Do I Pour Gas or Water on the Fire? [Private: Zeig]

[moonshineTheleocat]

The door to the Desert Storm Studio soon slammed open, allowing a Coffee colored pony to come sliding outside. His gaze sifted through the many ponies who often wondered the streets. But it didn't take long to find the pony he was looking for. Unsurprisingly, it was as easy as looking for a pony that didn't look like he belonged in the crowd.

 

And with his target it sight, Java dashed down the street. He weaved between ponies, throwing apologies to whom ever or what ever he had knocked over, till the tattoo cladded pony was insight. Java was already sure that the stallion wouldn't be too happy to see him. But he was certain that the severity wouldn't be harsh enough to cause him to make a scene out in public.

 

"Inkbrand! Oh! Sorry, scuse me! Pardon... erm no thank you... INKBRAND!"

 

This was bound to work! The two could have a calm conversation. Throw water on the fire. And hopefully start fresh. Java was sure of this as well by the time he had now slowed down to a brisk trot. His hoof already outstretched to gently rest on Inkbrand's shoulder and pull him to a stop.

 

Java offered his best smile, partially a grimace, partially serious, somewhat characteristically demented, but mostly apologetic as he spoke.

 

“Inkbrand! Wait! I just want to talk! An apology is due from me.”

[Zeig]

 

The sour taste in his mouth that had prevailed upon leaving Khamsin's studio, courtesy of a certain rot-brained odor filled Earth Pony, was quickly dissipating in the warm air, and Inkbrand let out a light hum as he strolled through the city, heedless of the stares his tattoo-clad body got from the upper echelon of Canterlot.

Khamsin's place was becoming nothing more than an afterthought, and though he wished he could have spent more time with his friend - the brown Pegasus had been going on about his upcoming fight in some arena-styled challenge for a while - Inkbrand figured they'd have loads of time to catch up later. Canterlot wasn't all that far from Ponyville, after all, and Khamsin could probably fly faster than he could grab a train ticket. Or maybe he'd hang around here for a bit. Canterlot wasn't his style, not in the bucking slightest, but it was rather fun causing the dainty nobles to scowl or blush, or let out scandalized gasps as he -

"Inkbrand!…INKBRAND!"

The pony in question was so surprised, so incredulous, that he actually made the mistake of turning his head, as if his mind couldn't really believe what it was hearing.

Buck, how he wished his mind had been right.

"Sorry, what? Going through a tunnel," the tattoo-clad stallion called out loudly, managing an almost playful tone despite the snarl threatening to rip straight out of his throat. A hoof held against one ear emphasized his lack of hearing ability at the moment as Inkbrand deliberately picked up his pace, incredulous that That SODD had actually had the bucking audacity to first, chase him out of Khamsin's, then follow him like a lost puppy. Only Inkbrand would have pos-i-tiv-ely no problem kicking this particular puppy, if it's stupid little brain couldn't take a bucking hint, like the last fifty billion times -

He hadn't been expecting the hoof to his shoulder, but his body immediately tensed, knowing instinctively who it was. Inkbrand barely refrained from slamming a hoof straight into the other's face as he nimbly slipped out of the brown Earth Pony's grasp, whirling around to face him head on.

"Apology?" the grey stallion said incredulously, using build and stature to loom as best he could over the other. "Buck your apology! Get it through your thick, skull," the tattoo-clad stallion snarled, punctuating his remark with two harsh taps on thick skull in question. "Not. Interested. Go buck yourself - and then jump off a bridge for good measure." Inkbrand would be cold and dead if he ran from anypony, and he forced himself to whirl back around and start walking off at a controlled, if irate, pace, once again mindless of the general murmurs of dissent and disapproval from surrounding ponies at his outburst.

Buck them. All of them - and especially That SODD.
 

 

 

 

[moonshineTheleocat]

"Buck your apology! Get it through your thick, skull,"

 

Oh dear sweet Celestia, it's like talking to a brat. Only this brat was actually an adult. An adult with maturity being quite questionable now. In fact Java wasn't sure his own brain had a large enough endian to compute that small of a value.

 

This was now actually starting to grow absolutely ridiculous. Never before had the engineering stallion met a pony who behaved so irrationally, after the first genuine attempt at smothering the fire between the two. If the term irate had a picture in a dictionary, Inkbrand would most certai- wait...

 

The stallion's eyes flicked down Inkbrand's body noticing the muscle in his legs straining. A quick leveling of his eyes once more, where Inkbrand's gaze would usually be actually confirmed his suspicions. Was this buck really trying to tower over him?

 

Well, the stallion gives Inkbrand credit for managing a few notches above his snout, but it most certainly wasn't an intimidating appearance he had ever seen. In fact, it had actually caused a note of irritation in the engineer. His left eye visibly twitched as he fought back the need to butt the incandescently abrasive tattooed pony square in the nose in down the street.

 

 

And... go tell it on the mountain everypony that Java was some how managing to keep his rot together as the other repeatedly tapped at his dome. Each one forced his lips to steadily make it's way from a frown to a blood thirsty scowl. In fact, it was dangerously close to that point by the time Inkbrand had finally pulled away, one more poke shy of calling down balefire from the sky.

 

Before moving, the stallion watched Inkbrand with a sigh. He simply recalled everything his therapist told him. Breath deep... count to ten.

 

Breath... one..... two.... three...

Breath... four... five... six...

 

He began walking after the stallion at a brisk pace. His frown fading away as he brushed by surrounding ponies, calm finally returned to him as he gave out a handful of apologies. "No, I'm not going anywhere!"

Breath... seven... eight... nine... ten....

 

Then the spell of calm washed over him again by the time he was trotting beside the tattooed stallion, easily keeping pace with him. He tried to choose his words carefully... but the lack of any decent knowledge of the other made that rather difficutl.

 

“If you're calling my skull thick, than you should look at a mirror because you are being a rancorous hypocrite right now.” The stallion sighed. The lilting in his voice had left, and been replaced with a distant undertone of seriousness.

