[Stalliongrad] Double Dog Dare 'Ya (attn: Racken) [OPEN]

[FermataTheBasse]

[colour=#008080]"Sometimes the sidewalk is all the dance studio you need."[/colour]

[colour=#000000]Stalliongrad, the city full of cold weather and unpronounceable names. Swan Dive had been recommended to the city several times by friends, and they had all given her ample warning as to how cold she would find the climes. She had thus come prepared, with thermal under clothing, so as to not mar in any respect her very immaculately constant chosen guise. She was thus nice and warm in spite of the harsh biting winds that cut through the city. Swan wasn't aware of the history, the local hotspots, the... anything, really. This was her first time to the city, her maiden voyage, and she wasn't even sure what she was supposed to expect from the locals. For the most part, they seemed content to shoot her hat strange looks and move on. She sighed. It wouldn't be easy to get an interview, between her own phobia of strangers and the stranger's coldness. Perhaps cold bred cold.[/colour]

[colour=#000000]The thick noise of industry, cramped streets, and smoke choked air of the Kuz-something District was what Swan bore witness to at this moment. She wasn't really sure why she had gravitated to a district where she could very well have been throttled by the exhaust fogging up the air, but her childlike curiosity demanded she explore. She had to find a pony to talk to. She had to find awesome looking machines to awe over. [/colour]

[colour=#000000]Oh, well that had been fast. Some kind of rooted claw like apparatus was moving large rocks around, literally moving them from one side of the street to the other. It was choking off the traffic through the street, inconveniently placed right in the middle of the street as it was. Now, coming from a city where machines were rare and where claw-like machines were especially rare, Swan was entranced by this glorified crane. She looked around for an operator, but she couldn't find any pony standing in obvious control over the thing. It was too bad, she would have loved an interview...[/colour]

[colour=#ffd700]"Mmm... who could I find to interview around here?"[/colour]

[Blueblood]

Even in this district in this city, such an intrusion into the street was an unusual obstacle to encounter. Or rather, a rare opportunity, to one particular mare.

Out of view of the milling crowd accumulating around the blockage of traffic, Flying Brick was warming up, stretching each leg in turn and flexing each joint in every direction. In order for this to work, she had to be limber in every way. This also included not wearing heavy clothes, which exposed the red-brown earth pony to the chill in the air. As a native of Stalliongrad, however, she could stand the cold better than any Equestrian, and her exertions would serve to warm her up.

[colour=#b22222]*It's Showtime* [/colour]She thought to herself, before springing into action.

She clambered up the fire escape up to the roof of the building to the left of the crane, leaping beyond the final step right into a somersault, stopping just short of the edge of the roof on her hind legs. Her upper body was raised almost perpendicular to the ground, her head thrown back as she heard the gasps of the ponies below who'd first noticed her. Flying Brick kept the pose for two seconds while the clawed machine swung over to her side of the street. Just when it was beginning to pull away, she stepped off the roof, her front hooves barely reaching the cross-bar of the crane as her forelegs bent to grip it.

From there, she pulled herself into a bar routine, rotating around and under the cross piece, before launching into the air to land on top of it, transitioning into a balance beam set. Whoever was operating the crane seemed to notice by now, and it stopped moving on the right side of the road. Not missing a beat, Flying Brick swung and spun down the rope to to claw, now close enough to the ground to safely jump off of. This she did, right on top of a trash can.

Neatly tipping it onto its side under her hooves, she barrel-walked it into the middle of the street, before lightly stepping down and kicking it back to its place in the alley.

She bowed to the stunned crowd. It did not stay stunned for long though; cold as it was, every city appreciates a good show, especially if it's free.

