Parodius

Swift Breeze nodded, stepping into the room. With a smirk, he looked over to Cherry. "I suppose it is refreshing to know I have not gone weak from lack of practice?" He wanders over to the window and knocks on the shutters in a few places. "I suppose I could lend a hoof with them. They do seem to be quite stuck." He rubs his chin. "...and if they will not open, and instead break... they would have needed replacing anyways, yes?" he quips with a wry smile. Looking around, he nods a bit. "Apart from the door, the shutters, and the creaking floor, this room seems to be okay." He looks at the floor briefly before returning his attention to the shutters. "It wouldn't take too much work to get it fixed up and hospitable." He pushes a bit on the shutters, trying to find out if there's anyplace that seems more stuck than anywhere else.

Scale Model nodded and stepped into the library. "That's good. If ya need a helping hoof while I'm about, yadda yadda. You know how the offer usually goes." He nudged his glasses back up. "Looks like this place has gotten a bit livelier since I started taking classes in Canterlot. ...or is this a bit of a fluke?" Looking around, he raised his brows at the purple unicorn's seemingly effortless magical stacking up of all the books that had been in a pile just moments before. Must be an awfully handy trick, he thought to himself. Shrugging, he turned to the purple and green baby dragon. "Do you have any copies in of 'Everything You Ever Needed To Know About Material Stresses, But Never Wanted to Hear About' by Sturdy Planks? I need to write a paper and Canterlot U's library had all the copies checked out." He pauses for a few moments as he looks over the dragon. Oodles of questions started popping into his mind, but he decided it'd be rather rude to just start asking them out of nowhere. Instead, he looks over one of the shelves of books.

Taking the bits between her teeth, Mystery gave a salute with a hoof, then put the bits in a saddlebag. "I'll be back before ya know it." She then turned and galloped off down the road, coat fluttering behind her. She turned down a side street, disappearing from view. Running along various alleyways for quick shortcuts, Mystery turned the instructions over in her mind. "Hmm... don't tell the driver, don't let anypony see me, including the driver..." She slowed a bit as she thought. "Well... if that's the case, it'd be cheaper to just rent a cart and not bother with a driver. Save a few bits." She nods, then turned to head toward a little cart rental place she knew of. She eyed the old pony sleeping at the reception desk as she walked up. No sense in disturbing him, she figured. Turning the ledger around, she picked up the pencil and jotted her name down on an open line. Turning the book back around, she strolled through a gate and into the back where they kept the carts. After a bit of looking around, she picked a cart that looked sturdy enough to hold the case and her client, while also having sides to provide some privacy. After a bit of thought, she grabbed a tarp that was usually used to cover the carts in bad weather and tossed it into the back. With some work, she got into the cart's harness and went out to the front again. Fishing out the bits she was given, she deposited a few in a little box beside the geriatric sleeping stallion, earning a sleepy mumble of thanks at the clink of the coins in the box. Adjusting her hat, Mystery began her stroll back toward where she left Dottie. Since she had the cart, Mystery would have to take a different route back than she took to get to the cart rental place. It just wouldn't fit down the narrow and cluttered alleyways. Whistling a slow tune, she casually trotted down the street with the cart's wheels creaking and clattering on the road behind her.

This was a pretty fun event. It gave everypony a chance to see and interact with other ponies that they might not have had a chance or the motivation to otherwise interact with. Hopefully we can get some bigger normal RPs with more ponies. ...but hopefully not quite as many as this one. If we have another event like this, I support the single thread format. Either that, or a single thread one has to post in a couple of times before they can split off into other threads. Also... woo-hoo! Tied for 4th! ...does this mean we all get a medal like Twilight? :smile: Congratulations, Diego! Lyra's probably gonna get so many sweets from Bon-Bon for that win!