 

 

His head snapped to the side to look at the stallion. “Look! For ONCE use your bucking head and be RATIONAL! I am trying my hardest to fix what ever I did that wronged you! That fight? Honest to Celestia, time of my life! But that's my family's way of diplomacy! Shouldn't have done that with you! I get it! The kiss during the fight? That was just to spite! You were trash talking and I upped the ante! There was no anterior motive behind that! That kiss on hearts and hooves? That was not my fault, nor a result of insanity! Magic had a play in that one and you know it!"

 

If decided to speed up, Java's hoof would reach out to grasp at his shoulder and once again stop him. If not, then he'd still place his hoof on his shoulder once more, though much more carefully after noting the way he had tensed earlier. His eyes lost it's curious hue for a calculative one when they locked with the others. Like they were just piercing down, looking for any unsavory sudden movements.

 

"Lets just talk about this!”

[Zeig]

 

Alright, new theory.

That SODD was one of those loser ponies that simply couldn't stand the thought of being on bad terms with anypony, so they went around attempting to force agreement and acquiescence, instead of being an adult and accepting "no buck you get the buck out of my face" like any being with half a pony-feathered brain would.

Which, was a bit ironic. For all that That SODD denied any particular attachment or attraction to him, the brown colored Earth Pony seemed dead set on trailing after his behind.

And that thought sent a full-body shudder through Inkbrand, a visceral reaction that almost had him gagging as he picked up his pace yet again. Buck no, he didn't even want to think about himself and That SODD in that sort of context, no matter how innocent or guileless. Bucking rot, he'd rather imagine MFT making out with her equally rot-eating coltfriend than anything remotely related to himself.

Which he would probably have to start doing, because bucking surprises of surprises, That SODD continued to follow him down the street, even going so far as to slow down and walk next to him, as if he thought he was privileged enough to be sharing the same breathing air. Inkbrand could literately feel his teeth grinding against each other as his mouth clenched, That SODD's words becoming yet another long drone of endless talking that did little to settle the relentless urge to force the male to shut his maw.

Seriously, what the buck was That SODD's problem? Was it so, bucking, difficult to understand that he wasn't interested in "making amends" with the other pony, didn't want an explanation to all of That SODD's mind games. He didn't care, he was perfectly content never laying eyes on that piece of rot for the rest of his years - yet That SODD was still here, yammering on and on and his head was going to literally explode if he had to spend one more nanosecond on this snobbish street with this snobbish rump of a colt and his snobbish marefriend probably lurking around a corner to tell him just what sort of behaviors he needed to remedy right now and -

And that hoof was grasping his shoulder, slowing him down, touching him, like it had any bucking right to be there -

Just like before, with the same stallion in the same sort of circumstances, Inkbrand didn't think. He just did.

His hoof had connected straight across the other pony's cheek before That SODD could finish his sentence, the satisfying crack! of impact echoing even above the sudden gasps of horror from nosy ponies being too much of busy-bodies to mind their own business. Inkbrand hardly paid them any mind however, only vaguely recognized the roar of completely rage issuing from his own mouth as he slammed into That SODD in a full body tackle, hoof raised for an attack that would wipe that arrogant, condescending, bucking rot-eating face off the surface of Equestria once and for all.
 

 

 

 

[moonshineTheleocat]

Java's eyes immediately darted down to the hoof that was now in view. A grimace appeared on Java's face when he realized he wouldn't be able to raise a hoof in time to stop it. Nor would he be able to pull his tongue back into his jaw by the time it connected.

 

CRACK! The hoof landed solidly along his jaw, and sent a recoil down his entire body while the momentum carried him into a half swing. His jaw had clamped down on his tongue, sending a searing pain down his senses just before he was tackled to the ground.

 

That. Little. HEIFER.

 

Panic and Rage soon dominated the stallion's emotions. Rage for the fact that he had just been assaulted without provoking it. Panic when he realized how far south this had gone. How quickly he had lost control of the situation, and how close this has gotten to that accursed brawl in Crys- NO! NOT AGAIN!

 

Java had already lost his mind the moment he struck the ground. He bellowed out a vicious snarl, reaching out with one hoof and caught the cocked arm by the elbow and hugged it close to Inkbrand's side. His outstreatched jaws clamped down hard on the stallions neck. Once he got a solid grip he rolled over and pulled the stallion under himself. He couldn't give a rat's arse if this little pony was choking. He wanted a fight, and Java made it set in his mind that he was going to finish it.

 

Once he managed to get on his feet, his body twisted around, lifting Inkbrand off the ground and in a wide arc then hurtling into a nearby shop window. The window cracked and rattled after the stallion bounced off. What ever the sound was, it fell on death ears.

 

He had tried to be friendly.

 

“Just breath Java. Everything will be ok. Everything is all relaxing. Everything is all right.”

What did that voice know!? He had tried to be Rational.

 

Inhale... one two... three... exhale

 

But now this sorry excuse for an artist pushed it.

 

Java inhaled once more. His hair was standing on end, lips curled back in a snarl. If his glare was so heated, it could probably melt a mirror now. Not shatter, MELT! His eyes watched Inkbrand get back to his feet.

 

Exhale f-f-four... f-f-five... maime... mutilate... kill.... destroy... EXTERMINATE.

 

He charged forward silently without any prior warning. There was no need for a battle cry. That was just a waste of time, and a waste of breath. He only wanted this pony to be a red smear on a floor.

 

He bounded up in the air, and tackled the stallion. His arm wrapped up around him, and he bit down on what ever he could to keep the stallion from escaping his wrath. The careless momentum would slam the two through the shop's front window, previously damaged, and into the “Crystalline Makes. Crystal Vases and Glass ornaments”. Which... unsurprisingly was a shop filled with just that. Fragile and expensive things precariously placed over the entirety of the store.

[Zeig]

 

Bucking son of a -

Whatever snarl That SODD had let out seemed like mere white noise in the face of his own scream of rage, fueled by adrenaline and pain in equal doses. He hardly had time to mentally laugh at the other stallion's fighting tactics - biting like a bucking filly, what would be next? Mane pulling? - before he was being hurled a short distance to slam against a window, faster than he could remember that That SODD was a fighter too. For some reason, the thought only added onto the anger pumping through his blood, singing to him, demanding he teach that rot-eating excuse for a stallion a lesson.