[FermataTheBasse]

[colour=#008080]"A reader once asked- in jest I think- if a barrel roll was the best move for a dancer to know. I replied by saying that we are not all pegasi, and that dancers normally do not have barrel-like objects in their routines."[/colour]

[colour=#000000]As a hobbyist dancer, Swan Dive had a well trained eye when it came to understanding the grace and execution of other's dance moves. Now, what Flying Brick had done was not in the strictest sense dancing. But it was impressive, it was graceful, it was perfectly executed all the same. She was among the first to gasp when Flying flew off the fire escape, was amazed by the impeccable timing of her catch and prompt bar routine on the crane, was amazed by her speed, was amazed by her little barrel run.[/colour]

[colour=#000000]Swan was also the first to start clapping her hooves into the ground, appreciative of the show, and she was the first and probably only to actually approach. She was so quick that Flying wouldn't even have had time to finish her bow before Swan was upon her, all smiles and eager bouncing on her hooves.[/colour]

[colour=#ffd700]"Oh my, that was simply amazing! A work of street art that deserves to be chronicled. I am Swan Dive, darling, I write for a publication in Canterlot. Would you care to give me a few words?" [/colour][colour=#000000]That all came out in a rushed jumble, so eager was Swan Dive for a talk with Flying that she rushed her words. They still came out with impeccable diction and a slightly aristocratic accent, of course. She was not one to lose that so easily. [/colour]

[Blueblood]

These streets were home to Flying Brick. She'd cut her performing teeth on them, and had become one of the local fixtures in the district. She'd ranged across the city in her time, but these were the ones she knew best. Most everypony (and non-ponies) who lived here, she knew, and they knew her.

Thus, it was usually only newcomers who took enthusiastic interest, and Swan Dive was about as much a newcomer to Industrial Stalliongrad as it was possible to imagine. "[colour=#b22222]I should think you were not from here." [/colour]The mare replied, in the accent of her city and the strained diction of a lower-class pony talking to an upper-class one. If Swan Dive had been more on Brick's level, her greeting would have been more obviously enthusiastic, and probably rougher as well.

Despite the lack of complete comfort, however, the earth pony was pleased at the compliment, and when Swan Dive mentioned she was from a paper... "[colour=#b22222]Yes, I should get my jacket first, but I should be glad to give a few words.[/colour]" Inwardly, excitement was stirring and straining. Publicity was a craving for all with the showmare's instinct, and that Flying Brick had in spaded. She practically skipped on the tips of her hooves as she went to fetch her clothing, and only slightly downplayed it upon her return.

[FermataTheBasse]

[colour=#008080]"Home is where we are from, and home is where we always long to go."[/colour]

[colour=#000000]Swan Dive's excitement was taken down a noticeable peg, her smile faded a bit. Swan Dive was good at reading others even when she didn't know them- was a master of it when she did know them- so she could tell that there existed between them a natural barrier as it stood. The division between classes of society, all too painfully present in Canterlot as was, seemed to apply here as well. Swan had never cared for it, and she had to rally to make sure that she did not lose this mare to anything as silly as difference in style of living.[/colour]

[colour=#ffd700]"I am not from here, but... Oh!" [/colour][colour=#000000]Swan perked right up again when Flying did, Swan could read the excitement in the lightness of her steps, which Swan's dancer's instincts picked up easily. Swan waited for her patiently, nodded when she came back with a jacket. [/colour][colour=#ffd700]"So, you'll give me a few words? Great, great! Trot with me for a while, perhaps. You could show me around and we could talk." [/colour][colour=#000000]Swan was the type to socialize along with doing her job, easy when her job was talking to ponies and taking down their stories. [/colour]

[Blueblood]

"[colour=#b22222]Oh, certainly![/colour]" The interviewer had begun on just the right note; Flying Brick loved her home city, and was all too willing to show it off. Her eyes were bright, her voice was eager, and her bracing exercises had left her rather more energized than exhausted.

"[colour=#b22222]There is so much worth seeing here, it is impossible to tell where to begin![/colour]" The mare, in her eagerness, had trotted ahead of Swan Dive, and was now walking backwards, facing the Canterlotian. Flying Brick apparently knew the streets of Stalliongrad well enough to do so without running into anything. "[colour=#b22222]This is Industrial District, mostly workers live here. My father works construction, his team was on that site back there. They don't mind my using equipment as stage, if I don't break it, and I don't. Oh, my house is near here, would you like to see it?[/colour]"

By now her slowed pace had brought her even with the unicorn, and she was facing the right way round.

