Making An Effort (Open RP)

[Twimsy]

Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick.

How many days had it been?

Tick. Tick. Tick.

How many weeks? Perhaps it had been months.

Tick. Tick.

The pegasus stared on, gaze transfixed upon the standalone clock perched atop her rickety piano. It was how many days had been, lately.

Tick.

Each second dragged, and each minute lurched, and each hour was painful. When it had began, her shut-in phase was fruitful and there had always been work to be done. Inspriation poured like a glassy waterfall from her mind to the pen between her teeth as she scrawled words. Lines. Music. Beauty. Scowls were never spared when she'd crumple papers and throw them into the already overflowing wastebasket, and elation was always a welcome feeling when she'd closed gaps or finished hooks.

The only thing that she'd forgotten about, was the outside world. She'd rarely left her flat long enough to be social anymore (not that she had much of a social life to speak of, beforehand.) Celestia forbid that anypony see her as she was, now - thick glasses murked, mane and tail askew; even her pelt and feathers, usually kept decent and soft to the touch, had become lackluster in her neglect.

....Tick.

She lifted her chin from the ivory keys of her beloved piano, neck aching something awful and wings sore in their nestled position. She gave all three appendages a good stretch before stepping away from her stool, moving to glance out one of the tall, skylight windows.

"...I wonder if anybody is even here, still. Or, back again." She mused quietly to herself, souring at the faint reflection that stared back at her. Perhaps...

...perhaps she ought to cease being a shut-in and go out and greet the world, once more.

The pegasus took some time to tidy herself up, garb her side-satchel and stepped out into the biting, frosty air and the untold possibilities that Stalliongrad had to offer.

- - -

((I'm so sorry that my post was so miserably long. x_x But! Anyone is free to toss out a post. As stated, this is in Stalliongrad, so just keep that in mind if you do plan on writing up something. ))

[CloudShimmers]

Cloud had flown too high, he was trying to fly as high as possible to cover more ground, but he was to a point where his wings were practically frozen.

As he fell, the combination of fear and G-force caused him to faint. He began to fall.

Cloud crashed through a skylight, the last things he saw a piano.

[Twimsy]

She didn't want to look. She'd heard the harsh shatter of glass behind her, and-- damned be all, she looked. She looked right at that giant hole in her window. Persnickety raced back up the stairs to her flat and all but burst through the door, mouth hanging agape at the now-wrecked piano, and the pegasus laying amongst the wreck.

"Wh-...what is-...m-my piano...!" She galloped over quickly and dropped her satchel, utterly frazzled, "You bucking, blind-sighted fool! What have you done to my piano!?"

[Opal]

Silent Cheer winced as he saw the pegasus fall through the building, the dissonant clash of keys meeting his ears as the poor old chap hit a piano. Trotting over to the house, Silent took out his notepad, quickly wrote down a simple greeting, and knocked on the door. He hoped the pony was alright, he considered it a terrible shame anytime anypony happened to get hurt, especially during the winter season. He then straightened his back and waited patiently for the door to be opened.

[Thebluemage]

Slightly unhinged Scientist, Quantum, walked the freezing streets of his current residence, Stalliongrad, with a barley hidden anxiety. He had just finished his biggest project to date, and while most ponies in his position would be jumping for joy, he was very, very, nervous. You see, while his experiment had so far been successful in lab tests, today would be the first time it would be taken for field testing.

Which,because he was deemed overworked from the weeks of sleepless work nights, he was not allowed to help with.

This caused him to become very frustrated, what if it didn't work? What if he showed up at work tomorrow and he was fired for being a terrible scientist? What if-

"Sweet Celestia, ah need something to distract myself before ah go insane!" Quantum said to himself desperately, he was about to learn to watch what you wish for...

Crash

"What was that!" Quantum yelled out, it looked like somepony had fallen through a window of some fancy looking house! He quickly ran up behind another pony with a note-pad waiting behind the closed door, and greeted him with a quick howdy, he had to make sure the poor fella was okay!

[Twimsy]

The pegasus was working on lugging the unconscious Cloud from the debris (how could she have known he was unconscious before she started griping at him like that) when the knock sounded. "Hnf-- b-be right there! Just a moment...!" She at least made sure to heft the azure pony onto the metal-framed bed that lay in the far corner of the studio apartment before skittering over to open the door, poking her head out to see not one, but two concerned faces.

"Yes, can I help the both of you? I've got my hooves full at the moment, so I'm afraid it will have to be quick..."