It took no conscious thought on Inkbrand's part at all, his hind legs widening and slightly turned for impact. The crash of That SODD's body into his own briefly knocked the wind out of him, but not enough to keep him from using the natural momentum of the tackle to twist the two of them into being carried forward, That SODD now in the way of a flimsy glass window. Predictably, it shattered as their bodies hit, the grey stallion's own vitals largely protected while he viciously hoped the other got a back full of glass for his efforts.

And just in case he did, Inkbrand made sure to land as harshly as he could over the other, driving his back into the unforgiving concrete.

He didn't waste anytime, hooves flailing for the first thing he could reach - a vase. Buck, had they landed in a furniture store? A moment's consideration was all Inkbrand had time for as he brought the vase down, hard, over the thick skull underneath him, feeling a wealth of satisfaction rush through him at the sight of the other male's dazed expression. The tattoo-clad stallion rose to his hooves, vaguely aware he was panting lightly, and paused to wipe away the blood clouding vision over his left eye.

Strange. He hadn't even noticed it.

And he went on not noticing anything else, not really, the buzzing adrenaline of a rush combining with a sense of calmness from being fully in his element, creating a rather unique spell that seemed to fall over him. It was if he were in his own personal bubble, free of any constraints as he grabbed That SODD's shoulders, pulling the body almost fully onto its hooves before spinning around, letting the sorry hide go to fly into what looked like a display case of some sort. More glass cracked and splintered off, but Inkbrand ignored it all as he followed after, golden eyes blazing as he slammed a vicious right hook against the brown stallion's side.

And another, same side.

And another, though this time, it was with his right hind leg, raised upwards and falling rapidly, aimed straight at That SODD's leg joint. Maybe if That SODD had to crawl around on the floor for the rest of his life, he would finally get the message.
 

 

 

 

[moonshineTheleocat]

Java's world was spinning around him as he and Inkbrand flew through the windows. His heart beat was loud in clear in his ears, playing thunderous war drums over the pandemonium. Lucky for Java, his waistcoat was designed for use in testing labs. It offered quite a great deal of protection for his back. But not quite his rear when they landed on the glass covered floor. Their slide only further shreaded his rear end. Ugh... that was going to be a pain in the arse to fix. And quite literally at that.

 

He was about to get up, and push the stallion back off of him. But seeing something in his view forced him to hesitate.

 

What a lovely va-SMASH. His head recoiled just mere moments after his vision went white. Blood dripped down the stallions head as his hooves immediately to his snout, clapsing it tight to hopefully cease it's throbbing. But, that instinctual reaction soon turned to a big mistake.

 

Once again the world spun around the stallion, and he was soon found himself smashing into a display shelf, shattering many different vaces and sculpture with his already torn up rear end, and his back. He was thankful for the adrenaline that was pumping in his system. Those hooks gave him the sensation of wanting to vomit as he slowly recovered from his injury... but that sweet sweet rush was keeping the bulk of the pain away.

 

By the time he managed to clear the blood from his eyes, he saw what was coming... and the vicious intent behind it. Inkbrand really wanted to hurt somepony, huh? Java didn't hesitate a moment longer. His hooves quickly pulled himself up onto the smashed display case. His sore end now sitting on the shelf as he raised his hind legs high off the ground, narrowly avoiding his knee being caved in with a vicious stomp.

 

Java no longer took any chances with Inkbrand being allowed to act. His hooves instinctively reached outwards, clasping the schmuck by the ears. He rocked forward, yanking the stallion's head backwards, while his own head reared back. Then he brought the two together. His forehead made contact with the other's like a lover's messy bedroom kiss, if love could hurt so badly.

 

Once the nitwit reared back, Java kicked away from the Display case. His shoulder connecting with the other, and sending them both slamming into a nearby shelf. The amount of bits in damage generated could only grow stupendously higher as more expensive nicknacks fell to the floor and shattered.

But Java paid no mind to that. Rage fuel him. Rage was the name of his hoof when he straddled Inkbrand and cocked his hoof back. His free leg pressed hard under the stallion's chin and digging down into his throat to hold him still.

 

And it was that rage that brought his hoof down like a crack of thunder each time he struck.

 

Put a vase in my face, I'll turn your face to paste! A voice echoed dully in the buck's head. Whom ever that was, Iron Will would be proud.

 

But... then there was a sharp crack... then suddenly his body experiencing a blinding pain as something landed ontop of him. Tearing his vest open down the sides, before falling off. The stallion fell onto Inkbrand in agony, he hissed out between clenched teeth, his eyes darted down to spot the chain of the chandelier above them.

 

It wasn't long after that the tables had flipped. Inkbrand was now ontop of him, and he was doing his best to shield himself. With his forehooves.

[SteelEagle]

 

Applejack took a heavy, heaping sigh as she exited a fine drinking establishment on the main drag near the Castle in Canterlot. She had never had the time nor inclination to check out what passed for good cider in Canterlot and after this experience she had decided to stick with what she knew. Heck, she had done so just inside! Took a little bit to convince the patrons that she had made that cider, but she supposed that slapping your flank against a barrel in a feat of near-drunk excitement to show off your cutie mark and how it was the exact same label could be on a nice keg of cider. Hard cider. She had drank a good amount. She was tipsy. Pretty tipsy. But not drunk. She wasn't in Canterlot purely for pleasure after all, even if she didn't see much point beyond it.

She had joined the Royal Equestrian Army- more accurately Task Force Suntrot- shortly after the changeling attacks on Nightmare Night. It felt like the right thing to do and she had not a moment to regret it, being thrown right into the thick of it quickly. She had helped hunt down dragons, find magic-draining giant worms, and fought scores of changelings. It had only been a few months but Task Force Suntrot had been rotated back to Canterlot for reinforcement and some much needed rest and relaxation. For her part she was concerned that her role had come to an end- she had initially joined as a civilian logistics contractor, not a soldier, and they didn't need either at the moment. It had always been a temporary position anyway- hopefully one more tour 'round the edges. She wasn't no action junkie but she hadn't smashed nearly enough changelings to make up for nightmare night.

