=A Light Bulb for the Blind {right. I'm sorry. Silvern's flank.}

November 13

Scintillance made his way down a street in the under market, exhausted from spending so late a night at the rebellion meeting. Scintillance trotted closer to an opening among the buildings, where a tunnel entrance appeared. He barely bothered to look around, and check if he was followed; it's probably perfectly normal for ponies to walk in and out of these tunnels, and he's pretty sure he's practically unknown among these ponies, heck, Manehattan in general.

Lighting his horn up, Scintillance started to look for the enchanted notes Shade and Ferrous left for him throughout the tunnels. But finding them in plain sight was too ridiculous a plan; no, each note would seek his magic out, causing a flash of light, when his own burst of light would go off.. he'd have the easiest time finding each one out.

Most rebels were already gone for several minutes when Silvern Gleam exited the building. For a moment she stood in front of the door, contemplating the result of the discussion she had just lead with the rebellion leaders. All in all... it was acceptable, if not even to the rebellion's advantage, if Stellar agreed to job. Pulling herself out of the thoughts, Sil began her walk home with a quick step. She didn't feel tired, not at all, not after the events of the evening. Suddenly there was a rebellion... There was a lot to do, a lot to think about, for example did she have magical training for the rebels to plan. Time to get home and start with the preparations.

She knew the way by heart and was paying little attention to the tunnels before her, her focus constantly wandered around in search for nothing specific and everything. From time to time her horn gave a short glow when she used her necklace to improve her sight range, just to make sure there was nopony following her, but eventually she didn't need it to find something that caught her interest. A spell was set off, out of her standard sight range, but strong enough for her to notice anyway. It was only there for a moment, and it wasn't really that unusual to see some spell work, but there was one odd thing: Sil didn't know any tunnels in the direction she had felt the magic in. There shouldn't be any tunnels! She lived down here for years now, she knew the area by heart, there was nothing where this spell had come from but earth and rocks! Sure enough, Sil had to investigate. Her horn lit up, for several long seconds this time, as she was scanning her environment for any changes she didn't know of, unsuccessful at first, but after some time she found one of the tunnels that shouldn't exist and traced it successfully back to the spot where to enter it.

Only a few meters from the direction she had come from was a hole in the wall. She had walked straight past it without noticing. Being used to missing something she wasn't particularly upset about it and simply tried to make up for the time she had lost by the search and galloped along the unfamiliar path, her focus now constantly on the tunnel and its walls. Soon enough she came to an intersection, but before she took a guess she felt a spell again. Or was it THE spell? Could have been the same... Anyway, left way! The source of the magic had been nearer this time, possibly near enough for her to see with the help of the amulet. And yes, for a moment she had a pony in barely range. She still had to get nearer if she wanted to find out more, but with closing distance she had to be careful, she couldn't go full speed anymore without being heard, but she didn't think that was needed anyways. Whoever it was she was following, he or she apparently wasn't in a hurry. The spell was activated again, this time near enough for Sil to actually examine. Well, not really examine, after a second it was already gone again, but a short impression was enough to send a warm feeling through her. That was only a simple light spell, that she recognized instantly, but... it was beautiful. Light spell... beautiful? That would be the first unicorn to manage that, usually the spell was boring and nothing more, but this one was different. All the more reason to find out more about it.

A quick look around with her amulet again revealed the caster to be somepony she recognized, it was that stallion who had called her Madame Custard. That had been a little weird, and once again her interest in this whole ordeal grew. A moment later, Sil noticed that he wasn't really the caster of that spell. She was now close enough that only one turn was between the two unicorns, Sil wouldn't get much nearer than that, but she was near enough to notice the... "artifact" lying ahead, with another flash of her necklace. She was too far away to tell what it was - apart from "probably a flash of light" -, but she noticed the compact structure. The carrier for this was small, not exactly meant to hold a spell, but whoever had produced it apparently knew how to deal with that. Sil hid behind the corner, her own magic completely inactive for now. All the looking around had cost her a good part of her reserves, she had to be spare with her magic and was relatively near already anyway. Her focus on the stallion she waited for something to happen, she was sure that he would activate the artifact when he reached the next junction, this simply seemed so much like a trail left behind for somepony, probably him.

