The RP Itself

Timestamp:
02:17 pm, July 15th

Crescent came out of the police station with his belongings back on his side, but the biggest weight was on his mind. “I'm sorry Crescent, I just don't have time for a rookie right now,” was the captain’s word. “You're not even a citizen of Raavalon, I couldn't hire you anyway because of that… Why don't you stay available for the next few days? Things are hectic here right now, but I might think of something once things calm down here." That was the same as a decline and she was just trying to put the no more lightly.

“Well, what now?” Crescent mumbled to himself as if the voice he’d heard earlier was there, but no response. “Great, I’m left on my own from here I guess.” He turned left and headed down the street to where the Hexline was. He wasn’t planning on going back to the shitty room rental place, it was probably lent off to someone else already, not to speak of the down payment he had left there. Luckily there was nothing he really needed there anyway.

The main street was still far too crowded to be the middle of the day, but it was probably due to the bombing and ponies were scared that their workplace could be the next target. He didn’t feel like going through such a huge group at the moment, instead choosing to head down a less populated street with small shops and coffee restaurants. There was a few spaces in between for housing, but he’d seen more cramped living places.

The odor of some of the more… exotic restaurant tore in his muzzle, making him flinch at the strong spices and frying meat. The smell really never settled at him no matter how many times he got it up his nostrils. A quick look through a window showed a pure gryphons restaurant, but he was pretty sure they prefered their ‘prey’ raw or they liked that nopony would be in the same room as them and they were willing to have their food a bit more tanned.

“I really hate it when they are so anti-pony social,” he said to himself as he went a bit faster passed the store. “Seeing most of this land’s inhabitants as food will never go well, adding this scandal on top.”

Continuing down the street he peeked into the windows along the way, seeing a display of toys, a place specializing on grilled vegetables and fruit — curiously, with a few gryphons in there as well, mingling with ponies — and a shady

MagiTech shop. He stopped a minute and looked back at the green shish-kabob place at one of the gryphons which seemed awfully familiar. She was sitting with another pretty familiar face as well, though easier to see than from the top of a building.

He hadn’t passed them yet so he went to the seat behind her as if that was his plan all along. He still couldn’t shrug off the feeling there was something up with this gryphon and since he couldn’t help the police, he could at least try to get some evidence that she was involved. Evidence, and an ‘anonymous’ drop-off at Spitfire’s office could get a few of maybe the rebellion off the streets, at least. Either way it would be a positive attribute without sticking his hoof right into the beehive.

“Well, good. Maybe now that you have an actual job you can stop mooching off me all the time.”

“What, and lose my access to free things? That takes all the fun out of it,” the gryphon laughed, her voice upbeat and almost child-like. If Crescent hadn’t recognized her appearance he’d swear that this couldn’t be the same one from the alley. Even now he was beginning to have his doubts; she just seemed so different from the one that was making threats.

“Or are you really that eager to kick me outta your home?”

Trouble between two flatmates? The whole ‘job’ tone could be that she was new at the rebellions and that she got paid for it. Gryphons were natural hunters but she seemed nice to this pony. If she had actually been in on the action she would more likely not be so light about it and probably not wanting to discuss her job out loud like this.

“Kick you out? Never!” the earth pony replied, his tone a mock-shock. “I’d lose the best home-security system ever made.”

The gryphon giggled, biting into her meal — which Crescent was mildly pleased to note was broiled pineapple and not grilled pony, or whatever gryphons ate. “Aw, nice to know you care about me so much.”

Okay, scratch that ‘troubled roommates’ idea; they were like bees in a balloon — or something like that. The boiled pineapple was at least a good thing, lesser chance to not end up on a menu if he was found out. His feeling of her being involved with the rebels faded quickly, maybe just a smaller criminal affair or maybe even an honest job. Most gryphons were foul though so he held his bit on something criminal.

“You will be careful, though, right Gem?” the pony asked, earnest concern in his voice. “I’d hate to lose you to something so...insipid.”

“When am I ever not careful?”

“Ten years ago. The trip to Las Pegasus.”

“That was a fluke.” The pony opened his mouth as if to continue, but the gryphon — Gem, was it? — snapped her beak shut audibly. “Are you going to really list every time I’ve gotten in trouble?”

