The Quest for Celestia's Raiment

by GaPJaxie

Fireside Chat

As every night, Virtue is brushing her tail in front of the campfire. "So. Who else finds themselves concerned about the matter of our unidentified thief?"

Dawn Star raises her hoof as she stares into the fire. "Me."

"The physical description we provided proved fruitless." Azure Charger rubs her chin with a hoof, her other three tucked beneath her body as she rests by the fire. "Clearly, Dawn's ability didn't tie the perpetrator to their temporary guise."

"Quite. Would that I knew what questions were useful." Virtue looks to Dawn Star.

"Or they had some way of making it so I couldn't see them.” Dawn frowns. “I know some unicorns can do that."

"Magic disguises points to a unicorn,” says Azure. “Rooftop infiltration points to a pegasus. The heavy landings on the broken tiles points to an earth pony."

"Or a particularly heavy one..." Virtue arches an eyebrow. "Were they truly seen to fly away?"

"Not that I recall." Azure shakes her head. "I'd dismissed it as being overladen with the heavy bags, but..."

"Then we must reject all notions of determinism by race or even gender. Shame we can't ask twenty questions," Virtue muses. "You can narrow almost anything in the universe down with twenty yes or no questions." She perks her ears, looking to Dawn Star. "What do you usually do?"

"Well, usually, I try to have a clearer description to begin with," Dawn Star says, with a shake of her head. "An item that the pony has only touched once or twice is a very weak connection. That's why when we were looking for Cell, I was only able to narrow it down to a whole town. Even that was lucky, to be honest."

Azure nods slowly. "There's still tactical merit to this line of thinking. Cer always said, it's not enough to realize you don't know. You need to realize what you don't know."

"We don't know who framed us," Dawn Star offers after a moment.

"Their race, or gender."

"Well, it doesn't have to be a physical description. We know that they're sneaky,” says Dawn. "But unless they're the only sneaky pony who has touched this material, ever, we need more than that."

"We don't know why they attempted to frame Silver Shine, nor what they hoped to gain by doing so." Azure Charger looks to Moonlight's sleeping form. "If indeed, Silver Shine was the true target."

"What sorts of questions can be asked?" Virtue asks.

"Questions?" Dawn looks upward, resting her chin on a hoof. "That's not... really how it works. I think about something and the sunlight shows it to me. Sometimes. I guess..." She shifts about, uncomfortably. "I guess you learn a few things, growing up in Canterlot."

"Is it always a location?" Azure cocks her head to the side. "What the sunlight shows you, I mean."

"Oh, not at all. Sometimes it shows ponies, or objects, or even abstract things. Once, it showed me the notes of a musical song. I ran into a pony humming it later that day and it was just who I was looking for."

"We want to figure out who this pony is, and where they are." Azure rolls onto her backside, letting her wings fan out onto ground. "But we don't know enough yet to ask the right questions. So, what kinds of questions do we know enough about the answer that we can ask the question?" She scrunches up her muzzle. "...did that make sense?"

"Possibly." Virtue smirks. "Might be worth, at least, asking who the last pegasus to touch it was."

Azure thinks. "Neither me nor Silver touched it, nor... any townspony pegasi," she growls. "So that would at least give us somepony new."

"Alright. I can ask that in the morning." Dawn Star nods.

Virtue perks her ears, "Could we ask it who the last pony to touch it before yesterday's dawn was? Or is it not that specific?"

Dawn Star sighs, tucking her legs under her and lowering her head near the campfire. "I just see things in the reflected light. I'm not a fortune teller."

"Mmph."

"Well..." Azure says after staring up at the sky a moment, "we've several days before we reach the nearest port town, Van Hoover. Tomorrow's answer will help us decide what to do with our next question. And the next."

"Yes.” Virtue nods. "That is so."

“Oh! Um, just a moment.” Dawn Star stands up, making her way to the tree line, smiling apologetically. “Be back in a jiffy!”

Once they’re alone, Azure nods gently Virtue's way. "Feeling better? I mean, having had a chance to speak with Wisp Will once more."