For a moment she thought about where this was leading. Sil didn't think he was simply on his way home, the trail made it very unlikely. Or it was a new home, so that he didn't remember the way yet. Or he was to meet with somepony. That sent some worries through her mind, what if he was a spy? No, that was a silly thought. She was relatively sure that this rebellion was founded almost one the spot without any planning, a trail leading a spy to a rendezvous point would have required previous knowledge of it. Or would it? Stop fantasizing, she scolded herself and got her concentration back on the stallion.

((ERMAGERD. WARLL. ORF. TERXT.))

Scintillance couldn't help but feel a slight headache coming around, certainly not from his light spell... no, this conjuration is among his most basic, he could hold it for hours! well actually, he never tested that, so who is he to talk? hold up he ain't the one talking here... well, the headache sure didn't get any better in this interval of text. probably came around from spending nearly a full night awake and discussing things with (mostly) smart, intellectual and rebellious ponies. He hopes. he's had enough weird things like this mentally affecting him with no apparent source, whatsoever. nah, the rebel meeting seems like a pretty good sou-I should stop yammering and get on with the story.

yeah, that's a good idea. So, there goes Scint, down the tunnel, orb of light floating by his side, as he makes his way to his first fork in the tunnel. Lance certainly didn't know the way, but Lance and Scrapper sure did, and so did his sticky notes.

Scintillance giggled, a little, as he began his spell. drawing light from his surroundings, he pulled it in and compressed it into one focal point; the light orb he had conjured. a few moments later, when he believed it was ready, rather than simply letting go of the orb causing the light to escape naturally, Scint forced the light outwards in a burst of scattering light; harmless, but quite luminous, lighting up the cave, and supposedly triggering a note...

...and so it did. the tunnel leading to the right suddenly, as well as clearly, burst into a brighter light compared to the tunnel to the left, and even held that light for near three seconds, its source being a sticky note that had been stuck onto the cave ceiling.

Looking up, Scintillance thought to himself aloud, "... how the heck did he manage that?!" using his telekinesis, Lance floated the note back down, and slipped it into one of the pockets on his duster. "oh right. Shade's with him, DUH!" Lance laughed to himself, and started trotting down the tunnel. By George, the guy's too cheerful. >_>

A smile wandered over Silvern's face as her involuntary guide played around with his light. The enchantment was his work, it felt like the spell he was actively casting. And it both felt good. She had to get nearer! In the silence of the tunnels Sil had no difficulty understanding what he said, but when he continued his way and Sil followed him, she had to be extremely careful, for her steps could be heard just as easily. As before, she stayed one corner behind, still out of sight in case he noticed her and able to run if necessary.

Scintillance was already starting to get bored. it's only been a few monents since he's entered these tunnels, and it was just... so quiet. as he kept his trot, he pulled a flute from his duster, and twirled ii in one hoof, leaving himself in a bit of an awkward three-hoof limp, and started to whistle. to himself. Moments later, he facehooves, and starts playing a soft tune on the flute, filling the silent tunnels with the echo of his notes. worst. resident ninja. ever.

Arriving at another split-way zone, Lance repeated his earlier light-burst spell, and located the next tunnel to follow, removing a note from the side of the wall, and adding it to his pocket, all without breaking his concentration on the flute, and continued his trot, with a renewed smile in his eyes. not that his stalker would see it, but eh. he was happy. again. sorta.

