Neoniie

Flux's eyes widened slightly at the young pony's order. She was surprised that the foal would have such an appetite. Then again, exercise does tend to produce a need for some food. Flux had been halfway to pulling out a few bits to pay for the food, when Harmony's father stepped in. With a small bow of the head, she silently thanked the stallion. She hummed slightly to herself as the counter-mare trotted off behind the corner of the shop. After a few minutes, a question lit up in her mind.

"So," she said, turning to Harmony as she spoke. "Did you two move here for a specific reason? It's not everyday that pegasi move to Canterlot." Flux tried to word the question carefully, not wanting to accidentally offend the two flying ponies.

(No problem, )

Flux considered the young foal as she waited for the attention of the counter-mare to turn to her. She had to admire the pony's outgoing and sociable nature, something that Flux herself had lacked in her youth. Strangely, a thought flitted into her mind. She remembered her insistance as a filly that she wanted to have siblings, like most of the other ponies in her class. Flux had felt isolated as a child by her rather odd interests in a world of magic. The young filly had been certain that a new member of kin would eliminate this barrier. Quite strange, she pondered, for a thought like that to appear at such a seemingly unrelated time.

"Can I get'cha something?" The voice quickly brought Flux out of her rumination. Slightly surprised by the suddeness of the question, she stuttered briefly before pulling her thoughts together.

"Um...yes. I would like an alfalfa sandwich with a brownie on the side." The counter-mare nodded, noting the order on a pad of paper.

"And for you?" The mare now addressed Harmony, a slightly bemused look on the pony's face as she looked between the pegasus and the unicorn. She must assume that we're related, Flux realized. However, our lack of similarities is likely what is confusing her. Flux smiled subtlely at the idea.

"I am," Flux admitted, unconsciously making a small nervous gesture. She wasn't used to being asked about her parents and was therefore unprepared for such interest. "It does feel rather odd, coming in here with some injuries and having them treated by my father." Though, she added mentally, it has been quite some time since the occurrance of such a thing.

Seeing the interest she piqued in Gladwin with her mention of the secret passageway, she decided to fill the griffin in on the situation. "Several years ago, when I was studying at the Canterlot University, I stumbled upon a small passageway between two bookcases. I had been searching for an important text to make use of in an upcoming magical history test, The Historical Historian's Handbook for Historic Happenings by name. I happened to stumble into the wall and reveal an old passageway. When I inspected it, I discovered several old books and notes pertaining to their contents. I brought them out of the passage, hoping to learn more later. However, they disappeared quite mysteriously the next day." Once she finished the abridged version of her tale, she returned her attention to Colton's concern.

"I'm certain that you'll both be in tip-top shape by tomorrow. Not that I like to brag, by my father is not called one of the best doctors in Equestria without cause." Again, the unicorn looked a bit embarassed as she spoke of her parents.

Flux listened to the music, swaying slightly to the song. She was never interested in the arts as a foal, but she did know an excellent performer when she saw one. They are quite harmonious, Flux thought, laughing inwardly at the irony of her phrasing. She took a quick sip of her latte just before the song ended, placing it carefully on a nearby railing before joining in the praise of the Cafe audience. Harmony practically bounced as she approached Flux. The unicorn laughed slightly, unable to prevent a playful amusement with the energy that Harmony seemed to radiate.

Picking up her latte once more, she answered the foal's question. "Well, there are a few fruit smoothies and juices along with some sweets. I think I saw a few sandwiches as well." She skipped over some of the other items on the menu, assuming that they would be quite strange for a young pony.

'Well, even so, such an ideal is quite admirable." Flux gave a dip of her muzzle as she acknowledged Gladwin's words. It reminded her of her mother's attitude toward life in general. Flux had a tendancy to worry about possibilities and assume that the worst would come of a situation. Some would call her a pessimist, but she merely called herself prepared. Her mother had always balanced out this trait in her, reminding the white unicorn that the best could come of situations as well. For a country-born earth pony, Flux thought with a smile, my mother was one of the wisest ponies I have ever met.

Redirecting her attention to the conversation at hand, Flux listened intently as Colton described his idea. She nodded in agreement. "It would be lovely, as long as you feel healed enough to do so. There are a few places that I could share as well, more or less hidden places that I have stumbled upon. That passage way I mentioned earlier, for instance." She thought of seeing Canterlot, a city with which she was familiar, from a whole new angle. Flying must be an excellent experience, she thought. She lapsed into silence after that, trying to recall the steps of a spell for equine levitation she had once encountered during her studies and assessing whether its difficulty would be to great.