“Yeah, good point. I’ve only got an hour free, after all,” the earth pony said with a laugh, though that quickly faded and he was maudlin once more. “Just promise me you won’t rush into anything and get over your head.”

“Given what my job entails, no, I can’t really promise that.”

The pony sighed, looking at the table. “Look, Gem, I’d just rather have you yelling at me than reading your name in the obits.”

Okay, this began looking more like a couple out on the town than two roommates. If they started kissing or began using sickening love words he was out of there; no way he was going to sit there and listen in just to bust some minor bad gryphon. The voice in his head was bad enough of a reminder of her if he didn’t need them as well.

“I’m insulted you think anyone in this town can take me down.” Her tone was light and airy; perhaps a bit too light, given what Crescent suspected. Still, it seemed to appease the pony and he smiled. “Like I said earlier, Trinket. Nice to know you care.” The gryphon finished her meal and stood, giving her wings a flap. “Speaking of, I should really get going. See ya at home, bud.” With a flourish of her feathers the gryphon was soon gone, flying into the air as soon as she was able.

The pony watched for a moment before giving an exasperated groan. “Oh, of course I get to pay for her meal. Again.”

The pony muttered to himself as he finished his own meal and quickly paid, leaving with far less grace than the gryphon did. Crescent waited until the guy had gotten a bit further away before he left the table to follow him. If he couldn’t speak to the gryphon directly, he would have to consult with this pony. He wasn’t suspecting anything too criminal from her anymore, but that talk about getting a job in times like this would probably not be the highest on everypony's list and he couldn’t just let it go either; there was something about them he just needed to find out.

The stallion walked casually down the road and stopped every now and then to look into a store window. The stallion didn’t seem like he was in any big hurry to go anywhere, plus there was no big crowd to get lost in so Crescent could hold what he felt was a safe distance without being spotted, but the tempo was frustratingly slow. He wanted to tell him to at least make it somewhat more difficult to follow but that would of course ruin the whole following thing.

Abruptly the stallion ducked down an alleyway, quickly vanishing from sight. Finally he was doing something different, the walk so far had been the same snail’s pace but now things might challenge him. He stopped at the opening to the alley but hesitated when he noticed how dark it was; images of being either robbed or assaulted zipped through his mind. He didn’t spot his lead in the dim alley so he stepped further in to see if he could. This guy was a quick hider, but there was only one way out and he was blocking it. He came closer to a couple of containers that would be ideal hiding places and slowed down.

He stopped as he felt the sickeningly sweet smell of rotting fruit and something else. “Hey red eye, you in there? I want to talk to you.” He was met with silence; casting a glance back at the entrance to ensure the pony wasn’t trying to sneak away, he continued, “Listen, I’m pretty sure I saw you with a gryphon two days ago during the attack. I just want to ask a few questions.”

“Unicorn. I wasn’t aware the PRF was hiring outside their species.” The alley echoed and reverberated with his voice, making it difficult to pin the pony’s location.

“PRF?” he took a moment to figure out what it could mean. “Oh, pegasi rebellion force. No, I was only at the wrong place at the wrong time. Why does everypony think I’m with them?”

“Not many decent citizens carry a weapon like you’ve got.” His voice was cold and emotionless, save a touch of suspicion.
Point to him for that, even if obvious. “Fine, I’ll put it on the ground if you agree to talk to me.” He pulled it out and held it flat in preparation to put it down.

“Nice try, unicorn. A quick levitation and that thing’ll be all yours again. I’m not so foolish as to trust you that easily.” Was it his imagination, or did the unseen stallion’s voice sound fainter? “Just ahead of you there is a soft spot in the space between cobblestones. Jam your blade in there; it should not harm the edge, but still require some force to remove.”

He wasn’t very obliged to stick his weapon in the dirt like that, but he needed to talk to this guy so he did as he asked. It made a slick sound as he plunged it in and he took a few steps further into the alley. “Okay then, could you step out so we can talk face to face?”

“And give up my ingenious hiding spot?” he replied with a laugh, and perhaps a little smugly.

