(Ponyville) How to be a Pony (Closed - See OOC)

[AlphaNumeric]

((Check the OOC thread here if you're interested in joining! Also check there for updates on the thread!)

 

"This is bad." Val thought to herself. This was only her second day in Ponyville and already she was drawing too much attention to herself. Her previous job only involved walking around and then report back to her superiors. That was before she severed her connection to the changeling Hive though, and now she had to fend for herself.

 

Finding a place to stay was easy enough, as Ponyville had a humble little inn within its borders. However, Val realized that she may have made a mistake when she asked to purchase a room, rather and asking for a room to stay in for a couple of days. That little fiasco had definitely gotten her quite a few funny looks.

 

Food was another problem too. She was never told how to casually interact with other ponies. She certainly did try her best, but her most recent attempt was rebuked with foals laughing at her and calling her a "Neeeeeerrrrrddddd!"

 

Vale was currently pacing back and forth in front of a bench in Ponyville's park, muttering worry-isms to herself. Her insect wings buzzed, her feathered illusions flapping anxiously in sync. Such was the conundrum of a changeling outcast. "Aww jeez what am I going to do? I can't go back; they'll probably banish me and I'll be all alone and hungry!"

 

Val's mind had began to wander in fancifully horrifying place as her legs began to take her toward the center of town. She bumped into several ponies in her distracted state, which only made Val even more distraught about her situation, her thoughts visiting even more fanciful places.

Perhaps she could start fresh. Find another small town to hole up in. She certainly had enough bits to survive about a month, maybe two if she did some extremely rationing, but that would mean that she would have to go love starved for even longer while she traveled. That certainly wasn't a very pleasant way to go. As if on cue, her stomach growled, begging for some sort of sustenance.

 

"Okay, okay. I guess I'm going to the market to get some food. I still have a little bit of money to last me a couple of weeks." Val changed course and trotted toward the market, her stomach still softly grumbling all the way. Certainly though, she'll need to find a way to feed on love, otherwise- "Let's not think about that."

[PyroBlaze]

Flux bounced around happily in Ponyville, humming to herself along the way, enjoying the day. She really enjoyed being around ponies, they were fun! Sure, her last visit to the hive had been nice, being among her own kind again, but she liked Equestria better, and not just because every pony was a potential friend and food source. She only took a little bit at times, not enough to really be noticeable.

 

The disguised changeling paused as she spotted a pegasus that seemed worried about something. Flux frowned, tilting her head to the side momentarily before trotting over to the mare, falling into step beside her and looking at her for a couple of seconds.

 

"You alright? You seem worried..." She said, still frowning a bit. She brightened up after a few seconds though, smiling again. "Don't worry, I'm sure it'll work out fine! I'm Flux, by the way! Who're you?"

[Tymiko]

 

At the center of a market stood a pegasus balanced on his hind hooves as he stood atop a makeshift wooden stage juggling colorful balls for an audience of foals and other ponies alike. He beamed at them as he made the balls disappear and reappear along with himself in puffs of smoke as he dashed the balls against the stage on occasion.

 

They seemed to serve the dual purpose of being juggling material as well as smoke bombs. With a few acrobatic and aerobatic tricks, he seemed to be enjoying himself immensely, though the sounds of pleasure and wonder from his audience were what he enjoyed even more.

 

Out of the corner of his eye, though, the piebald pegasus noticed a new pony enter the market and another go up to greet her. He wasn't sure he'd seen either of these two before in his travels. They were kinda cute. Smiling, he made a bouquet of flowers appear from under each of his wings and took off to fly above the stage before tossing them to the lady unicorn and pegasus from the air.

[Tiktaalik]

"Er...is everything alright, sir..?", a pony manning a market stall of candies asked, as a small and--well, nougaty colored--earth pony just...sat there. Holding up the bag of candy he'd just bought and examining it with extreme scrutiny. Eventually, he tossed one onto his mouth, looking just as thoughtful as he chewed. He finally swallowed, nodding. "It's good.", he stated simply in a fairly dull tone. Pocketing the rest in his pack, he decided to move on...just now noticing the line of ponies behind him giving odd look or leering impatiently. 