Flux smiled bemusedly at the young foal's enthusiasm. She followed the multi-coloured pegasus into the Cafe, taking in its interior as she trotted through the door. It too was wooden, with a counter near the rear of the building. A dozen or so tables were scattered throughout the main floor of the restaurant. A young unicorn mare sat by a piano in the left corner, singing along to a tune that Flux did not recognize. Several couples and gagles of friends sat in the booths that lined the sides of the Cafe, filling the room with a layer of excited speech.

Flux trotted slowly toward the counter, examining the menu. She decided upon the creme latte and ordered it from the stallion manning the counter. As she extracted the correct change from her saddlebags, Flux searched the room for Harmony and her father, not wanting to loose the two pegasi.

Flux smiled as she heard Gladwin describe his adventures in Equestria. She had always wanted to travel and learn about the different ideas found among the distinct groups of pony and griffinkind. She wondered whether Gladwin had any insights into such topics. After a moment of deliberation, she decided to enquired about it. "You must learn many new philosophies on your travels. care to share a few?"

She also listened closely to his explaination of how he managed to injure himself so badly. Remembering a lesson from the University about how mositure from clouds makes the air cooler, she nodded in understanding. The earth-bound unicorn had always wondered about the sensation of flying, being the inquisitive pony that she was, and had always bemoaned her inability to investigate it.

She laughed at little at Gladwin's admittance, finding yet another similarity between Colton and Gladwin. "Interesting, Colton is here for similar reasons. Canterlot is a rather important place to ponykind, so a visit here is an excellent idea for a mapmaker such as yourself.I was actually going to give Colton here a tour, but unfortunately, complications arose." She indicated Colton's injury as she spoke.

Flux paused for a moment to consider the pegasus' offer. She wasn't in a particularly huge rush, since she had managed to start her errands early and she was rather hungry, even though she really did need to get back to finalizing that theory of hers. A few minutes of deliberation and her decision was made. "I would love to," Flux said.

She turned the corner quickly, ensuring that her directions had been accurate. After a quick look, she spotted the Prancing Pony. It was a small establishment nestled between two marble buildings. It was made of fine oak, giving it a more homely feeling than the cold stone surrounding it. A sign displaying a silhouette of an earth pony with the words Prancing Pony Cafe was situated in the centre of the roof. A soft singing could be heard drifting through the open doors of the cafe. A chalkboard with several food choices and prices held the doors in their open position.

A place to get a bite at? Flux wondered quietly, her muzzle scrunched slightly in thought. With a small "ah!" the unicorn decided on an acceptable venue. "Well, there's a place that a friend of mine once mentioned. The "Prancing Pony Cafe", I believe. It's a newer cafe, so it shouldn't be overly crowded." The white-coated unicorn was thankful for that, not exactly comfortable with crowded spaces.

"It's pretty close, too. Just around the corner here, if I remember correctly." Flux indicated the next corner with a flick of her tail as she spoke.

Flux nodded as the pegasus introduced herself. "Harmony, what an lovely name." Flux wasn't much a pony for compliments, but her Canterlot upbringing insisted upon proper ettiquite at all times.

"I was just passing by when I saw you clearing a few of the clouds. For a pegasus so young, you are quite talented." Flux felt some of the sunlight let in by Harmony brush her face and smiled slightly. The unicorn had always loved a sunny day, despite her usual confinement to her workplace during such days.

"Forgive me if this sounds rude, but are you two new here? I've never seen ponies like yourselves around before and with a coat as vibrant as yours, I doubt I would forget you." Flux purposely left out her rather antisocial tendancies while she was out and about. It was only curiousity that managed to drive her to interact with other ponies, that or a shared enthusiasm for her favourite subject: science.

Flux listened intently to the grifffin's story. She had always been quite intrigued by the advanced technologies of their civilization and had been planning to visit Aquellia for quite some time now. Then, the Gladwin's occupation registered in her mind. "A mapmaker, you say? Interesting. I suppose that, like Colton, you must also be something of a traveller." She nodded slightly as she spoke, a mere bobbing of the head.

