Snow Tail grinned at bewildered Storm. "Glad to see you're alright." Snow went over to a log, and lay on it. "As I said last time, my name is Snow Tail, agent for Joy's Legions, and… well it's going to be a long story, so I suggest you sit and rest. I know I could use it."
Tail wondered how the Trooper would react - Joy Celeste Flutterbird was once notable officer in the Stormwing military. But she got herself caught up in the internal politics of the system, earning the wrath of one of the powerbrokers. It was rather complicated, but it lead to a court martial. Usually this spelled dishonor and the fate of a wingless fanatic. But Joy knew how to play politics well enough, and had impressed the brass with her victories. As such, she and her wing was discharged and temporary exiled instead, or so the official report would say. [i] That was about ten years ago, but I'm not sure if Storm has any links to the retired Commander that Joy had pissed off. [/i]
"Well, in addition to my job as a sellsword, I am also a servant of the Lady Sliver Sweeper, Chambermaid of the Alicorns, and Custodian of this Plane in Matters Clean. That other alicorn you saw fighting on the lake is one of the Lady's brothers, which another mare and I are escorting. Torrential is his name, and it's best not to piss him off. The last pegasus that did ended up in the worse shape I've ever seen, more so than my time in captivity.
"Torrential was here to clean up the foul lake, but it seems that the Laughing Cult had some sort of influence in this area - the dead walking and the appearance of the Laughing Mare, which we just saw. The Master of the Rains seemed to have taken care of that… though stay away from the corpses for the time being. I'd recommend to your commander to burn the bodies.
"I don't know what exactly happened myself what happened in the end. I was wrestling with one of those ghouls, but I think Torrential used his magic… and well, that's where at now." Tail flexed her back legs, reminiscent of a cat. "So any more questions, or is there any pony out there we need to look for too? It would be odd for a patrol to be conducted by a single trooper."