 

So, he went off. A few aimless steps, anyhow. There certainly was a lot to see and do here, he wasn't really sure what to do first. Well, aside from sample some local candy. That wasn't the only thing he could buy, he supposed. Curious if any especially interesting and/or magical trinkets or whatnot were being peddled nearby, he lifted the goggles hanging from his neck and slid them over his eyes before peering around searchingly.

 

Almost immediately, he froze, his eye wear showing up some kind of...anomaly. And it wasn't the pony prancing about a stage doing tricks, either. A mostly unassuming, but apparently anxious, pegasus with a sort of magic about her that didn't fit her species at all. It looked kind of familiar... It reminded him of a changeling he'd encountered once. Actually, a nearby unicorn looked a little strange, too. But, a unicorn's magic could vary wildly. He didn't have enough data to just assume anything; he'd only ever met one changeling after all.

 

Regardless of what was going on, it had caught the inquisitive pony's entire interest. He slowly approached, staring at her the entire way. Though, he did remember to remove his goggles...as to not cause too much awkwardness or discomfort. He was still staring, though, oblivious to the any nearby crowds or spectacles. Until a flower landed on his face, anyhow. Shaking it off, he managed to catch how socially inept he has being. "Hello."

[moonshineTheleocat]

Summer was always Java's favorite time of the year! It was not the nice weather, the lack of storms, or the fact that it grew delightfully warmer on the mountain of Canterlot. No! It was the watermelons in the market place!

 

Those delicious green beauties were always so delectable when he was a foal! He'd eatten them almost all the time back in Manehatten. And even when he moved to Canterlot, he had always convinced his grandparents to let him run to Ponyville when the Harvest came in!

 

And this year was no different! Well... it was most certainly different from the times he was a foal... by he no longer needs his Parents or Grandparents permission. Still no different minus that fact!

 

The stallion was happily prancing down the streets. He had a large cup of joe balanced on his noggin, and was hitched to a cart loaded to the point of collapsing with melons. This pony looked liked nothing could possibly ruin his day. No sir. This day is almost as grand as the time he won his special somepony's heart!

 

Though... something gave the pony pause. He heard... jingling? Java glanced about with a confused expression.

 

His gaze dipped underneath himself. His eyes shifting to and fro suspiciously. No... not there!
His gaze shifted to look over his withers, in both directions. No! Nothing's there!
He Detatched himself from his cart of melons and quickly looked through them! Where is that blasted nosie coming from!

Well... finally he looked up, and saw... a sight that made him visibly recoil. An admittedly cute pegasus who's wearing enough bells that he could sell them and retire early! It was a fashion that Java didn't understand, and he wasn't even going to question why. It's just fashion to him... the topic never clicked with him.

 

But his eyes did turn to the two mares he had approached. The sight of one of them made him smile and slowly approach. His hitched cart in tow. He actually missed the overly stoic pony on his way to greet his friend. It wasn't his fault... the pony didn't really demand much in the way of presence when he was a buck of few words!

“Flux! Good to see you again~. I see you found yourself two new friends!”

[AlphaNumeric]

Flux frowned, tilting her head to the side momentarily before trotting over to the mare, falling into step beside her and looking at her for a couple of seconds.

 

"You alright? You seem worried..." She said, still frowning a bit. She brightened up after a few seconds though, smiling again. "Don't worry, I'm sure it'll work out fine! I'm Flux, by the way! Who're you?"

Val, in her distressed state, didn't notice this disguised changeling fall in step behind her. "You alright? You seemed worried..." Val's skin jumped, as did she, when Flux spoke up. With nimble, though panicked, movement, Val lept around to face Flux, who brightened her frown with a smile. "Don't worry, I'm sure it'll work out fine! I'm Flux, by the way! Who're are?"

 

Val stared at Flux for a couple of seconds while she put a hoof to her chest. She slowed her breathing in an attempt to calm down, feeling the throbbing of her excited heart. Once she calmed done a little, she looked up toward the stranger named Flux, shuffling her hooves all the while. "Oh, um. I'm Val. I was really obvious about my worrying wasn't I. You don't have to worry about me, it'll be fine. I'm sure you've got your own things to worry about and I wouldn't want to bother you with my problems anyways. No need to pile on as they say."