She started walking down the street and it was while she was walking down the street that the sound of a massive crash of class and the screams of frightened ponies. Applejack's ears perked up and her head shot towards the sound, her hooves pounding the cobblestone as her mind trailed behind. She kinda hoped it was Changelings. It wouldn't be- they'd gotten a bit too smart for her liking lately- but she kinda hoped it was something else she could fight. Being a little drunk(a little!) and always ready for bear, she hoped some troublemakers were about. She hadn't dragged anypony over to the jails just yet and it seemed like it could be a lotta fun. If everypony could get out of just fine with nothing but a few scratches then maybe it would turn into a fun story to tell back the bar.

She turned the corner and saw the chaos that was being caused by two ponies. Just two? Dang. They were going at it pretty hard for just two of 'em. Applejack quickly took stock of the situation. One of 'em had mighty fine upper body work done, all sorts of nifty looking tattoo doohickeys. She couldn't make the other one out, but she couldn't guess he was doing any better- after all, he was on the bottom. “HALT!” She had to neutralize the one on top first and then see about the second. Applejack reached for her lasso- heck, Suntrot had never taken it away from her- and snapped it towards her target, executing it perfectly. She got around the inked up one and pulled him with her nearly unbridled strength. He flew towards her. With one swift move she brought her hoof up and slammed it down, stopping him in mid-air and pinning him below her. She immediately went about tying him up. Satisfied, she looked back up. “Y'all okay over thar? Don't go runnin' or nothing. Both of ya are gonna spend a night in jail,” Applejack bellowed a bit louder than she had intended, the reverberations seemingly shaking her dress uniform a bit.  

[Zeig]

 

Inkbrand wasn't entirely sure what was happening.

One minute he'd been shielding his face from that other stallion's filly-rotted excuses for punches, gagging with the pressure against his throat - the next, he'd been enjoying the same satisfaction he'd felt earlier, pounding hoof after hoof against That SODD's smug little face, giving him back two fold.

And then the next after, he was trussed up like a straying cow during a cattle run. The situation might have been more amusing had he been in a more rational mind, and if it, you know, hadn't been happening to him.

As it was happening to him though, Inkbrand could only be vaguely aware of the screams leaving his mouth as he was pulled away from his target, guttural sounds more akin to a wild animal than a pony as he was forcibly denied the pleasure of mashing That SODD into a pulp. The unnatural strength that kept him from beating the rot out of the brown stallion kept him pinned, his vision and rage focused sorely on the pony still in his sights, not letting him shift focus for an instant even as he was tied up and left on the floor.

And even worse, the lack of flesh to beat his hooves into simmered down the blind rage, leaving him with nothing but pain, and anger.

Leaving him defenseless.

"Okay! Okay?!" the tattoo-clad stallion finally managed to howl after a few choice profanities, not ceasing his struggles against the tight bonds restraining his body. "The buck he's okay! Keep the buck away from me, you bucking lunatic!" he fairly screamed from his position, not even bothering to address the vaguely familiar mare's assertion that he would be going to jail. Bucking of course. That SODD lays his hooves on him when he clearly and emphatically wanted nothing to do with that bucking smug son of a diamond dog, so of course he was going to get thrown in jail for the night. And have to pay for the damages.

Good thing That SODD had set him up with that airship payment. At least bail would be easy to make. For bucking once.
 

 

 

 

[moonshineTheleocat]

Java... was utterly confused when he felt Inkbrand's weight suddenly leave his body.

 

His head swiveled from here to there, but all he could see was a store that had been utterly destroyed and abandoned in their wake. So... he slowly rolled onto his stomach, and carefully pushed himself up to his hooves. His jaw was leaking blood from under his chin... and from a partially ruined tongue.

 

He heard the other's comment loud and clear, and he flashed him a dead pan expression. “Don't you dare call me a lunatic you twit,” The stallion snapped. His hoof pointed to Inkbrand accusingly while he continued.

“You started it! You swung first, and continued to swing!” Ok... so while it was probably not the most graceful... nor the most mature... thing to say. Scratch that, it was admirably childish, but it was the truth. What more could possibly need to be said?

 

But wait! He was going to jail too!? For a night? That means there won't be a court! Oh wait... he was the victim, and was enacting... very aggressive self defense. So... he could press charges. But what would be the point of that? It'd be an even more sour tattooed jerk, and hurting what ever family and friends he had for his childish antics. Definitely not needed. Oh great... that meant no bail.

 

 

That also meant what ever damages the two of them had to pay... Sure he could afford it. But that shop...

Java finally managed to step out of the shop with a heavy limp. His gaze turned back to look at the sign, and cursed his luck.

 

… just happened be the one shop that sells absurdly overpriced and terribly designed ornaments on this entire street. Great. Plus... add the ceiling damages... the chandeliers.. and... well the glass and shelves... Inkbrand may not be happy to hear the grand estimate. Heck... Java wasn't happy to pay it... and he could very well afford it!

 

Java stopped short of Applejack and sighed Then grumbled. “Welp. Looks like I'm missing my psychiatrist  appointment today. The slammer we go-” He quickly cut off when he smelt something odd. Alcohol? Well, least this and something else gives him an edge to get out of jail easily. Misconduct. Looks he won't miss his appointment after all.

“... are you drunk?”

[SteelEagle]

 

The pony she had tied up and who she had pinned didn't cease his struggling. She didn't need to feel him in full force to know he wasn't just yelling out in some sort of hissy fit manner of stallion rage, he was shaking, vibrating with fury. Whatever the hay these two were on about it wasn't something to be snorted at. He was a strong fella and even though she could tell he hadn't gotten every blow in during the fight, she had no doubt he had gotten the better part of the exchange. He was squirming and fighting underneath her despite how tightly bound he was. Yeah, hauling him back wasn't gonna be a walk in the park by any stretch of the imagination but that didn't make a lick of difference in the end- fighter or not, he was gonna be cooling off in a Canterlot cell for the night.

