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Post by Red Charge on Dec 1, 2011 3:29:06 GMT -5
After Tunnel finished introducing herself Horizon laughed, "With that ego you'd fit right in the Stars," He laughed, "Think Valkyrie will let her in Whisper?"
Whisper laughed heartily, then imitating a very obnoxious high pitched voice, "Land ponies, in MY Stars?" Causing another fit of laughter from the two stallions. After she finished her question he replied, "Not really, we get leave once in a while. Horizon is studying for his degree in Weather Engineering, I just like to pick a day or two and go to schools, you know? Encourage the foals to do well."
"You mean pick up that smoking teacher mare from Ponyville!" Horizon teased, to which Whisper Wind rolled his azure eyes.
"Yeah right, I hardly even go by Ponyville anymore, too much Wonderbolt admiration if you ask me. And there's that stalker pony too."
"Oh right, that creepy Rainbow one? Didn't she end up winning a the Best Young Flier Competition?"
"Yeah, but Ivory over from the Royal Guard says she started bothering him and Launchpad, almost got them to lose their jobs too. Had the Princess' Phoenix break their attention in front of Princess Celestia."
"Wow, what happened then?" Horizon asked, enthralled by this turn of events.
"Well, Princess took it just fine but you know how Marshal Specter is." Whisper Wind concluded, causing his compatriot to nod contemplatively.
"Oh, we also love ball sports. Even had our own team a few years back." The dark coated stallion recalled. This caused his fellow Star to lean closer to Tunnel and whisper in her ear, "We sucked, to be honest. Had all the teamwork, but none of the talent."
Whisper Wind, hearing this, coughed loudly to try and change the subject, "So you like exploring caves, eh?" He asked the mare, his pace considerably slower now than it was. He didn't seem to limp, or have any after effects from the battle, but it was pretty obvious by now that the two wanted to drag out this "escort" mission for as long as...
Suddenly, the dark Pegasus zoomed off to the brush to their side, and something in it emitted a large shriek. A feral, regular one, not those giant white Winter ones, was apparently stalking them. Tunnel could see it get thrown far behind her. She didn't expect to see a whole group of them flee in terror however.
"Took you long enough." Horizon scolded, Whisper Wind shrugged.
"So you were saying about exploring?"
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Post by tunnelnexus on Dec 2, 2011 17:51:19 GMT -5
Well, there went Tunnel's hopes about joining the Stars. Unless she did something really incredible, Valkyrie was just going to turn her down because she didn't have wings. Arrogant snob. Then again, joining the team would mean she would have no free time... it was a life commitment, and Nexus wasn't sure if she was ready to do that just yet.
Tunnel laughed at the mention of the Wonderbolts and the rainbow stalker pony. "Oh, is there some rivalry here that I'm sensing?" she asked humorously. "Did you ever do any competitions against the Wonderbolts? Play any ball sports with them?"
Then Whisper pounced on something in the bushes, making her jump back in surprise. She felt herself bump up against Horizon as she saw the feral, then the swarm of ferals, running away. Nexus kept the blush in her face suppressed with a focused effort.
She was also rather confused at Whisper's question. She'd already told him about how she liked to explore. A thought hit her, and she had to keep from bursting out laughing. She covered it up with a few coughs.
"Oh, shucks. I'm all of a sudden really tired. I think I need to take a little break, catch my- *cough* breath," said the gray mare, slowing her pace to a halt. She sat down on her haunches, hamming it up pretty well.
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Post by Red Charge on Dec 2, 2011 18:05:16 GMT -5
Horizon stopped in pace with Tunnel, giving Whisper a questioning look. He replied with a shrug and a smile. Walking over to Tunnel, he poked her and pointed out to the bushes he just came back from, "There's a nice little leafy cot over there if you want to rest up a little." He suggested. "Wouldn't hurt to rest up after that scrape."
"Agreed heartily," Horizon approved, "Not like Valkyrie's going to miss us if we stayed put for a couple of hours. After all, we could be going to either the Ponyville side or the Hoofington side, right?" He asked with a sly grin. To which Whisper Wind responded with a wink, "I'm not going to be telling her otherwise, are you?" He asked Whisper Wind, who shook his head and laughed, clearing towards the leafy cot he described.
Horizon took one good look at the surrounding area before starting to nudge Tunnel gently in the direction. Rest or no rest, they'd better be gone by sundown, and he wasn't up to waste any time. Things much more dangerous than a few ferals were around at night, things not even a pair of Stars wanted to tackle.
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Post by tunnelnexus on Dec 2, 2011 20:44:36 GMT -5
Tunnel followed Horizon's gesture, and had to spend every ounce of her resolve to cover up her laugh. A smile did manage to break out on her face, even through her best poker face; hopefully they just thought it was relief, not repressed mirth. How much more obvious could you get? She was getting that warm, bubbly feeling again, especially since Whisper's light tap on the shoulder.