 

 

Out of the corner of his eye, though, the piebald pegasus noticed a new pony enter the market and another go up to greet her. He wasn't sure he'd seen either of these two before in his travels. They were kinda cute. Smiling, he made a bouquet of flowers appear from under each of his wings and took off to fly above the stage before tossing them to the lady unicorn and pegasus from the air.

Val's rubbed the back of her neck with one of her hooves in mild bashfulness when a bouquet of flowers suddenly landed in her hoof. She stared at the bouquet of flowers for a few seconds before looking around to locate the source of this admittedly nice gift. She quickly spotted an airborne pegasus flying above a stage a smiling at her. Perhaps she could find love with that dark-coloured pony? Val waved at him, "Yea, I think I'll be fine Flux."

 

 

Almost immediately, he froze, his eye wear showing up some kind of...anomaly. And it wasn't the pony prancing about a stage doing tricks, either. A mostly unassuming, but apparently anxious, pegasus with a sort of magic about her that didn't fit her species at all. It looked kind of familiar... It reminded him of a changeling he'd encountered once. Actually, a nearby unicorn looked a little strange, too. But, a unicorn's magic could vary wildly. He didn't have enough data to just assume anything; he'd only ever met one changeling after all.

 

Regardless of what was going on, it had caught the inquisitive pony's entire interest. He slowly approached, staring at her the entire way. Though, he did remember to remove his goggles...as to not cause too much awkwardness or discomfort. He was still staring, though, oblivious to the any nearby crowds or spectacles. Until a flower landed on his face, anyhow. Shaking it off, he managed to catch how socially inept he has being. "Hello."

Val jumped again, surprised at the arrival of yet another pony. This wasn't exactly what she was thinking of when she told herself that she was going to hide in a small town. Though, in hindsight, perhaps trying to hide in the hometown of the Elements of Harmony was a bad move. Regardless, she had to play the cards she was dealt, even if they were really bad cards. "Gah! Sorry! I wasn't really expect others to be paying attention to me all of a sudden. It's really..."

 

Val let the sentence trail off. Really she didn't know what else to say. Perhaps these ponies would leave her alone, and then she can go talk to the pony who had probably given her the bouquet of flowers.

 

 

But his eyes did turn to the two mares he had approached. The sight of one of them made him smile and slowly approach. His hitched cart in tow. He actually missed the overly stoic pony on his way to greet his friend. It wasn't his fault... the pony didn't really demand much in the way of presence when he was a buck of few words!

“Flux! Good to see you again~. I see you found yourself two new friends!”

Val didn't actually recoil in surprise this time, expecting more and more ponies to join into the conversation. She was actually surprised about how easily ponies just came together for small talk and chat; two things Val wasn't really good at. Hopefully though she would make a good impression, or perhaps just slink away so she could get away from the situation. She felt like ignoring the newcomer would be rude and would make further interactions... difficult, so she greeted him all the same. "Oh, hello! Do you two know each other?"

[PyroBlaze]

Flux smiled widely as the pony introduced herself as Val, then said she would be fine. She wasn't quite sure on that account, but she let the issue rest, especially since she now found herself sitting there with a bouquet in her hooves. She looked at it in confusion for a moment, not sure where it had come from, then looked over at the stage and assumed it had come from the stallion performing up there. She smiled at him and gave an enthusiastic wave before another pony showed up, this one very brief in his greeting.

 

"Hi!" Flux replied cheerfully, smiling at the newcomer and his goggles. "My name's Flux! What's yours?" Before any sort of response could come though, a pony she recognized arrived, balancing out the genders of the conversation. She smiled widely at her friend, giving him a friendly hug in greeting.

 

"Hiya Javvy! It's nice to see you!" She chirped, releasing him from the hug before turning to Val. "Yeah, I know him! Val, meet Java. Java, Val." She said, introducing the two. "Unless you would prefer your other name, Javvy... What was it again? I forgot..." She added, turning to her friend again.

