Unaware of the predicament Natra and Luna found themselves in, Starcrasher took a few steps in the direction of the rocks the Captain had bowled the Reptan into, though was in fact thinking clearly enough not to get too close to avoid getting pulled into the fight.

Remembering her lessons, she tried to cast a spell on a small stone a little further ahead, trying to get a feel for how her spells would best be able to resist the effects of the mists long enough to keep working. If she had managed a crude form of control without knowing what she was doing earlier, then it should be fairly easy now that she was armed with such knowledge. Maybe a levitation spell with a layer of dispelling around it to shield it from the other dispelling spell the mists had been infused with? It was worth a try.

The Camahueto was quick to dodge the barrage, tumbling backward and then, upon landing, rolling to the side to avoid another couple shots. She took off like a light into the foliage, ready to kill or die. The dart Reptan was her number one priority. They had already shown themselves useless on Luna's hide. Natra could not boast such an impervious coat (Yet another reason for her to view Luna as the goddess she wasn't) and so worried for her own skin. Close range... she needed to close distance between herself and that blow gun. Far away, Natra knew blowguns were dangerous things. It wasn't like her own folk didn't use darts for ambush... in fact they were quite fond of them...

But a dart took time to reload, to prepare with poisons, to aim gently down the tube so as not to miss that valuable shot. Every inch she would have made closer to a trained dart blower would be an inch they knew they didn't feasibly have the time or convenience to ignore. If the target got to close, only the most stupid dart blowers would try to lose another shot. Natra closed on the Reptan goon quickly. She wanted to end this now!

Luna had little use for her battle instincts of late. Even so, they hadn't become as rusty as Merriweather. Having led a revolt against the most powerful mare in recent history, Luna was more than versed in various forms of combat - though she'd never faced a Reptan before, she easily understood the premise of weapons.

With the creature lunging in with a one-handed hack at her horn, Luna was put instantly on the defensive, but it was a position she could handle well enough. Using her wings in a swift downdraft, Luna sprang a couple steps-length backwards, causing the slash to fall short, Rearing to the left, she raised her wings out of the way and launched into a powerful gallop around  her attacker's right side, aiming to elude a second slash on the reverse of the jagged blade while angling her head down, and sweeping it up and in toward her attacker's side, her horn sweeping so as to catch him with its powerful edge and flip him into the air, unless he managed to escape it.

Starcrasher would find that, with Twilight's tutelage well in mind, she'd have a much easier time of handling herself in the odd atmosphere of magical disruption in the area.  Before she'd been able to instinctively feel out how she could get some measure of success, but now with being able to properly figure out how the magic was being affected, she'd manage things much easier.  It would still take a bit of effort to get it just right, but she could cast her spells reliably all the same.

To his merit though, it didn't seem like Captain Equinox really needed the help.  He wasn't a Captain for nothing, after all.  The Royal Guard sported some of the most valiant and imposing Ponies in the kingdom, and he ranked highly amongst them.  The Reptan was a swift scrapper but was not holding its own against the skilled rushes and strikes of an armored opponent.  Even though it kept on getting back up, the Reptan was spending far more time getting bucked flat into the earth over and over again with every attack.  The Bat Pony had little trouble trouncing his foe all across the courtyard.

Meanwhile, over in the other part of the ruins, the other Reptans were not faring well either.  They didn't realize how badly outmatched they were and, like so many other wild species out there, heavily underestimated Ponies.  Luna was far swifter than the Reptan Leader and could duck away from his broad swings with little effort on her part -- his attacks with that nasty looking blade were driven by raw power and had absolutely no finesse.  Each missed swing left deep gouges in the stone or sent up a flurry of sparks into the air.  Their power would be absolutely devastating if they actually managed to hit, but Luna was in little danger of being struck unless she absolutely fumbled over herself.  As the Princess exercised more skill than the Reptan had, she managed to sweep him up easily enough and leave him thudding down heavily onto his back.  Before she could press the advantage he swept his free hand across the ground and tossed a handful of loose gravel and dirt up into Luna's face -- he had no qualms with fighting dirty, after all.