The finish line was in sight, fuzzy though it may be. Swift Breeze smiled a bit, satisfied that he had done the temple proud this day, no matter what the outcome would be. "It has been wonderful running with you all, friends," he stated to the ponies around him, though he didn't even know their names. "Let us make haste, and see this event to its end!" he said as he noticed other ponies starting to put in their last stretch efforts to pull ahead. Swift was no exception. His head lowered, and he pushed his sticky, tired, aching body once again. The finish line was right there. Just a scant few hoofbeats away. He heard the excitement of his fellow ponies wash through the crowd like a wave breaking on a beach. The griffon was somewhere nearby as well. It didn't seem quite as important as it had just a few moments ago. No matter what tricks or underhanded tactics may have been used before... all that really mattered was that one moment. One mad dash to see who would be the first across that checkered line. He supposed he could forgive her, with that in mind. As the leaves fell all around Swift's eyes narrowed, focusing on what lay ahead. Just a few more hoofbeats. Just a little further. His muscles ached, and his breath felt far too short. Rest was just on the other side of that line. There were ponies to the left. Ponies to the right. One nose would pull ahead, then another would take its place. Swift felt his wings strain against the sap holding them down in his excitement. The pull reminded him of his usual bindings. Sure, he wasn't certain where his blanket that usually held them down was at the moment, but he was glad that it had been of use. Blankets, like every other item, could be replaced. How odd, the celadon pegasus thought to himself, that he would find a peaceful moment even in the middle of a race. Whatever place he came in at, he would have a memory to take with him as a wonderful prize to cherish.

Gritting his teeth, Swift Breeze kept straining. The occasional glance to the sides showed that he was not the only pony to fall victim to the sticky substance. "Just... need... to... get... free..." he grumbled. "Mmmm! Sweet!" some nearby pony stated. "Here, try it!" they cheerfully exclaimed before jamming a stick into Swift Breeze's mouth. In surprise, Swift let his straining slacken, and he snapped back to the puddle with a *TWANG*. Blinking in confusion, he felt his mind going blank as the other pony turned and began trotting away. Hm. It really was quite sweet. Swift looked down at the sap-coated stick in his mouth. Had he really let himself get that frustrated? Had he gotten so wrapped up in the race that he had forgotten to enjoy the gifts of nature? Another blink. Perhaps life had decided to stop him for that very lesson. As he looked up, the stick-giving pony was back, kicking dirt onto the sap. Still quite confused, he just stared blankly until the helpful pony began pushing. Snapping out of his confusion, he strained along with the other pony until, painfully, Swift tumbled free. He cringed a moment before getting to his hooves. He was in pain, but he was free. Turning about, he looked over himself. He was sticky and covered in sap, but he was free to move about again. He could take up the race again! Now he could-... Swift halted that line of thought, looking at the stick poking out of his mouth. That's right. That wasn't the right way to think about things. It had kept him from seeing that the solution to his problem was right in front of him the entire time. He bowed briefly to the nice pony. "Thank you, friend." Swift then turned and continued down the path as the other pony went to help others that had become stuck. Everything may have looked fuzzy to him at the moment, but Swift's mind couldn't be clearer as he turned the thought over in his mind, being careful to avoid any more of the puddles.

