Things that go bump in the... day? (Back in Manehattan)

[Bygone]

The city of Manehattan... was peaceful. And dreadfully boring as far as the dark unicorn was concerned. The only thing worse were these prissy ponies staring at him like he was some sort of monster! Granted he kinda-sorta was but half of these ponies were more offended by his choice in attire than his actual appearance or size! The other thing he was most thankful for was that whatever magic that composed their form and allowed them to trade places allowed the attire to grow to fit his own larger frame.

If only because he'd probably murder ponies that stared too much.... Damn attempts to intimiate him! He didn't intimidate! (Oops... misinterpretation much?)

Floating in his aura was a bag of donuts. By no means healthy to any-pony considering the protesters outside the establishment but dayum did they taste good! He loved to be able to eat... Thus the Nightmare occasionally splurged upon the sweeter ~ tastier things in life! Like strawberries, pastries, and... pudding cups! Yeeeeeees, dark chocolate pudding cups.

The nightmare was passing through the market on the way back to the inn, pushing through the crowd. Damn idiots standing in his way! Bloody hell!

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The pegasus was growing to dislike cities. He was despaired to learn that they would soon head to another one once off this forsook island. Fillydelphia, they had said. Well he was still a bit shunted from their escape. How they ended up on the island rather than going straight by land was a whole other issue to be ironed out later. He did not think he would ever be okay with fish ever again.

The scholar spent his morning gathering information. The city, while loud, crowded, and dirty, did have some prime locales for sluething. There was still part of him that wanted to help Gleamished find separate bodies, but there was another part of him that asked why he even escaped with them. The horse did not belong among ponies. His ears pressed back against his skull as he wobbled towards a coffee and tea shop he had seen on his way from the inn. He was unfocused, filled with worry.

Many things unsettled him. Dusk was pregnant so what if the foal was inferior as he had been when he was born? How could he be strong for the others when he was the weakest and most cowardly? While the injury on his side was healed, he still felt the spot where the skin had stitched together. He questioned his survival.

In his unfocused musings the male would end up bumping into a group of stallions. "Oh!" He chirped, "Pardon me. I was not watching where I was going." He apologized.

The three stallions were wearing gold in one form or the other: jerseys, caps, neck chains, but they were all of similar coat color and size. "Oralè." The smallest responded.

"Who do you think you are ese?" The larger one spat. The third remained silent, but glared down the horse none-the-less.

Light lowered his head submissively and scuffed his hoof against the ground. "Many pardons young ser, I was not watching pon my path, prithee, grant me pardon." He just wanted tea.

"Eyyy, hombrè, you got a funny accent." The littlest one said in deep accent of his own.

"Hehe, maybe 'e's a foreigner jefe." Thr larger one declared, the other nodding in silence.

"Yeeea," the boss agreed. "You know there's a fine ta pay?" He chuckled, the three pushing Light til he was backed up against a wall.

A crowd had begun to form, the very one that currently blocked Tarnish's path.

[Bygone]

Tarnished let out a bit of a huff as he pushed through the crowd. Younger ponies, older ponies, bah! Soon enough the dark one came to the crux of the situation though. He came to a stop and his expression turned rather sour. There was a group of lowlife ponies waylaying a certain pegasus! The nightmare felt a pang of aggressive… protectiveness? The ponies in their little party were not to be harmed! Or intimidated by the likes of these clowns!

He stepped forward and his expression soured even more. “What do you imbeciles think you are doing?” he asked with a bit of menace entering his voice. Ooooh if there was one thing he actually did like about the body here it was the voice! Ooooh it was just so seductive and evil sounding!

But why did that damn armoire curse give him a mare’s body instead of a stallion like he rightfully deserved! How aggravating this was!

But his attention (and mounting frustration at the very thought of the subject) was being focused upon the stallions that were asking for this ‘toll’… Hell, he hardly even waited! He made an attempt to use his magic to separate the three from Lightning and to place himself between. A villain playing the hero? How… quaint…

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"I'd say ten bits?" The group laughed.

Ten?! Ten bits could buy numerous books and cups of tea! The thought of such waste flustered the horse, but when he puffed up to sternly push their extortion to the curb, the fact he was outnumbered caused him to swallow his tongue. It had not helped he was expected to be polite in the face of public. All those eyes watching pushed him further into a corner.

Light lowered his eyes, muzzle moving for his saddlebag to pay the fine. Maybe he was just a welcome mat. Step hooves here, get free bits.

"Who is this? A BUCK off, we found 'im first!" The larger one claimed.

The crowd murmured, thestrsnge, tsll, ponies (horses?) were causing quite the scene. Not many found it smart, especially with a gang like that. They were pretty rowdy, and brave to ca use a ruckus in public. They probably had police nearby paid off to ignore their activities.

"T-ta..." Light looked up, unable to even speak the unimage's name. "I can handle this situation. I was just paying these young stallions for their patience." Light could be talked out of his clothes if one didn't keep an eye on him...