Natra would have much the same situation on her hooves as well.  The smaller Reptan kept her moving as he fired dart after dart; he was remarkably swift with them and seemed to be able to use his serpentine tongue to assist in handling the dart loading.  But there was no room to shoot when forced into close quarters, though the Camahueto would find her opponent no less dangerous without his blow gun to help.  As she rushed to close with him he simply abandoned using the darts entirely, instead lashing out with his razor sharp claws.  Compared to the leader this Reptan was far quicker and more nimble, but lacked a lot of muscle power as well.  It was difficult to keep up with its flurry of strikes though as they raked through the air one after another, seeking to keep the Camahueto's sharp horn at bay or slash across her flesh.

A backflip in mid-stride was the only way the first barrage of claws didn't open Natra up like a fish. Her cloven forehooves dug into the ground as she landed and then inverted out of the way, landing wobbly on her hind legs first and ducking under another attack via claw. It wouldn't be convenient to use her horn just yet, not enough room for those long, arcing slashes that only Camahueto really had the horns for. Instead she slammed into him with her flank to knock him off balance and went in, correctly directing herself toward him, horn and claw striking a couple times as they squared off at high speeds.

And she knew then instantly that THIS was what she was destined to do. She'd always been a strong fighter and ample acrobat. Her whole life in the tribe had been set to finding trouble and stopping it. Her very cutie mark called for survival. As a stray claw brushed along her she felt the sting of the cut, rolling aside just barely in time to get out of the way of a much more deadly strike. A growl showed her razor sharp teeth. Ponies were made for civilization. Camahueto had the plus of literally being evolved for battle. The fact that Reptans came from deserts and Natra from jungles meant that all the trees around them gave Natra a clear upper hand. Trees were her playground. Natra and her kind had played climbing games back home all the time, the only being to make sure nopony else was in the Tree. Natra was a champion at that sort of game. She wondered if the Reptan she fought could climb a tree even half as well as she. If it got dicey she'd press distance and fall back to classical Camahueto guerrilla combat... So many places to disappear and reappear.

The regal mare staggered back as the Reptan flung dirt and sand from the ground into her eyes. They stung sharply, and even she couldn't shake the effects easily. She'd been prevented from closing in and eliminating the threat, rearing up and back, and slamming both forehooves into the ground, making the earth around her rumble, and throwing off the Reptan's effort to get back to his feet, as Luna turned her head, horn alighting as she endeavored to breeze the particles from her eyes via magical focus -  It didn't stop the stinging, but at least she could open them again, watering now as they were, and reddened with the irritation.

Captain Equinox used his surroundings to a good advantage during the scuffle.  The Reptan was obviously quite overwhelmed with his opponent and didn't stand much a chance at all, so it came as no surprise when the Bat Pony finally finished things off by kicking the staggered enemy toward the stone that Starcrasher was levitating.  The Reptan's legs caught against the rock and it pitched over onto the ground, tripped to slam chin-first onto the stone with a dull 'whud!'  That was enough to firmly put it out cold and the Captain huffed as he flexed his wings.

"Alright, that takes care of that.  Come on." he waved Starcrasher along.  The sounds of battle coming from the other side of the ruins were impossible to miss, especially with Luna's royal voice booming out as it did.  That thug wasn't going anywhere for a while and now their companions needed help!

Meanwhile, Luna's efforts to keep the Reptan Leader away from her were much more effective than she really intended.  Her powerful stomp to the ground sent a rumble through the earth as the unstable stones quaked, splintering beneath her hooves.  The Leader couldn't press his advantage as he wheeled about to keep his balance, and the Reptan fighting with Natra lost its own footing as well.  A brief wobble and break in defense was all the opportunity the Camahueto would need; for a moment the Reptan's guard was wide open.  Her quick strikes landed and sent the beast toppling back clutching its marred chest -- its scales were amazingly thick and the wounds weren't deep as a result, but it was enough to take the fight out of the scuttling beast.

- "Wohoo, nice one!"

