A Team Without a Name (Open, Group)

[tunnelnexus]

Nexus was trotting through the streets of Canterlot, her mind wandering as she moved aimlessly along. Her thoughts kept drifting back to her encounter with the Iron Shoes, and how easily she could die on an expedition. She'd only survived because the Stars were there to rescue her... and that bothered her.

Tunnel Nexus, most awesome pony in the world, was unprepared, and had to have another pony (ponies, really) bail her out. Unacceptable.

Still, the idea of having a team that she could belong to, a group of ponies bonded together in camaraderie, like what the Stars had... it was so appealing.

Nexus had been a lonely mare, even though she was extroverted; ponies that she met usually only let the relationship stay at surface level.

Or maybe, maybe, she thought, maybe it's me that keeps the other ponies at a distance.

---

The gray mare finished drafting the poster, looking it over. It was modestly designed, so that it wouldn't attract too much attention, but she figured that the kind of ponies she was looking for would be the kind that would notice it. It read simply:

Any ponies interested in collaborating for exploration and adventure should see me, Nexus, at the Canterlot QuickStorage Warehouse Loft.

She'd rented out a small area for it, which she'd converted into her room as well, separated like an office from the main area. The loft itself was large enough to fit about ten ponies maximum, with a small room for storage of equipment and any kind of treasure they might find. All in all, a cozy, if cramped, start to her team.

It occurred to Tunnel that she hadn't thought of a name for the team yet. After several minutes of racking her brain, she still hadn't come up with one cool enough for her group; she decided to just leave it unnamed for now.

The gray mare took the poster in her magic, sped to the square in Canterlot, and posted it on the wall with as little fanfare as she could.

Of course, Canterlot was only the start. After she'd gotten a pony or two inducted, she would spread out to other towns, like Appleloosa or maybe even Ponyville.

Nexus breathed in, satisfaction and eagerness gracing her features beneath the ever-present sunglasses. Hopefully there were some interested ponies.

[Selenia]

Selenia was happily trotting through Canterlot Square, having finished doing a bit of selfless shopping for personal things and the like. She had purchased some new books on magical theory, specifically telekinesis, and an ornate gold-plated quill that she had her eyes on for quite some time. She sighed. All her time was spent in the library or practicing her more challenging magic in the small grassed area with benches behind the library, meant for a quiet place to read. More than once guards came to her door following complaints by neighbors about her 'disturbing the peace'. She had been reading about Equestrian history, specifically lost and legendary artifacts and treasures only noted in the oldest of pony lore. Even though she herself would never get the opportunity to go on the expeditions detailed in the paper, she still went to welcome back any explorers to hear them preach to the crowds about wondrous adventure and untold riches they all seem to find out there.

Selenia let out her frustrations with a sigh and walked over to the public newsstand set up in the square. It was riddled with discolored bits of paper lodged under old, rusting staples, as well as some new posters for the day. She casually looked them over.

"Fillysitter for hire... Missing cat... Canterlot tours..." She idly named them off as she read them, uninterested. Then her eyes caught one other poster on the wall. It was simple. Much simpler than the other posters tried to be to catch ponies' attention and money. She lightly pulled the poster off and levitated it in front of her face. "Any ponies interested in collaborating for exploration and adventure should see me, Nexus, at the Canterlot QuickStorage Warehouse Loft."

Selenia's face lit up. She herself didn't have the money to last even a few days out in the wilderness, but with a small team, she could be part of a feasible expedition of her own. She wrote down the name of the pony and the location. The Warehouse was down by the airship docks. A good walk to the edges of the castle grounds and to the industrial district on the opposite face of the mountainside. It really wasn't an industrial district, just storage and docking for the oh-so-rare airships that passed through this region. But the pencil-pushers in the Department of Transportation insisted that it be called an industrial district, as it was neither residential, commercial, nor rural.

Selenia wasn't in the mood to get all would up in the bureaucratic madness that would follow should she publicly oppose the name, so she, like everypony else, just dealt with it. She ran back home and dropped off her books and other goods before donning her cloak and heading off to the QuickStorage Warehouse at the docks.

[Red Charge]

Right inside she bumped into a buff Pegasus, easily recognizable from the Stars, though he was out of uniform. He greeted her kindly before moving on inside and upon finally reaching Tunnel he said, "Heard you need some muscle?" He asked with a grin, giving her a quick nuzzle, "Don't get me wrong, I'm not taking vacation time for this, I got suspended. Apparently V saw me slacking off with you the other day. Didn't like it. Poor Whisper wanted to kick her flank, but I told him not to bother." He said, giving her half a smile. He knew the risks when he took her out that day, so he could hardly blame her for it.

