheduled in the near future.

It was the morning, but not yet very late. Some isolated parts of the city might normally still be asleep at this time, but today that was different, because everypony had woken up to see off the veritable army Pegasopolis was dispatching to rescue Supreme Commander Hurricane, the old hero of the nation. Led by King Cyclone himself, the diarch of the country, great glories were promised upon their return. Probably.

But for now, the city Spare and Pocket Change would find themselves in was bustling with activity and gossip. The army had departed some hours ago, and were likely due to return soon. Nonetheless, business was going on as per normal.

A sudden cacophony of bird calls cut through the early morning air, and several pegasi looked up to see a large flock of birds fly over their heads. Interestingly, they seemed to comprise several species of birds in a single conglomeration, rather than separate; with everything from magpies and robins to doves and swallows in the flock. They flew westwards, passing over the heads of the mostly apathetic populace, ignored by all but a few curious ponies and excited foals.

Griff slightly grinned at the mention of authorities. "Report me, huh?" he said, in less angered tone than before. "I wonder what would they do.. would they even care?" he continued thinking out loud and was disrupted by the hoof stomp of the white mare in front of him. "I don't see why should I tell you. You don't even look like a guard... wait, do they even take mares as guards? Either way, you're gonna have to make me tell you~" Griff said in a rather playful and slightly drunk tone now.

Sonata cursed under her breath as the shots went wide of their targets. Given the distance they traveled though, even just a slight adjustment of her aim would result in the wide miss and with whatever was working it's way through her system, it was a perfectly reasonable as to why her shots missed. That however didn't really cross Sonata's mind at the moment as she was busy cursing herself, the poor shot, the stupid war, and most of all the unicorns pursuing her.

As she continued to fly out over the forest, Sonata took some simple measures to create difficulty for her followers. Mainly just flying over walls of fire in the hope that it would dissuade them or if they tried to teleport past, they'd misjudge the distance since they couldn't see how far back the flames were still going and end up in the middle of the fires itself. Once past the flames themselves, Sonata would dive down into the forest since the trip up to the clouds still seemed something akin to a suicide run what with the anti-air barrages being launched and her drained abilities.

After landing on the ground, Sonata would once more be happy she'd gone with the lighter armor. With the commotion of the battle, the roar of the fires, and the darker color of her equipment, she was confident in her ability to properly hide should she hear anything approaching. Slinging her bow back across her frame, the thestral began wandering through the forest partially looking for the pony she'd seen earlier, or at least someplace she could rest. All the while listening for any sounds of anything approaching and looking for any distinguishable landmarks to go towards.

The mare recoiled from Griff. "No. Just... no. And I can tell you that the guards take infiltrating the castle very seriously. The Court nobles like to throw his weight around on that one, because it makes them feel personally threatened." She ground her teeth in frustration. "Can you just tell me what you did? It's either that or ten years in prison. Or the executioner's block."

"Well there you go." Griff said and chuckled. "You just answered your question before asking it again. Yes, I infiltrated the castle to get a book about airships because I adore them so much." Griff said and chuckled again, partially laughing at his own bad lie. He was partially hoping that the mare in front of him would know it's a big fat lie, as he was having much fun fooling around with her.

“Aha! So you do know something!” Accentria exclaimed cheerfully, poking the pony’s nose once more. “Well, Blackwing, care to share?” She asked, leaning in closer, close enough for the stallion to feel her breath on his face. “I’d really like to know.”

Accentria abruptly hopped off the stallion. “... But, it’s clear I’m making you uncomfortable. So… Whenever you feel like telling me, I’ll be in my room. Waiting. Just be sure to knock first, wouldn’t want any unfortunate accidents happening because somepony startled a certain amnesiac, now, would we?” She said playfully, whirling the Geas around and back to their places aside her.

At the mention of her room, Accentria smiled gratefully at Clover. “Ah… Well, thank you, Clover. Can’t say I’m not looking forward to sleeping on a bed again.”  She headed towards the farthest unclaimed room from the entrance, quickly carving her name on the door with the Geas with surprisingly neat lettering, underlining it once, and stepping inside.

“Well, Accentria… Things are looking up for you, for a change.” She mused to herself, taking in what was to be her room--- for now. “There’s… Something going on here, and I’m not sure what to make of all of it.” she continued, taking off both the Geas’ sheaths and her chain shirt with her magic, Accentria simply deposited both in a corner. “Ah well.. At any rate, you’re one step closer to finding out just what happened to you… For better or worse.” she smiled to herself. “If only I had brought a book with me…” Accentria sighed.

The mare growled in frustration. "You know what? I give up. I'll just let the authorities take care of you. I can't do this anymore. I can't possibly think why I was the one sent to do this, there has to be somepony more qualified than I." With a frustrated stomp of her hoof, the mare moved off, muttering "Drem ov my hoof... they don't live here..."

Griff slightly frowned as the mare stormed off. He thought he heard her say 'Drem'... now where did Griff hear this word or name before remembering. "Drem..." Griff repeated under his breath as he watched the mare walk away. He quickly dashed after the mare and put a hoof on her shoulder in attempt of stopping her. "Did you just say 'Drem' or have I misheard you?"