Andifferous

The pegasus looked around. "Where? Oh! I see it." he said, smiling a little as he caught sight of the glimmer. "Its funny, I didn't see any lakes from overhead." That actually made him pause for a moment. "We didn't go that deep into the forest did we?" he asked, head tilted a little. With a shrug he kept walking resuming his humming for a bit. "Y-know I thought these woods would be more... I dunno, spooky or something." he said after a few minutes. By now the lake was clearly visible, although one could see the far side was surrounded by marsh and weeds. This end looked to be mostly rocky beach.

I'd like to see either of my characters humanized, Dusty or Semolina. take your pick, they're both in my signature!

The pegasus looked around curiously clearly thinking for a bit before picking one at random, and started walking. "How about this way." he said with a smile in her direction, He had chosen the path that led toward the water, although he had no clue what lay that way. As he trotted through the thick underbrush he hummed to himself, not even sure where he had heard the tune, but it was catchy and stuck in his head like nopony's business.

Semolina laughed hard at Rappatat's mistake, although the only sound was her occasional gasp for breath. Taking a moment to catch her breath and calm down, she picked up her notepad and scribbled quickly in it. -Not entirely sure, never done much pranking- She wrote, a thoughtful look on her face. She wanted to do something fun, but also didn't want to be too cruel to any ponies they didn't know; it wouldn't be fair to ruin somepony's experience at the fair for just a laugh. -Maybe mess with one of the food vendors? What do you think we could do?- (if we can get a third pony in the RP we could pull a prank or two on them I suppose, open to any ideas you've got too!)

"Its what now?" he asked, looking over his shoulder at her. "Whoah!" Her sudden push caught him off guard, but kept him from touching the dangerous plant. After gathering himself and climbing back to his feet. "Okay, okay, don't touch the blue flowers, got it." he said, dusting himself off, although that seemed like a futile effort, as his appearance didn't change in the slightest. "So um, which way ya wanna go?" he asked, looking around the little clearing, seeing a couple of trails leading through the woods, most likely left by animals.

Looking toward the Diamond dog who was the leader, Dusty cleared his throat and stepped forward. It was time to test his theory. "You know, I have to wonder why you're bothering with ponies for labor." he said quite clearly, and loud enough that everyone in the room could hear. "After all, Gryphons are bigger, and tougher. They can fly, and they don't have any pesky magic to fight back with." He gave the briefest pause for them to consider that. "And the ponies they're bringing you, (that's us) are all injured. Definitely inferior labor." He waited for a moment to let that sink in, wings folded, and fully expecting harsh retaliation from the gryphons at any point. "They're playing you for saps."

He chuckled a little bit, seeing her descend just like he did. Interesting; despite her shy demeanor she was just as much a daredevil as he was, although the sound of her wings cracking open like that made his own wings ache slightly; last time he had done that his wings were sore for the rest of the day. "These are some pretty flowers over here. Never seen them before." he said, smiling as he leaned back in, obviously clueless as to their true nature. He started reaching out a hoof to touch one. (unless she stops him from poisoning himself like an idiot)

Dusty grunted and winced as he was struck again, but this time kept his mouth shut and didn't fight back. Over the past few minutes Dusty's mind had been racing, trying to figure this puzzle out. Why would the gryphons and diamond dogs be working together? That was the big question, but not too difficult to solve. In his head he began going over the motivations for both sides; the diamond dogs were obviously after gems. and using other species as labor was not unheard of. Ok, so that was why they were being kidnapped like this. How did the gryphons come into play then? So far it seemed like they were just here to set up traps and capture more labor for the diamond dogs... possibly for a share of the profit... It made sense enough, despicable as it was. At this point he took a guess that with how agitated the gryphons were, they might just be on shaky ground with the diamond dogs. If that was the case, he thought, he might just be able to throw a wrench in the works and give them a moment to escape. Glancing about he began to look for the diamond dog that was in charge, a smile pulling slightly at the corners of his mouth.