Swift's eyes were locked in a squint as he ran, trying to decipher the course ahead. Occasionally, he suddenly had to duck as a low-hanging branch didn't come into focus until the last moment. Eventually... he came to the next leg of the race. "Well, that last leg was fairly straightforward," he commented, still not even realizing the trouble that had occured with the branched path. Peering forward, the pegasus found that the race course seemed to have puddles in this section. Had it rained recently? Was the ground just naturally waterlogged? No matter. He supposed it would be better to avoid the larger puddles. The water would add extra weight if it splashed on him. He swerved around one large puddle, getting a bit more confused. Something smelled sweet. As he swerved around another puddle, he looked into it. "...awfully murky for it to be just w-whoa!" As he looked back toward the puddle, apparently he stepped right into one of them. The tremendously sticky substance held his hoof fast as the rest of him tried to keep going, causing him to tumble and land right on his back in one of the puddles. "Ow... agh.. What is this?" he asked, mostly to himself. Giving a curious sniff, he found that it was the source of the sweet aroma. Struggling, he pulled a hoof up to give a tentative lick. "...tree sap. Lots of tree sap," he muttered. "Well, no sense letting yourself just lay in it," the monk chided himself. Pushing hard against the ground, he strained to get clear of the sticky sap, grunting and getting turned over onto his front before being snapped down to his belly by the substance. "Gah!" Gritting his teeth, he planted his hooves and started pressing himself upward. He could feel it pulling on him, trying to get him to stay down, stuck in the muck. "The diligent ant does not quit when life troubles him," he encourages himself, legs trebling slightly. Bracing himself, he took a tentative step forward. As he placed his hoof down, then deliberately shifted his weight to it, he looked around as best as he could. He wasn't sure if he could just pull himself free on his own strength, with as much as the sap kept trying to pull him in. It felt like every strand of his pelt was being pulled. Another determined and careful step. He could feel it pulling on his mane and tail, as well as if they were extra limbs to pull by, since they were braided. Another step. He leaned forward against the pull of the sap, gritting his teeth as his wings, still sore from his earlier help with the rescue, got pulled as well. Fortunately or unfortunately, sap had also gotten under them, pulling them back toward his body. "Come.... on.... Swift... Breeze..." he grunted, struggling to lift his hoof to take another step. He wasn't certain how he'd get out, but he knew that he was a sitting duck if that griffon showed up while he was like this. So, he kept up his struggle, keeping an eye out for others.

Keeping his pace, Swift Breeze stayed shoulder to shoulder with the kind pony that was helping him. "Well, If you're so sure about that then alright!" they stated as they kept with him. "And Yes, I noticed it too. I believe it was the Griffin kicking up the sand, It almost caught me as well but I was trailing behind. Anyhow, we should reach a long straight after this turn! You can rest there!" The pegasus's eye narrowed. A griffon was the troublemaker. That cleared a few things up in the monk's mind. Now he knew what to pay attention for, when his sight was better. Swift Breeze nodded his thanks to the reddish blob that had kindly assisted him when they slowed. "Thank you, and stay safe," he commented as they left him by the side of the road. Leaning against a tree, Swift began rubbing his eyes vigorously with a hoof. He blinked his eyes and squinted. Things were better. He could tell what things were, roughly, but he couldn't make out many details. "... Not perfect, but it shall have to do. Hopefully, there shall be an opportunity to give the troublesome griffon a taste of what they deserve." Putting his hooves back down, he stretched, then began running again. Unfortunately, his running soon came to a quick stop. He skidded to a halt as a sign came into view, scuffing up the ground before it even further. Squinting hard at the sign, he was dismayed to find that he was unable to discern what direction the arrow was even pointing. Frowning and shaking his head, he backed up a bit. First, he looked down what seemed like a path to the left. He saw nothing but a wall of brown a little bit down the path with a few colored spots that were probably ponies. "... They must be intending to make a path up the mountain later, thus the path leading up to it," he reasoned to himself. He then looked down the right. "Ah... trees. This must be the proper way. Where there are trees, there are leaves to knock down." With a nod, the monk reared up on his hooves, taking the right side path without a single moment's hesitation. "Come, my hooves. Let us show them why we are called Swift Breeze."