"Ah," she says, swishing her dark tail behind her. "I suppose I could have hid that better. Sometimes I become a little emotional. But... yes."

Azure smirks and rests her chin on her folded forelegs. "I suppose a pony is entitled to a bit of emotion, for time to time."

"It's strange, really.” She looks down at her hooves. “I don't really feel much guilt at lying and tricking my way through ponies like those guards or the like, but I didn't even lie to Wisp Will, so much."

"But they weren't lies to gain us an advantage." Azure pauses to consider that. "Well, rather, to put them at disadvantage."

"Oh, of course, the difference is clear. And I suppose a little hypocrisy is a lady's privilege, isn't it?" Virtue pauses. "I very nearly chopped my funds in half, there. That may have been a bit excessive."

Azure Charger smiles and shakes her head. "There's nothing wrong in wanting closure. We made things as right as we could. In the end, even if it came from your own bitpurse, things were set back on course.” She smirks. "I thought it was very—" But then she stops short and considers. "Compassionate."

"That sounds like it wasn't precisely your first choice of words!"

Azure Charger's ears tuck flat against her head, and she suddenly spots something very interesting crackling in the fire. Virtue reaches out and pushes her shoulder, as Azure squirms and fidgets. "Err..." She coughs and drops her voice. "C-cute." She quickly raises her forehooves in protest. "Simply for how caring and insistent your actions were!"

Virtue giggles, covering her mouth. "Cute? I don't think I've been called cute since I was a filly."

Azure Charger blushes hotly, turning back to look at the fire, and mumbles. "It was just very principled, 's all. 's good to have principles."

"I'm glad you think so." Virtue looks like she wants to keep tormenting Azure, but Dawn Star’s return gives an opening.

"Ah, Dawn Star!" Azure's ears perk upright at her return. "Excellent, welcome back. We, err... we kept the fire going. While you were away."

Dawn Star smiles a bit and sits herself down by the fire. "Thanks. It's pretty nice but a nice fire's always good."

"So!” Virtue turns to face her proper. “Canterlot. I've been, of course, but I didn’t live there."

Dawn Star shrugs noncommittally. "It's nice. My parents helped build some of it and I guess, they just stayed."

Virtue looks to Azure. "Have you ever been?" Azure shakes her head.

"I mean, it's a young city, not designed for any one pony type specifically, which is nice," Dawn continues. "There's a cloud district, and the gardens are amazing."

"Many still grumble over it," says Virtue. "When I was little, my father taught me that the pony races were only brought together so that they might work together more efficiently. In the minds of most unicorns, that means they were the ones meant to rule." She pauses mid-thought. "Well, we."

Azure nods. "At its worst, it's a symbolic gesture. But, that can mean quite a lot to ponies. Little goes a long way, i suppose."

Virtue smiles coquettishly. "A more open thing than it was, thankfully."

"Still,” says Azure, scratching the base of her neck, “I believe you introduced yourself as a member of Princess Celestia's court?" She tilts her head and smiles. "That's quite the honor."

"Ah, well..." She blushes, forelegs rubbing against each other in embarrassment. "It's nothing special. I mean, like my strong beliefs, it's just something she's interested in. So, I help out with wherever I'm needed"

"And you help the Princess with your talents." Azure shuffles around on her belly, turning to give Dawn her full attention. "Well well well. I knew our group had been graced with a representative from Canterlot, but I didn't realize quite how close to the Princess you truly were."

"N-not really!" Dawn quickly shakes her head. "I mean, she rarely talks to me and I'm not her apprentice or pupil. I just..." She thinks for a moment. "I guess I just believe stronger than most others, and when I do, good things happen."

"I wonder if we met without knowing it," muses Virtue. "You and I."

"Maybe!"

"I didn't think I'd missed anypony in court. When was your debut?"

"Um, it wasn't really a debut as much as, uh, I healed somepony when I was working in one of the offices and I got asked how I did it and I showed them and I guess it just happened from there..." She flushes a little more, her breathing coming rapid as she timidly looks away from Virtue. "I'm not nobility or anything."