"Miss?" Dusty spoke up, waving a hoof in front of her. "Hello? You kinda zoned out there for a moment." He wondered if this was really that good an idea, she did say her name was Insanity, after all. She still seemed nice though, so he really hoped it was just that, a name and nothing more. "Well I guess If you're ready than so am I." he stated, smiling a little as he stood up. "Lets be off shall we?" he said, giving her a smirk over his shoulder before casually stepping off of the cloud, wings still folded. Needless to say he plummeted like a stone. Despite the appearance this was actually something quite intentional, something he did mostly for his own amusement. He adjusted his fall, till he was in a dive, wings still tucked in, as the ground drew closer and closer, until finally opening up his wings and flapping hard for a few seconds, bringing him to a halt a couple of feet off the ground. "Hmph. could've waited a little more." he muttered. It was a game he liked to play with himself, seeing how close to the ground he could get before he had to take action. True it was liable to get him hurt, but he usually managed to at least change course before touching the ground. Looking around the small clearing he smiled a bit, This 'dangerous jungle' didn't look too scary. Curiously he glanced upward to see if Insanity was coming, before trotting over toward a patch of blue flowers on the ground. They looked fairly interesting and he wanted to take a closer look. (hasn't actually touched them yet, just leaning in to take a whiff)

"Oh!" he said, turning to look back at her. He had to admit she did look rather adorable in that particular pose. "Um... well I wouldn't mind some company I guess." he said. Turning back he sat down again, folding his wings up at his side. Reaching up he scratched a little at the perpetually mussed up tangle of grayish brown hair that made up his mane. "Did you want to come with me?" he asked, smiling a little bit. "I wasn't really going to do all that much, just walk around a bit and explore." He glanced down a the woods.

He smiled a little when she tapped her hoof against his, not quite what he was going for but good enough. Then she was staring at him for a few moments, making him feel a little odd. Not that he hadn't drawn stares before when walking into a new place, but that typically had more to do with his general unkempt appearance. He offered an awkward smile, tilting his head a little. "Um..." Then she looked away, adding to his confusion. "Oh I've heard its a little dangerous, but well, the risk is part of the fun." he said in reply to her statement about the danger, following her gaze to the forest below. He glanced back to her. "Sorry to bother you Miss," he said. "I'll leave you alone if you want, you just seemed concerned about something when I was flying by." Slowly he stood up and stretched his wings out, starting to search out the clearing he had been headed for.

He carefully set down on the cloud next to her. She was here for herbs. That made sense enough to him, from what he'd heard there were plenty of plants that seemed to only grow in the everfree. She did seem a little bit shy, so he made sure to give her a little distance; he didn't want to freak her out by suddenly getting up close to her. Gently he sat down, glancing over the edge at the forest below. "My name is Dusty" He replied with a smile, offering a hoof to shake. "I uh... I just kinda came here to explore, wander around a little y'know?" he said, blushing slightly as he realized how silly that might sound.

The everfree forest. The scruffy dust colored pegasus took a long few moments to take in the sight of the dark forest. From up here it didn't look so intimidating, just some dense woods on the edge of town. Still the explorer in Dusty yearned to explore such a place of mystery, which is why he was headed there right this very moment. He'd just arrived in ponyville earlier that day, and was taking some time to explore the surrounding area. To be perfectly honest, the town had never garnered much interest, it had always just seemed like a quiet little town on the maps. But constant travel was bound to lead him there sooner or later, not to mention stories of odd things going on in the town as of late that seemed to be going around. His wings beat a slow rhythm as he started his descent, planning to land in a clearing a little ways in. Then his eyes spotted something unusual, a burst of color sitting on a cloud over the forest. As he drew in closer he pulled to a stop, offering a friendly wave and a smile to the golden colored pegasus. "Uh, Hi there, I didn't think that I would run into anypony else this far into the forest." he said, curiosity evident in his voice. "I thought most folks avoided this place like the ponypox."