Blinking his eyes again, Swift Breeze turned his head to the voice coming up beside him. "Hay! Can you still see? There's a turn coming up!" shouted the voice. Swift squinted at the dark red and yellowish blob. "Lean against me! I'll guide you through!" The blob nudged against his side. Swift's tenseness could probably be felt in that nudge. Swift nodded and turned his head forward again. "I can see, but not well... All is a blur. Thank you, friend." Another shake of his head. "I should be fine in a little while, but we should be cautious. There is danger ahead, and not just from the race course..." Swift kept beside the kind... what he assumed was a pony. He stayed close enough that he occasionally tapped them with his side, so that he would know which direction to go if he felt the tapping either stop or get more forceful. "A fortunate thing you happenned upon me. I would not relish having to run by myself in such a state as this, let alone potentially stumble across one that may wish harm upon fellow racers." His face turns serious once again. "Hopefully, I shall not be much of a burden, and not for very long. Somepony should try to do something about the scoundrel somewhere ahead." A frown crosses his face. "I am loathe to admit it, but I may have to stop a moment to better clear my eyes at a decent spot. At least until the blurs become slightly more defined."

Thistle looked around in the dry, dusty town her parents had brought her to. All the ponies were wearing funny hats and there didn't seem to be many bugs to chase or flowers or pretty things. She didn't even see any meats when she looked in the general store window. She'd chased a tumbleweed earlier in the day, but the entertainment value of that was exhausted fairly quickly. At the moment, she lounged on the roof of one of the buildings, talons dangling off and paws sprawled on the roof. Why'd her parents have to go and bring her to this dusty old town anyways? She didn't even know anyone. She was pretty sure they didn't either. Oh well. Not like she could do anything about it. "It's so boring here!" she griped, rolling over onto her back and resting a talon across her eyes.

Scale Model sat on the bleachers by the finish line with his parents and a few other ponies, staring down the track. He made a note to come back to Ponyville to watch the race. It was sort of a tradition in his family. Sometimes one of them would even compete, but not this year. Scale had never been that much of an athlete anyways. There had been something weird in the sky earlier, but apparently it was taken care of by some teamwork between ponies in the air and ponies on the ground. He didn't know what the story was, but he was glad things were taken care of. He sipped his hay smoothie, listening to the play by play being provided by the balloon announcer. He supposed they were doing a decent job. Though, Pinkie Pie's commentary from last year was... interesting... to put it lightly. At least he got to hear the play-by-play of Applejack's and Rainbow Dash's antics. And the Princess visited last year! Idly, Scale wondered if she would visit again this year. It was something special just to see royalty, after all.

The road was trecherous as Swift Breeze ran to catch up. The path was so covered with leaves that each turn threatened to send him careening off into a tree. He swerved and swiveled around the turns, leaves kicked up by his efforts to not crash. Soon, he saw it... the back of the herd. Spirits raised, he lowered his head and surged forward. "Excuse me... Coming through... Pardon me... Watch your left..." he panted as he wormed his way forward into the ponies. He could hear his blood pounding in his ears. His muscles practically screamed. As the leaves underhoof began to not be quite so thick and prone to sliding about, he began to slow down, letting his muscles rest a bit, for a given measure of 'rest'. His chest heaved as he took grateful lungfulls of air, catching his breath as best as he could after his scramble to catch up. He dropped back a bit, running at about the speed of the other front runners. He turned a concerned eye to the occasional ponies that found out the hard way that a tree's bark is worse than its bite. They were already being helped by others, though, so he continued on. Just as he was starting to think he could relax a while in the run, dirt, leaves, and rocks got kicked up in his face. "Agh!!" He turned his head and closed his eyes, keeping even more from getting into them. He shook his head and blinked, wincing as he tried to clear his eyes. All the world was a blur as he teared up. He dropped back just a little, using the brightly colored blobs moving about near him he saw the other racers as to judge where to stay on the right track. "Of all the dishonorable... low down.. underhanded tactics..." he grumbled. Were this a fight, he might have expected such a thing, but in a race? He squinted, trying to make out just who was ahead of him, speaking in such a sarcastic tone. "So, that's how you want to play then?" the voice asked. "I know your game. You recognized me as a threat, huh? Now you want to trip me up." Swift Breeze tensed up. Something didn't seem right about that tone. "Well, I'm not going to let that just slide!" snarled this irate voice. "I've got my eyes on you! Believe me, if you try anything, you'll regret it..." Did they notice his earlier rescue and thought him a threat to eliminate by any means? He couldn't see who was being addressed, so he had to be prepared for anything. Partially blinded, Swift Breeze was wary. Was this some irate, bad-natured pony trying to bully their way to victory? He shook his head again, trying to clear his eyes. If it was a pony, Swift would have trouble dodging a well-placed hoof, he pondered to himself. ...and that wasn't even counting if they had other dirty tricks to pull. If it wasn't a pony... there were several other things that could be just as dangerous. "So much for a calm run through the woods..." the pegasus pondered aloud. "And these ponies go through such a race each year, just for the leaves..." His eyes narrowed, determination setting in once again. He wasn't about to let himself be knocked out of the race, be it pony, griffon, dragon, diamond dog, or any other species that could talk doing the dirty tricks.