[FermataTheBasse]

[colour=#008080]"Turn for turn, the world turns on the turn of a turn."[/colour]

[colour=#ffd700]"Excellent!" [/colour][colour=#000000]Swan Dive followed along quickly, a brisk trot, not because she was cold but rather because she was warming rapidly toward this Stalliongrad mare as Flying in turn warmed toward her. Swan knew that all ponies loved to talk when given the right subjects to talk about, though she wouldn't say that it was a 'tool' for her to get other ponies interested in her interviews. She loved hearing them out, truly. [/colour][colour=#ffd700]"Oooh, a father in industry you say?" [/colour][colour=#000000]Swan Dive had no notes, no notepad, no writing utensil. Her memory was the method by which she transcribed, so detailed could it paint mental portraits of others. [/colour][colour=#ffd700]"I daresay I would love to see your house."[/colour]

[colour=#000000]Now Swan Dive was very susceptible to the adage 'pony see, pony do', and Flying's energetic position changing as the trotted along was infectious, it put energy into Swan Dive's step as well. She began to mirror Flying, now Swan Dive was trotting backwards as Flying trotted forward. Swan giggled playfully, amused by her own actions. [/colour][colour=#ffd700]"Tell me, mare whose name I hope you tell me," [/colour][colour=#000000]Swan said as she trotted backward with the ease born of her own dance skill. [/colour][colour=#ffd700]"You are a professional dancer? Acrobat?"[/colour]

[Blueblood]

Flying Brick was a little surprised at Swan Dive's imitation of her temporary walking style. The Stalliongrad native could do it safely, but-

"[colour=#b22222]Look out![/colour]" Reaching with a forehoof, the earth pony brought the reporter to a stop with a quick grab to the neck, right before she would have run into a lamp-post. "[colour=#b22222]I know these streets, but you might miss something if you don't look where you're going.[/colour]" She remonstrated good-naturedly.

Having prevented disaster, Flying Brick was now able to concentrate on Swan Dive's questions, and the most important one first. "[colour=#b22222]My name is Flying Brick, and yes, I am an acrobat, though I only play the streets. As for professional...[/colour]" She gave a kind of sheepish shrug. "[colour=#b22222]I am not paid much; have to take odd jobs to get by.[/colour]"

The pair had now started walking again, at a steadier pace this time. "[colour=#b22222]My house is not far from here, but I do not know if mother will be ready to be hostess.[/colour]"

[FermataTheBasse]

[colour=#008080]"I'm very good at running into things. Ponies, and distressingly solid objects. I only really enjoy running into the former."[/colour]

[colour=#ffd700]"Whoop!" [/colour][colour=#000000]Swan Dive rolled into Flying's hoof, preventing either of them from being really jerked about by the sudden shift in momentum of their bodies by using torque to absorb the majority of both of their movement force. Of course, Swan was not a physicist and did not understand the mechanics of her motion. But she was grateful to Flying for having caught her, warned her of her mistake. Swan was prone to doing things unconsciously without really thinking of the repercussion. She was glad that ponies were always willing to help her out in her moments where she was short of clarity. [/colour][colour=#ffd700]"Thank you so much, darling! I'm afraid I'm oft prone to doing things without thinking of my circumstances." [/colour][colour=#000000]Swan sprung off Flying's hoof, picked up their trot at an easy pace.[/colour]

[colour=#ffd700]"Oh my. You are very talented, Brick! To be honest, I think you are deserving of a very high salary. Is there any reason you cannot be payed well?" [/colour][colour=#000000]Swan said it earnestly, she really believed it. The demonstration she had received on the street was absolutely fantastic. Non-formal performances were so rare in Canterlot, Swan was sure the story would be well received just for that detail alone. [/colour][colour=#ffd700]"Oh, Flying, do allow me to speak with your mother. I am sure she will be willing, I will not be a bother!"[/colour]

[Blueblood]

"[colour=#b22222]It's no trouble.[/colour]" Flying Brick assured the pink-maned mare. The dexterity with which Swan Dive had neatly recovered herself hadn't gone unnoticed by the acrobat. "[colour=#b22222]You are not too bad on your hooves yourself, if you look where you are going.[/colour]" Indeed, now that the Earth Pony really began to look at her, she could tell the grace with which the interviewer moved was not an affectation; real work and training had gone into it. Mentally, she allotted to Swan Dive a larger portion of respect.