[Tymiko]

The pegasus, pleased to see his gifts received so well, waved back at the two mares and winked before diving back down to his stage to finish his show with a grande finale. The newcomers to the market seemed to be pretty preoccupied with two other stallions now, anyway. If they had time later to come see him, they'd know where to find him. It wasn't as if he did anything else but perform on-stage.

 

After a few more stunts and illusions, the show was over and Gypsy gratefully collected the meager bits his audience produced. He didn't mind it was such a small amount when he had so much fun performing, especially when he did it mostly for foals and he knew they didn't have much to pay him with. Still, it was a dilemma because he had to eat as his stomach reminded him with an unsatisfied growl.

 

Counting his bits, Gypsy was delighted to note that it seemed to be enough for a small meal. He wouldn't have to try to steal today! That was nice. He hated stealing. Maybe...maybe he could possibly even ask those other ponies if they wanted to go eat out together. Not that he could pay for all their meals, but it was nice to have the company of somepony else when one ate. Besides, he would have really liked to get to know that newcomer.

 

Untrusting of real magic as he was, the pegasus wasn't too keen on getting to know the unicorn all that well, but the pegasus seemed like a safe bet. Unless the other two Earth ponies were their boyfriends? Oh well. At the very least, he could maybe find out where the pegasus was from. Perhaps he had been there before in his travels and they could talk about that, or discuss other interesting places they had visited and share their experiences.

 

Thinking it rude to just go up to the group of strangers, Gypsy hung back on his stage as his audience dispersed and idly practiced with his juggling balls as the others talked. He watched them with a smile, too shy and tentative to approach them himself, but wondering if perhaps one or more of them might glance his way so he could have the opportunity to suggest they eat together. 

[Tiktaalik]

Nougat's ears flattened a bit as he quickly noticed that he wasn't the only one garnering for the attention of this pegasus he was so fixated on. She was looking a bit overwhelmed, which was understandable, changeling or not... He sat down in hopes of being a little less imposing--not that his small size wasn't all that imposing in the first place--and just tried to give a wordless look of understanding, nodding to her slightly. He wasn't the most expressive pony, but he knew what it was like to get overwhelmed socially. 

 

Speaking of which... Nougat tensed up slightly, noting how it had become a little crowded. And there was getting to be a lot of talking and friendliness between a couple of them. Some of the cheer had been directed at him, which he caught a bit late. "I'm...Nougat.", he answered a bit awkwardly, unsure if anyone even heard him. It didn't really bother him much either way; he was used to letting more sociable ponies and whatnot talk before him. It wasn't like he was any rush to do anything anyhow.

 

He idly glanced back over to some commotion around the stage, getting a better look at the performer, managing to catch the end of the act apparently. Nougat might have had some unusual attire, but it was all very blandly colored, including himself. He couldn't help but stare a moment, either admiring the spectacle...or maybe just finding it strange. Whatever they were doing didn't seem all that lucrative, he noted...

[moonshineTheleocat]

Java smiled as the Unicorn broke off onto an excited tangent. He didn’t mind that she forgot his real name, Voronoi was pretty hard to pronounce to some anyways. But he did seem to give the mare a long blank stare when he was referred to as Javvy.

 

Javvy? Well it looks like that his tree of names have grown in depth all steming from one single root. Oh well, Guess he’ll go by Javvy for now! The stallion shifted his body a bit as he reached back with a hoof to unhitch himself from his cart. Once the hitch clattered to the ground, the stallion shifted to the wheels and quickly engaged the breaks to make sure his mound of melons don’t go flying down the street.

 

His gaze drifted back to the stage for a moment when he noticed the crowd was gone. The performer however, still appeared to be there. Practicing and idly watching the group. Perhaps he was looking for a way to join them? He did seem interested. He quickly waved the stallion to come join them while his gaze slowly drifted away when a soft sound made it’s way to his ears.

The stallion looked around with a confused expression. He could of sworn he had just heard some pony say something about a sweet. Still there was nothing he could see, and definitely no nougat where ever he looked. Oh well…

 

His gaze soon shifted to glance to the other mare that was traveling with Flux, and smiled. “Ah! Yes, rude of me! Yes we know each other. I tent to go by Java!”