Another artifact was activated, the stallion picked it up as he had done before and continued this way. When Sil followed, she was unable to locate the next waypoint. And soon enough, the stallion was out of sight, even his light source eventually wasn't near enough to sense anymore. Only the sound of his flute revealed his presence to her, which was still enough to lead her - pretty careless for somepony following a probably secret trail. But it was his magic that interested her, among some other things like the very existence of those tunnels; Finally she gave up on staying so far behind and closed in again, trying her best to stay silent, but she felt uncomfortable with not being hidden. He would only have to turn around and would see her standing not even ten meters away. Finally being this close however gave Sil a very detailed look on his spells. It was still only light, for the blind unicorn a most useless spell, but there was more to it. Too complicated for simply providing light, or was it? Right now it didn't do anything more, that much Sil could tell, the question was if this spell could do more than that when the stallion wanted. Trying to figure it out, she didn't notice the rock sticking out of the earth they were walking on, while her hoof did a good job in finding it. It didn't cause her to stumble, she was perfectly used to random objects lying in her way and as long as she didn't go fast she quickly adjusted her step. Then she froze and gulped heavily, an uneasy expression on her face and her focus directed at the stallion again, not his spell. Sure, she didn't stumble, but a hoof connecting with a rock certainly made a clearly audible sound...

Scintillance was trotting in a rhythmical fashion, and playing his flute to the beat. that is, until some fifth hoof knocked the beat out of rhythm. Lance stopped in his tracks, and slipped his flute back into his duster. "so somepony cared enough to stalk me? I'm touched." Scintillance released his grip on his light-orb, allowing the light to partially escape into the dark, before he caught it once more in his special light-telekinesis spell. He reshaped what was once an orb of light, into his signature weapon, the Martyr.

Lance turned around, and noticed a yellow blot in the dark, too far for his light to reach, and yet, still partially covered by the darkness. unfortunately, yellow's a pretty outstanding color, even in the dark. Scintillance started trotting towards this mysterious Gamboge, the light from his weapon creeping before him, at his pace, slowly but surely reaching towards the pony. "So, are we going to have a nice chat, or am I going to run at you screaming unhappy noises until one of us regrets picking a fight today?"

With growing unease Sil watched the light spell taking the shape of what definitely was a weapon. Disabling it was hardly possible, not without studying the spell for at least a while, the only thing she could do is throw his magic a little off when he attacked. And he seemed a little too skillful to achieve much by that. She slowly backed away, not able to keep herself from shivering slightly. It was only a small relief wen the stallion offered a choice, who knew if he really meant it? Um, the chat please, she answered nervously. He would definitely ask why she was following him. What should she tell him? Her reasons weren't all that bad, his magic was interesting and deserved some attention, but she didn't want to tell him about her talent. Curiosity about where he was going was a bad possibility, that would only raise his suspicions even more. Only one more thing to chose. I... I didn't mean to spy on you, I got curious about those tunnels. I live down here for a long time and I haven't noticed them before so... I've used you as involuntary guide. Sorry, she tried to explain awkwardly.

Scintillance instantly dissolved his weapon upon recognizing the voice... She was a common speaker at the earlier Q'n'A of the rebellion. "Madame Mu-uh... um... huh... never really got your name..." Shade would probably never forgive Lance if he lead any pony to their hide out, voluntary or otherwise. but... there wasn't much Lance could do to get rid of her. she was curious, obviously, and turning her away would probably have her come back... and if he knew Shade, she wouldn't be so kind as to let this mare walk away without a possible cut to the throat. Lance couldn't risk that.

Lance re-conjured his light orb, to provide a little sight once more. Exhaling a sigh, Scintillance figured that he could take her, but he'll have to turn her away once the trip is done. By all rights, He's just showing her a way to his home, and that's something even a foal can do with risking his own death... right? alright then.

question at hand though, this mare brought up an interesting point... She didn't notice the tunnels? well, I'm not sure if I can say why you couldn't notice the tunnels before now... an illusion spell, perhaps? nah... maybe they're new... oh I know! I've been brought down here into the undermarket by a diamond dog by the name of "Onyx," somewhat earlier... well, yesterday. I suppose he only recently got to dig up these caves?"