Semolina blushed at the idea of meeting a new friend; it wasn't an easy task without a voice, but she was hardly one to say no. She smiled broadly at the idea, especially having a friend who was so very similar to her. When Rappatat added to her message she read it over quickly, before thinking for a moment, she wasn't much for pulling pranks, but this was too good an opportunity to pass up. Giggling silently as well she nodded eagerly to the idea, this would be fun... as soon as they found their way out of the mirror maze.

Semolina was thunderstruck. This was really another mute pony, not some sort of joke... For a few moments she didn't know what to make of it, the suspicion gone from her eyes, replaced by a look of wonder. She nodded a little at Rappatat's message, ears perking at the sound of her hoof tapping against the mirrored floor. She didn't know any code herself, but she had to admit it was a clever idea. -I was very sick as a little filly, lost my voice- Was her reply, another pre-written page. Then she grabbed up her pen in her teeth again and hastily began writing. -Sorry I don't really know any horse code, I just get by with this pad. Call me Semolina!- The writing was shaky, although now from excitement and hurrying than anything else. -This is SO weird, I thought you were a reflection at first.- She held up the pad, a smile pulling at her cheeks a little bit, what were the odds of two nearly identical mute ponies meeting like this?

Semolina's jaw dropped, her notepad clattering to the floor. She blinked a few times, tilting her head a little bit, wondering if this was some sort of joke. After a few long moments she shook her head slowly, eyes still wide and apprehensive, as she picked her notebook back up, flipping to a blank page. Still eyeing the other pony every now and then she quickly wrote down a message in rather shaky writing. -No, I was very ill as a child. Can you speak either?- was written out on the page, She held it up for the other pony, very confused. A part of her was very suspicious, wondering if this were some sort of cruel prank somehow. She knew it wasn't very likely; the last time anypony had teased her about her voice was when she was a filly in school, but even now there was a slight nagging doubt in the back of her mind.

Semolina blushed a little bit, taking the hoof. Once she was on her feet she let out a silent giggle of her own, before looking around to see if anypony else had seen. Still it seemed like they were mostly alone in this part of the maze. She looked over the other pony, noting that her cutie mark was different as well, a circle with several lines through it, it seemed. She had no clue what it was supposed to mean, but quickly shrugged that off. If it came down to it she was sure she'd find out sooner or later. Quickly she pulled out her notepad and flipped through a couple of pages, looking for one specific message amongst the pages of pre-written short messages that came up often in conversation. Finding the one she wanted she picked it up in her teeth, a blush and a smile on her cheeks. -Thanks, Sorry about that.- The page said. It was a message she didn't use very often, true, but it still came up every now and then if she ended up tripping or bumping into somepony.

Semolina let out a silent yelp of shock when her reflection moved, in a way that definitely wasn't her. Eyes wide she stepped back, looking over the reflection slowly. It was definitely very different from the usual mirror tricks. She looked around, not sure if she was seeing things as she gathered her composure. Stepping forward she slowly leaned in to place a hoof on the mirror. Her hoof reached further, and further as she leaned in, until her hoof encountered nothing and she fell forward awkwardly. at this point it sank home that this was not, in fact, a mirror at all, just an opening in the wall. and strangely enough this was a different pony in front of her, despite the similarities in appearance. Blushing a little she looked up, giving a shy smile.