The other one involved was a bit trickier. He had gotten the more brutal part of the exchange and he showed it, his body in an otherwise sorry shape. Under normal circumstances she'd be more than lenient but she'd been in more than enough fights to know different sort of wounds and the stallion she had pinned wasn't wearing purely defensive wounds. Heck, his back was peppered with slightly more glass. If Applejack had to make a guess, he was probably the one sent flying through the glass, so little mister walking around wasn't gonna be getting away from this without pleading his case. Shoot, hopefully nothing much bad would come to either of 'em. She'd gotten into her fair share of fights and the one thing she had always believed was that within the hearts of two angry pony combatants lay the groundwork for some real friendship. She knew she had made friends with several ponies she had once fought, maybe the same story could play out for them?

Then the one who was up, after playing off the fact he was probably going to be spending the night plus change behind bars off rather well, made a comment that perked her ears up. Was she drunk? Well, that was a matter of definition, really. By some hoity toity type's classification, probably. By her's? She was aware of what was happening around her She was conscious. She had the smell upon her breath but she felt pretty good. Now, she was close- there was almost that certain light-headedness and fuzziness that came with some good ol' fashioned drunk shenanigans, but it hadn't quite settled in. So no, she wasn't drunk. By her definition. And she sure as heck wasn't gonna let what he thought get in the way She tapped the bridge of her hat so she could get a better look at him and smirked.

“Ah had something ta drink. Drunk though? Ah don't think so. No matter. Yer headin' ta tha slammer, tha both of you. They'll sort you two out, get you some medical help an' sort truth from lies,” She took the loose part of her rope and jerked it up with immense strength, sending Zeig into the air several hooves lengths plus and backwards, landing on her back. “Ah'm arresting both of ya as a member of the R-E- fer creatin' a public disturbance, property damage, an' fighting. You can walk or you can be dragged. Yer choice, Sugarcube,” Applejack finished, cocking her eyebrow.

[Zeig]

 

…Oh, buck him. Was he seriously getting his flank handed to him by a drunk mare?

Apparently he was.

His aggrieved howls gave way to dark mutters as the orange - Applejack, that was her bucking name. Why the lasso hadn't clued him in earlier, he didn't know. Probably something to do with a certain brown face that still wasn't as messed up as he wanted it to be. Well, Apple-who-hah was speaking over him to That SODD, leaving the grey stallion to taste concrete as he glared bloody murder at the floor, eyes lingering over the fresh scuff marks and chips that had undoubtedly been caused by two rough-housing stallions.

Who knew how that had happened.

"Learn to keep your hooves to yourself, and maybe then I'll stop swinging!" the tattoo-clad stallion snarled, still from his ungainly position on the floor, but it didn't seem to matter as the orange Earth Pony turned back towards him, hooves tightening on her lass in a mildly threatening way. And that was all the warning Inkbrand got before he was veritable tossed several feet into the air, and yanked downwards to land on the mare's strong back, hard.

Despite himself, Inkbrand couldn't help letting out a loud exclamation and subsequent hiss, gritting his teeth against the ropes aggravating the glass and fighting wounds on his back. Buck, those were going to hurt like a motherbucker tomorrow. Still, the grey stallion was far from being washed up, and he managed to drum up a hint of his cocky sneer as he glared as best he could at the orange Earth Pony. "Looks like I don't have much of a choice, anyways," he stated succinctly, doing his best to cover the strange mix of irritation and admiration he momentarily felt.

How the buck was the average looking mare managing to carry him like he was nothing more than a particularly handsome looking picnic basket? It was downright unnatural.

Still…still. There could be worse things, he supposed idly, the blind rage slowly seeping away now that he didn't have a target to pummel his hooves into. Being dragged through the streets of Canterlot would be far from the worse that'd ever happened to him. But if the authorities in this city were even half as smart as they claimed to be, they would lock him and That SODD in cells as far apart as Equestria was from Unyasi.

Unless they were just bucking dumb as, of course.
 

 

 

 

[moonshineTheleocat]

“Uh...what...” Java began with a DUMBFOUNDED expression.

 

She didn't believe she was drunk!? Java could literally smell the alcohol on her through a bloody nose. Sure, he'll give her the coherent part as she's apparently able to hold a conversation. He's seen a handful of ponies do that a number of times. But the real question was could she even walk straight?

 

Java's gaze quickly darted to Inkbrand with a flat expression. He didn't bother sparing him any words right now. The tattooed stallion's reasoning might have been solid to him, but it certainly was far from civil.

 

Well, that expression lasted as long as it did before Applejack showed just how strong she was.

 

Celestia forbid. But... she was apparently stable as well. Signaled by... her tossing Inkbrand up in the air, and watching him land in such a way that made Java cringe. And he was the one that inflicted a majority of those wounds on him.

“Uh... I'm not a medical professional but shouldn't you take it a little easier on him...” The stallion hummed with a tone. But, he clicked his tongue. Inkbrand probably wouldn't even show the same concern, plus he'd likely have something rude to say about it. Annnd.. that it's already happened. Not like she's going to buck him into a wall and slam the cage door shut.

 

“Er... no objections here. Lay on, McDuff. I'll walk.”

 

Yes, Java could admit that the mare was strong. Heck, he saw first hand experience of that on multiple occasions, and heard tales about the demise of Tirek. He knew better than to challenge her, even if she was possibly drunk. And he was in no further condition for another brawl. He already felt like one of his ribs was cracked or worse. But... he was going to walk for two reasons.

First one being, pride... no matter how torn up he was going to be. And the second was a general respect for the law. He's no delinquent, unlike the asinine gray jerk.

[SteelEagle]

 

Applejack smirked. She sorta thought the fella on her back was a bit more exciting than the loaf in front of her. Yeah, they were both some rowdy customers but at least one of them was still biting back. Usually it was the loser who was biting and taunting and being a right bumhole about things but here was this stallion on her back doing everything short of growling and hissing. Well, maybe a little hissing. Despite the fact she had a hold of him he was snapping at the other fighter with all the energy he could muster. She could respect that! No doubt they'd have to be separated in cells so they didn't tear the jail down. That was fine by her. As long as they could stop the fighting and the feuding and the destruction of property then she was fine.