Crescent couldn’t help but groan. “I’m unarmed, what more do you want? I just want to talk to you.” There was another silence. “Why are all earth ponies so arrogant?” he added as a mumble, but loud enough for him to hear. “No wonder the pegasi are taking up arms.”

“They’re taking up arms because they feel oppressed,” came the reply, oddly somber and remorseful. “Unfortunately, they attack both guilty and innocent alike, with equal disdain.” There was a long pause and for a moment Crescent thought the pony had somehow managed to sneak away. “Talk. I’ll decide if you’re worth showing myself for.”

Now came the difficult part, not making it seem like he was accusing Fem or whatshername to be criminal while still trying to do so. “The gryphon in the alley at the day of the bombing, you know her?”

“I might. Might not. Lot of gryphons in town, probably some of ‘em like hanging around in alleys.” There was the sound of metal scraping and the pony grunted with exertion, but the alley remained devoid besides Crescent. “A description would be nice.”

“Female, having her feathers covering somewhat over one eye,” he said while letting his eyes run around and taking a step forward. “Emerald green eyes surprisingly, not normal for them to have.”

“Yeah, I know her. What of it?” His voice was definitely further away by this point.

There was just a few hiding spots left in the shrinking crook, but he couldn’t have gotten past him. “Me, a mare and another guy got arrested and were accused of being a part of the rebellion. I’m not sure if the others are still in custody, but…” Shit, this wasn’t going to end well. Might as well go with the brutal truth. “I just want to see if she could be connected to the pegasi rebellion.”

“She’s not,” the stallion replied just as bluntly. There was a cry of alarm, then moments later a brick smashed into the ground behind Crescent. He spun around by the sound and saw...nothing, save the shattered remains of the brick scattered around his sword. Somehow he was now the one in the wrong end of the alley. If he wasn’t hiding behind anything and not having escaped through a ponyhole it just left...

Feeling foolish, Crescent cast his gaze up and finally spotted the pony high above, precariously perched on a windowsill. A moment’s scan of the wall gave his path away — shimmying along a drainpipe, windows that made impromptu ladders, loose or missing bricks for hoofholds — and he mentally scolded himself for neglecting to look everywhere.

“How the-  now that is pretty impressive. Could you now come down and talk?”

“I’m better at getting up than down,” the stallion admitted sheepishly.
A real piece of work this guy; almost made it worth the slow walk. “Fine, if your friend isn’t with the rebellion, what is her new job about?”

“Sorry, bud. That’s on a need-to-know basis, and you don’t need to know.” The way the stallion kept looking down on Crescent, the way the shadows played across his features, made him look not unlike a bird stalking a mouse. Or a gryphon stalking a pony, Crescent grimly thought.

“Got to say you got a real talent there, climbing so quickly up the wall. I guess you did the same at the anniversary day. Is wall climbing your cutie mark?” Since he no longer was just an information source he could at least make small talk, plus it really was an impressive move on his part.

“Na, just something I picked up over the years.” He sounded distracted and was glancing around; looking past him, Crescent couldn’t see how the stallion could climb any higher. Though he was nearly at the roof, the outer edge stuck over fairly far; even if he could somehow jump high enough from his tiny ledge he ran an enormous risk of slipping off.

“You seem very well accounted with house climbing. A part of your normal work?” You didn’t become an excellent house climber overnight, and since there were no mountains in this flying town it could mean he often climbed walls, maybe a burglar.

"Getting a little nosey, aren't you?" he asked defensively. "Went from pestering me about the company I keep to prying into my personal affairs."

He shrugged. “I’ve kinda given everyone I’ve met a bad impression of myself so I thought I could at least try to give you a good one. I might be broke, but I still care to have a good reputation. Not a good start with the accusations I know, but I did put the sword away as you asked.”

The stallion was quiet for a few agonizing minutes. “That may be, but I’m not about to throw caution to the wind so easily.” More silence as the stallion looked around. “Here’s where I stand: I don’t know you, I don’t know where you’re from, what you’re doing here, the ponies you hang around with, or what your name is.” He paused to crouch down on the sill. He couldn’t mean to jump! Crescent thought.

“Point is you’re a mystery,” the stallion continued. “And with that sword and the recent strife in town, I know when I’m ill-equipped to deal with a mystery. You want to talk to me or Gem?” he challenged. “Catch one of us.”

