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Post by Klepto Moonlit on Feb 24, 2016 1:55:10 GMT -5
"Actually, vacations do have a history of hurting me. Last time I took one, I ended up low on funds and eatin' out of the trash. Then when I tried to bounce back, I ended up on my Z-game and got caught by Rainlock goons." The thief stood on the tips of his hooves to get a peek at what the uniformed stallion was writing, but soon found it uninteresting and lowered to his usual height. "Funnily enough, that's how I ended up on the Ruins expedition."
Klepto walked alongside Selenia down the pathway, to the mail tent. "Rainlock hasn't been on my flank. Thankfully. I'm honestly hoping she just kinda forgot about me. Which is fine with me. I'd like to forget about her to." The thief waited for Selenia to check her mail, then trotted up to the desk holding a military ID that wasn't his. "Sp'thosed to pick somethin' up for thi' guy," he spoke with the ID in his mouth. The thief waited for her to squint at it, flip through her book, then procure a package. Then he took it and exited the tent smugly.
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Post by Selenia on Feb 28, 2016 9:00:57 GMT -5
"I guess that depends on your definition of a vacation, but mixing yourself up with Rainlock was your own fault. I got picked for that expedition because I had a 'desirable skillset'," Selenia made heavy air quotes at that, "whatever that really meant. I wasn't exactly an important pony at the time, though I suppose exploring another set of Equiterian ruins beforehand helped. I didn't even apply or anything, guards just kinda came to my house and hoofed off a letter of request, don't know how she found me." She shook her head and stepped back as Klepto trotted up the the desk and requested mail, her eyebrow raising as he pulled out a military ID.
"You know, even though we both nearly ended up dying, I'd take exploring ancient ruins over fighting in a war any day. War may be in my skillset and I may be reasonable at it, but that doesn't mean it's my favorite hobby. Too messy on both sides, and it's been pretty rough on my life expectancy already." She looked down and patted her chest with a grimace, bleeding out alone in the streets of Canterlot still a vivid memory, and a feeling she'd do well to never forget. "I'd rather stay in this world for a little bit longer than that." Klepto followed her out with a package in tow and her skeptical eyebrow rose even further. "Speaking of, I really hope you swiped that from the morgue," she gestured at the ID, "or are actually moonlighting as a legitimate courier just this once. What's in the box?"
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Post by Klepto Moonlit on Feb 29, 2016 17:57:25 GMT -5
"We'f been over this alrea'y, Selenya," Klepto spoke, trotting over to a partially crumbling wall and spitting out the package. "Looters steal from the dead. Thieves... 'happen upon' the possessions of the living. Now let's see what's inside." The thief opened the box, taking a good look at what was inside. "Apples. Cheese. Oh snap, chocolates? I thought those were under ration. Score!" He slipped the box of savory delectables into his bag, then took a bite out of an apple before tossing a fresh one to Selenia.
"Why'd you even fight anyway?" Klepto asked, pulling an envelope out of the bag as he chewed. "Your boss make you?" He took another bite of his apple, then opened the envelope to find a letter and photo of a mare with two teenaged colts. "The best way to win a fight is to stay out of it. Let everyone else beat the crud out of each other, then swoop in for the spoils." He wiped his mouth with the letter before tossing it and the photo aside. "More useful advice from your friendly neighborhood Klepto."
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Post by Selenia on Mar 4, 2016 8:40:00 GMT -5
Selenia caught the apple and reluctantly took a bite as Klepto kept talking. The flavor was so rich she had to actively suppress a sigh, the last real 'feel good' food she had eaten was that indulgent hayburger in Fillydelphia, it felt like a lifetime after all that had happened, but that really was even less than a week ago, wasn't it? "Why did I fight?" She swallowed and thought for a few seconds. "No, Red didn't make me, but being his apprentice made me a prime choice for some of the tougher jobs. Not to mention all the practical experience doing stuff here and there in... More than stressful situations." She chewed on that thought for a few seconds, "I want to say that I was selectively drafted, but I really participated out of choice and a feeling of obligation. For example, when the nightmares were attacking Canterlot, it would have been hard to simply run away when everything was going to Tartarus and I knew I could lend a hoof much greater than the average pony."
Selenia bit her lip as her speech trailed off, that sounded really pretentious didn't it? She turned her eyes over to Klepto to gague his reaction, but he was busy pulling a letter and photo from an envelope that he dug out of the box. She grimaced as he roughly tore the envelope and skimmed the probably deeply personal message before wiping his face with the paper and tossing everything aside like trash. Selenia reached out and caught the three items in her magic before they could touch the ground, wicking off the moisture and flattening the crumpled parchment before neatly folding it up with the photo and placing both back in the envelope, resealing it as she did so. She stuck it in a random mailbox and raised the flag as they passed. She shot a quick glare at Klepto, who seemed to be making a dedicated effort to test the lower limit on her common decency tolerance scale.
Electing not to bring up the letter because turning into a vocal good samaritan on today of all days would be both rude and hypocritical, she instead snorted openly at Klepto's 'advice'. "That kind of mindset works when you're by yourself. Try sitting in the back on a battlefield and letting allies get picked apart. You're not 'swooping in for the spoils', you've just made yourself responsible for friendly casualties by refusing to help."
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Post by Klepto Moonlit on Mar 11, 2016 17:23:17 GMT -5
"What I'm sayin' is, don't even get on the battlefield in the firstplace. You should be watching from afar with a pair 'a binoculars and a glass of melon juice." The thief took a final bite of his apple, then tossed aside the core into the dusty street. "Obligation, by the way, is complete garbage." He hopped up onto the wall, then spun around to look at Selenia. "The world don't owe you nothin', and you don't it nothin' right back. You gotta start livin' as your own pony, ya know? Fight for you. What does Selenia want? What does Selenia get out of this?"
He hopped back down from the wall, hoping his elevated height had made him sound more motivational. "War's over; this is your opportunity. So what do you want, Selenia? Fame? Fortune? All of the above? And how are you gonna get it?" He gave her a grin, waiting to hear her response.
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Post by Selenia on Mar 14, 2016 12:59:33 GMT -5
Selenia scoffed at Klepto's puffed up tone. "If you mean to ask for some magical muscle in your next big job, I'll have to turn you down. Going AWOL as the Royal Advisor's apprentice wouldn't really be the wisest decision. I have a bit of leeway when it comes to decisions, but I guess I'm still technically a government employee..." She took a few moments to connect a the dots and just shook her head, "And you're absolutely right, the world doesn't owe me anything- but I owe a lot to a certain few ponies. I owe at least three of them my life, in fact. 'Obligation' is just a conceptualization of the concrete 'debt', which I'm sure you know of." She wasn't expecting to spend her afternoon talking like this with a friend, but Klepto's words were definitely making her think. Near death experiences and war tended to make for more open minds.
"Asking if I want fame or fortune is hollow, and asking if I want power is a loaded question for my position, you're my friend, Klepto, you should know this," she said with a mild sigh. He sounded like he was trying to sell her a spot as a made mare in the mafia. "Once again this is all going on the basis of me striking out on my own. If I ever reach the point where I want to go do what I please, then that's what I'll do, but for now I have a mentor to find and a job to do. For the most part, I've had a social life. I've been changed by those around me and they are changed by me in turn. Ponies aren't solitary creatures, we can't survive just by ourselves. You have your fortune and are clearly happy with what you do, but don't you ever get sick of going at it alone?"
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