Starcrasher was visibly pleased as her actions played off in tripping up the Reptan, mostly thanks to the Captain having guessed what she was up to. Caught in the moment, she ran after Equinox to see what Luna had ran into. As they ran she looked around, expecting to see Luna any moment now, after all, when she had heard her shout she sounded really close by.

With her vision stinging but reclaimed, Luna wasted no time in capitalizing on the moment. She used her wings to launch into a low leap, extending both forehooves to slam the unstable Reptan to the dirt, trampling him down with both forehooves, as she turned to glance along toward Silver Crescent's approach.  "See these creatures detained at once, Captain." she ordered. "I don't suppose they've a connection to the poaching, but  they did attack royalty and those under my protection. You have done well." she smiled encouragingly to the captain, still casually pinning the Reptan to the ground.

- "Actually, yeah. The poacher was talking to a group of five of them, i thought the Thunderbird carried a couple off earlier so that leaves these..."

As she talked, Starcrasher looked around, adding the Reptans she could see here to the one defeated by Captain Equinox. The distance between where Luna was and where she thought she'd be was attributed to the mists altering the way a voice carried. It couldn't be anything other than that -- well, short of Luna using a PA system -- or magic, and the matter was quickly put aside.

- "...Three."

The Captain was a stoic fellow and not one to relish in celebration.  Both Starcrasher and Luna's praise, no matter how different in enthusiasm, were met simply with a curt nod before he got back to work.  Between Luna and Natra's magic, it was no trouble at all to tightly bind up the Reptans with thick vines, rendering them quite helpless as they were bundled up together.

"I would not be so quick to dismiss them, your Majesty.  Reptans are well-known for criminal activities when found outside their home region, and that they tried to ambush us at the scene of the crime speaks ill of their innocence." Captain Equinox advised.  He turned to the Reptans and glared sharply -- only the Leader refused to quail under his edged glare.  "Speak, criminal scum.  What were you doing here?"

The Reptan Leader did indeed speak up, but his language was nothing more than hisses and clicks that none present would recognize.  Of course, given the mocking smirk the Leader wore on his scaled face, it was likely whatever he said wasn't exactly helpful.  All the same, the Captain turned his attention back to Luna.  "I doubt he will be of much help to us.  Either way, we should send word to Canterlot and have these thugs arrested and deported."

Natra had aptly pinned down her respective opponent down by the time everything was "wrapped up." When the others approached to tie her foe down she stared cold at the leader who had fought Luna. Her sharp teeth bore in a hostile fashion. "One led." She pointed at the leader. "Talk Poocha"

She turned to Luna and gave her a look of uncertainty. She could understand that they didn't believe that there would be help in this, though she knew these to be the true enemies, the allies of that poacher. There was, for a time, a silent stare aimed at the Alicorn. Natra herself half expected the being to simply disappear now that her work was, more or less, done.

The Princess gave an affirming nod to the Captain after the brief interrogation. "I shall send immediately, then. Given the circumstances, we can hardly carry them all out on our own, and Ponyville is ill-suited to housing  offenders - I wouldn't wish the burden on them either." She paused, then closed her eyes. Her horn lit up, and it seemed to take a bit of doing, along with a sputtering of the glow about her horn...  odd, that, before a scrolled up bit of parchment materialized, hovering in midair - upon which enchanted self-luminescent silver ink began lettering the order and report of the situation.

Such it was that Natra had plenty of time to gape at the royal unnoticed, as she scrawled everything out briskly and efficiently, but legibly. notably, her written tone was still sharply more formal and antiquated than verbal, but it would get the job done. Once she was finished, she rolled the page up, and her horn flashed a brighter, green flame, devouring the parchment and casting it off in a wiff of smoke. Sister's Dragon-mail spell, of course, not that any of the others had seen it used before.

Luna rubbed a hoof to her temple as the glow died down, able to feel the tension behind her horn that Lotus had spoken of more sharply now, her channeling of magic now, after Lotus's careful work at releasing some of that pressure made it apparent now, to Luna, but be it actually palpable or just in he rhead, she felt it. The sensation wasn't particularly visible externally, aside from the momentary look of focus as she tried to rub out the subtle, physical-feeling headache a moment.