The weapon seemed to be the only thing that made Silvern Gleam nervous, the moment it dissolved she relaxed remarkably, showing a polite smile and closing the distance between them instead of slowly retreating. When this stallion was willing to chat, that was really all that was needed to put Sil at ease. And he seemed friendly enough, though possibly a little weird. But as was normal when she was around ponies she didn't know, she scanned the ground for obstacles with her hoof before every step, to make it a little more believable that she was blind. My name is Silvern Gleam, she made sure that he wouldn't have to call her 'Madame Custard' again. His theory about the tunnels was accepted with a nod. Onyx, that's right, he probably dug those. But he seems new in town, and if all those other tunnels aren't dead ends this is a large network already. I have no clue about how fast diamond dogs are, but if he made this on his own, I'm impressed. Before breaching the stallion's personal space Sil stopped and threw a curious expression at him. So, what's your name?

Scintillance noticed How Silvern hoofed around, seeing as much in the light as she did in the dark, if not less... turning his gaze to her eyes, he was almost mesmerized by them... though they lacked color, they were resplendent still... He had to snap himself out of the allure. Scintillance DiCanterlot Charmer, Pleasure to meet you on more formal terms, Silve! Lance almost chuckled on his name. It's quite the mouthful, I know, so most ponies call me Lance. or Scint. or Scinti. Or... Lancey-Wancey... he shuddered, remembering his most horrid pet-name...

remembering that he had yet to finish his trek through the tunnels, he started to turn, slightly, before making his assumption. "must be freighting, not to see as most ponies do?" He hoped he wasn't too blunt, and if he wasn't, it wouldn't be as bad if he guessed wrong. well, probably not sound as bad. He started to slip into a nervous expression, worrying how bad of an idea it was to point out that she at the very least suggested to appear to be blind...

I was born blind, didn't have much of a chance to be frightened about it. I'd probably be frightened if I suddenly was able to see, Sil replied shruggingly, a slight smirk on her face. May I ask if theres a special reason why you came to Manehatten, Lancey-Wancey? Hir smirk grew a bit. Payback for Madame Custard. Of course, only if you don't mind telling.

Lance cringed at the nick-name; he immediately regretted mentioning it. Well, I came to look for the rebels, actually. this night, I found them, but... there's more now...

Lance resumed his trot down the tunnels, eyeing another split path ahead, this time leading in three directions. I found somepony important, and with her learned that I lost another... Scintillance re-cast his light-burst spell, triggering another on the path to the left. and, well, I've got two purposes now. the first, helping the rebels. Lance gazed down the path that lead straight, and turned away from it to where the note lit up on the left. he pulled it down as it dimmed its light. The second... is vengeance. Lance's tone seemed nearly emotionless, but his sad eyes suggested otherwise.

Freedom and vengeance, I suppose most of our fellow rebels have the same ambitions, Sil replied as she walked besides Scintillance. It was pretty much the same for her, though she didn't have a particular griffon to exact revenge on, only their kind in general. Arriving at another junction, the main reason for following Lance was brought to Sil's mind again. From close distance, his spells were perfectly clear to her, but unfortunately they didn't stay for long, as usual. She didn't know much yet, basically only two things. One: The spells were both well constructed. The enchantment was a little cramped due to the unusual carrier - seriously, a small slip of paper? Stuff it with too much energy and your "artifact" burns itself! But, it didn't burn up, which required quite some precision on the caster's part. The spell next to Lance on the other hoof was simply beautiful. Okay, Sil used that term actually every time she saw a spell that was linked with the special talent, those tended to be masterworks. Still, this one was standing out even more, Scintillance definitely was more than the average spellcaster.
The second thing she had found out was that he also had quite large reserves in terms of magic. From what little she she knew so far, he had created those breadcrumbs relatively short time ago, and was not appearing to have trouble keeping the magic going in the slightest.
In short: Sil was impressed. A fact that showed in her expression for a moment after the artifact was activated, before she caught herself again and simply continued smiling friendly. She still didn't want to tell him about the magic sight, but she was intrigued enough to push the topic a bit in the right direction. As I said during the meeting, I'm planning on offering some magic training. Would you have interest in that? It doesn't really matter how good you already are, there's usually always something that could be improved. Not to mention new spells.

Magic training, huh..?
Scintillance was once a student of magic, but when he's gone into isolation, he's managed to forget practically everything he's learned. Even without what knowledge that school had taught him, he seemed to have managed well enough with solely the magic his cutiemark had given him. extra lessons in magic may not necessarily aid him as much as they should.