"[colour=#b22222]As for pay, well, it's not as if I can close off the street and sell tickets, yah?[/colour]" Flying Brick had to smile a bit at the mental image. [colour=#b22222]"It's not a well-paying venue. Ponies are appreciative, but rarely in any position to pay much more than spare change. I wouldn't play to any other, though."[/colour] She laughed a little, but there was an increasing strain in her voice as they neared her street.

When at last they reached her house, a thin building of brick wedged in a street of such, she was chewing on her lower lip. "[colour=#b22222]I... don't know. If you promise not to print anything about her that... she doesn't want you to, I suppose it could be alright.[/colour]" A new note, tinged with embarrassment, had come into the acrobatic mare's voice, as the pair mounted the steps to her home.

[FermataTheBasse]

[colour=#008080]"My subject's discretion is the discretion I always use. My own discretion is my subject's discretion."[/colour]

[colour=#ffd700]"Oh, don't say that Flying! I am just a hobbyist, no more. You will make me blush if you compliment me too highly." [/colour][colour=#000000]Swan Dive was actually developing a bit of a blush as it was, as they trotted along. But there was also frost forming on her eyelashes, and a forehoof was rubbing insistently at where her blush was forming, making her gait a three-legged one only not awkward because she really was lithe and skilled on her hooves. Perhaps Swan Dive was beginning to suffer from the cold, as she had protected everything but her face. Swan Dive could ignore the pain only as a result of her own tendency to be easily distracted. So she plowed on happily:[/colour]

[colour=#ffd700]"I'll bet you have considered it." [/colour][colour=#000000]Swan giggled, then heard out Flying's next statement. Oh, well... Swan's powerful empathy was once more reading the subtle and fine details, she heard the strain in Flying's voice as she spoke. There was something there, something more. But Swan had to be careful. She couldn't ask, not yet, not directly. To know a pony, one first had to love them. Well, Swan already loved all ponies. But love on a closer level.[/colour]

[colour=#ffd700]"Hm." [/colour][colour=#000000]For now Swan chose to ignore her observations of Flying's job. [/colour][colour=#ffd700]"This story is yours, Flying. Not your mothers. I'll get that in a different edition." [/colour][colour=#000000]Swan laughed, smiled eagerly at Flying Brick. She hoped she'd be let in so that they could talk more. [/colour]

[Blueblood]

"[colour=#b22222]Urm, well, alright.[/colour]" Flying brick nodded in resolve as she guided her guest up the steps to the front door. Unlike most streets in Equestria, houses in this district of Stalliongrad had no front gardens acting as an aesthetic boundary between the brick and the cobblestone. Most Equestrians who came here thought it uncommonly ugly. This particular house was distinguished by an elegant facade which did much, in its own way, to make up for that, though it was obviously a later addition.

The mare walked in without knocking; it was her house, after all. "[colour=#b22222]Mama? I'm home.[/colour]" She called out, nodding towards a hatstand doubtfully as she looked at Swan Dive. She hadn't given the hat much regard at first, but now that it showed against the background of plain walls, the architecture of the thing became apparent.

The sound of arrythmic steps brought both their attentions to a newcomer, an older earth pony mare with a burgundy coat and chocolate mane, currently dressed in a smock that told of her constant battle with the coal dust that seemed to get everywhere in this part of the city. She walked in with a limp, like one who had a long time to get used to it.