"Oh!" Virtue brings a hoof to her mouth. "That's... very egalitarian."

"Mmm, yes very." Azure Charger chuckles goodnaturedly. "But I was simply impressed that your skills were valued first and foremost."

"Well, I mean, it's what we're good at, right? I just happen to be really good at believing in things." Dawn Star shrugs. "And since it helps out, I guess I do things that ponies who are good at, uh, baking, don't. But I don't bake bread or really anything so, it all works out in the end."

“Believing, mmm?” Virtue hums. "So if I told you Azure had a huge birthmark hidden by her coat, you'd believe me?"

"I—" Azure Charger’s eyes bulge. "What, what?!"

Dawn Star quickly waves her away. "Oh! No! Not like that! But in like, friendship! And in pegasi, earth ponies, and unicorns working together for a better future! That sort of stuff.” She nods to herself, though her expression shows hesitation. “I mean, I know you're lying. The important part about belief is knowing when people are lying to you."

"Am I?" Virtue asks, her face straight. "It's fairly large. A shockingly good representation of a bucking mare, actually, if you look just right." As Azure squirms uncomfortably, Virtue leans in to whisper in Dawn’s ear. "I saw it last night when we shared a room. We had to get... very... close."

Azure launches into a fit of coughing, slamming a hoof into her chest. "Didn't—You wouldn't have—I never—That!"

"That what?" Virtue asks, looking perfectly innocent. Dawn Star has the good grace to blush and giggle a bit.

"Anyway!" Azure declares, a bit loud considering two nearby sleeping companions. "Dawn Star was saying something about friendship and harmony, I believe. Nice, safe topics." She nods to herself before looking back up at Dawn Star. "You did say you had an eye for when ponies were lying, yes?"

Dawn Star shrugs. "Well, I'm okay at it. It's not my special talent. But, if I try hard enough I can make ponies tell the truth.” She stops to think. “Well, some of the time"

Azure nods again. "Good. Good."

"I get ponies to love me," says Virtue, giving Azure a half-lidded smile. "They often tell the truth after that."

Azure swallows, looking back at the fire. "Yes, well, uhh, as the town of Rambling Ridge proved, the gathering of information is quite important. So, useful talents, all."

"What about you? What's your special talent, Azure?” Dawn asks. “Uh, other than flying and being tough and fast?"

Azure smirks, the change in topic putting her more at ease. "You say that as if it's not enough. House Charger prides itself in producing some of the finest fighters and most upstanding guards. It is simply my hope to uphold that tradition."

"Indeed." Virtue says, proudly. "I think you can exceed it."

Azure Charger's smug expression wavers slightly at that. "Well, that... we certainly have a long lineage to live up to. I like to think myself good with a lance, but there's a lot to live up toward, y'know." She coughs. "And what of yourself, Virtue? You certainly made quite the entrance into court, the way you'd described it."

"I hope to build on that,” Virtue says with a bit of flourish. “Not to sound arrogant or self-aggrandizing, but somepony must stand out."

Azure nods. "Certainly certainly. Well, with your fortune and abilities, I'd have no doubts in your ability to succeed in your aspirations."

"Oh you are too kind. Of course,” she says, her voice lilting, “when you return by my side with the raiment in hoof, well… Somepony might find herself suddenly part of the court."

Azure Charger fixes Virtue with a half-lidded stare and a faint smirk. "In honor of my heroic acts? Or because you seem Tartarus-bent on getting me in a frou-frou dress with the rest of the nobles?"

Dawn Star winces. "I've worn those… They aren't very comfortable."

Azure Charger shivers lightly. "I couldn't imagine so."

"Nonsense! You would look simply fantastic." Virtue beams. "Oh, and the honor would be yours of course," she adds with a wave of her hoof.

Azure Charger gives Dawn Star the look of a doomed pony, whose days before being coerced into a game of dress-up are numbered. "Yes well," she says, waving her own hoof back, "part of combat readiness is to run drills for situations that will never, ever arise." She ponders this for a moment. "Ever."

