//------------------------------// // 6: The Toll of the Bells // Story: Memoria // by Li Cruz //------------------------------// "Come to pester me about my father or is it the lack of horn this time." Uzumaki greeted as he shoved a few scrolls haphazardly into a box. The copper bells jangled as he moved about. Luna glanced around. The laboratory was eerily similar to Starswirl's own set-up. Luna shuddered before examining the Earth Pony, levitating some paper and quill. Uzumaki, for the lack of a better word, had more in common with a mare than a stallion in form. His slim form and delicate features would have made him a pretty mare. The golden eyes, on the other hoof, set in a tan face was unsettling. The Coven's primary mage, despite being an Earth Pony, stalked about like a predator of the highest order. His hoofbeats couldn't be easily heard as he moved about. The light star upon his brow made Luna wonder if he hadn't been a unicorn before. "Oye, stop staring, Alicorn." The quill twirled in the air. "You have no love for Alicorns?" She inquired. He snorted. The quill wrote something down. "Only the stupid ones - wait, that's all I've ever met." Luna scowled. "I don't like you because you have shown to be an idiot. Entering an enemy stronghold without any backup. Attacking Nue whom may I point out was seriously ill and drugged to the hilt. Hence our leader was helpless as a newborn. (Ponies often say we don't have honor.)" His right forehoof punctuated the points with a rotation. "Then you have the nerve to bring up my late father and his equally idiotic opinions while knowing nothing. Therefore, you are an idiot." It slipped out before she could stop herself. "You're a lot like Starswirl." "Yours maybe but Sutauzu - not as much." The copper bells jangled against as he stood up. Luna took a step back from the easily irritable mage. "Why do you say yours?" Luna inquired. "Why don't you go figure that out?" The golden eyes oozed magic and Luna founded herself, nose to the door. The changeling and griffin guard posted nearby giggled until she glared at them. Feeling embarrassed, she took her battered dignity elsewhere.