"Sorry," He said to Selenia quickly, "We just know each other from before." He gave her a short bow and waited to hear what she had to say. The orange maned unicorn seemed familiar, though he couldn't really place a hoof on where she was familiar from.

[tunnelnexus]

Nexus had only been waiting for a few minutes before the first set of hoofsteps echoed up the stairs to the loft. She held down her nervous instinct to stand up in excitement, instead sitting as coolly as possible in her office-bedroom. The mare leaned back in her cheap desk chair, trying to look cool as the pony trotted into the room.

When she saw who it was, her expectations deflated like a balloon. She got out of the chair and went over to him, giving him a quick nuzzle in return just as she noticed the pony that had entered with Horizon. Before she could ask the stallion his reason for being here, he answered.

"Ah, shucks. I'm sorry you got suspended; do you know how long you'll be off the team?" she asked. Tunnel turned to the other pony, a black mare with an orange mane. "Hi there! If you're looking for Nexus, that's me, and this big lunk is Horizon. What can I do for you?"

[Selenia]

Selenia trailed quietly behind another pony who was apparently heading to the warehouse aswell. He had come from another part of Canterlot but walked past her a while back, Selenia just decided to fall behind quietly. They both ascended the stairs to the Quickstorage Warehouse loft and the colt opened the door to a small, yet homey, apartment. The ceiling was angled to a point at the top, result of being a warehouse loft, and it seemed reasonably shielded from the unending noise that came with a shipping dock.

She stood in the shadow of the doorway as Nexus and her friend talked. The colt's name was Horizon, and was obviously acquainted with Nexus. Selenia was caught a bit off guard, shaken out of her thoughts when Nexus addressed her.

"Hm? Oh! Yes." Selenia rearranged herself and took a few paces forward, more into the light. "My name is Selenia. I saw your poster in Canterlot Square and believe I would be a useful addition to your team. I specialize in combat, particularly kinetic magic, as well as exploration and identification of things like ruins, relics, anything ancient, really." She scuffed at the floor and looked around awkwardly, remembering that this wasn't a job interview.

[tunnelnexus]

"So you're pretty good with magic, then? And you're pretty smart, too? Sweet, that balances out the group. Welcome aboard, Selenia," said the gray mare.

"Now, just a little info about the group, for both of you. Our team is meant to be pretty informal, not really even a team so much as a group of like-minded ponies. There isn't going to be any set leader, and anypony can leave at any time if they want. The only rules of membership in our group are: each member looks out for the others; each member does their part; and each member agrees to share any treasure evenly. Well, as evenly as possible. But all that's probably self-evident.

"Oh, and another thing. Do either of you have a good idea for a name? I couldn't think of one, and I know we need an awesome name for our team, maybe even a catch-phrase." The gray unicorn used her magic to move the desk chair out of the office and plopped herself down into it as she spoke.

"What do you guys think about expanding a bit? I was planning on it, maybe stopping by in Appleloosa or even Ponyville to look for a member or two."

[Selenia]

Selenia gave a curt nod to Tunnel at her quick acceptance into the group. 'No request for a demonstration, or any other tryouts.' Selenia thought. 'This Tunnel really must be hurting for members in her new group.' That should change over time, as new members join, there must be some way for Tunnel to filter out who is the best of the best in a designated field. She stiffened herself as Tunnel rattled off the expectations. She would have no trouble lifting her own weight, and looking out for others, but the only fuzzy part was how to share treasure if it is in the form of a singular relic. In her opinion, any relics should be quickly turned over to the Canterlot Museum of Equestrian History for a more than substantial monetary reward, but ultimately that was up to the team leader. Only time will tell how she can handle such a situation.

"We definitely should look for more members. Ponyville is a good recruitment area, very diverse town, but I'm not sure what kind of experts you can find in Appleloosa." She rolled her eyes at the prospect. "And I have in fact thought about names for the group. Since we are exploring, I formulated a name that is strong and official, yet doesn't explicitly mention treasure or riches. How does 'Equestrian Exploration and Survey sound?"