"Das right," the smaller boss chuckled. "We're gettin' our dues, but since yer friend 'ere is makin' such a fuss, 'ow 'bout twenty bits?" The trio laughed.

Light locked up and looked down. He didn't have twenty bits on him...

[Bygone]

Tarnished gave the three an un-amused look and then leveled an entirely amused look at Light. Evidently his thoughts had trailed somewhat akin to the last post’s thoughts. “Dear Light… You could be talked out of your clothes with hardly any resistance. You need to buck up and get a spine my dear peacock.” he crooned as a hoof raised to pat the pegasus’s cheek in what almost seemed to be a mocking manner although there was an air behind it that was anything but. He really was rather concerns in his own twisted way.

The nightmare turned to the ponies and let out a bit of a sigh. “You think that three puny punks wearing gold intimidate me?” he asked with as his muzzle curled into a snarl.

“How about you three give me your money and I let you leave without becoming crimson smears on the ground! If you don’t…. Might I suggest everypony get a fair distance away. You’re in the splash zone.” he cooed with a predatory grin. “So… shall we do this the peaceful way or my way my friends?”

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Light pinched his ears back, lip pouting and eyes narrowing at the unimage. He was not that easy to talk into action... "They are just cloths...I can always obtain others." Though the tabard was unique, he may have proven Tarnished's point... His tail feathers fanned out at the comment. He was no peacock, eude. Lowering his head slightly he made a face as his was smooshed a bit. He parted his jaw to complain, but the mage already turned away.

"Oi, is this honky kidding?" The larger earth stallion spat.

"Oralè, this uni thinks 'e's the shit, huh?" The boss earth laughed. "Show 'em who's da smear. Take all their shit."

Light let out a squawk as he raised his wings in an attempt to guard Tar, but the silent of the three bit down on his wing and tried to tug him down, which wasn't hard and Light tumbled down onto his chin, monocle falling from its place in his eye and scraping on the concrete ground.

[Bygone]

The unicorn's eyes narrowed to slits as he hissed. One of the ponies dared to bite Light! He used that spike of anger and lashed out with his magic. The quiet one would have found himself picked up via his hind legs in Tarnished's aura and spun like a living weapon to smack at the other two! Owch!

"Light... Peacock... You proved my point." He wasn't about to not comment on that!

The smaller pony managed to squirm out of his magic but all Tarnished did was snag a few planks of wood from nearby and smack himself some idiots! It didn't help that the wood caught on fire. Did he do that? Ooops... "Can I have my money yet?" he mockingly hissed. Would they do it or would they force him to do more?

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Light inhaled, jaws parting. He caught his own thoughts on the matter. Yes... so it would not be difficult. But such things seemed irrelevant. Being polite and a good pony... horse or not. But he could see the dark mage's point. Statically he was more likely to be ignored if he was overly polite. It was a tactic he heavily depended on to protect his body from harm...

"I see your point, but I respectfully decline this view and politely assert my own perspective."

Right.

And so the quiet gangster was used as a whip and sent into his buddies. A great deal of neighing and kerfuffling thereafter the held bruised faces and leveled on their bruised egos. "Oi, Oi we were only playing, geez look here."

They would give up what few bits they had. But... they were holding out. Why would they show where all their goods were hiding, afterall?

[Bygone]

Tarnished looked at the pegasus and let out a sigh. "Letting yourself be walked on is *not* acceptable; even if I find it amusing." he'd say with a narrowed gaze and a hoof-swat to the back of the pegasus's head if he could.

The dark unicorn stared at the three and then a nearly sinister grin split his face in half. "Are you three certain that is all you have? Care to bet your stallionhood on it?" he purred as he began to pace around the three like a griffon stalking its prey. "One little spell and I could see... of course; if you are lying you'd find certain things to be separated from your body." Could he really do such a thing? Maybe.. but truth spells were not his specialty... Would he actually cause them bodily harm though? Probably. He was playing on the fact they were potentially cowards at heart.

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Light pushed to stand, his wings moving to fold against his back. He shook his uead, braised mane perfectly in place. He used his wing to tu k his monocle back in, frowning at the scrapes on the glass surface. The pegasus winced at the swat, his tail flicking in annoyance. Well he could not deny the truth of the matter, but substituting the reality of it worked just as well. He looked over when the hustlers, down right crooks.

"Hey, hey, no need to get personal." Damn, cheating unitards!

They would empty their reserved and stand before making a break for it. Hopefully the unimage wouldn't stop them! Light, on the otherhoof, would sigh. His lense was scratched and now he was in a troublesome, embarrassing state. He no longer wanted his tea. "...wonderful. now we will be labeled as hooligans. This lowers our chances of getting a discount on good looks and manners..." or perhaps it would raise it based on the threat of intimidation. Hmmm.