“Mighty smart of ya pardner. Ah was getting' ready ta drag ya! Alright, we're gonna do this the easy way. You lead, I'll direct. We'll get ta tha jail in just a bit,” She said with obvious relief, a friendlier tone setting in. She hated having to be the voice of authority to a bunch of strangers who didn't know who she was, or at least, what she was like. She was the friendliest pony in all of Ponyville and she was being decidedly unfriendly at the moment. Well, she was just doing her job. As much as the one walking seemed to be upset by the fact she had entertained herself this evening she could only guess that this was a lover's quarrel gone wrong. Oh well. Not her fault.

“Left...right...left...left...right...” Applejack spoke over a period of many minutes. There wasn't much to say beyond that. They got some stares from passerbys on the way to the jail and Applejack tipped her hat proudly to a few along the way but for the most part it was an uneventful trip. Ponies weren't accustomed to seeing a bloody stalliob being hailed away by an even more battered stallion and a pristine decorated mare with a slight hint of hard cider, but they were even less accustomed to the idea of butting into things that just weren't any of their business. She was sure to be a bit gentle with the one on her back, but there wasn't too much she could do beyond not galloping. He'e be fine in the morning either way.

In a little less than twenty minutes they arrived at a local constabulary, the one not far from her REA barracks outside the castle. Small, unassuming, but well staffed and informed, she had visited it just the other day to deliver new uniforms. Sure it wasn't the highlight of her day but the REA was in charge of clothing the professional lawponies and somepony had to deliver them. That helped her as she approached the unicorn guard at the front. He observed the group and his horn glowed. “Evenin- well, mornin', Ah suppose,” Applejack snorted in bemusement. The guard waved, “nice to see you, ma'am. What's the story?” “Fightin'. They broke open a storefront durin' it. Think they both need some help,” Applejack said as she allowed Inkbrand to slide off or her gentle into the more gentle hooves of a pegasus who came banking out of the hail.

“That? Ah, that's good to hear you got them. We had a few ponies come this way saying something about it. We sent some officers over but they were gone. Worried they had fled- thanks for bringing them in,” he replied, eying them both up. His horn glowed once more and a pair of medical unicorns came out. “Alright. Both of you, we're gonna check you out medically, process you, and yer gonna spend the night here. We'll get to the rest tomorrow. Alright-” he sniffed, then cocked his eyebrow, “hmm, were you drinking tonight, ma'am?”

“Yep! Ah was drinkin' at...Ah don't recall, that place near where Ah found these two.”

“And you aren't on active duty?”

“Nope! Today and tomorrow- well, Ah guess yesterday and today*hiccup*- are my days off.”

His eyebrow cocked more. Then he rolled them and sighed.

“Uggh, I'll send a report in the morning. Hopefully it checks. Wouldn't want to fine you.”

Applejack laughed and tipped her cap. “Same here, pardner. Make sure ta separate those two- Ah ain't seen fighting like that since Mr. and Mrs. Cake! Stay outta trouble yerself. Ah'm pretty sure Suntrot has jury's-diction over ya!” Applejack guffawed as she trotted away.

-Exit Applejack-
 

[Zeig]

 

 

Well, then.

This.

Bucking.

"Suuuuuuucks," Inkbrand bit out for the fourth time, knocking his already bruised head none too gently against the cement wall of the cell. "Just. Bucking sucks flank." A few more introductory slaps of his forehead to the wall were needed before the grey stallion sighed, and forcibly pulled himself away, needing to find another outlet for his anger that didn't involve beating his own brain to a pulp.

Though, the only other foreseeable outlet was safely out of reach. If only That SODD would wander over to the bars separating their cells, he could snap up that thick neck before the buck as scientist could even think it, wring it for a few minutes, and then slam his fuzzy brown head against the bars for good measure.

It wasn't like Inkbrand was all that new to the concept of jail-time. Nothing long-time that resulted from a conviction, of course, but a few drunken bar fights - or run-ins with some particularly unbearable ponies - had led to a rather intimate relationship with jail cells across Equestria. First time in Canterlot, though. Service was undeniably better, what with the medics that had patched the both of them up, but all in all, it was exactly the same. All he had to do was "cool off" in the jail cell for the night, and he'd be out in the morning after paying for damages.

The hardest part was clearly going to be, "cooling off". If he didn't know any better, the guards had placed the two offenders side by side out of sheer boredom.

"Feathers," the tattoo-clad stallion proclaimed as loudly and as annoyingly as he could possibly muster, slumping over on his small bench with his forelegs crossed, one hind leg raising to repeatedly bang against the steel bars. "Pony feathers, bucked twice over with a rot side of flank." The words leaving his mouth no longer had any meaning, just a general expression of his annoyance with the turn of events to the world at large. In fact, he'd be perfectly content if That SODD were to just slip into slumber, and leave him the buck alone for bucking once.

But somehow, Inkbrand doubted his night was really over. For all That SODD protested against any sort of interest, he bucking showed a whole lot, the little rot.
 

 

 

[moonshineTheleocat]

The guards... needless to say... had an interesting and mind boggling experience when searching Java. They didn't heed his advice about just taking his entire vest, and they decided to pat him down, and pull out what ever was in their pockets. What they pulled out, only stirred up a storm of confusion as more and more oddities were pulled out.

First it was a bag of dice. Then a bag of marbles. A screw driver. A strange magical screwdriver that Java wasn't even aware he had. Soldering gun, pencils, quills, inkpots, and paper. Then... things just began to get rediculous. A fire extinguisher, a ladder, and a canister of coffee. It wasn't until that last object where the guards, whom began to question what they saw was actually real, decided to finally remove the vest and lock him up.

 

And thus, Java stood in his cell with an expressionless maw. He stared blankly on into oblivion. Part of the reason was of course that he simply just hurt all over. Part of the reason why he didn't sit was that he had glass shred his arse into something that look like a cat went nuts on. But mostly, he never felt so naked without his vest. True, true, most ponies don't even wear clothes, but he wore that vest for so long, it practically became an extension to his body! What defined him as... him!

 

That, and the fact that it hid scars that were nagging reminders of some terrible events that went down in the Crystal Empire.