With all the grace of a cat the stallion leapt for the roof above him, but even from his vantage Crescent could tell that he simply wasn’t going to make it. He had barely opened his mouth in a frantic shout of ‘No!’ as the stallion sailed past the roof overhang and began to fall towards the ground...

...only for his descent to be abruptly shortened as the stallion deftly grabbed onto a pipe firmly attached to the other building. In a smooth move that had to be well-practiced, the stallion shuffled up the pipe and was onto the roof before Crescent could scarcely blink three times. He paused at the top, looking back down into the alley, the wind blowing his mane in such a way as to make him seem like a hero from a fairy-tale, wearing a very self-satisfied smile, then vanished from sight.

Was he… challenging him? He was actually going to test him on trust by having him chase him down? He grinned. This guy was going to fun tracking down. Being agile wasn’t his strong suit, but being determined was; seeing how he had nowhere left to go it basically made the choice easy. He trotted over to his sword and wrestled it free, a bit more hasty than he would have wanted, and stuck it in its place before taking a light gallop out in the street, starting to follow the guy on ground.

Trinket ducked out of sight of the alley and stopped for a few minutes. Peeking over the front edge of the roof he smirked as he saw the strange unicorn trot out, sword back in place, and trot alongside the building, glancing up at the roof every now and again.

“Heh, predictable.”

Trinket allowed himself a small chuckle as he doubled back, returning to the alley and easily climbing down. Well, easily enough. He nearly slipped a few times, and there was the rather high jump from the lowest ledge to the ground, but all-in-all one of the easier descents Trinket had to make.

He was still laughing to himself as he walked out of the alley nonchalantly, making a point to head opposite the unicorn did. “Rule number three: the enemy always lies,” he said softly. Smiling, Trinket trotted quickly to the main road, holding his head high. While not overly-crowded there were still many ponies milling about, forcing Trinket to weave his way through.

One particularly rude pony — an earth pony, naturally — smashed into Trinket, causing him to drop his coinpurse. As he looked up, Trinket happened to catch sight of the orange unicorn as he tried slinking through the crowd as well, though his sword made him hard to miss. He looked up and spotted him as well.

“Ha, I knew it,” he cheered loud enough to make ponies turn their heads.

Trinket, however, snarled and swore under his breath. “Guess I’m the fool here...” he muttered and trotted a bit faster than he planned in the other direction.

“Oh no you don’t!” the unicorn called; Trinket knew he picked up his speed as well to catch up with him.

The crowd eventually thinned out such that Trinket could break into a full run without worry of hitting anyone; his hooves pounded against the ground as he ran, a second pair from the unicorn soon echoing his own.

There was a sudden crackling sound behind him, like electricity, before a glistening blue bolt flew in a small curve overhead. It would seem the guy wanted to fry him just to win this silly chase and he wasn't willing to go so far. It landed a little in front of him, not close enough to be near hitting him, but instead of going into the ground it blew up into a transparent light blue bowl. He didn’t have time to stop before he hit the magical shield, not having any time to protect his muzzle from the impact.

Momentarily dazed from the sudden stop, Trinket quickly shook his head and leapt to his feet, whipping his head around to glare at the unicorn. “Think that stopped you pretty good, don’t yo-” Trinket stopped him by delivering a blow to his muzzle, then turned and ran off again without a moment’s pause.

“Rule one,” Trinket breathlessly reminded himself. “Never underestimate.” He slowed down just enough to make a turn onto a side-road before running full tilt again.

“Hey,” the unicorn grunted. “I caught you!” he shouted in frustration, but the earth pony was already out of sight. Yet again.

Trinket ran through the map of this section of town in his mind: left off of main, then second right, left again and I should be at the citytram. Celestia, I hope the damned thing’s there…

Rounding the corner Trinket was forced to leap over a pair of ponies out on a romantic walk, or something of that ilk; he paid them no further mind, however, once he spotted the train station ahead, and the glorious shine of the train waiting. Another bolt came flying, but this time he was prepared and ran around it as it exploded. Three innocent ponies were unfortunately caught in the blast, but it quickly disappeared.