I think...- Lance's orb sparked for a moment, before its light dimmed slightly, and flickered back to its original level of radiance. Lance frowned at his spell; he could feel that he's pushing his reserves. He couldn't hold these spells forever, and these were no simple unicorn tricks: advanced levels of telekinesis, capable of holding light itself, requiring much more focus than he really gave into the conjurations, and which normally drain an average unicorn to their fumes within seconds. Even Scintillance -though he's made tremendous progress with his ability- would still have to worry about running out of energy, especially during a vital moment of battle. Perhaps some training is in order, if it would help him maintain his spells like he needed to. and new spells? Well, there's always some use to various techniques; anything is a weapon, if you use a little creativity.

I think... When do we start? Scintillance offered Silvern what smile he could muster after witnessing his own spell waver. I'm not as good as you might assume, I've yet to really master my own special talent! Scintillance had to scorn himself, looking at the mare's flank at the verbal suggestion of a cutie mark, but then noticed a rather peculiar aspect about his companion, though it seemed rather blurred, it was far too reminiscent to ignore... Is your cutie mark... your own amulet!? Holy sweet Celestia, I've only ever heard of such a thing from the elements of harmony!

Yes, my cutie mark is my... Wait a second, you can see my amulet? Sil's hoof rushed up to her scarf, or where it should have been, but felt her necklace instead. It's cover apparently had loosened itself enough to hang a little lower than usual. An error that was quickly fixed - manually and without magic - but how long had it been like this? Had it been visible during the meeting? Hopefully not.
Normally I try to avoid others seeing it, but since it already happened... it is a magical artifact, she said sighingly. At least it hadn't been a griffon this time, most likely no damage was done. Not quite as powerful as the elements, but still very helpful. Actually, without it I wouldn't have been able to follow you this easily.
The faltering spell didn't go unnoticed, but without comment. Apparently he was nearing his limits, but nopony had unlimited amounts of magic. Scintillance certainly had enough, and most likely there was room for improvement. There always was. As for the training, I want to get started as soon as possible, but I need to get word out first. I expect to have posters by tomorrow, then it's a question of how many interested unicorns read them. If you come by the HQ from time to time, you won't miss it.
Or, since you're probably showing me the way to your home at the moment, I could come by and keep you informed, she added after a short thought.

Home... rather, "home." makeshift home. Like his first, like his second, like his third, Celestia knows how long this one would last. this time he's sharing it... and there's two ponies waiting to see him arrive. Shade... will not like that He's bringing an unknown mare to their "secret" location... and Scrapper's probably going to leave some snarky comment about him making "going too fast" or something. Huh... I suppose... Whoa there, bud, quit ogling.

so... uh... what exactly does your amulet do? must be quite something special, since it's modeled after your cutie mark...

thoughts came around to realize, Silvern just suggested to come back to these tunnels, to his hideout. that is absolutely not what he needed. No, Silve, you can't be coming through these tunnels to find me... ever heard of the roommate complex? of course not, I just made that up. well, i think I made it up. anyway, I have roommates, and they're not as friendly as I am. One of them may not even give you a chance to talk before you're already dead. don't come through here from time to time...

Silvern stopped in her tracks as Scintillance told her about his roommates. Sounds like a nice bunch... I think I don't want to risk running into them for now. Needless to say that such "friends" caused some suspicion. But Scintillance seemed happy, friendly, and somewhat weird, and certainly not like somepony who would hang out with mindless brutes. Besides, Sil preferred keeping the location of her home a secret as well, and there were traps in place to protect it that were able to kill ponies. They were mostly meant to kill griffons, but that which killed one of those birdbrains normally also killed a pony. So far there hadn't been incidents she regretted, but she couldn't judge Scintillance friends because of them keeping their home a secret. And, Scintillance had told her freely, which probably only helped Sil's trust into him grow a bit.
My amulet supports my special talent, she began answering his question. As you can probably guess from the shape, it's a means of perception. With the amulet I can increase the range in which I "see". And the reason I followed you is actually a bit more than what I told you. She paused for a moment, making a decision she wasn't entirely sure about. Before I say more, please know that I want to keep my abilities a secret. So, please don't go and tell your friends "Hey, I've met a unicorn who can see magic."

