Critter Studies [Ended]

[Cat Napper]

Cat Napper sat back on her haunches staring at the blank sketchbook propped up in front of her. Such a magnificent part of the castle, The Royal Gardens! The pegasus felt so honored to be able to see such a place, but something felt off to her. The beautiful surroundings definitely felt inspirational to her, but she sat with her pencil gripped between her fetlocks, unsure of a subject to draw. "Hmm.." She sat still for a moment, tapping the end of her pencil against her chin thoughtfully. Usually she could pull a subject from her mind based on her knowledge of existing creatures, but that sounded too average right then. Here she was, at the Grand Galloping Gala for Luna's sake! There had to be something interesting here to draw.

"Oh? Hello, stay where you are 'lil guy." Cat whispered to a very odd looking animal. She'd only heard of such a creature, a kangaroo, but never seen one! "Not so little, you're pretty big!" The creature stood still a few yards away, sniffing at something within a bush. Perfect pose! Now, if only he would stay still for her. Cat expertly began a light skeletal sketch of the creature and puzzled out it's odd muscular structure. Those back legs certainly were developed and strong! She'd like to see this critter jump at some point, it was probably a very impressive display of strength.

[holypony20]

Tobias went out to the garden. He wanted to go and see all the interesting creatures and exotic flowers in there. He has seen so many flora and fauna in his travels but there might be some that he hasn't seen yet. He saw a filly Pegasus out here drawing a kangaroo. He saw a kangaroo once but not a lot more times in his travels. He walked up quietly next to the Pegasus not wanting to disturb her or scare away the kangaroo. "That's a good drawing so far." He whispered.

[Cat Napper]

Cat nodded with a smile to the other pony who'd decided to join her in the garden. "Thank you, I just hope he'll stay still for a teeny bit longer..." She said in a gentle voice, not wanting to scare off her subject who was still very interested in the bush. She had begun to pencil in the finer details, eyes, ears, nostrils, even a few whiskers on his nose. "Such an odd animal, where are they native to?" She asked, partly wondering to herself since she wasn't sure this pony knew anything about kangaroos either.

[holypony20]

Tobias was still talking in a gentle voice as well to not scare the animal away. "I have only seen them in the desert myself. They have pretty strong back legs. There very protective animals. And I have to say there pretty cute." He knew a lot of these kinds of animals from his travel. It was one thing that he researched during his adventures around Equistria. "I'm an adventurer and I study this kind of stuff now and again. I dont know a lot but I have experienced a lot. I have gotten to see different animals in there natural habitat."

[Dubstep]

Dark Core was looking dashingly debonaire as he skulked about the Castle gardens, the place where animals of all kinds congregated en mass; his black dyed pelt blended in rather well with the night time surroundings, though of course his pure white mask stood out, but if he kept moving, it wasn't noticeable.

As he happened along through the garden, a sight caught his eyes, it wasn't a bird of amazing beauty nor was it a buzzard that buzzed, no, twas a small pegasus sitting sketching a kangaroo, "Oh ho? A chance to cause a little mischief! I can't pass up a golden opportunity such as this!" he exclaimed as he pulled out his nefarious, sinister, terrifying, horrifying...SLINGSHOT! Taking aim with his weapon of choice, the villainous colt grabbed up a small pebble and pulled back on it, sending the little rock hurtling towards and smacking the kangaroo on its side

[Cat Napper]

Cat perked her little ears and grinned at Tobias. "An adventurer? Now that sounds fun." She had just begun to add the fur texture to her piece, nodding warmly at another filly who'd decided to join them, when suddenly her subject leaped from where it stood with a startled cry and bolted away further into the gardens. "AWH! FUUUDGE!" Cat stomped angrily and set her sketchbook down. "I was almost done too!" She sighed, but then gazed suspiciously at a little round pebble she was sure wasn't there moments before.

The filly flared her little wings angrily and crept closer to examine it. "Oh I see.." She grumbled. "Alrighty, who's the little punk who chased off my subject? Come out! Before I drag y'out myself!" Cat swished her neat strands of hair from her face and glared into the shadows. Nopony was gonna get out of this without a very stern talking to, that was for certain!

[Dubstep]

Dark laughed quietly to himself as the target bolted off into the gardens, the startled sounds it made was almost as funny to him as the angry sounds that the artist was making, the sounds of frustration were like music to the colt's ears, causing havoc was one of his joys in life.

But when the filly called out to his hiding spot, the villain knew it was time to abscond; turning to run, Dark didn't notice his collar got snagged on a low hanging branch, so when he started to bolt off, "GACK! UGH!" he was jerked back and fell to the ground with a thud, "Ohh...gah...that hurt..."