When Flying Brick's mother, for it was she, saw her daughter's guest, she started a bit, taking in Swan's elegant appearance, before laying into the mare in earnest. "[colour=#800080]Daughter, if you were going to bring in a guest, could you not have waited until I got the house ready?"[/colour]

"[colour=#b22222]And leave her out in the cold?[/colour]" She asked.

Her mother sighed. [colour=#800080]"I suppose not, can't keep an Equestrian out there. Not a one of them can stand it, beg your pardon."[/colour] She bowed to the visitor, before motioning to the kitchen. "[colour=#800080]You can fix some hot drink, while I go clean up[/colour]." And with that, she limped off.

Flying Brick smiled sheepishly as she guided Swan Dive to the small table in the Kitchen. "[colour=#b22222]We don't usually have guests at this hour, you see.[/colour]" She said, apologetically. "[colour=#b22222]Still, I couldn't give you the runaround, you looked as if your eyes would freeze over![/colour]"

[FermataTheBasse]

[colour=#222222]

[/colour]

[colour=#222222]

[colour=#008080]"I'm never cold, except when I'm actually physically cold."[/colour]

[/colour]

[colour=#222222]

Swan Dive admired the facade as she entered, it reminded her so much of the pretentiousness of many a home in Canterlot, with mis-mashing of elegant details and decor choices obviously put together just because they were the 'in' thing at the time. Of course, Swan didn't think so bitterly of her neighbors. Indeed her house was marred by one too many lawn ornaments tacked up on the roof. That had been an especially strange fad, one Swan had enjoyed and still enjoyed up to now, her collection of rooftop angels.[/colour]

[colour=#222222]

Now, when Flying indicated a hatstand, Swan actually blanched. It was rare, so incredibly rare for her to willingly part from her favored hat, 'Ellie' as she loved to call it. It stood out, perhaps in a bad way, but Swan was simply too attached to it. [colour=#FFD700]"Uh, ahem. Sorry for that." [/colour][colour=#000000]Swan was a bit sheepish with her outburst. Flying couldn't have known about her attachment to her own hat.[/colour][/colour]

[colour=#222222]

[colour=#000000]Swan Dive was interested in the appearance of Flying's mother. She looked like a strong, capable mare with years of physical labor under her smock. The sort that Swan had only really seen in romantic books before, the sort of mare that would probably have quite the tale for the Tail. But this was Flying's hour, not her mother's. So Swan bowed gracefully in response to the matron of the home, balancing as she was more than capable of doing on three hooves, smiled warmly at her hostess. [/colour][colour=#ffd700]"I will be no trouble, I promise." [/colour][colour=#000000]Swan let herself be guided to the table, a cozy little thing it looked like, and sat herself down. [/colour][colour=#ffd700]"Oh, is that so?" [/colour][colour=#000000]Swan didn't feel cold at all, and she had indeed returned to her healthy countenance, the frost vanished in the warmth of the home. [/colour][colour=#ffd700]"Well I'm sure you're more suited for this cold than I, yes? Where do you practice?"[/colour][/colour]

[Blueblood]

Flying Brick hadn't taken any offense to the refusal of the hatstand; Swan Dive's hat probably couldn't have stayed on anyway, top-heavy as it was. The mare's attention was mostly on her mother, following her exit with something of a sad look, before turning to the task of making some hot cocoa for her guest.

"[colour=#b22222]Mama takes it with a little vodka, but I don't think you would.[/colour]" She said as she brought the mugs to the table. She took a sip of her own as she faced her guest, who looked just about recovered from the cold.

"[colour=#b22222]I should think I ought to be suited to this weather, It's home to me. Stalliongrad builds strong![/colour]" She said it with pride, more in her city than in herself. "[colour=#b22222]I practice in the same place I perform, the streets. The best place is a construction site, there are a lot of props to incorporate, and there's nothing like scaffolding for acrobatics.[/colour]" She took another long drink from her mug, disregarding it's still-scalding temperature. "[colour=#b22222]My father lets me on his sites when the workers are breaking for lunch, or clocking off for the day. Hm, that's sort of how I got my cutie mark. I used to help him as a little filly, carrying tools to his workers. One day, I was taking a spanner to some griffon at the top of some steel beams. Nopony thought I could get up there without wings, but I did! Lived up to my name, I did.[/colour]" She gestured back to her flank, where her cutie mark was visible, a brick with wings.