After a brief moment, Flux caught her impoloiteness. "Oh, forgive me, I nearly forgot to introduce myself! Quantum Flux is my name, though Flux is quite alright." She gave a small dip of her muzzle as she introduced herself. Another part of the griffin's words floated to her mind, "It is interesting to note that the griffin's think so highly of our Centre here. You would think that news of ponyfolk would not usually pass Aquellian borders."

Quantum Flux hurried through the streets, wanting to get a start on her morning errands before the Canterlotian streets began too overwhelming. She briefly checked the list she had made for herself, mentally striking out the tasks she had already completed. Looking up briefly to enjoy the day, the unicorn spotted a muti-coloured pegasus flying through the sky. Odd, she thought, watching the pegasus make a few dents in the cloud layer, I didn't think that the pegasi allowed such a young pony to join the Weather Patrol.

Intrigued, Flux trotted over to the pegasi and her older companion. Not sure exactly what to say, she merely began with her name. "Hello there, my name is Quantum Flux, though Flux is quite acceptable. Who might you be?" She realized suddenly that such a young pegasus would likely have trouble with her usually intricate speech and quickly made a concious effort to use some more filly-friendly words.

Flux followed Colton, wanting to ensure that the splint was still in place. She stopped just short of bumping into the pegasus as he stopped and saw that their destination was a spot just in front of that griffin she had been observing earlier. Rather than jumping in, she listened carefully to the feathered creature. In a light tone, he described his reason for being in the Centre and Flux naturally began to study his talon closely.

After a quick review of what her dad had told her about griffin physiology, the unicorn determined that though the injury was not as trivial as the griffin made it out to be, it was not life threatening and was certainly treatable. Staisfied with this, she began to listen to the conversation again, waiting Colton's answer to the griffin's enquiry.

I picked up Inheritance by Christopher Paolini yesterday. I've only had time to get about 300 pages in, but definitely a good book so far.

Same, I really need to get that book finished soon.

Other than that, I've been reading "An Abundance of Katherines" by John Green and I'm about 10 pages into "City of Fallen Angels" by Cassandra Clare.

(Sounds good to me!)

"Indeed. I suppose I didn't inform you about my father's occupation beforehand. Allow me to explain." Flux took a moment to collect her thoughts before continuing. "My father, Dr. Scalpel Flux, works here at the Canterlot Medical Centre as a general surgeon and consultative doctor. He and I have not been in communication for quite a while - not since I left the University in fact. However, I do not believe that it is due to any animosity between us, merely a lack of time."

She trotted over to one of the waiting pillow, taking a seat and awaiting Colton's probable influx of questions. After another cursory glance around the immediate area, Flux noticed the presence of an ivory and brown coated griffin. A griffin in Canterlot? Quite a rare sight indeed, Flux pondered. I was always under the assumption that most griffin's preferred to stay near Aquellia. Perhaps I shall look into it later.

(I just skipped the journey for time's sake, hope ya don't mind.)

Canterlot Medical Centre, one of the nighttime Canterlot buildings that was not plastered with bright, colourful signs and filled to the brim with ponies. It had a plain exterior, with the white marble that was common among Canterlot architecture, adorned with a simple red cross as its identifying feature. It was a slow night, Flux observed as the two approached the side entrance of the Centre. The interior was squeeky clean and covered in shiny reflective surfaces. The white floor was polished to perfection and the countertops sparkled. A strong medicinal smell drifted into the waiting room. A few younger ponies sat with their parents while older colts and fillies kept their distance tp retain an aloof image.

Flux trotted over to speak with the desk pony, a red-coated pegasus nurse. "Hello, are there any medical ponies available at the moment?"

"Yes, in fact, your father just finished up an operation," the pegasus replied.

"Oh...yes, of course. Please tell him that I have a patient for him. It's rather urgent." The pegasus nodded and trotted off, while Flux turned and returned to Colton's side.

(Just a heads-up, I'm going to visit some family this weekend, so I may not be on very frequently - or at all - depending on circumstances.)

"I am certain-" Flux began, starting to address Colton's multitude of questions. However, with the strange timing the earth pony always possessed, Torvus peeked his head around the corner.

