"Look what the cat dragged in." Perhaps an ironic statement, coming from the mostly cat, Dark Thought. He was watching Sonja come into the tavern. "This a sign of success?"
"Took the shot." She sank to her haunches at the table the party shared. "Closed a rift that was causing problems."
Jon raised a hand. "Question, is there such a thing as a good rift?"
Zecora popped a snack into her mouth, eyes on Jon. "How would such a thing be good? To act beneficially is more than they could."
Sues clapped his hooves. "Don't be so нагао! I have heard tales, rumors if you will, that there are such things out there. Now, I can't prove them, no no, but I hear whispers of them. Places where your dreams are met with ease. It depends what your dreams are, of course. Ya, if you are a glutton, there are rifts. I know this, where your belly can be always full!"
Jon chuckled at the idea as his fingers worked over the strange fruit he was holding. "Going to guess there's at least a 20% chance you might end up on that menu."
"Perhaps!" Sues grinned a bit too happily for that news. "But at least you would go out the way you wanted. They aren't all bad, but usually. Fortunately, the bad ones are usually very obvious."
Zecora tapped the returning one on the shoulder. "If all the tasks are complete, is it time for the leader to meet?"
Sonja raised an ear. "Ah? Right! We get to wait. It's their turn to take that shot. I did my part, nailed the target. They either do as they promised, or not."
Jon slid his cup towards Sonja. "Well, you did the work, so the least you're due is a chance to relax."
Sonja did not hesitate to drain the mug, slurping down what she could before her hooves had to get involved to tip it towards herself and gulp down the rest. "Mmm, not bad. You all got to stay here and enjoy things while I was working?"
Sues nudged a serving plate of fried vittles towards Sonja. "Afraid that is the case, mon ami. We were hoping for your safe return, but could not do much else."
Sonja pulled the plate the rest of the way with a sweep of her hoof. "I knew the range on the shot before taking it. If it gets us onwards, all good." She chomped on a secured bit. "Mmm, just the right amount of salt..."
"Not to be rude." Jon shrugged softly. "Did they hint when they're going to — "
"No." Sonja sat back with a more relaxed feeling than when she had first entered. "Coudn't tell you. It's a military. They take the shot when they feel like it, and good luck getting them to make a move before that time."
Like many of the others, Zecora had abandoned her food in favor of watching their returned friend. "I can't say I've dealt with armed forces. They are quite unlike Equestrian's stoic horses."
"Could say that." Sonja tapped at the serving carafe, prompting Jon to refill her mug for her to drain. "Bunch of... It was crazy! Whole place was detached from any reasonable sight. Like a gun that shoots the wrong way, it made little sense. I hated it."
Jon tilted his cup towards Sonja. "Want to tell us about it, or want to avoid it?"
Sonja met Jon's eyes. "Huh. I wouldn't have thought you'd be sharp enough to give a pony that choice." She fell forward into cupped hooves propped against the table. "Still, if you're asking, I'm telling. I felt like I was a drawing, but it was all too real. Needed seconds delayed my motions for reasons that made no sense."
Jon crossed his arms. "You were a cartoon?" He could see from the confused look on her face that she didn't get it. "Sounds like it. A cartoon is a lot of drawings shown together to make it look like it was moving. Wish I could have seen it."
"You missed nothing." Sonja rolled her eyes at the thought. "Just as fine, not taking that shot." She squinted at Jon with a new thought. "On the other hoof, if you're so willing, I'll tell them to send you in next time. Maybe you'll nail the target faster than I could."
"I'd try." Jon could but shrug weakly before Sues' hooves came in for a grab, firm but easy.
"Let her recover!" Sues shook Jon lightly with the hoof he had around Jon. "We are all together, and that is worth being happy about. Ura, tonight we eat well and celebrate our victories. Big or small, I will smile at that."
So that was what they did. The group did their best to help Sonja relax. They sang songs, ate well, and chatted about a lot of unimportant things, just as such a celebration called for.
"You have an appointment." The well-armored mare floated a card towards them in her magic. "Be there." The card was going for Sonja specifically. "She said to mention that a repeat audience is unlikely."
Sonja snapped up the card in her mouth and let it drop into a waiting hoof, where she pivoted it towards herself. "Huh, alright." Her eyes swept rapidly left and right. "Looks like we get what we want. We just have to be there tonight."
Sues pricked up. "Tonight? It is already afternoon. Not much time to prepare."
Dark stretched languidly, as if felines had another mode to do it in. "So? We have little to prepare. I'm glad 'she' did it quickly. We've waited long enough!" He inclined his head a little at Sonja. "Any idea who they are?"
"Negative." Sonja looked up towards the one that delivered the notice, but they were gone. "Just that we take the shot or find a new vantage point. I say we make our case."