[FermataTheBasse]

[colour=#008080]"A cute foalhood story is a universal means of become endearing to others."[/colour]

[colour=#000000]Swan Dive couldn't help but notice Flying's glance after her mother, a somewhat more heavy glance than Swan would have expected. One again, the Canterlot mare was a bit concerned, once again she deemed it too soon to touch on such matters and once again the issue was filed away, for a conversation perhaps where she wouldn't be the strange reporter, but the quirky little friend from a distant city. [/colour][colour=#ffd700]"Hm, I can't say I partake of alcohol. I'm not partial to the taste." [/colour]Swan's vigor was not affected at all, she accepted her drink gracefully and began to drink from it with both hooves. Ah, the childhood memories of winters in Canterlot that hot chocolate evoked, right down to the accidentally burning of the roof of her mouth. Not like her life had really changed from those quaint childhood days.

[colour=#000000]Swan Dive listened, both because that was her job and because her ability to comment in turn had been wrecked in the short-term by her drinking her own drink too fast. Her ears were on end, she put a hoof over her mouth and blew into it, as if that were to help cool her down. [/colour][colour=#ffd700]"That... oh, ouch, that is a very nice story, Flying! I find it ironic, that you lived up to your name by not doing what your name implied you could do. Tell me, did you ever consider the danger of your stunts? Or have you always been able to overlook that; say because you enjoy it far more than you possibly fear the outcome, or because it is simple instinct, or something else..." [/colour][colour=#000000]Swan took another swig of her drink to match Flying's own. Swan, as usual, did not learn her mistakes easily, and her hoof went back to her once more burnt and bruised mouth.[/colour]

[Blueblood]

The sight of Swan Dive repeatedly scalding the roof of her mouth, and the steps she took to relieve the pain, elicited a sympathetic chuckle from Flying Brick. Temperature extremes didn't bother her so much, you had to get used to them, living in Stalliongrad. The question of whether she'd ever considered the danger of her stunts caused her to pause for a second, before finishing off her cocoa in another big gulp.

"[colour=#b22222]I cannot say I do, most of the time. I've been doing this sort of thing since I was a little foal, so I don't think about it much now. Sort of a habit, you see. I've gotten injured before, but nothing too serious.[/colour]" She shrugged. "[colour=#b22222]If you can follow your talents, you should. If you can stand the danger, all the better. I'm not completely reckless, you know. Not having a formal performance schedule means I can pace myself, and not have to force myself to play injured until my legs give out entirely. My hooves are the tools of my trade, and I can't replace them.[/colour]"

[FermataTheBasse]

[colour=#008080]"Practicality is not my strong suit. I think my parents are surprised I haven't crippled myself yet."[/colour]

[colour=#000000]As Swan recovered from her self-inflicted burns, she had to be amazed by Flying's hardiness. She was gulping down her own drink as if it weren't still boiling hot. Swan almost copied her again, perhaps in a childish need to not be outdone, but at the last second Swan finally learned her lesson and removed the mug from her lips, setting it back onto the table.[/colour]

[colour=#ffd700]"Ah. So you are capable of overcoming the danger, but you know your limits." [/colour][colour=#000000]As a dancer herself, Swan understood completely. If she ever lost the ability to dance, Swan would have been devastated, not out of a job perhaps, but definitely without a big part of herself. She could imagine the care Flying took in routines, the balance between the rush of adrenaline that demanded more and the cautious head that warned against more. Swan had to rub her hooves together, both fore and rear, to make sure they were still where they belonged. [/colour][colour=#ffd700]"How did you first join your troupe? Were you noticed, or did you have to seek them out?" [/colour][colour=#000000]Swan drunk, sure this time to blow on it and only sip. [/colour]

[Blueblood]

Flying Brick had to raise an eyebrow at the sudden movement on the part of Swan Dive to make sure her body was still intact. The mare had felt something like that before, after running a particularly dangerous obstacle course, but to suddenly do so in the middle of a warm kitchen was unusual, to say the least.