"Why 'ello, Flux. I was jus' comin' to ask ya - Woah!" Torvus stopped abruptly as he took in Colton's physical state. "By Starwirl's beard! Is that was that crash was?" He quickly elaborated to the two ponies, realizing that such a vague statement would be vexing. "I heard some kinda ruckus, but I figured it wa' the usual Flux experimentin' ruckus. I had come down t'ask ya 'bout it, but I see the answer has come to me." He took a quick 360 turn around Colton with a whistle. "Ya definately know how to bang yourself up, Mr. Cloudkicker. I suppo' you were off to tha Medical Center then?"

"Indeed," Flux responded. "That was the plan." The earth pony nodded sagely at the unicorn's words.

"Well, I won't keep ya. Better get that colt straightened out, Flux." With those parting words, Torvus disappeared back into the hallway from which he had come.

"As Torvus mentioned, time is of the essence. Those injuries will not heal themselves unless they are under the proper conditions. I believe that we can still catch the beginning of the night shift if we act swiftly." Flux explained. She didn't want to wait too long to get Colton some professional care, lest his bone begin to set in the less than optimal position in which it currently sat.

Just a small suggestion for what might be his eventual talent - perhaps his true ability is to help bring the best out of other ponies, or to be something of a motivator to those in need...how he would do this, of course, would mostly be situational for him - depending on how you feel he should attend to a particular situation or scenario in an RP!

I agree. While writing this out, I thought "Wow, he sure does like helping ponies," and that led to a half-formed idea for him growing up to be some sort of charity pony of something. But yes, helping those in need is definately going to be his talent when he earns his cutie mark.

Thanks for the input! It's helped me form some more concrete ideas about the more hazy details.

Just throwing this out here

What about the cutie mark, being a stereotypical super hero mask, like the one Robin wears, but here's the twist, what if it's a fake?

I mean it's like part of his super hero costume at the flank, you did say he was having an identity crisis and that he's young, maybe he doesn't have it yet and has insecurities because of this, thus the fake cutie mark

*Please forgive me if that sounds like a very stupid idea

Actually, I like that idea. I did think that his superhero persona would definately have a separate cutie mark, but this is much more symbolic. I believe I shall do exactly this. Thanks!

"In fact, I did," Flux answered, trotting over to meet the injured pegasus. She began climbing the stairs slowly, ensuring that her pace was still managable for Colton. "Quite a few pieces o finformation in the journal may provide some clues towards several of my theories. For example, that professor you mentioned had some rather intriguing ideas about magic among ponies. I have little experimental data for it at the moment, but I am certain that there must be a way for the other Equestrian races to form their magic into a more concrete shape. If unicorns developed it, there must be something innate to their physical or mental state that could be produced naturally. With some very specialized and advanced tools, most probably far into the future, it is quite possible that those effects could be replicated in all types of ponies."

She stopped for a moment, running back the information in her mind. "In relation to that Griffon artifact that you gave me earlier, the symbols and architecture you described in your journal definately point to a very early Griffon society, perhaps even a pre-equestrian time. Unfortunately, there is very little surviving lore from those existing species and since ponies may or may not have been present in Equestria at that time, I doubt they made any records on it either. I should look into it later, perhaps at the Great Library..." Flux trailed off, lost in her thoughts as she reached the top of the staircase.

The lack of a solid wooden plank beneath her hooves snapped Flux back to reality just in time to prevent tripping forward. Realigning herself, Flux turned to check on Colton's progress, not wanting to push him too far and aggravate his wounds. "How are you progressing, Colton?"

maybe his cutie mark could be a superhero mask and cloak?

Possibly, but since he isn't very good at it, I don't think superheroics would really be his true talent. It's quite a difficult situation I've put myself in with Neon, as he is sort of going through teenagerdom and is having an identity crisis of sorts. Perhaps his true talent would be relate to helping those in need, but superhero-ing is probably something he would either have to improve at or abandon as he matures.

{Yay! 100th post }

Flux closed the journal with a finality that made it seem as though she had spent a hundred years finishing her notes. Reading over what she had transcribed, the unicorn discovered that she had nearly copied the entire volume from cover to cover. Nodding in approval at her unconcious foresight, she trotted over to a densly packed bookshelf and slid the notebook into a small space near the very end of the shelf. After a few more cursory scans of the room, Flux declared her repair work complete. Looking over at the resting Colton, she thought hard about her earlier questions.