"There..." She chimed as she put he rhoof back to the stone flooring. "Reinforcements on the way to address this. I sent for enough to handle all three, and the pony, if we should need to arrest her. At this rate, there's solid evidence of wrongdoing, but we still need confirmation it is the one you claim, little one." she glanced to Starcrasher with a kind smile. "However,it will take them some time to arrive. Captain, your advice on what to do with these Reptans while we wait?"

Luna then turned her attention to their final companion, the... figure who had darted off into thee woods when she had first met with Twilight, and now, had arrived here. "And you... What is your part in all of this, exactly?"

A step back as, instead of disappearing, the Alicorn turned on Natra and asked her, "What is your part in all of this, exactly?" This was something, thankfully, that she understood... save for the last word but she didn't need the whole thing. She supposed it was as reasonable a question as any. There were questions that Nature set forth not because it lacked an answer but because it wanted to hear another speak it. Although that was more her rationalization of it than the truth of the matter, obviously.

"Natra Condu Natra Condu." She said simply, forgetting that her name was both designation and title. Upon the Elder naming her Nature's Conduit she had become Natra Condu. The two meant the same thing. Unlike Ponies, Camahueto didn't receive names until they got their cutie mark. It was, to them, like naming something that hadn't yet been given a name. Until their cutie mark every Camahueto foal was just "Young One" or "Little Kid" or some other youthful pet name that children were enamored of. "Natra live Nature. Natra Guard Ev-Free" She stumbled over the word.

She strode to a nearby sprout and concentrated on it, trying to will through the magic twisting fog, a small power. She put a cloven hoof over the sprout and concentrated harder, her horn glowing the deep green aura that was normal for her as the sprout slowly, visibly grew. It was just a few inches but it bushed out as well, appearing more healthy, in fact, than it had been before as well. "Natra guide." she pointed to Starcrasher, "Natra guide Young One and Silva. Find poocha." She pointed back at the reptans. "Thief Nature." She said with a straight face

Starcrasher grinned at Luna as she agreed there had been traces wrongdoing in the area. Everything was starting to fall in place now, and while they would still actually need to link the crime to the poacher she felt confident that that too would work itself out as long as they kept on this track. After all, first they had doubted there had been a crime committed at all, now they had tangible evidence.

When Luna turned to Natra, she listened to Natra's explanation, listening to what the Camahueto was saying and nodding her head in agreement. She was starting to get used to the way Natra spoke, it seemed.

- "Yeah... Me, Wordsmith, Pansy and Silva were all kind of lost in the forest, and Natra was guiding us to Ponyville when one of the Reptans came running by and bumping into us. That's when we found the Thunderbird chick and decided to investigate. Natra followed the trail after pointing out the way back to Wordsmith and Pansy."

With the Reptans well under control, the Captain returned to his investigation of the area.  Their captives could do nothing but mutter and glare while they were under binding and watch of Luna and Natra, which left the other two Ponies able to go about freely.  The Captain was vocal in his findings as he came across them and gathered evidence, but overall it didn't look positive toward their initial reason for coming there.  There was plenty of obvious evidence that there had been animals about, cages, and the intent of the Reptans, sure, but there wasn't a shred that showed the red-coated Unicorn had been present.  It wasn't as though the crime scene had been untouched, after all; the Reptans themselves had lingered there the entire week.

It would be some time in waiting before Luna would get any response from Canterlot.  But oh, what a response it was.  She had merely sent for airborne troops to come collect the Reptans, but when she felt an all-too-familiar hum of magic prickle up her spine, she'd know something much grander had answered her call.  But the better question was: why?  She'd have the opportunity to ask that herself though.  Overhead a brilliant flash of light burst out of nowhere, coalescing into a glowing form so similar to that of Luna's own.  The lights faded away only a little by the time it smoothly descended to the old stones and landed with a sharp metallic clatter, coming down into a graceful trot in a place she had not been in some time.  The Reptans cringed from the flare of light but otherwise remained defiant, even as Captain Equinox quickly dipped into a low bow at Luna's side.