“Hey you, no transport,” the guy yelled from behind him; it almost sounded like he enjoyed this. “Trains are cheating!”
Wasn’t aware we agreed on rules, Trinket thought, but elected to keep quiet and save his breath.

There was, as could only be expected, a line to get on the train. Trinket offered a silent apology to those who had been waiting as he ran past them, hooves skidding on the polished wood, and leapt for the closing doors of the train. As he was about to enter he smashed snout-first into a second magical shield, this one seemingly thicker than the other and blocked all the entries to the train on the platform. He wasn’t ready to have the same hit in the face again so he managed to turn to the side, slamming sideways into the barrier.

“No cheating I said,” the orange pony said with heavy breath as he walked up to him. “You made me use a spell that will have me drained the rest of the day.” A drop of blood ran from his nose to his triumphant grin. “You’re a real piece of work, you know that?”

Trinket eyed him coldly, trying to force his steady breathing to slow. “It’s called pragmatism; look it up sometime.” He darted his eyes from side to side; the train was already pulling away, an angry line of irate ponies blocked one exit, this half-crazy unicorn blocking the other.

“Here,” he held out his hoof out to him. “My name is Crescent Sunrise.” Trinket smacked the offered hoof away, staying silent. “No need to be a sore loser, you gave me a challenge and I took it. I admit the first shield was just supposed to stop you, not so abruptly but you paid me back which I get. You okay?”

“...I’ve endured worse,” Trinket said slowly.

“Good, proves that you’re not a cocky prick that can’t take a beating, met one of them already. I believe you dropped this too.” He placed a small pouch beside him.

Trinket eyed it for a moment before plucking it and sifting through curiously. “...my coinpouch?” he asked tentatively.

“As I said, I am broke but I care about my reputation and what ponies think of me. That should also answer two of your five personal conundrums about me. To answer a third one I was here to help my father, but my stay has been prolonged thanks to the attack. It’s also turned into a street life as well, but that’s probably not what you want to hear about. Ready to trust me now?” He extended his hoof to him again, a bit doubtingly.

The hoof went unanswered. “Not precisely,” Trinket said. “I’m afraid I don’t quite believe you.”

“What, because of the bandage?” He looked at the half-covered hoof. “You think you’d trust me better if you knew what was underneath?”

“No. I’m just not inclined to trust you at all,” Trinket spoke bluntly.

Crescent sighed and put his hoof down again. “Okay, I’ve given up my weapon to talk, I’ve gone with you on your little chase and I’ve spilled most of my guts to you, not literally of course. What else can I do to earn your trust?”

“Trust is earned, not given,” Trinket said slowly, then paused a moment. “Or I should say, trust is earned over time. You can’t possibly expect me to put blind faith in you so easily.” He stood up, staring at Crescent, eying him appraisingly.

"Okay, so will you perhaps give me time to earn your trust then?" He really seemed hell bent on this.

“Why are you so determined for this?” Trinket asked, stalling for time as he scanned the sky. Damn, why is there never a guard around when you want one?

He chewed on the question for a while before answering. "Because I don’t want to be alone." He had put whatever excitement the chase had given him aside and gave him a sincere look.

The bare response caught Trinket off guard and he felt his next harsh words die on his tongue. A number of sarcastic retorts crossed his mind yet none of them ever made it to speech, and instead he just stood there in silence, mouth slightly agape.

The swordspony continued, "This city is a bad place, the covering top layers are peeling off and revealing something scary and threatening. I've been around but this thing going on here chills me to the bone and standing alone is something I fear the most right now. I have no friends or family here to turn to which is why I turn to you, someone who trusts a gryphon which most ponies avoid."

“Look, I...you really...” Trinket stammered as he tried to force his mind to stop reeling. He eventually gave a disgruntled snort. “...fine.”

"You're saying you're giving me the benefit of doubt?"

“No, I’m saying I’m going against my better judgement and giving you a chance.”

"Then I'll prove it's a chance not wasted," he said with a smile and gave him his hoof for a third time, this one to shake.

"I'll do my best to not let you down."

Trinket took the hoof this time, giving it a firm, yet non-committal shake. “We shall see.”

"If you two are done here, could you leave the station now?" An elderly pony suddenly stood beside them. "We're trying to keep a schedule here and your involvement is causing a commotion." A look around indicated a crowd of impatient travelers, some irritated and some whispering.