Pausing above Sweet Apple Acres, in about the area he took off from, Swift Breeze looked in the direction of the other racers. He could see the leaves in the woods starting to fall as the mob of ponies ran beneath. "Hm... I seem to have fallen far behind with my little detour," he mumbles to himself. "I suppose I shall have to make up lost ground." Pulling up and over, Swift pulls into a spiralling dive toward where he took off from. As he approached the ground, he pulled up gradually, getting lower and lower until he was close enough to the ground. He folded his poor wings up and dropped the last few inches to the ground and into a hard gallop. He was going fast enough that he wasn't really able to appreciate the scenery, but he could just imagine the dressing down he'd get when he returned if he came in at LAST place in a race. "Just think of it as more training. Gruelling... merciless training." Already he could see the brook and the bridge in the distance. Most of the ponies were already past, but there were a few that were still milling about. His eyes darted about. There was the brook he knew the bridge crossed, but he wasn't sure how deep it was at this distance. ...so that just left the bridge. He looked at the railings on each side thoughtfully. The ponies seemed to be trying to catch their breath for a moment. A plan started to form. Aiming for one of the sturdier looking ponies, he ran full tilt at them. At the last moment, Swift jumped hard. "Excuse me, friend," he politely said to the pony in passing as he lightly put his forehooves on said pony's back. Swift Breeze's hind legs kept going up and over with the momentum of his jump. He pushed off of the pony's back to spring toward the railing. Looking at his hind hooves and the railing, he landed first with them. His ears registered a slightly concerning crack as he rolled the rest of the way to land with his forehooves. His hind hooves were already moving again, up close to where his forehooves were. Gathering his weight on his back hooves, he leapt off the railing and soared to the other side of the bridge, wings still closed. He fell back into a steady rhythm of galloping as he hit the dirt on the far bank of the brook. He could hear the angry shouts of the pony he'd used as a springboard behind him, already fading away behind him. "...I do hope that pony isn't too cross," he muses to himself as he runs. He wasn't quite sure what he would have done, had he not had his training. Already he could feel his body chastising him for being so rough with it. He would have to slow down sometime. "Perhaps I should have gotten some water while I was there."

Climbing ever higher, Swift Breeze spotted a group of pegasi along his flightpath. Slowing, he hovered in place as he came up to them. He blinks in confusion for a moment before stepping onto a cloud. He drapes his heavy blanket around his neck with a shake of his head. "Good day." He bows his head respectfully to the other pegasi. He glanced back down at the running ponies and smiled. It had been far too long since he had been able to see such a view. So many ponies were running below. His gaze lingered for a while as he saw the foliage thinning as the racers passed the trees and approached a brook. Looking back up to the others, his expression once again turned serious."Might one of you know more about the screaming pony over there?" He turns his head toward the winding plume of smoke. "As a monk of the Mylit Elpo Nis temple, I could not in good conscience keep running in the race while somepony needed help." He nods in a sage manner, stretching his wings and moving them about after keeping them bound up so much. He might lag behind in the race due to the detour, but somepony had to do something. He thought back to the flight training given by his masters at the temple. Thanks to that and all its crashes, collisions, and blows, natural or induced by somepony else, he figured any sort of trouble this might have should be foal's play in comparison.