 

The stallion visibly frowned, as he moved a hoof up to his chest, and attempted to rearrange his coat so that it hid it from sight. And, he did have some success. The smaller ones that peppered his front were easily covered up, though they came back into view for a moment when he moved. But alas, his coat wasn't large enough for the one on his side. He knew that well ahead of time, and he did his best to avoid looking to it.

 

And once again... he began to stare into oblivion. It didn't last long however. Emotions soon trickled their ways into his heart. First came boredom from the lack of anything to do. And the last was agitation from the amount of time that would be wasted while he was locked up in here. How much? Who to say, but he could have gotten important work done! Like being on time to his appointment! Play with his cat! Or solve one of the mysteries of life! But instead... he would be here... for the next odd amount of hours. Least he had company.

 

Company whom probably didn't want to speak with him anyways. Judging by the way he was steaming when he sat in the cell.

 

 

Java blinked at that outburst. Feathers? What kind of profanity was that supposed to be. Java's gaze slowly turned to look to the stallion... whom admirably attempted to create a whole new slew of derogatory terms that may make a sailor blush.

The stallion made a snort. And went silent. His body began to shake some, his lips quivering. He snorted once more. Then that snorting became a snicker. Then that snicker became dangerously close to a laugh. "I-I'm sorry. That's just rich."

 

“Well, this is somehow a better turn out than the time I went partying in Las Pegasus with luna.” The stallion admitted aloud, but mostly to himself. His gaze dropped down to a chalky looking rock.

[Zeig]

 

His eyes were almost rolling into his head before Inkbrand could even realize what he was scorning. As it turned out, a snort/snicker from That SODD soon proved to be the cause, allowing the grey stallion to roll his eyes in annoyance at having his attention forcibly caught by stupidity once again - and then to follow with a second eye roll, because That SODD was laughing. Again.

Probably over something ridiculous, like the stereotypical creepy stallion who daydreamed and fantasized about his dream filly slowly coming in for a kiss. Complete with glasses that reflected the sun to create a full glare against any sane pony.

"No you're not," the tattoo-clad stallion mocked, more matter of factual than accusatory. Buck ponies, always apologizing for things that they didn't really mean. Or that they did really mean but they did it so, bucking, often. It was obvious what this case was however, leaving Inkbrand to bang his hind legs against the cell bars even harder, as if he could drown out That SODD's existence through sheer noise.

Maybe he could annoy the other stallion to death.

…He'd probably end up annoying himself to death. Buck, no bucking way was he going to drop dead first, leaving his rotting body behind for That SODD to laugh at. And then probably take home as a souvenir. Bucking dirtbag.

A fact further proven as the other Earth Pony spoke up again, though he seemed to be muttering to himself rather than trying to make any conversation. Still, the words forced yet another eye roll from the tattoo-clad stallion, more from habit than anything else. "I'm sure it is," Inkbrand drawled, and smacked his left hind hoof against a particularly unstable bar for extra annoyance value, "just about as well as my date with Celestia in Cloudsdale. Poor Alicorn could hardly stand upright after all that liquor, had to crash back at my penthouse in Stalliongrad."

Pfft. For a stallion that voluntarily went around introducing himself to ponies with a "yeah, I'm a little crazy…", The SODD sure as hay lacked any and all subtly for his act. Oh yeah, easy for him to act crazy and out of his gourd when it was convenient, such as spouting off stories about ponies in Las Pegasus - but throw MFT in front of him, and what happened? Simpering like any other sane stallion stupidly head over heels. Suddenly he wasn't crazy, when it was convenient for him to be, and that two-faced juggling act was what set his eye rolling off more than anything else.

Buck, what a bucking tool.
 

 

 

 

[moonshineTheleocat]

((Assuming that the side "walls" of the cells are just bars.Unless they are some how in the same cell together.))

 

The stallion scooped up the nearby rock with a hoof, and gingerly tossed into the air. It felt back down on his horse shoe, where he quickly gave it a gentle tap to pop it back up in the air. He repeated this, bringing the rock to a steady juggle that became just as easy as lifting it.

 

 His eyes peeled away slowly from the rock and set themselves on the wall. He heard the buck and rolled his eyes with an annoyed sigh. His hoof stopped it’s motion, and quickly snatched the pebble out of the air. A moment later he was busy tacking away at the wall. First it was just a relatively small sequence of equations. Only about three or four lines, and nothing too painful to read.

 

Thinks I’m lying. Thinks I’m crazy. So what if I am. The stallion mentally noted as he began to write a string of numbers. Only he stopped for a moment, and frowned. His eyes scanned the length of the wall. He realized that when he began to go a lot further in, he wouldn’t have enough space.

 

So, erased what he had, and began to write something… much more compact. Something that made even less sense. But perfect sense to Gadget. He can attest to anypony that this was not nonsense he was writing down. But was just a really compact way of writing very large numbers. Somewhere above 18.2 quadrillion or so numbers.
 

The first number looked something like this.
n1: 0x0000C001

And with each line he went down, there was some kind of increment, but most notably to any pony with half a brain cell, they’d likely be able to tell that the sequence of; n1, n2, n3 and so on, was only to mark a line.

 

He wrote with such blazing speed. His eyes were glazed over in thought as he just let his body go with the motions. He kept going and going until he finally reached the bottom for the first colomn. The stallion blinked and hesitated. Like he had just been snapped out of a trance.

His eyes gazed over peculiar list for only a mere moment, before continuing. First he swapped the letter n with an m. And continued. Then the m became an o. And lastly a p. Then he reused those letters, only this time adding a single digit that seemed to persist.

 

Eventually, he finally burned out his rock. But it didn’t matter to him. It only gave him a stopping point. He looked over his work for a moment, and picked up another. This time moving to the ground, drawing erratic… but symmetrical figures very quickly. Each one was carefully decorated with different shading styles inside it’s boundry to help make it pop without the need for colors. And each of these figures only seemed to chain and branch off of each other in very precise mannerisms.

 

Probably an hour past while he was busy working away. His mind wonderied off long ago, keeping happily to himself. Letting him think over the current events without paying much mind to Inkbrand, or any other distractions. If Inkbrand had tried to call out to him, he wouldn’t respond. It practically fell on deaf ears. The only indication that he was still somewhat in the physical world would be his eyes flicking up to the wall behind himself every now and then.