After an almost uncomfortably long observation period, the unicorn walked to the other side of the basement laboratory/room with a slight sigh. Conclusions had never come in such a difficult fashion to her mind. Flux was used to having evidence and cold fact to help her create a thesis, but odd emotional decisions had no such evidence. Brushing away her midl frustration, Flux trotted quickly up the stairs to asses the approximate time of day. Strange, she thought, taking the steps two at a time, that a gear pony such as Torvus has no clocks.

She gauged the time to be around 5:30 P.M, just before the sun had finished its decent. Returning to the basement, Flux began gathering a few items for the inevitable trip to the Canterlot Medical Centre. "Colton," she called quietly, "It would be prudent for us to leave now, before it becomes too dark for our vision to be of much use. I can make a small light to guide us if dusk comes before we arrive."

Roleplay Type: World of Equestria (Mane RP)

Name: Neon “Lights” Stargazer (a.k.a. Nighthoof)

Sex: Male

Age: Colt (approximately 14)

Species: Earth Pony

Eye Color: Chocolate brown (#7B3F00)

Coat Color: Subdued yellow (#F0E130)

Mane/Tail/Markings Color & Style: Electric orange (#E56105) is the colour on both the mane and tail. However, he usually has another bright neon colour put in whenever it strikes his fancy. He wears his mane parted in the front, forming two pieces. It lays low to his head, curling up slightly at the base of his neck. His mane is cut short, but generally hangs loose.

Physique: Skinny, though he excercises regularly so he is strong for his size.

Cutie Mark: Neon has not discovered his cutie mark yet, but his Nighthoof persona has a cutie mark of a superhero mask. (Thanks to Connor Colton for suggesting this!)

Origin/Residence: Fillydelphia/Manehatten

Occupation: Student/Superhero

Motivation: To become a great hero throughout all of Equestria

Likes: Helping others, feeling unique and awesome, tales of adventure, having fun with friends

Dislikes: Being looked down upon, failing in his superheroics, those who harm other ponies

Character Summary: Neon always had big dreams as a foal, ones of adventure and daring rescues. During one of his father's firework shows, Neon was told the recently resurfaced tale of the first bearers of the Elements of Harmony - the legend of the Princesses defeat of the evil Discord. Reinforced by tales of Equestria's many heroes - both fictional and non, Neon began to form a plan to follow in their hoofsteps. Donning the moniker Nighthoof, he had decided to dedicate himself to helping those in danger and defending the city from harm.

The only problem is that he sucks at it. He absolutely will not accept such observations, however, and continues on his quest to save Equestria.

Outside of his superheroics, Neon is a happy, social colt who is always willing to lend a helping hoof – a trait shared by Nighthoof. However, he is quite clumsy and not very good at holding intellectual conversation. His personality as Nighthoof is much more the dashing, coordinated hero that Neon always wanted to be, in his eyes at least. A more unbiased observation would say that Nighthoof is merely Neon attempting to seem cool and aloof, with plenty of old stereotypes mixed in.

Neon does not have his cutie mark yet, which at an age so close to stallionhood is quite an embarassing reality for him. So, as his alter-ego Nighthoof, he crafted himself a cutie mark: a mask that was often said to be worn by the Sparrow, one of his favourite heroes as a foal.

Flux also took the oppourtunity to organize her thoughts. Underneath mundane thoughts about what new chemicals she would need to purchase and organizing the salvagable mixtures into separate bottles once more, she was going over her motivations. It was rather unlike yourself to be so excited about matters such as the Grand Galloping Gala. Interest in social events has always been very low on your priorities, so why now? Flux thought in silence about such matters, pouring out careful measurements as she did so. The unicorn nearly slipped up once, but managed to correct her magical grasp with a quick focusing on the task at hand.

Friendship is a well-studied topic, she reasoned. A personal student of the Princess herself has looked into the matter, therefore it is only natural for an intellectual such as yourself to be intrigued by the subject. Friendships are formed through social links and experience is one of the most immediate and useful teachers.

But why this colt in particular? Trust came so quickly to you, despite no evidence of such worthiness. Flux crinkled her nose slightly in thought, placing the last few measurements of the saved chemicals onto the realigned shelf. Further information on this topic should be gathered before any hypothesising shall begin, she concluded. Satisfied with this decision, Flux straightened up her experimental notes and set about to looking through Colton's journal for any information about his other destinations.

She looked over at Colton every few minutes to confirm his positive status before continuing her information gathering.