These reflections had to give way to the next question, which seemed to cause some embarrassment in the Earth Pony. "[colour=#b22222]Well...[/colour]" She started off, not really sure how to continue.

At this point, Flying Brick's mother came back into the room, slightly limping. She had cleaned up, washing the dust off of her coat and putting on a simple but serviceable dress for receiving company. She made her own spiked cocoa before coming to the table, but before she sat down, Swan Dive would have been able to see her cutie mark, a pair of dancing shoes.

"[colour=#4b0082]My Daughter has not introduced us, I think? I am Balanced Tip.[/colour]" She nodded to the Canterlotian before taking a sip of her own drink.

[FermataTheBasse]

[colour=#008080]"Like mother like daughter. I managed to wholly avoid that cliche."[/colour]

[colour=#000000]Swan Dive herself failed to notice her own motion, but she did notice Flying's response to it, and she had to wonder if something about her was drawing negative attention. Was it her hat? Perhaps Ellie was bit dirty today, Swan rubbed at the brim of her hat in instinctual concern for it's 'health'. She was eager to hear Flying answer the question, but she seemed to be suddenly shy. Swan dusted herself off as well. She was apparently very messy today, to throw off others. Okay, that probably wasn't it, even she knew that. But before she could try to press the issue, Balanced was now there.[/colour]

[colour=#ffd700]"Ah, hello there. You look wonderful." [/colour][colour=#000000]'Serviceable' and 'fashionable' were two separate ideas altogether, but Swan was touched, that her hostess would go through the trouble. Swan nodded at Flying. [/colour][colour=#ffd700]"Your daughter was about to tell me how she came upon her job, Miss. If you would, darling Flying?" [/colour][colour=#000000]Swan smiled hopefully at her charge.[/colour]

[Blueblood]

"[colour=#4b0082]Oh, why, thank you.[/colour]" Balanced had been feeling a little underdressed, given the sartorial care obviously given by Swan Dive. Plus, she'd had to deal with all the feelings of a working-class mare playing host to a posh guest. She hadn't been around Swan Dive long enough to feel comfortable around her. "[colour=#4b0082]What I mean is, I don't believe I caught your name?[/colour]"

"[colour=#b22222]Mama, this is Swan Dive. She works for a Canterlot paper.[/colour]" Flying Brick spoke more easily, though it was a bit forced, like she was tiptoeing around a subject she didn't want to talk about. This note of artificiality grew more pronounced as she returned to her interviewer's question. "[colour=#b22222]Well, see, I mostly trained on my own. There's not a lot of troupes on the streets, not in this city.[/colour]"

[FermataTheBasse]

[colour=#008080]"I am only uncomfortable when others are uncomfortable around me."[/colour]

[colour=#000000]Swan Dive's smile faded, just a bit, when she quickly sensed that there was some degree of awkwardness between herself and not only Balanced, but also Flying. They had been fairly well off until now, Swan had received the invitation into Flying's house. It had to be the question, and such an innocuous question it had seemed. Well Swan knew it was best to back off, not ask that question until there was comfort between all subjects involved. She sort of had an answer, that should be enough for now. [/colour][colour=#ffd700]"Swan Dive, miss. I am Swan Dive of the Young Mare's Tail. Now, erm... How do you practice, Flying?"[/colour]

[Blueblood]

Balanced Tip nodded, and returned to her drink, watching the newcomer with interest.