 

It was only when he was just finishing up when he finally slowed down. His mind returning to reality.

 

He inhaled sharply, and then sighed.

“Mk…” he hummed softly now throwing the rock away. His eyes glanced over his work. In a way he was proud. In a way… he was disappointed. The disappointment showed more. There was little left for him to do to keep himself occupied.

 

((Went ahead and actually wrote up the code for this. Here's what it looks like))

“Let me go ahead and answer a few unasked questions, and give you some insight.” The stallion chirped dully. He stepped away from the mosaic on the ground to use his foreleg to clean the wall.

“My actual name is Voronoi Fractal. My talent as the name indicates is computation, math. The name you refer to me as so often, Java, is just a nick name I used because not a lot of ponies can correctly pronounce my name, or found it a mouth full.”

 

The stallion soon leaned against the wall, letting his eyes drift back down to the floor contemplatiely. He had plenty of time to think when he drew this. Plenty of time. At this point, he was allowing the thought to just let Inkbrand's name fall into a blacklist. 

“Am I insane? Technically no. I'm no mad scientist like you like to believe, just a dedicated engineer whom enjoys his expresso. Which makes me... a hyperactive nutjob. But I do have a few issues. Most notably is Isomnia. The effects of sleep deprivation that you typically notice later in the week.”

 

The stallion's lips pulled into a flat expression. His eyes continued to dance around the many different lines. He had thought of giving the stallion assistance in paying off his portion of the damages to the store, and any other fines. But in that amount of time he had to think, he was even beginning to contemplate receding the thought, and leaving Inkbrand to dry out in the storm in debt. The treatment he received seems justifiable enough to do just so. All it will take is just one more strong push. Though he's giving it one more chance. Just one more storming chance.

[Zeig]

 

The continued scratch of what sounded like a rock against the wall had been tolerable, thanks to a distinct lack of annoying voice. Only an hour or so passed before that changed, however. Through the greatest effort of sheer willpower known to all of pony kind - and with a fair amount of consideration thrown in, That SODD had managed to keep quite for over an hour, after all - Inkbrand opened his eyes, just a crack, and forced himself to focus on That SODD's voice.

…And, yes, there it was. Big mistaken. Bucking figured.

Inkbrand had well gotten used to the surge of annoyance that welled up in him at the mere mention of the brown stallion he was now forced to occupy close quarters with, but the pure indignation that rip tided through him was new, and not entirely welcome, and buck if he could just get his hooves around that pompous little rot, the other stallion would be hurting like a motherbucker tomorrow.

Who, the buck, asked That SODD to give him his life's story? Who the buck cared?

"Yeah, that's your first problem," the tattoo-clad stallion cut in loudly as soon as the other Earth Pony paused for breath, because he talked as all Tautarus. Like he actually believed other ponies cared to listen to his lecturing them like a Canterlot elitist, on things that he didn't even want to know about! "They were unasked because I didn't ask them, you bucking moron. Nopony cares, especially this one." Inkbrand felt, more than made, his hind legs hit the cell bars particularly hard, sending a rocking shudder through his leg that he he caught, reveling in the pain and using it to fuel the anger and indignation. "You elitist pieces of rot think you've got everything and everypony else figured out. Honestly, I don't know where you get off thinking you know so much about what makes me tick."

And that was a point Inkbrand could really not believe. Did That SODD really, really think he knew what was going on in his head? And had not only made assumption after assumption about him, but had felt the pompous need to try and "correct" those views that he presumed him, Inkbrand, to have?

Buck! And ponies called him arrogant!

He supposed it all meant buck all, though, and just proved what he already knew about the other stallion. That SODD was a pretender, just like most elitists - flaunting themselves off as friendly and kindly ponies, intelligent ponies, open-minded and humble and good. But true to form, That SODD was just as arrogant, self-righteous, selfish, and bucking presumptuous as the rest of the ponies he believed he was better than. Just like MFT. Just like Aurora. Always assuming their ways, their views, were right, and they just had to correct anypony that was doing it wrong.

Buck, maybe they even believed it, now. So long praised and pampered they were now blind to their own faults, couldn't see themselves as anything other than right. It was those types of ponies, ponies that pretended they were so much better and worldlier knowledgeable and right, that he simply could not stand. For all his own derisive thoughts about others' actions and words, at least he, Inkbrand, never tried to "correct" them, complete strangers in a wide, wide world.

"Let me make this as clear as I bucking can," Inkbrand said, low and devoid of any emotion other than barely controlled rage, "so that maybe your bucking, half-flanked excuse of a brain can handle it." Only now did the grey stallion trust himself to rove his eyes over to That SODD, golden gaze fairly gleaming in the dim lighting.

"I don't care about anything you have, anything you do, anything you are. You're buck all."

More words struggled to leap out of his throat, something decisive and ending, like bucking got it?, or even, go buck yourself!. But words had never been his weapon of choice, never would be, and Inkbrand forced himself to roll over on his bench, stretched and comfortable on the space instead of curled and hunched like other ponies might have done. Whatever That SODD was saying, or had to say, it would be nothing more than white noise and the tattoo-clad stallion drifted off into a light slumber, heedless and calm.
 

 

 

[[ Exit ]]

 

[moonshineTheleocat]

“A life story would be implying I stared from birth,” The stallion hummed as he now sat down on the bed. He spoke evenly and dryly. He didn't even bothered to look at the male. Instead his attention focused on the door.

 

“If I saw myself as an elitist. Then I would have actually claimed to have had you figured out, and abuse your nature. Then I wouldn't have made an attempt at bothering with you for all this time. I would have had you arrested, and trialed for breaking into my home. I wouldn't have been so kind to consider paying for the entirety of the damages and the fines that both of us have created.”

The stallion cleared his throat and began to lay back, his gaze turning to the ceiling.

“No. I figured I'd tell you a bit about me before I finally let this rest. In other words. I'm finished with being kind to you. You don't deserve a second of my time. I'm done with you. The next time the two of us will hold a conversation will likely be in Tartarus. Night.”

 

[[End RP]]