Final tag added as requested.

With a modest chuckle, Swift shrugged at the compliment. "Pleased to meet you, Zephyr Burst. I am Swift Breeze, of the Mylit Elpo Nis temple in Roughrider Ridge." His gaze briefly flicks upward before back to the course. "The countryside here is quite beautiful. The ponies here are surely blessed by the Princess." His gaze moves back up to the sky, looking at the contrail in the sky. "...though, I am not certain the same could be said for that individual." He looks ahead, letting out an impressed whistle at a few ponies around. "There are plenty of swift and strong hooves around, so the leaves are sure to fall. I believe I see some that do not have hooves, as well. It is certainly different from how we remove the leaves where I am from. Though, mountains do not easily lend themselves to hoof races." He glances back to the course ahead as he runs, then back up to the sky. "I wonder if he needs assistance." He looks at his bindings, then to his racing neighbor. "...it may be enough of an emergency to free my wings. The masters of the temple would be most cross, were the situation not dire." Back to the course ahead. "Perhaps the thick blanket could be useful in helping the poor, screaming pony." His features wear a determined look for a good distance as he considers the situation, glancing occasionally upwards as he weighs his options. With a nod, he reaches back and gives a strong pull at the rope holding the blanket around his midsection. As the rope falls away, he catches the blanket between his teeth. His wings spread wide and he lifts off! With a brief wave to Zephyr, he begins climbing to the jetpack-propelled pony's altitude, not that he knew of such things as jetpacks and science. Determination reigns on his features, his braided mane and tail swaying behind him.

As Swift Breeze ran through the trees, he drank in the view. A calm smile spread on his face, and his eyes closed as he caught the delicious scent of apples. "Truly a wonderful place," he murmured to himself. Everything was so lush and he was sure, were it not fall, everything would have been green and beautiful. The thundering of so many hooves was relaxing, in a way. He openned his eyes as the source of the apple aroma came into view. Somepony must have labored hard to grow them. The temple rarely got apples, he recalled, and what apples did arrive, didn't usually look anywhere near as good as these. Some ponies raced ahead. Others lagged behind. As he was pondering on what philisophical lesson he might pick up from such an observation, another racer went head over hooves and collided with him! He watched as the ground started tilting up toward him, reflexively rolling from hoof to hoof and back upright, thanks to his years of training. Turning, he looked to make sure the other pony was okay, finding the other stallion getting to his hooves already. "Oh horseapples, I'm really sorry," apologised the other pegasus, somewhat darker in pelt than Swift. Bowing his head, Swift waved a dismissive hoof. As he openned his mouth to reply, but the pony continued, "Sorry about bumping into you, but gotta go!" Swift watched as the other pegasus bolted, continuing with the race. With a smile and a chuckle, Swift Breeze gave chase. There was a pony that knew how to set priorities, he figured. "Beautiful trees may surround, but the wise pony keeps one eye on the ground," he quoted to himself. A determined smirk spread on the pegasus's face, and he sped up to try and pass the other pegasus. "To linger on the past is to live in the shadow of those that look to the future!" he quips in a good natured verbal jab, jumping over a rock in the path as he does. His wings strained briefly against their bindings, provoking a creak from them and a frown from Swift. He clips an apple with the large bead on his tail at the top of his jump, then sends it in a casual arc over toward the green pegasus with a well placed knock from a hoof as he runs.