Flying Brick, meanwhile, was relieved that Swan Dive wasn't poking yet into why she wasn't a part of any troupe or company, and proceeded to answer her next question in a more relaxed manner. "[colour=#b22222]Mostly, I work with whatever I can get. Most of my routines have two separate parts; the building work, which is generally done on roof level, and prop work, which is generally done on the street. My usual place is any scaffolding after the construction workers have gone home, there's usually enough girders near ground level to try out new pieces without a risk of broken neck. Also, enough stuff is lying around for street-level experimentation. Sometimes, though, my best stuff is done on the spur of the moment. Once I found a traffic jam in one of the middle-class neighborhoods, and did an entire show on the roofs of taxi cabs.[/colour]"

Her mother, meanwhile, after watching the interview, broke in. "[colour=#4b0082]I don't wish to interrupt, but I should like to know about you, Ms. Dive. I don't like visitors to stay strangers, after all. What exactly is this paper? It's not sold in our newsstands.[/colour]"

[FermataTheBasse]

[colour=#008080]"Yes! Go on and put on a show!"[/colour]

[colour=#ffd700]"How fascinating... Yes, I can see that!" [/colour][colour=#000000]Swan Dive imagined Flying's practice sessions in public, and proceeded to imagine herself within the exact same circumstances. Sans the incredible gymnastics, which Swan was not totally privy to. [/colour][colour=#ffd700]"Do tell, Flying, is it often that you practice? Are your practices planned beforehand more often than not? From what you have described, I venture a guess at an insatiable hooves that must be in motion on a regular basis. I myself am cursed with them." [/colour][colour=#000000]As she said that Swan's hind legs were doing a little stepping under the table to a silent beat, so tired she was already of being seated. [/colour][colour=#ffd700]"As for the Young Mare's Tail, we are publishers of the stories of individual ponies and all other related media. I find it fun to chronicle such tales, and it helps to spread friendship in our little Equestria. I could not give you statistics..." [/colour][colour=#000000]Nor could Swan even understand the numbers that came with them. [/colour]

[Blueblood]

"[colour=#b22222]I practice whenever I can. Some days I can dedicate most of my time to it, that's when I practice new pieces. On days I have to work, I at least get an hour's solid conditioning, and as much time over as I can spare.[/colour]" Flying Brick stretched as she answered, flexing her hooves. "[colour=#b22222]The joints are as important as the muscles; I need to stay flexible to keep a grip on many of the things I use.[/colour]"

Balanced Tip, meanwhile, was listening to Swan Dive talk about herself. She was giving the Canterlotian a rather curious look. "[colour=#4b0082]I see. You are a dancer, then?[/colour]" The look cranked up in intensity.

[FermataTheBasse]

[colour=#008080]"I want to talk to everypony, but not at once..."[/colour]

[colour=#ffd700]"Ah, such great dedication! Even I could not imagine spending whole days dancing..." [/colour][colour=#000000]Swan Dive thought for a moment, imagining exactly what she had just said she couldn't imagine. Now that she thought about it, and entire days just spent dancing the day away sounded incredibly fun. Why had she not done that before? Swan put her head onto the table, atop her forehooves, she smiled up at Flying. [/colour][colour=#ffd700]"It sounds like a blast! Hard work, of course, but a blast! But that is my opinion. What is yours?"[/colour]

[colour=#ffd700]"Mmm..." [/colour][colour=#000000]Swan had to think for a bit on Balanced's question, for two reasons. One, Swan found it difficult to carry multiple conversations, and especially when either one of them involved ponies prying into her own personal life. Hypocritically enough, Swan didn't like talking about herself. She could hear out the stories of any other, but her own stories both humiliated and bored her in equal measure. That aside, she also found it difficult to respond because Flying's mother was shooting her the most curious look right now. If Swan didn't know better, she'd have said that Balanced was mad at her. [/colour][colour=#ffd700]"I do dance, yes! It is not my primary source of income-" [/colour][colour=#000000]Nor was The Young Mare's Tail. It made quite a bit because Swan was actually a decent manager, but overall Swan was still a daddy's mare through and through. Her lifestyle was expensive, after all. [/colour][colour=#ffd700]"-but I do enjoy it greatly as a hobby. Erm, is that all?" [/colour][colour=#000000]Swan hoped she could get back to focusing on Flying soon.[/colour]