"What's the other option?" Jon patted himself down as if to make sure everything was still there. "I don't have any fancy clothes, and I'm not sure this commander or whoever they are even cares." He turned his hands palm side up. "So why should we care? Let's just march in there."
They did their best to clean up properly. They wore their best and cleaned that up. For some of them, Jon and Zecora, this leaned towards getting what they usually wore cleaned and presentable. The others actually got suits to look their best. Sonja still had her gun at her side, attached to her despite any amount of dressing up. "This is part of my formal attire. If I'm not ready to shoot, may as well be naked."
"You're lucky." Jon held the door open for others vacating the room. "When you're naked, you're mostly showing off what you want to be seen."
Seus raised a brow at his human companion. "Humans do not have any second mouths I am aware of. Nothing you have is that terrifying."
Dark laughed on the way out of the room. "I am fine, only wearing clothes for special occasions." He pawed at himself, not having fingers. "A lack of digits makes getting dressed a pain. Thank you, Jon, for lending a set of those hands."
"Any time." They were all out and headed through the town to the central looming building that dominated the skyline. "And this is it?"
"This is it," repeated Sonja in the lead. "We're here to see the boss." She coiled to grab the invite letter and presented it to the guard at the front. "We're due shortly."
The guard's horn lit up as he examined it intently. "Looks proper." He tucked the card away rather than giving it back. "This way." He abandoned his fellow guard with a nod to lead the others inside. "She rarely makes time for guests. You should consider yourself lucky."
Sues reared up just long enough to clap his hooves once. "I am already prepared! This is quite the exciting day. Madre Mia, is she that important?" He darted in next to the guard. "If you wish to tell us anything, we would be in your debt."
But he just nudged the inquisitive zebra away. "Wait here." He pointed with his snout at a room that was fairly sized but absent of anything but a few couches that didn't even look very comfortable. "She will be here when she is ready." With a sharp turn, he left without further words.
Sonja sank onto an available sofa. "He's deep in it. You don't line up that sort of thing without being trained. So I'm perfectly fine now, not being in the army. How can I get any time to tinker if I'm busy following orders? Yes, ma'am, no, sir. No, thank you. How's that work?"
"Music to my ears." A back door swung open to allow a hovering platform to enter with a thin layer of water in it. Perched in that bowl as a pony that was also a horse, grinning at the lot of them. "Didn't think I'd see more Equestrian ponies around here." But she didn't look Equestrian. Her features had the extra details one would expect of an Everglow creature. She was a pony from the front forward with a smirk wielded at them like a deadly weapon.
From the midsection back, she was a fish with a powerful tail that slapped gently against the waves with some emotion. Agitation? Curiosity? "None that I recognize, but you have a human." Her eyes had settled on Jon. "I really didn't expect Equestrians to fall in with a human, of all things. Do you have an Equestrian name? Go on, tell me."
Jon rested a hand on his hilt, though his sword was tightly bound into place with a length of rope. A peace bond, preventing a rapid draw. One did not need exposed metal in such a circumstance in theory, and it was against all the rules. "Jon." He gestured to the others. "Zecora, Seus, Dark." He pointed to each with their name. "Sonja. And you are not what I expected their leader to look like, even a little."
"I love it!" She thrust out her hooves as she rolled over in her floating bowl. "Humans have no manners, but I happen to like a bad boy. Me? I'm Adagio. Adagio Dazzle if we're being personal about it." She flicked at the fins on her cheek as she spoke. "The queen's secret weapon. Behold and be terrified."
Zecora leaned in towards Jon. "I do not trust her, even a little. We should be careful not to belittle."
Dark casually splashed at her water, sitting on the floating platform to do so. "You must be very important for any queen to go this far out of her way to keep you around."
Adagio swatted at the paw that was playing with her water. "Watch it, or I'll splash you, cat." That scared him off. "Had a feeling. Now, seriously, what brings you all here? You didn't come just to say hi. Is this about Twilight?" She snorted at the idea. "The queen outranks her and forgave me, so just tell her she can suck a lemon if she's still upset about it."
Zecora stepped forward with a nod. "I only heard of you by rumor."
"All good, I do hope." She crossed her hooves under her chin and flashed a toothsome smile at Zecora.
"They were sadly lacking in humor." Zecora inclined her head. "Sound defeated in a battle of bands. There was not even a single creature willing to lend a hand."
Adagio scowled at Zecora's statement. "I've evolved since then, stripey. I'm a secret weapon, in an army, and well paid!" She scoffed with clear good humor as she turned a hoof on herself. "If you came all this way just to mock me, you wasted your time." Her eyes went to Jon instead. "But I'm fairly sure you didn't come here for that."