Gregor waved a hand to the left and the scene played backwards a few seconds before he moved his hand towards the right, bidding it stop, then start playing forward once more. "Mmm." Only one of the cameras had caught it, but there it was, for him to watch over and over again. "A pity it was so far away..." The cameras were not meant to monitor things so far distant from the ship.
But there were clearly shapes, multiple, on a wall. It was hard to see at best, but they did... something... then...
It was a matter then if he would report that finding. Doing so would be the good thing to do, and perhaps help his standing with the locals and the merchants. He hadn't ruled out, entirely, that his own people couldn't have been involved. Logs showed some of them had been off the ship at and before the time. Even they were tempted to at least look at the goods for sale.
If it could help avoid needless violence, would it not be his duty to help? He had accepted the burden of protecting these strange but innocent creatures from his own people; it would be a curious half-measure to then hold this information. "It was a strange question to begin." He reached out as a small disc emerged from within the machinery few understood. "I am leaving."
He didn't have to shout, a firm statement was more than enough to have his guards accompanying him. His face went from careful thought to the gentle benevolence he had spent many years cultivating. He was the smiling face of the church, and it would not do for others to see him frowning, even if he carried heavy news.
Bon Bon tapped Trixie on the shoulder lightly. "Have a moment?"
Trixie twisted an ear back. "Since they've shut down the sales of what I had come for, Trixie supposes she does." She shrugged lightly as she turned to Bon Bon. "Didn't find what you were looking for either?"
They were both away from the landing pad, back in Ponyville in fact. "I was looking for you."
Trixie's ears perked up at that. "Oh, well of course. Who wouldn't look for the Great and Powerful Trixie! What can I do for an adoring fan?"
Bon Bon reached out and casually booped Trixie on the nose. "I'm not an 'adoring fan', but I do have questions only you can answer."
Trixie rubbed where she had been poked. "Hmm? Something regarding magic? Because a true magician never reveals their secrets!"
"What about revealing some other trick?" She leaned forward a little. "We were both there when it went off. Thankfully, it wasn't big enough to hurt us, just knock us loopy a moment."
Trixie rolled her eyes softly. "Ugh, yes, most undignified, and that merchant took it so poorly... Gauging from Laud, I had thought they were a proud warrior race, to be brought down so easily? It confuses Trixie somewhat." She wobbled a hoof to emphasize that. Her eyes slid off to an apple stand, manned by Big Mac. "Pardon me." She grabbed an apple in her magic and brought it over without a thought.
Big Mac apparently noticed the brazen theft and trotted over with a bit of a scowl. He put out a hoof in front of Trixie. "Nope."
Bon Bon sighed softly as she pulled out a bit and placed it on the waiting hoof. "You should break that habit."
"I was certain you'd pay. You did have questions for me, did you not?" She took a big bite of the apple, chewing happily. "Mmm, the Apples know their namesake. Alright, what was the question?"
Big Mac wandered back where he'd come from, shaking his head. Bon Bon peered at Trixie incredulously. "Right, yes... You are something of an... expert when it comes to pyrotechnics, are you not?"
"One of my many talents." Trixie took another large bite, chewing somewhat noisily. "What of it?"
"Now that we're away from all those... distractions, surely someone as Knowledgeable and Clever as you noticed something about that explosion." She rolled a hoof slowly in the air. "Think on it."
"It wasn't human." She nodded softly, looking certain about that fact. "They told her enough to be certain."
Bon Bon blinked softly. "You... how?"
She lifted her shoulders. "All the explosives there needed a zap, a jolt of electricity." Her horn crackled with power in a brief demonstration. "You could set them on fire and they would just burn. Good thing too. If they were easy to set off, they all would have gone off, and that might have stung a bit more." She smirked faintly at Bon Bon's stunned appearance. "They would be picking Great and Powerful pieces off the pavement. Good thing that didn't happen."
Bon Bon blanched; even as a secret agent, rarely did things get that gruesome. "Good thing... So, if not human, or at least not from that stand, what explosion was it? Did you recognize it?" She perked up, leaning in towards Trixie. "Tell me!"
Trixie casually pushed her back with a hoof. "Give me space, thank you. Trixie does not perform when crowded. As you are aware, we were both caught by surprise by it, quite sudden really. I was looking forward to picking up some of what that human was offering." She tapped her chin softly. "Do you think they'll open that stand later?"
"Focus, kindly." Bon Bon pointed back out of town, towards the landing pad. "Other ponies could get hurt. Did you notice anything else?"
"I am focusing on the important parts." She rolled her eyes dramatically. "Hmmph, but very well... I did smell something."
"Smell something?" The mental image of Trixie sniffing at the ground with her tail wagging like an eager dog brought a smirk to Bon Bon's face. "Like what?"