"This wasn't exactly what I thought you meant when you said you were on vacation, Sister.  Have you ever considered going to the beach?"  Princess Celestia's tone was airy as she folded her broad wings down at her sides.  Luna had called for reinforcements yet gotten her elder sister instead... just what was that about?

The waiting had left Luna with little to do.  Natra was particularly confusing to converse with, and so, once all seemed secure, she had been about to go explore the tower's ruins, when  Celestia simply teleported herself into their midst.

The flashy, radiant display would bring other ponies to kneel, but Luna simply trotted into the glow, and gave her sister an affectionate nuzzle. "Oh~ What are you doing all the way out here, Sister?"

She paused, then laughed a little. "Oh, I was actually about to leave for Canterlot when this caught my attention... I thought perhaps  to lend some aid before heading home..." She glanced back to the ponies there, then looked back at her sister,hesitantly. "That... isn't a problem, is it Sister?"

Starcrasher was looking about the ruins as well, finding much less than the Captain did obviously, when she could feel the hum of magic. Trotting over to check what it was, she was momentarily blinded by the resulting flash, though she giggled while hastily covering her eyes.

- "Heh, happened to me too when i was casting a lightheywaitasecond."

She blinked at spotting Celestia, not having expected the arrival of the ruler of all Equestria, and for that she could only end up staring. Luna's reaction snapped her out of it though, and she hastily tried to make up for the stunned silence she had been in.

- "Oh yeah, she's been a great help, we were busy finding clues and couldn't have gotten this far without her and... I'm babbling, aren't i? Yeah, i am, Holy Alicorns i'm making a fool of myself. *ahem*... I think i'll shut up now. Yeah."

Settling into a low bow, her face close enough to the ground that she hoped they would not notice her reddening cheeks, she focused on keeping her mouth firmly shut as she felt the cool mists around her, hoping it would help cool herself off before she'd make an even bigger fool of herself.

It must have looked very foreign to both the Alicorns and the Ponies, that there was one that didn't bow when Celestia appeared. In point of fact she did the opposite. Natra Condu stood , eyes wide open, almost leaning closer to Celestia as she appeared.

Her mind was almost literally blown open at the very sight of it. She struggled with the ideas in her head for a moment, wondering if she'd done something wrong in the eyes of her beliefs, perhaps Nature was needed to more directly intervene even now. The manifestation of the universe not only had appeared to her in one aspect, but another. The Sun and Moon, she noticed as she spotted the cutie mark of the ruler of Equestria, never having heard of her or seen her (mostly out of a lack of interest. There was no need for her to bother looking into the local royal culture. The very concept of royalty didn't even make sense to her.

And everypony around her was bowing. The two Alicorns were speaking and she was full of confusion. Skeptically she stepped closer and extended a cloven hoof to touch the Princess of The Sun on the flank in wonderment, without words. She had to prove to herself that these beings even existed, if it wasn't just a vision by Nature, that this all wasn't just a dream in her meditation. Now, of all times, she couldn't even be sure if it wasn't days ago, still gently meditating after the crisis on what could have been.

Princess Celestia offered a serene smile over the gathered Ponies even given the somewhat chaotic setting.  She gestured for those bowing to rise up instead, though the bulk of her attention was admittedly given to her younger sister.  It might have struck those unfamiliar with the two regal Alicorns that royalty would behave so much like... well... just normal siblings.  Celestia dipped her head down to return Luna's affectionate gesture with one of her own before rising back to tend to duties.  At least she did before Natra appeared to prod at her flank, making the Alicorn pause briefly and give her a curious glance.  She excused herself politely all the same.

"Actually, that is part of why I'm here.  I had planned to send Philomena with a message, but when your letter arrived I thought it best to simply come on my own." she explained.

"Your Majesty... not to press, but you did tell the guard you were leaving, right?" Captain Equinox asked in a flat tone.  Celestia gave an innocent expression and rolled her eyes a bit, which left the soldier groaning in frustration.  No doubt his peers back at the castle were in a proper fit trying to find their Princess at that very moment.