Semolina smiled to herself as she trotted down the street. Were she able to, she'd be humming a happy tune; the young mare had returned to Fillydelphia only a couple of days ago, and she was taking some time to get reacquainted with her hometown. Intending to stay for about a week, she had spent the first couple of days with her parents, catching up on what she had missed since she moved out to set up a place of her own. Today though she decided to go out and see her home city once more; Fillydelphia was a very different town from Trottingham, and she often missed it. She seemed to have chosen the perfect time to visit as well; the annual carnival was here, and the middle of the city was abuzz with excited ponies, games, food stalls, music, and just about any sort of attraction one could imagine. Her small green saddlebag was filled with anything she might need, her pens and notebook, as well as enough bits to properly enjoy the festivities. On a whim she purchased herself a sheet of tickets, and headed for the first thing she saw, a house of mirrors. It had been a long time since she'd had fun in one of these things, so she curiously wandered into the large mirror-filled tent. The interior was laid out like a maze, with many of the mirrors warped and distorted in odd ways to play with ponies reflections, Others were tinted funny colors, and even a few were simply regular mirrors to add to the confusion. Even the floor and ceiling were mirrored too, although the floor had plenty of scuff marks on it. Semolina giggled silently as she wandered the halls, amused by the strange and silly ways her appearance changed and twisted, looking from mirror to mirror. She paused at one particularly odd one, mostly because it didn't seem to do all that much. looking at it head on the only thing that seemed different was that the colors were slightly different; the pony in the mirror had a blond mane and blue eyes and saddlebag, She tilted her head slowly, confused by the odd reflection. It seemed out of place amongst the sillier mirrors around them. (Either a piece of transparent glass like a window, or there's no mirror there)

The baker pony nodded her understanding as her new customer paid for the food, ear flicking a little bit at the soft somewhat odd humming coming from her. Beyond the sounds of the register and Gray it was just about the only sound in the quiet shop. As she followed the pony to a table to pour her coffee, Semolina reminded herself to save up what income she could to purchase a gramophone for the little shop. It might take a while though; the bakery's current budget was very tightly balanced now that the tourist season was over, and profits would be somewhat slim over the winter months. Once her new guest was situated, she paused at Gray's table, noting her cup of coffee was almost empty, so she quickly, but carefully leaned in to refill it, before trotting back to the counter.

If you're still looking I'd be happy to try and put together something with either of my characters. Send me a PM if you're interested.

Hm, if we could put together a way for them to be in the same place I'd be happy to throw in either of my characters into an RP.

Dusty grunted a bit as he was batted by that wing, his bruised eye throbbing a bit as it took the brunt of the strike. "Ow, geez!" he spat. "Not much good to you as a worker if I'm injured now, am I?" he said, more to the diamond dogs than the gryphons. He was putting together an idea in his head, one that might allow them a chance at escape. But he was still trying to formulate the proper way to phrase it. It might also be best to wait until the gryphons weren't within striking distance. Unless the gryphon was going to rebuke him again he'd keep quiet and cooperate, at least for the most part. Learning as much of these caves and pathways wouldn't hurt either; it'd be no good in their escape attempt if they got lost or ran into a dead end later on after all.

Dusty flexed his wings slowly, biting his lower lip. He didn't like Dunder's order to surrender, but the other pony was right, and it would be a bad time to start and argument. This was definitely a bad situation; certainly not the worst he could imagine, but still bad. Still a thought occurred to him. As he folded his wings he looked around once more, before taking in a slow breath and standing up slightly. "Why would Gryphons be working alongside Diamond Dogs?" He asked, voice quiet but clear. "Especially gryphons who I'm guessing are trained military flyers, if the way you landed is anything to go by." He clamped his jaw shut as he finished, half expecting a physical rebuke of some sort. A couple of other insights popped into his head, but it wouldn't be wise to mouth off too much. Plus he needed to know more about the situation before he could really make any further statements just yet.

Semolina was a little bit surprised by the silence of her new customer; was this someone who had the same voice problems as her? Her smile faltered slightly as curiosity rose, but she quickly shook that off and got the mare's order ready. Cupcakes and other sweets weren't really her forte' but she usually ended up preparing a batch or two of pastries and sweets for ponies who wanted a treat. Carefully she picked out one that had a generous amount of frosting on top and placed it on a plate along with a couple napkins. Setting the tray on the countertop next to the register she rang it in, just two bits. She gave another warm smile to her customer, flipping her notebook open and showing it to her customer. -Anything else I can get for you?-