"Gunpowder, or black powder? Or is that the same thing?" Trixie shrugged softly. "One of those. Trixie uses it sometimes and she knows that scent. After a good show, it hangs on her stage for hours afterwards. Either way, another reason I don't think it was the human explosives, since they didn't use that, they said. Some 'star plastic' that only went off with a zap." Her horn sparked as if another demonstration was required. "I still want some..."
Bon Bon glanced aside at other ponies wandering past. The traffic on the street was slower than usual. Perhaps many of them were still browsing and shopping? "Alright, that's useful... Could you identify what kind of powder specifically?"
Trixie cocked a brow at that. "While I appreciate your vote of confidence, Trixie has not memorized catalogues of flammable powder to tell one from the other. She already said it was black or gun... It reminded me a little of the colorful ones, but I saw no colors at that time, just a sudden impact with the ground." She shook her head, moving to stroll past Bon Bon. "I'm going to get an oatmeal shake to forget about it. Want one?"
"That's surprisingly generous." Bon Bon moved to follow Trixie, walking just a step behind and to her left.
"I wasn't offering to buy it, just the pleasure of my company."
Bon Bon rolled her eyes, but did keep going.
Spike and Laud stood watch over the proceedings. The shopping market seemed to be going peacefully, with ponies and humans interacting. With the sound of flapping, a new form landed with no translating collar. "Spike, how's it flapping?"
"Ember!" His expression brightened from his watchful vigil. "I'm making sure nothing else goes wrong today."
Ember hiked a thumb at the proceedings. "What, this? What happened so far?"
Laud patted his bags, but he had no spare collars left. "You really should be wearing a collar, or the humans will not understand you."
Ember scowled at that. "And where do I get one of those? You two are great at giving me questions to ask without the answers to go with them."
Spike waved towards the entrance where a line of ponies still lingered. "Right there, but you have to wait in line first like everycreature else."
Ember's right brow raised sharply. "I'm the dragonlord. You are not making me wait in line to spend my hard earned with blood money." She produced the heavy pouch of jingling currency Gregor had given her. "I thought I'd have to wait a lot longer, but when I got the word they were here, well, here I am and I'm gonna shop and it better be good."
As if detecting the jingle of proper currency, a merchant slid into the conversation, speaking in his curious human tongue, "Ah, is that-- Of course it is. What are you looking for today?"
Ember smiled wickedly as she turned towards the human that was taller than her, not that she seemed at all cowed by that. "I have no idea what you said but you sure sounded like you had the right attitude when you said it. Show me what I can buy!"
Laud interposed himself between Ember and the merchant, annoying both. "Before you do that," he spoke in Ponish. "Follow me. I will get you a collar."
"Without waiting?" she asked with a fanged grin, making clear her opinion on the idea of waiting in line.
"Without waiting. You are the queen of the dragons, are you not? An exception could be made." He decided quietly that the trouble created making Ember wait would far outweigh any ill will produced by letting her skip in line. "Spike, watch over things while--"
"--Why don't you let me do that?" Spike stepped forward and tipped his head at Ember. "We know each other pretty well and all."
Ember swat Spike on the shoulder. "Look at you taking charge. If he can get me that stupid collar, yeah, I'll go with Spike."
Laud considered that only a brief moment. "Very well, I entrust her to your care, My Squire. See that she gets a collar without incident and accompany her on her shopping."
"You got it." He saluted sharply then started to walk off towards the entrance of the landing pad. "Just this way."
Walking alongside him easily, Ember was peering at him, though her head remained forward. "What was that, Squire? Isn't that a pony thing? When did he start spouting pony things like he meant it."
"Squire is a thing so big the entire universe knows it!" Spike threw out his hands wide to try to encompass it. "At least the humans know it, and they're all over. It means someone training to be a knight, which I am. He's my trainer and I am his squire until we're done." He patted his practice blade lightly. "They're making me a real sword and everything."
Ember reached and casually plucked the fake sword from its equally fake sheath. "It better be better than this. You couldn't hurt a little pony foal with this." She swung the wooden blade around carelessly. "You do remember you're a dragon, right? You have claws and teeth." She displayed the claws on her free hand and grinned wide enough for her teeth to be easily seen. "When that isn't enough, fire usually does the trick."
"I'm still a dragon," he spat a little defensively. "I'm just learning more ways to fight, and for good things." He patted where his blade once was, still in Ember's hands. "I'll be a noble, legitimately."
Ember's brows rose as one. "Oh yeah? Now we're talkin'. About time the ponies recognized you for being the stand-up drake you are. Now, about that collar?" She noticed a bin and moved towards it. "Looks like the ponies put them in here when they're done, so I can just take one."
"Oh, yeah, lemme just tell them." He flapped off to inform the pony helping administer the line about the casual theft of one of the collars. "She'll drop it off when she's done, I promise."
"You are Laud's squire, and you're with her. I won't worry too much." The pony nodded before turning back to the line. "Next!"