Sweeper smiled at Summer, pleased that the soldier finally broke her silence. Must be the shy type she thought. She continued, "Thank you er… Officer? What is your rank? In any case, dear Winds, I am so glad that you asked that question. My sister Thea was equally confused, but she didn't want any clarification." She paused for a moment to fix some damaged links in her armor.
"There. As for the Braid, it was the result of a battle between Scroll and I and some nasty bunch a bandits hours ago…" She went into a chattering babble of the fight. "…We took a good many weapons from them, but the braid belonged to the gang's leader. After all, it was her most important possession." She put the "spoil" back in the makeshift saddlebag.
"Your armor is all set," she said. Indeed it was shinier and brighter than previously before. It somehow enhanced Summer's stature in many ways, invoking the image of a hero of a century ago. Sweeper stared at her hoofwork and grinned. "Now that's done, would you happen to have any cake? Oh, and how did you end up with my sister Ami?"
The two pegasi relaxed after Torrential was done speaking. They had worried he would summon up a storm, or flood the land even more so. But when he made his intentions clear, the fear lessened and they looked with interest as Torrential purified the lake. "Huh, never seen any pony walk on water before," said Tail to herself. "But then again, what did I expect? He's master of it after all." Already they saw some change - the water below the alicorn's hoofs seemed to become clearer, bluer even. But Dancer wondered if it was her imagination causing the water to change color.
Tail was already up and got a cloth from her saddlebag. "Should have been careful - I ended up messing up Lord Rain's protection," she said, a bit of sadness in her voice.
Not looking away from the spectacle, Dancer replied "Like the rains and water, I'm sure the Master Torrential rules over the mud. Or at least, that's what I can tell from the stories. I don't think he minds."
After a bit, Snow tail had gotten the outfit cleaned, and much to her surprise, far better than a mere rag could have done. "Oh, of course, the Lady's blessing," she said. "I keep forgetting how subtle the effects are." She tossed the cleaning cloth on a nearby branch. "Well, we better set up camp - Torrential is probably going to take all eveing and then some."
Dancer nodded, and looked around. There wasn't much - old decayed trees, mud on the ground. And surviving structures not flooded had rotten away. She grimaced at the sight. "I never did camp out in a swamp before. What about you?" she joked.
Tail took out a tarp from her bag, and some rope. She began setting up a shelter. "About a year ago during the Froggy Bottom Bog campaign. I can tell you that was the wettest and muddiest mission I have ever been on, even after wandering in Lord Water's storms."
"Really, where you fighting against Everfree?"
"Nope, we were fighting for Everfree… long story that." They did not notice the arrival of the Stormwing soldiers.
Lens continued to rap on the doorknocker at intervals, but waited patiently. She was hoping that the Sweeper acolyte wasn't mistaken. As strange as Lily appeared, she was clearly a skilled enough plumber. And if the conversation about the Waterworks contraption the Mission was setting up was any indication, she had training in engineering. Lightwing is too arrogant to see such details. Ms. Lily is no fool nor a loon if she can work at that skill level. She's quite intelligent, if not to our standard - she had at least some higher education. I wonder how such a mare ended up in Sweeper's cult wandering the land?
After several minutes, the door to the mansion opened. It was dark inside, with only the cracks of the shutters letting any light in. Greeting her was a stallion clad in a lab outfit, covered in red. She simply blinked at the sight, unfazed, and took a look at the stallion's face - it matched the descriptions they had of the Talent. Smiling she gave a short and bow and entered. The door closed. She could hear in the shadows the slow breathing of some… thing? They were not alone, that was for sure, but what she could not tell. I must tread carefully, or this could prove difficult. I need his cooperation, and not a pile of corpses .
"Greetings, good stallion. I am Doctor Glorious Solar Lens, officially of the Manehatten Research Institute." Her horn glowed a light orange, somewhat matching her horn and coat. From her blouse she floated a business card, noting her name and place of employment. "And I'm here to discuss the mater of a business arrangement… perhaps even a partnership."