"Yes, surely a brave warrior such as you would not shy away from such a task."

Dawn Star looks sympathetic. "It's… not too bad. Pegasus fashions lean towards, uh, decorative armor. So, that's something at least.” Her eyes light up. "And flowing robes! There's a lot of those!"

Virtue shakes her head. "Nonsense. She isn't a general, so that would be inappropriate." She grins wider. "It would have to be something wonderfully feminine."

Azure Charger feels a looming mix of deja-vu and dread. She holds herself upright, closes her eyes, and rotely states, "While embracing one's femininity is an important part of being a mare, as a pegasus warrior, first and foremost thought should go towards protection of the realm." Opening her eyes, she looks over at Dawn and mutters, "Besides, Dawn Star is in court, and she doesn't have to wear dresses either."

"We'll fix that," says Virtue. "Besides, the realm's morale is boosted by seeing such lovely figures clad in finery."

Azure Charger tries to brush this away with a hoof. "Lovely... Come now, no need for—" She points a hoof. "Aha! Dawn Star can tell when you're lying, don't forget! So no need to act all silly."

Dawn Star remains silent for a moment, awkwardly staring at her hooves, before speaking. "I don't think she's lying, Azure."

Azure blanches, meeting Virtue’s beaming grin as the latter props her chin up on her hoof. "Yes. Well. Err." Azure looks straight up. "The stars sure are clear, tonight, huh?"

Virtue rises. "If you'll excuse me, ladies, I need a moment to freshen up," she says, heading into the brush with a cheerful flick of her tail behind her, her hips swishing.

"Yes. Okay. Sure. Take your time." Azure nods encouragingly, her eyes lingering as Virtue leaves the camp.

Dawn Star turns to Azure once they’re alone. "So… um… how long have you known her for?"

Azure Charger whimpers, laying her hooves on top of her head. "A week."

"...oh. Um..." Dawn Star blushes.

"Zephyr's barding, am I really acting as foolish as I suspect I am?"

"I think it's just her… She's very, um..." Dawn searches for the word. "Um… forceful?"

Azure rubs at her temples. "She does seem to know how to push a pony's buttons. Regardless"—she clears her throat—"everypony here is on a mission of utmost importance. I should think the lot of us can keep focused on the task at hand, wouldn't you? And to not allow wayward thoughts to detract from the matters at hoof. Yes?" She nods. "Yes."

"Yes!" Dawn chimes brightly.

"Good, it's settled then." She's still nodding. "No rest until the raiments are secured. Well..." she waves her hoof in a circle around camp, "I mean, we can rest rest, but you know what I mean."

Dawn Star nods along, but stops as a thought crosses her mind. "And after?"

Azure Charger stares blankly at Dawn Star. "Yes, well. We'll... just have to see where life leads us. I suppose." She clears her throat. "Certainly you have your own goals in mind, for after our mission is seen through."

"Um...not really.” Dawn Star shakes her head. “I mean, I wanna meet a bunch of people and see the world but, if I'm needed, I'll do that instead. I'm sure it'll be fun no matter what!"

"Quite an upbeat attitude." She smiles at that. "It takes a certain kind of pony to be willing to heed the call of adventure."

"I guess..." She looks into the fire, thinking quietly for a moment. "I mean, I just do what comes natural to me."

"Often in life, actions are what matter, not sitting about any thinking 'Should I? Couldn't I?'" Azure grins at Dawn Star. "Your gut instinct is something to be trusted. There's no shame in acting upon it. And,” she continues after a bit of hesitation, “for all her flattery, Virtue raises a good point. Should we be successful, more than a fair bit of renown may come our way. That has a tendency to open a lot of doors, you know."

"I guess..." Dawn frowns, lost in her own thoughts. "I don't think I'll be much different with fame though."

"Perhaps not. But there's always opportunities on the horizon." She nudges Dawn Star on the shoulder. "You yourself already serve on the Princess's court. Certainly, after assisting in such an important mission, even if fame is not your own goal, you'd have the ear of many a pony. That can be helpful in whatever you should take up next."