Trinket glanced at Crescent. “Can I leave now? Or was there something more you needed?”

He looked back with a nervous chuckle, never a good sign. "Well, you see, the place I was staying at has written me off as a victim at the Founding day so I'm kinda standing on bare ground."

“Sucks,” Trinket said, ashamedly walking off the platform.

Crescent followed. "I'm not a freeloader, sweet Celestia, I would of course find a way to pay. If not in bits I could at least..." It seemed the next part wasn’t easy for him to say. "I could help out in some way at home."

“Sorry. Place is crowded enough as is.”

"You’re right, one step at a time. First trust and we can move from there. Could I be so bold as to ask your name at least?"

“Sorry, but no. The fewer ponies that know my name, the better. But you can call me Trinket.”

There was a hint of questioning in the unicorn's look. "A nickname? One normally uses that when they are hiding from somepony or- no, sorry about that I just... old habit. Nice to meet you Trinket, and thanks for giving me a chance."

“I just hope I don’t come to regret it,” Trinket muttered under his breath.

"Oh, wait a second." Crescent suddenly stopped. He pulled out his sword again but quickly laid it on the ground and shook the holster for it, letting a thick golden bit roll out, a small, smooth rock and a bracelet. "Phew, I knew I wouldn't leave that behind." He picked up the bracelet which had a similar stone on it like the one on the ground, just smaller.

Trinket just continued walking, paying Crescent no further attention.

"Hey wait," he yelled when he noticed he got left behind. He hustled his things back up and caught up with him. "Here, take this."

Trinket eyed the thing closely. “Thanks, but I’m not really a jewelry stallion. Though it might fetch a fair amount of bits...”

Crescent's look darkened. "Don't you dare sell this. This belonged to my marefriend; it’s a distress bond which lets the stone I have know if you're in danger. I'm not asking that you wear it all the time. Just have it on you or something in case you would need help, it beats looking for an officer."

Trinket eyed the bracelet for a long while before taking it and placing it in his pack. “I doubt I’ll need it. But thanks.”

"No problem. Just remember it only works three times before it needs a new round of magic."

“I’m afraid I’m a little lacking in the magic department,” Trinket wryly said.

"Well you would need to hold the other stone as well to charge it anyway so I'll do it if it's ever needed."

“Like I said, I doubt it’ll be needed.” Trinket glanced around, trying to get his bearings. If that’s the main road...oh, but no, it’s to my right isn’t it? Ok, the station is behind me, which would mean... Abruptly he made a left turn, trotting at a quick pace.

The unicorn followed if just a bit behind. "Got to say, you don't ask many questions to the guy you've just given a chance to trust."

“Ask no questions, hear no lies,” Trinket curtly replied. “I believe that actions speak louder than words besides.”

"To have given me a chance for trust, you don't give me many ways to prove it."

“Given the strife in town I suspect an opportunity will make itself available in due time. And besides, you were the one who said this town scares you.” Trinket looked down the roads; that chase had gotten him slightly turned around, but he thought he was nearby.

"Afraid of going down the layers before the upper ones got peeled away, seeing how there is no way to get away from the reveal of the core. Saving the chance of trust is understandable, just don't wait until something life threatening. You're heading for work?"

“That’s the plan. A little over-schedule, actually.”

"Guessing our game of tag has thrown you a bit off direction wise. You probably won't discuss work with me either seeing how it's just me sticking my muzzle where it doesn't belong?"

“You guess correctly, on both counts.” Trinket smiled as he zeroed in on one of the shops.

"Okay then, I will leave you alone. You know how to contact me if you need any help and, thanks again for giving me a chance." He gave him a smile. "Not many have given me one."

“If your idea of a first impression is to eavesdrop and stalk, I can’t imagine why,” Trinket muttered, a tad louder than he had intended.

"Well at least I didn't spill any exotic dish or start a bar fight so it must count for something," he said jokingly. "Goodbye Trinket, I know you probably don't want to, but you might see me around."

Without another word Crescent headed off on his own, head held high. Trinket rolled his eyes and sighed before heading into his shop, trying to put the whole matter behind him.


Written in collab with Tricondon.