"Oh, yeah, some rest sounds really good right now," the gray mare said only half-seriously. She fake-limped over to the bush and flopped down on it, dropping her pack nearby. She figured she might as well mess with them a bit more, it was rather entertaining. That's why she snuggled up in the most unappealing, prim fashion, completely innocent-looking.
They made a good point though... it wouldn't be a good idea to stick around in the forest for too long. So Tunnel used her magic to lower her sunglasses slightly, and looked over the top of them at the Stars, eyebrows up in a playful, condescending look.
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Post by Red Charge on Dec 3, 2011 5:32:13 GMT -5
After a few hours, the three were already on the move again, having lost much daylight, they continued on their course, after stopping by a stream to freshen up. Feeling invigorated, the three covered much ground quickly, but at some point, even the two Stars seemed unsure of their direction.
"You know, I'm not really sure where we're going." Horizon suddenly said, trying to look up through the thick treetops but failing. "Are we sure we're heading the right way?" He asked, rummaging through his satchel for a compass, since there was no sunlight to judge direction by. The bright colored pony didn't seem overly worried, but he was, of course more comfortable in the air than the ground.
"I think we're on the right track, it's the same heading Valkyrie took off in. We can make up for lost time if we take to the air, providing you don't mind Tunnel." Whisper Wind suggested, now more alert. "Even as a failure this mission didn't turn out too bad did it now? Well, until Valkyrie chews us off for being late, of course." The darker Pegasus added, "Such is life in the Stars, air-force never was easy, and we're the best of the best."
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Post by tunnelnexus on Dec 4, 2011 15:00:21 GMT -5
Nexus trotted along rather obliviously, feeling a lot better after some rest. She just sort of followed the Stars, letting them lead the way. The gray mare only frowned a little bit when she heard Horizon question their direction. She was feeling pretty darn cocky, even by her standards, and the spelunker felt like nothing could get in their way.
"I'm sure we'll figure it out, and if you guys want, we can fly there," said Nexus. For once, it didn't phase her at all when the two stallions lifted her up. "You know what, I don't think your mission turned out too badly either. It was nice getting to know you guys."
Nexus rummaged around in her pack and pulled out her own compass, consulting it just to make absolutely sure of their bearing. Satisfied, she stowed it away and let the Stars carry her back to Ponyville.
She laughed wryly to herself and said "Best of the best? Pshh, I'll say."
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Post by Red Charge on Dec 4, 2011 15:25:09 GMT -5
"That's not what I heard earlier," Horizon teased, taking her in the air, sharing the load with Whisper Wind, who despite being mere inches from her, she still couldn't hear flying. "So we're dropping you off in Ponyville right? You live there? Might have a reason to drop by there if you do."
"And risk tackling the stalker pony?" Whisper Wind laughed, which made Horizon shrug.
"Not really worried about a fan, we have plenty of them in Canterlot and Cloudsdale, just because in Ponyville they're a bit more... eccentric, meh."
"I guess," The dark pegasus said, looking at the sunset, "Well ain't that a pretty sight, and look at that, we're almost there." He grinned at Tunnel, "So you're going to tell your friends you've been riding with the Stars?" "
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Post by tunnelnexus on Dec 4, 2011 19:04:29 GMT -5
Tunnel coudn't help but laugh. "Gee, thanks," groaned the mare melodramatically. "Glad to know I'm not just another one-trick pony. But no, I don't really live in Ponyville, I'm just staying there for a little while. I move around a lot, so I don't really know where I'll be next month, or even next week, for that matter. It's pretty liberating, if unpredictable."
"But you know, I wouldn't mind seeing you guys every now and again," said the mare with a mischievous smile. "I could stop by sometime, or maybe write you. Or not, I guess. Whatever's fine with you guys," she said.
She stopped to take a look at Celestia's setting sun, her sunglasses once more resting on her nose and shielding her sensitive eyes. It was rather nice, even though she preferred the moon (less bright and all). She actually felt herself relax for once, it was so peaceful.
"You know I'll definitely brag about it to everyone I meet in the street," joked Tunnel. She settled into an amiable silence, just listening to the beating of Horizon's wings (Whisper's still couldn't be heard, even from this range... she wondered how he did it).
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Post by Red Charge on Dec 4, 2011 19:21:51 GMT -5
As they set down on the outskirts of Ponyville, Horizon grinned, "Sounds lovely," he rubbed his snout against hers, "Can't wait for you to tell us all about your adventures. Just... try not to get eaten eh? Would hate it if the next time I see you, you'll be a zombie." At that he pecked her cheek and took to the air.
"I'd like that too," Whisper Wind said, "But you can just write one letter for both of us, we're all in the same barracks. Just remember to tell your friends you liked me better, eh?" He winked at her, "Oh, and if you drop by Canterlot, be sure to come visit, the guard won't give you too much trouble if you give them my name." At that, he also pecked her on the other cheek, before taking to the air as well, joining Horizon in a final wave before embarking on their journey to Canterlot.
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