"First, let us tend to matters here.  Poaching is a serious crime, after all... dangerous not only to the citizens of our land, but the animals as well." The Princess cast her gaze over to the bound Reptans.  Their leader just scoffed and muttered something in their hissing language that made the other two chuckle, though Celestia's glare only sharpened.  "Leave our mother out of it."

The Reptan Leader looked startled at that and quickly hissed once more, to which Celestia simply nodded in reply.  He hadn't been expecting any of the Ponies to actually know their language, after all.  Still, it made little difference.  He made a quick retort that left Celestia only to sigh and shake her head.  "He's refusing to cooperate.  They'll be interrogated further in Canterlot, but I doubt we're going to get much information at all.  Reptans aren't known for being particularly helpful creatures." she muttered.  Ultimately they'd just have to deport the Reptans back to their homeland and let their own government, loose as it was, deal with them.

"Oh, don't send her with my messages~ I fear she'd light me ablaze!" she laughed, a little, and stood at her sister's side, turning to joinher as she looked to Natra. Luna raise da brow slightly at the odd  pony's behavior, then eyed the Reptans.

Celestia's retorting-translation sharpened her glare at the leader, but she softened up as she looked to Celestia. "Ah...  Well then. I was going to have the soldiers do that when they arrived, but I figure it would take some time. I can't quite drag them all back to Ponyville right now, either." she said thoughtfully. "There's still the matter of their boss, who we suspect is in Ponyville currently." Luna nudged her sister. "But you didn't come out all this way just for this... What's going on, Sister?"

Though Starcrasher was no longer bowing -- as per Celestia's instructions -- she still tried to keep out of the conversation. Partially because she didn't really know Reptan aside from some random sounding hisses of which the accompanying glare told her they likely weren't anything good, but mostly because the two Alicorns running the entire nation were having a chat with one another, and she'd burn a hole in the ground out of sheer shame if she'd interrupt them. Again.

"It was only that one time..." Celestia rolled her eyes a bit at the mention of her beloved fire-manifesting pet.  Still, there was business to be had.  She flared a wing to curl across Luna's back and draw her aside so that she could speak with her sister in a low tone away from the rest.

"Sister, I'm afraid I need to ask you to stay away from Canterlot for a time." she explained with a hush.  "I wish I could explain matters more, but to be honest, I'm rather at a loss as to what is happening myself.  An... affliction... has hit many Ponies within the castle and we've had to seclude them away.  There is a strange magic at work with this.  I will be calling Twilight Sparkle and her friends to Canterlot soon as I feel the Elements of Harmony will be able to help in this."

Luna drew aside with her sister, and raised her gaze to meet her Celestia's, settled beneath her wing. The Princess seemed surprised though, at her sister's warm but hushed whisper.Tipping her head, Luna bit her lower lip, then replied with a soft whisper. "You wish me to... stay away?  I see... Of course, if you believe it to be the best strategy in this case, Sister." she paused, and raised her hoof to her chin. "Though, are you certain I'd not be more useful helping you and the Element-Bearers?" she asked, with a certain disappointment in her voice. If there was trouble, she wanted to help. Still...

Luna nudged her head into Celestia's neck, and sighed. "Fine, fine... Just promise that you will be careful as well, Sister - and if I should not receive word within a  few days of their departure...  I shall return to Canterlot to do what I can."

"Thank you, Sister."  Celestia gave a grateful nod in return.  "I have sent word to Cadence and Shining Armor as well, just in case.  I do not fully grasp what's befallen our Little Ponies.  I know I can trust you to watch over us."

Part of it was strategy and another part sisterly concern.  Celestia needed to know there were other bases covered in case things got out of hand, but at the same time, she wanted to keep her little sister out of the way of any potential danger.  She gave Luna a squeeze with her wing before she stepped aside as graceful as ever.  "I'll keep in touch.  If all else fails, seek me out in our dreams."

With that, the Princess of the Day flared her wings out... literally.  As she stretched out her full wingspan, her body shimmered with a dazzling light that burst with a brilliant glow.  When it faded away, both Celestia and the Reptans were gone.
This message had punctuation tweaked by the player at 05:36, Mon 10 Dec 2012.