Swift Breeze shifted his hooves in place to get better traction with the ground as he waited for the starting signal. When he had heard of the running of the leaves and its importance to his fellow pony, he decided to participate, to better understand the experience of non-pony life. It was one of the things the Masters of his temple had sent him to do, after all. After a few odd looks, the registration ponies handed him a pair of papers with the number 108 to wear for the race. Looking at the other ponies around him for reference, he affixed the labels properly and took a place. He offered a calm smile at the occasional pony to look in his direction, though most seemed content to join their friends. A few skittish ponies quickly disappeared into the crowd instead, much to Swift's amusement. As he stood, he looked over the trees, drinking in the beauty of the changing leaves of the season. As the balloon floated overhead, he watched with fascination. He'd heard of such things, but this was the first he'd seen. His ears perked as he heard the distant voice. He couldn't quite make out all of it, but he saw other ponies getting into a ready position. Doing likewise, his wings shifted beneath their bindings. More than anything, he would have liked to remove them, yet he knew that the leaves would not fall without the rumble of hooves. That's not even mentioning how cross his masters would be at the temple if they found out he'd taken them off for something as trivial as a race. Again, the distant voice. His neighbors scuffed the ground with their hooves, determined gleam in their eyes. Lips were wetted in anticipation. Some of the chattering ponies quieted down. Swift took a deep, calming breath, then let his thoughts fly away, calming his mind. His ears strained. "Go!!!!!!" As the ponies in the balloon waved their flags, the ponies below surged to life. Swift Breeze was no exception. He leapt into action to give validation to his name, legs pumping as he did his best to try and move ahead in the pack. His face was a mask of intensity, scanning in front of him for openings to take advantage of, or hazards in the road to avoid. He was determined to do the Mylit Elpo Nis temple proud.

Name: Thistle Sex: female Age: chick Species: Griffon Pelt Color: Tawny Lion half, sandy feathered bits. Mane/Tail/Markings Color & Style: Sky blue accents on feathers/tailpoof, sky blue 'mask' around eyes. Eye Color: gold Physique: Small and fluffy Origin: Rockwington to Appleoosa Roleplay Type: Main RP Occupation: Child (It's a full time job, y'know) Motivation: "Mommy said Daddy motivated her to play with her. And now she motivates him to stick around to help raise me. Daddy said I motivate him to drink sometimes, but he laughs and says he still cares for me." Likes: (optional) fish, pretty things, flying (though she's still only so-so at it), flowers Dislikes: (optional) being treated like a kid. veggies. Having to chase down the food her parents bring her. Character Summary: Thistle is a very sweet youngster that is playful and nice... for a griffon. Her parents are still trying to raise her to be a strong member of griffon society, but her niceness is a little concerning to them. They moved closer to pony territories to make things a bit safer for her until she gets a bit older. She might play a bit rough compared to pony foals, but compared to some of the other chicks back in Rockwington, it's not much rough housing at all. Sometimes her parents take business trips around Equestria and bring her along.

Looking over his shoulder, his ears perked up. "Huh? What? ...oh horseapples." He takes off at a gallop, trying to get to his next class, hoping to remember where it was. ... but at least he met somepony different, so it was justified, he figured. (end)

Scale nods. "All kinds of foods out there. ...some tastier than others." He thinks. "Only time I really get hesitant is when I've had one of the ingredients before and didn't like it." He nods, smiling. "Yeah. It's good food here." He finishes off the peppers. "Thanks again. I'll try and find something to pay you back." He smirks, then jokingly sticks his tounge out. "No need to thank, maybe, but it's still the polite thing." He stretches. "As for the book again, congratulations. Got plans for your next project, or are you planning on relaxing for a while to enjoy the success?" He adjusts his glasses, frowns, then floats them off his face to clean them with a napkin.