[Cat Napper]

Cat stared into the shadowed areas hidden from the moonlight by the thick garden foliage, unable to make out much. But as she lifted her goggles to her eyes for aided viewing, the culprit became all too clear. "Luna y'gotta be kiddin' me.." She mumbled, watching the colt slam into the ground in his failed getaway. Cat picked herself up and fluttered over to the unicorn's side, even with how angry she was she had to make sure he hadn't stupidly injured himself.

She prodded his side with a raised forehoof and tilted her head, her expression a combination of irritation and curiosity. "Alright kid, what's the big idea here? First off, y'alright? That was some fall y'took. Second, I don't appreciate you waltzin' in and chasing off my subject like that. For a prank that was really obnoxious." The filly said, voice low and stern. Anypony would be surprised that this tough voice belonged to a filly half the size she should be.

[Dubstep]

Dark lays still catching his breath as the artist walks over to check on him, he glanced at her surprised that she sounded so stern for such a pipsqueak, "Gah....Hmph....I'm perfectly fine! It would take more than a little fall to stop me!" he said standing up and dusting himself off; checking his tux to make sure there were no rips or tears, he was glad to see it was still intact, "As for you SECOND question! What's wrong with me having fun hmm? Isn't that what this Gala is about? Coming somewhere grand and doing things you've never gotten to do before? That's what I did! I've never hit a kangaroo with a slingshot before and I finally got to do it!" the young villain said with a smug grin.

[Cat Napper]

Hah! Oh man, this kid just had to be joking with her. Cat could tell that this pony was very close to herself in age, alas he wasn't too mature. As was the way with most ponies her age. "Oh, come now. I know there's nothin' wrong with a bit of fun!" She said, shaking her head. "You could do it in a less obnoxious way? There were plenty of other kangaroos to torture y'know." Cat flicked her tail and snorted a little. But, it wasn't like her to be mean even if somepony deserved it for being downright annoying. "That was a terrible first impression t'make on a potential friend, don'tcha ever think about that kinda stuff?" She said sternly. The filly folded her wings calmly again, breathing deep and slow and succeeding in returning to her previous mood. She smirked to herself and added on, "So, what's a manners-lacking punk like yourself doing at the Grand Galloping Gala anyways?"

[Dubstep]

Dark couldn't help but roll his eyes, "Friends? Feh, what would I need friends for hmm?...They're nothing but trouble and get in the way of your goals." he said scoffing a bit; what good were friends to an evil mastermind? Could they even be used as stepping stones? No, their 'help' would probably just make their usefulness crumble beneath Dark's hooves; no he was better off alone and he knew it, "And yes, there were plenty of kangaroos around, but only ONE being sketched; now if YOU were looking for a good prank, what would you do? Shoot a straggler? Or go for one getting the attention? Heheh...and I'll thank you to not call me a punk; you pitiful pint-sized pegasus!" the pelt dyed colt said with an arrogant tone about him; after that dance he just got done with, it felt nice to get back to the REAL reason he came; to spread havoc and chaos amongst the party-goers...and so far he had at least one short pony, short fused.

[Cat Napper]

"I suppose somepony as rude as yourself wouldn't know the virtues of friendship, my apologies!" It was so hard not to find this amusing. Such a serious little colt, such a shame he wasn't aware of how silly he made himself seem to the "pitiful pint-sized pegasus." Cat held a hoof against her lips to stifle a giggle, but gave up on that rather quickly and laughed out loud at her new acquaintance. "..oh, alright then! Hehehe, so sorry if my height offended you! I'll do my best to be taller next time for yah." She grinned ear to ear, trying to get a negative reaction out of Cat with name-calling was like beating a dead horse. Wouldn't get you anywhere!

"I'll call you a punk as much as I please, CLEARLY you haven't proved yourself worthy of any other title. Maybe a pest, s'not much better though!" The filly fluttered her wings and filled the gardens with her laughter again, almost ready to facehoof. Now it was a bit obvious that, although he WAS near her age, Cat had a few years on him both in levels of maturity and her actual age. What an adorable kid! She just couldn't keep a straight face through this, and even after getting a grip on her gigglefest she still wore the same amused grin and humor filled expression as before.