[tunnelnexus]

Nexus was curious when she saw Selenia stiffen up as the gray pony explained the few rules. The neon-maned unicorn thought about asking Selenia about whatever it was, but decided against doing so. There was plenty of time to figure the thing out later; for now, they might as well take care of the matter at hoof.

"I'm game to try Ponyville, then. Hopefully find some talent," the gray unicorn agreed. "Hm... 'Equestrian Exploration and Survey'... dunno, a little long. I like it, though. Maybe we could abbreviate it, 'Equestrian Exploration'? Sound okay?

Going on without pausing, Tunnel decided to familiarize herself with her new partner; if they were going to watch each other's backs, they should know a little bit about who's doing the watching.

"Alright, so I'm pretty familiar with Horizon already, but tell me a bit about yourself, Selenia. As partners, we should know each other well," commented Tunnel. It occurred to her that she might, in the spirit of good faith and/or leadership, go first. That thought made her uneasy, though; she had an aversion to talking about herself.

The memory of her near-death surfaced in her thoughts. Perhaps she should let down the barriers for once.

Well, I could just wait until she goes... and if she tells me a lot I'll tell her a lot. I just... I don't know, we'll see how this goes.

[Selenia]

"Well, I suppose that's fair enough." Selenia crossed her forehooves with a light smile. "We do, however, know a little about eachother, if you remember." Selenia casually sat down. "We met, sort of, in Whitetail Wood. I was rather...Injured, if you remember, but I'm getting off track." Selenia stumbled through her words, she hadn't expected to need to answer trivia questions about her and what interesting things she had done.

To be truthful, Selenia hadn't done many remarkable things or had any interesting traits worth noting to her new teammate, and any that were worth mentioning gave Selenia the feeling that she would be boasting. "I... I'm just an average pony who has done her part for the betterment of Equestria. I have tried my best to go above and beyond, but it all comes down to simply doing my duty as a citizen." Selenia gave a barely audible sigh and shook her head lightly.

[Red Charge]

"NOW I know you!" Horizon let out suddenly, a hoof smacking to his face. "You were one of those ponies who went to kill that monster terrorizing Hoofington! They almost called us, you know. But then Regional Commander Tremor petitioned the Princess to let the local militias handle it." The bright Pegasus explained, muttering that he knew he recognized her from somewhere.

Of course, the Stars have recieved a full debriefing of the incident in case something similar will happen in the future. The ponies the militia had to fight again were also listed there, with as accurate descriptions as could be given, considering the circumstances.

[tunnelnexus]

Tunnel winced when Selenia mentioned their earlier encounter; she didn't recall too much about the black pony except that she'd been hit pretty hard by that tidal wave thing. Nexus had focused on... other things.

Trying to hide her reaction, the gray unicorn blustered her response: "Oh, yeah, of course I remember." It was technically true. In any case, the humble response she got from Selenia, coupled with Horizon's exclamation, gave Tunnel the impression that this pony wasn't your average, run-of-the-mill rookie. The black unicorn could probably hold her own in a fight.

The neon-maned unicorn mare was unsure how she should respond. She could play humble as well, or she could try and impress Selenia. The second option was rather appealing, she had to admit. In the end, she decided to try a mix of the two.

"Alright, my turn, I guess. I've done a fair amount of spelunking, nothing really famous or anything. There was this one time in Appleloosa, with a giant sandstorm, but me and a few other ponies took care of it."

[Selenia]

Selenia's ears drooped and she blushed at Horizon's inflation of her exploits. She fiddled around with her mane, dodging the magnificence of his description. "It wasn't really that incredible. I mean, I was only one member of a team, they deserve as much credit as I do." She turned back to face Tunnel and Horizon, satisfied that she had been able to divert at least some of the overwhelming attention to her teammates. Ranger could deal with it.

Selenia's thoughts were interrupted when she heard and registered Tunnel's noting of the part she played with the sandstorm in Appleloosa. "That was you taming that storm??!" Selenia nearly jumped up off the floor in excitement. "I read all about that in the news! A heroic group of ponies that defeated a sandstorm and saved the entire Appleloosa community from being eradicated!" She finished her sentence with bravado, like a dramatic reader reciting the title of their favorite book.

"I never thought I'd ever meet a celebrity. You did one heck of a thing, garnered the attention of lots of ponies by saving Appleloosa." She relaxed again and rested her chin on her forehooves. "Our mission in Whitetail Wood wasn't nearly that publicized, if at all, even. For better or for worse, I don't know. At least the Citizens of Hoofington appreciated our efforts."