Letting out a slight snort at Mal's reaction to his statement, he shakes his head. "Pf. Pity doesn't do anything, so why do it? I'm just trying to help solve what I see as a problem. Everypony needs somepony to care about 'em, even if they don't care for caring and go about without a care for a care." Another hoofpoint. "That includes a grumpy mare that might give most a scare, with a lost eye behind her hair." He thinks for a moment. "...and so, there." He smiles as he gets the scarred mare's name and nods. "I'll be sure to do that! You can count on it." His smile turns to a smirk. "One way or another, I'll show you that not everypony is as deep as a puddle and as sympathetic as a ball of yarn." He blows a raspberry playfully and makes a mental note to find that shop.

Scale frowned. "Who says I have to be friends to be concerned if somepony is okay?" He sits. "It's good to hear you're fine, though. I've heard a few horror stories on what could happen if you use your horn wrong from my dad, but hadn't actually seen it before. You know. Those stories young unicorns get told to make 'em be careful. You could've been reduced to screaming and thrashing about like that for the rest of your life, for all I knew." He sighs, then smiles. "I'm glad you got what you're working for, though. I hope you can get it to work out for you, with a bit of effort." He pauses. "Nopony that cares about you?" He frowns, Ponyvillian nature rising up. "But..." Lower lip tremble. "... But that's just so SAD!" He thinks for a few moments, then nods. "Well, that won't do. I might not be the best choice for it. I wasn't the most social of ponies back home, but there were enough others that I didn't have a choice in learning how to be." He points a hoof. "I don't know if I'll see you again or not somewhere around town, or if you'll be accidentally blowing yourself to smithereens with your new spell, or if you'll just head elsewhere in Equestria... but you've got one pony that'll care what happens to you." He pauses, then thinks some more. "Even if you don't care what happens to you." Headtilt. "Or even if you don't care back." Pause. "Or even if--I should probably stop right there, because I'll probably just ramble on and on if I don't." He points a hoof at her again. "So you can't say that anymore." He blows a raspberry and nods, matter of factly. He pauses to headtilt again. "Err... whatever your name was." And then back to nodding.

When pain, loss of senses, and screams faded away, Scale could be found beside the filly, concerned look on his bespectacled face. "Holy horseapples!" He raised a hoof to put it against Mal's shoulder. "Who cares if it worked! Are you okay?" he asked, worried look on his face. As the bag of bits is tossed, he quickly catches them. He takes a look at its contents briefly, then looks back to the pony that had been screaming in pain just moments ago. He shifts about on his hooves for a few moments. "... Thank you." He raises a brow, still looking concerned as he tucks the bits into his saddlebags. "Are you sure you're okay?" He frowns, shaking his head just barely perceptibly as he took a step closer. "That looked horrible... It's a lucky thing you had somepony close by in case something horrible actually happenned." His expression takes on a tinge of anger. "Really. Trying out some spell out of a book without even taking the time to study the book it came out of? That's just reckless!" He sighs and shakes his head. "What's the point in trying to make things easier for everypony to use if everypony insists on doing things that might get them killed! Geez! You need to keep everypony else around you in mind if you decide you wanna try something that's so dangerous! Who'd tell everypony what happenned if you wound up as a splat on the wall??" he asked, frown on his face. "Sure, I might have just met you, but I'm sure there's somepony out there that cares what happens to you!" He closes his eyes and shakes his head. "Really. That's just reckless. How you survived until now, I've got no idea." His expression softens slightly as he looks at the other unicorn. "Are you okay, miss?" For a moment, he thinks on how he's fretting over a pony that he doesn't even know her name, but he keeps his concerned look, none the less.

Nodding, Scale floated up the piece of cheesecake and gave an experimental sniff, then popped it in his mouth. "Hmm... not bad. Guess it's just not my cup of tea." He gets a piece of pepper and nods. "Yeah... these are not really dessert material, but they're nice. Just enough spice to make you notice, but not enough to make you wonder who set your mouth on fire." Nom. "Too much spice and it'll distract. ... Unless the spiciness is the whole point of the food. I don't often go for the 'burn your mouth off' thing, but it can be fun at times. My usual go-to at a place back home was fried pickles. A bit different, but still pretty tasty."