[Dubstep]

Dark stomped and snorted; who was this filly to laugh at him?! "Grrrr....WHO DO YOU THINK YOU'RE LAUGHING AT HUH?! I'M NOT SOME KIND OF ENTERTAINMENT FOR YOU TO GAWK AT, YOU FILTHY FLYING FLEABAG! WHY, WHEN I FINALLY HAVE THIS WORLD IN MY GRASP, YOU'LL BE ON YOUR KNEES BEGGING FOR MY FORGIVENESS, JUST BEFORE I TOSS YOU TO A HORRIBLY HUNGRY HYDRA! YOU WILL RUE THIS DAY, YOU GROTESQUELY GRODIE GIT!" the villain sputtered out in a huff; his rant could probably be heard across the entire gardens at this rate, "AND YOUR PITIABLY PATHETIC PREDETERMINED NOTIONS OF THE PREPOSTEROUS PROSPECT OF FRIENDSHIP IS PERFECTLY PUERILE!" Dark was nearly steaming at this point; he hated not being taken seriously and hated being laughed at even worse; this little filly just made it on his Revenge List at the very least.

[Cat Napper]

After that rant, Cat just stared wide eyed for a moment. And then she blinked. And blinked again. "...I-I'm not that bad, am I?" With a bit of hurt in her eyes, she smoothed out the wrinkles in her dress and frowned, looking for any sign of fleas in her pale coat.

"Grotesquely grodie git? I.. how.." Cat looked at this new pony with a tilted head, almost looking as if she were about to cry. Wow.. that was a bit unexpected. Cat hadn't even done anything, and yet she'd suddenly received a slew of screaming insults? From somepony she was giving a second change to befriend even after how awfully he'd treated her! The filly flared her wings again, finding a new boiling rage deep inside her heart start to rise up.

Calm down Cat, calm down! She mentally screamed at herself. That's all he wants from you, don't give him any negative reactions! Instead, Cat thought about what the unicorn had actually been saying in his little hissy fit. And she laughed again.

"Heheheh, somepony needs a chill pill! For not being a source of entertainment, you're pretty entertaining!" Cat shot a goofy grin at the young villain again, even though she was very sure that he'd rage again at her for not taking him seriously. But that was impossible! "Good use of alliteration there hehe, maybe you should write poetry hahahaha~!"

[Dubstep]

Dark gulped as he the filly stared at him, had he gone to far? He thought to himself, 'Guh...maybe I was a little too rude...But....no one laughs at me like that...not anymore...is she....oh horseapples, she's not gonna cry is she? Crap...' taking a step back, the villain got an apologetic expression on his face and almost started to say something, when suddenly, the pipsqueak of a pegasus started right back to laughing at him, "......." the villain's face went from the apologetic look it held to one filled with anger once more, "GRAAAAH! ENOUGH! STOP LAUGHING AT ME! NO ONE LAUGHS AT ME! NOT ANY MORE!" Dark yelled out as his horn glowed a bright white, causing a large shield of translucent magic to appear next to him.

With a flick of his head, the colt sent the shield hurtling into a tree, knocking it flat to the ground with a thud; the beasts and birds ran and flew for cover as the villain toppled a few more trees before shouting again, "MARK MY WORDS, YOU'LL REGRET THIS DAY! NO ONE MAKES FUN OF DARK CORE AND GETS AWAY WITH IT! NEVER AGAIN!" he shouted as he ran up the garden wall; tossing his mask to the garden ground as he reached the top, Dark glanced one last time at the filly with a look of mixed feelings before shaking his head with a sneer and jumping off the other side.

[Cat Napper]

Cat sat back on her haunches and crossed her forelegs, a smug little grin spread over her maw seeing the villain throw another hissy fit. Was.. was that a little falter she saw on his face? So.. he WASN'T completely heartless after all? This made the filly smile softly. There was more to this little nuisance than met the eye. Interesting. Cat would keep that in mind, for sure.

And suddenly, a flash of unicorn magic shocked Cat back onto her four.

"AHH!" Cat lifted her wings to shield herself from the raging colt's magic, only to see it fly past her and destroy a few trees. "Wha.. huh?" She tilted her head curiously, smirking slightly at his promise of revenge, and watched him take off over the garden wall.

The filly looked down at his mask that landed at her hooves and tilted her head again, staring at it the way a curious puppy would. What had he meant when he said 'not anymore'? She frowned and sat down, swishing her tail rapidly back and forth, deep in thought. No one makes fun of Dark Core and gets away with it.. not again...

And then it all made sense to Cat, just like that! That colt wasn't a little pest, there was more to him. He was a pony who needed a friend. And badly.

"And mark my words, Dark Core, master of evil.." She muttered to herself, turning around and spreading her wings. "You'll soon have your day... we'll meet again. This, I swear." The little filly chuckled, cleared her throat, and practiced an evil cackle. "Muhahahah!" She grinned and broke out into a mad giggling before fluttering back to her sketch site.