[Bygone]

Turned from the fleeing hooligans to Light an leveled a flat look upon him. "Hooligans? We have a whole crowd of witnesses that saw them assail you before I stepped in. I highly doubt you will be labeled as a 'hooligan'." he hissed with a bit of a sharp grin. "Perhaps you will get discounts from that... or perhaps I will due to fear." he crooned as he walked to the pegasus and briefly did a cat-like rub down one side. "Cowards run to live another day, but have to look over their shoulder. I, however, prefer to remove the threat so that I can be as damn lazy as I want!" He grumped and raised a hoof to poke at Light.

"We're going back." he finally declared and he turned to wander back towards the inn as he had before. Light, however, would find himself more or less 'compelled' to follow by the magic that likely latched onto the front of his vest and pulled him along!

[Deleted]

Lightning was never one who wanted to start fights or make his herd look like some gang of delinquents, which they were, but, still that was beside the point! Or was that the point? Regardless the fools had left, put in their place by Tarnished's anger. The pony was awfully moody today. Were they suffering beneath the summer sun? As a nocturnal he has seen little reason to be out during the day. He gave a sigh at the unicorn mage's logic, which seemed as backwards as an earth pony using magic. 

Speaking of magic. "Urf! Hey!" He neighed, feeling his tabard's front. To prevent himself from choking he had to step and keep up. "But I was getting tea!" Which he probably wouldn't have had if he gave up his bits, to be fair. "It is still early, why are we returning to the hotel?" He really hated being inside the place! He really just... felt it was hard to face them. He had failed in many aspects and, evne to himself!

His ears pinned back as he pranced along, wings raised up slightly as he tried to keep pace with the magic lasso! He tired, every s=few blocks, to stop, pull back, but was yanked along anyway! It was a bit uneasy, the silence. 

"Um... could... we talk?" Something to fill that gap.

Normally he would have not minded silence, but this was a time he did.

[Bygone]

Tarnished twitched some and let out a bit of a sigh. "You were going to fork over all of the bits you would have had to get tea. You don't need that tea." he'd say as he continued to pull but just a little gentler than before. The nightmare was rather... frustrated. Why did the peacock have to be soooo... he didn't know how to put it! It was frustrating having him not be able to help himself! What if he chickened out and.... Ugh!

"I'm going to do something about your... passive nature. I won't let you bring harm to yourself. Our little group is mine. Nopony is allowed to harm what is mine. But yet I cannot be around all the time." he growled in frustration.

He turned his head back to Light and narrowed his eyes. "Try to explain to this simpleton why you think being a pony-skinned rug on the ground will keep you out of trouble." he'd say with as much subtlety as a nuke. "Explain why I should... ugh, by the damned moon why am I so frustrated?!" he struck the cobblestone road with a hoof and seemed to wilt a little as his ears fell back. Concern wasn't easy for the nightmare to express....

[Deleted]

Light found it easier to keep pace, hive movements unfettered by the angry tugging of a Nightmare. His ears pressed to his skull. He was well aware he may have lost his bits, but it was better than getting pummeled. He ruffled at the name, again! That title! His brows furrowed, though they always seemed that when he was holding his monocle. The round of glass wasn't doing him any good, though, as it has been scratched when he was tumbled by the brutish bully! Exhaling at Tarnished, who seemed quite frustrated with him, well he could not deny it. The nightmare had every right to be. The questions poised were legitimate ones, ones he did not have very good answers for.

"What do you wish to hear? That it has always been that way? That I was always safer keeping my head down? There is very little that speaking up got me above a whip to the muzzle." Well, the back, but one could not see those scars beneath his feathers.

It was rather normal for Tarnished to be annoyed, but he seemed more so than usual. It was rather frightening sometimes. A madpony like this one keeping tabs on him. Lightning did not want to seem dismissive, but it was rather hard to accept the concern, of that was what this was. Hard to tell honestly.

"I apologize, but I am unsure what to do... how to change." He was just a yellow livered coward. Yellow speckles, yellow feathers...

[Bygone]

Tarnished stared at the pegasus with a frown marring his muzzle. He was mad, sure, but what creature ~ what nightmare ~ wouldn't be after what their predecessor had gone through. At least most creatures had a full mind to their own! Gleamy and Tarnished only had one to split!

However then he froze and turned his eyes, blazing with magic and an idea, to Light. His muzzle parted into a predatory grin and he leaned his muzzle in close. "I have an idea, dear peacock." he rumbled and turned to quickly continue to the nearby inn. He'd lead the stallion in, magic making sure he'd follow.

Once to the shared bedroom he moved to Gleamished's pack and began to dig through. The smile didn't bode well for the pony involved, but Light probably didn't have a choice in the matter. Ever since he had access to another library not guarded by a princess he'd raided it. Some books were likely to be noted missing; all in his pack. Books on the mental arts and possession. Dusk's idea back in Saddle Arabia intrigued him. She seemed to think he could possess her... That was something he intended to perhaps learn about. But alas this incomplete knowledge gave him a wonderful, awful, idea!

If Lightning is inhibited by his own well... all that he was... then he just needed to change how he thought! Just a little corruption...