Scintillance nodded to Silve, before reshaping his orb of light back into his martyr. I can understand that. My special talent can be considered a serious threat to the griffins. They've been trying ever so hard to ensure nopony has any weapons on him. And look at me, here, I'm a one-pony arsenal. Lance's weapon burst, causing another light-wave, and activating yet another note as the path lead right. if word goes out about a pony who can never be fully disarmed, I'm in trouble. So, your secret's safe with me, in terms of gossip. We're sort of in the same boat, if you mean you can do something "dangerous."
Lance pulled the note off the wall, and slipped it into his pocket with the rest. Gee, scraps, how many of these did you put up..? So, your amulet lets you see like a normal pony would?"

Definitely not. I don't really know what seeing is like, but I suspect it to be entirely different. My ability is to sense magic, and actually I'm somewhat drawn to it. That's the reason I followed you, I noticed your spell and... well, I wanted to get near so that I can have a better look, Sil replied sheepishly. And as I said, the amulet increases my range. She sat down, indicating that she didn't plan to follow him any further. She had no intention to run into ponies who might kill her on sight. Since you're new in town you probably don't have a secure income yet. With your skills, I might be able to offer you a job. How much do you know about artifacts?

Scintillance noticed that Silvern stopped to sit, and turned back to sit facing her. I suppose a little break wouldn't hurt. Being offered a job, Scintillance took the notion into consideration. Artifacts, huh? you mean, enchantments? Sure, I know a thing or few. Heck, I even make my own enchantments on a frequent basis. Those notes you've seen me light up? I made those myself. but these were made so that only I can trigger them. the ones I normally make are designed as traps; meant to set off by the natural magic given off by living things. So... yeah, I know enough about artifacts to make my own enchantments, if that counts for what you mean?

That's exactly what I need, Sil answered grinningly. Maybe with some training he could even assist her directly in casting. It had been a long time since Sil had somepony to give her the magic the needed to cast powerful spells, probably she would need the training herself to get into it again. But even if it wouldn't work out, Scintillance still had the skills to help her greatly. Creation and modification of enchantments, that's basically what I'd need you to do. And I can assure that there aren't any taxes on the income. Sound interesting to you?

Very! Lance exclaimed, the put over a hoof over his mouth when he noticed the echo he made run through the tunnels. If Shade and Ferrous were around, they heard him. and so would any other "intruding" pony, or worse, griffon. ...Too loud, Sorry. well, I think it's important to mention that right now, the only enchantment I've ever really made are those light-flash traps. All I know is how to take a spell, and make it "trigger-able" through an inanimate object-an artifact-but frankly, I'm limited on the spells I know... but that comes in with your magic lessons, huh?

Don't worry about spells just yet, first I'll turn your understanding of magic upside down, Sil replied, grinning in anticipation, before standing up. But not now. Anything planned for the 15th?
Today is the 13th, she added, not sure if Scintillance kept track of the date.

Two days from now? well, I practically don't have any plans for now, other than whatever the Rebellion needs at the moment... well, that, and... well, that's a suicide mission until I can get some real griffon intel. Scintillance held a hoof out to Silvern, Silve, you have yourself deal!

Good. Meet me in the HQ, eight in the morning, Sil replied, shaking his hoof, then stood up. I'll let you be on your way now. Seems your reserves are running low. She felt Scintillance's spell slowly destabilizing, a clear sign that he didn't have very much power left. Since he might have some way left to go, it wasn't a good idea to let him spend so much on providing light. See you in two days, she said, and began her walk home. The third time since she had left it yesterday, but she couldn't say that she wasn't glad about those interruptions. First a rebellion, and now an assistant, not too bad for a night that hadn't been supposed to be anything special at all.
Suddenly she turned around again. Oh, one more thing: No word about my occupation as well. Bye!