Dawn Star nods a little, though seems somewhat uncertain. "Yeah… that seems to make sense."

"Humility is a virtue,” chimes Virtue, on her way back to the campfire. “She's also one of my cousins."

Azure's ears swivel about, followed by her face. "Ah! Yes, welcome back, Virtue."

Dawn Star waves. "Have a nice… um, whatever you were doing?"

"Freshening up," she insists, brightly. "I think the only pony who will suffer at court would be Moonlight, actually." Virtue considers where she lay, thoughtful. "I haven't actually asked, but do you think she is fully grown?”

Azure shakes her head. "I honestly cannot tell with that one, sometimes."

"She could just be small?” Dawn offers. “I know a few ponies that are."

"They normally look more... mature.” Virtue worries at her lip. “I worry that perhaps she did not have a proper upbringing, sometimes."

"And yet, she's shown to be most insightful at times, when it fancies her," Azure chuckles.

"From time to time, Dot Dash could be as well,” Virtue says, nodding. “I suppose we'll get to know her."

"Silver Shine as well... Hmm" She frowns, considering the sleeping pegasus.

"You mean Melody?" Dawn Star grins. Virtue giggles as well.

"Heh, yes, Melody, the most clandestine of the Royal Guard," Azure chuckles for a moment. "Yet… The attack in town was based in part due to... unsavory rumors about our traveling companion." She frowns again. "I wonder what of this is truth."

"I thought it best to avoid the temptation," says Virtue, looking to the fire. "It seems my defenses bore fruit."

Azure nods. "Perhaps as... Melody warms up to the group, she'll feel more comfortable to tell us the nature of her ‘accounting’. Such that we needn't jump to conclusions."

"I can't imagine where Sir Blueblood may have drawn her from.Somepony with such skills is certainly valuable…” Virtue taps her hoofcap on the ground. “Perhaps he did not expect me to reveal the task to you. I undertook that at my own discretion when I thought we were near."

Azure flexes her jaw idly. "True. For as much as we know, there still remain a number of questions."

Virtue nods. "Still, my lord did not offer any sort of warning… So I see no reason not to offer trust."

"Well, honesty is a virtue,” says Dawn with a smile. “Along with loyalty and kindness and a few others!"

"Also my uncle," muses Virtue. "The others aren't relatives. Yet."

"Indeed." Azure stretches and yawns. "But that's for another day, for myself. Think I'll join our friends there." She nods to Dawn Star and Virtue. "Don't hold back on my account."

"Oh! Yeah…” Dawn catches Azure’s yawn. “I might too. Maybe."

"Good night, Azure," Virtue calls, preparing herself for bed.

Azure Charger tucks in on her sleeping pad and starts nodding off."...nigh~"

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
Sooo yeah. The herd didn’t actually solve the mystery of Rambling Ridge like the GM had intended.

GM: ...well.
GM: Okay.
GM: The orrory's riddle was supposed to be the main hint.
GM: "-and nothing that flies is what it seems."
Azure: LIGHTNING GLASS
Virtue: so my error was in thinking this was part of a long term plot :D
Azure: ^
Moonlight: ...I thought that too.
GM: ha ha ha ha
Virtue: "Clearly, guys, the GM is more clever than we think he is."
Moonlight: I mean the thing was owned by Cell, I figured the riddle was gonna come into play over in Griffonland.
Virtue: "He won't prove us wrong at that point!"
GM: It might yet.
GM: ^_^
GM: But-
GM: It's true though. Silver Shine wasn't what he seemed due to a disguise.
GM: The thief obviously wasn't since they looked like Silver.
GM: Lightning Glass is up to something.
Azure: and Azure is ragingly straight.
GM: I was going to say "Azure puts shields between herself and others."
GM: But yeah, sure. We could do this the tasteless way. :|

We mistakenly assumed that this was a longer-running plot thread. But luckily, once the GM saw how badly we wanted to figure things out, he took pity and allowed us a second chance to turn around and solve this mystery, via a combination of a certain pony’s talents, and a certain item in their possession.
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%