((Aurgh. Bed time for me, folks. I have to get up early. I'm sorry to cut out, but I'll certainly be sure to make a reply tomorrow! :U))

[Opal]

Silent quickly tore off the top piece of paper from the note pad, and put his pen to the paper once again. Holding up the sign, Silent have a nod to go with the quick "good evening" he had just written out. Setting the pad down again, he picked up the loose paper he had torn off just in time to hand it to the mare who opened the door. "Hello, just checking to see if that pony's alright?" the pad said. Silent raised an eyebrow, trying to mimic the concern he felt for the stallion he had seen. While conversation wasn't the easiest for him, he'd certainly make due with what little he had.

((Fine by me, I'm all for sleep in a few minutes anyways.))

[Twimsy]

Thinking on it, Persnickety didn't find it surprising that a couple of onlookers and/or thrill-seekers would clamber to the scene of the disaster. She tilted her head, reading what the quiet pony had written on his notepad, her mouth moving inaudibly. "Oh. Well, ah...I'm not entirely sure. He's destroyed my window and my piano, b-but as for himself, uhm..." She looked back into her flat at the unconscious stallion she'd left sprawled like a ragdoll upon the rickety mattress. "I didn't get the chance to look him over, but I'm certain that the window was no doubt unforgiving."

She didn't know what to do, really. She was a playwright, Bones - not a doctor!

[Thebluemage]

"Let me take a look at em, ah have studied the Pony biology extensivly and I can figure out how bad the damage is." Quantum said helpfully, he would do anything he could to help the poor guy, he just hoped the glass hadn't entered any vital organs, or this could be very bad.

[CloudShimmers]

Cloud's eyes slowly opened, he felt the affects of the crash and shouted. He tried to get up and saw that he was surrounded by broken glass. A particularly large shards landed in his wing.

[Twimsy]

Without thought, Persnickety nodded, stepping to the side, "Of course, yes! That would be most helpful. Please - both of you, do come in." I'm sorry that the place is such a mess, she mused in her own thoughts. It would've been comical had she not still been cooling the rage at the untimely death of her piano. She could easily patch the window for the time being until a new one came in. That instrument, though. That was more important to her than the blood that coursed her body.

"Do let me know if I should get anything. Erm...heat a kettle of water - I might have some bandages in the wash room, too."

[Opal]

Silent took a look over the scene, taking in the once cheerful room. Feeling the need to do something, he tore off yet another sheet, and wrote down a response. "I'll heat the water, you can get the bandages," it read.

Silent began his trek into the kitchen, and rummaged around in the cupboards befor finding a pot suitable for the job at hand. Filling it with water, he hummed a tune in his head, even if he was physically unable to hum it out loud. Setting the water onto the stove, he turned the dial and prepared for the few minute wait until the water reached boiling point.

[Thebluemage]

Quantum nodded thankfully towards the owner of the,rather nice, home and said," Well Ma'am, if yah have one, ah would really appreciate ah First-Aid Kit. Ah wanna be prepared for any wounds he might hav-" the scientist was interrupted by a loud scream coming from a nearby room.

Quickly running into a area filled with broken pieces of glass and a piano, Quantum was horrified to see that the poor Pegasus that fell through the window had a large piece of glass lodged in his wing.

"Aw no, this is not good! The wing is a very sensitive part of the body that is filled with nerves! Ah have to get him stable before he goes into shock!" Quantum screeched in his head before running over the azure pony and knelling next to him.

"Ah need a First-Aid box! Now!" He shouted behind his shoulder," It's okay little buddy, just calm down..." He reassured, although a small amount of fear entered his voice, he wasn't a doctor! He was a bucking Scientist!

[CloudShimmers]

"Get off," Cloud pushed him off, "I'm not going into shock, I have a high pain tolerance." He touched the glass shard, and pulled it out quickly, "agh." He exhaled in pain.

[Thebluemage]

Quantum was very impressed by this pony's spunk, he had just pulled a piece of glass out of his wing for Luna's sake! But that created another problem...

"Hey! We need some bandages! That puncture wounds gonna start bleeding real soon!" Quantum shouted behind his shoulder once more before turning back to the wounded pony," Now listen, just lay back and I'll keep pressure on that wound, that way you'll lose less blood."

[Twimsy]

Persnickety had skittered off amidst the ruckus to pilfer for bandages. A small shriek and a few thuds later, she trotted back out, holding the bandages gently in her mouth. Thank Celestia she wasn't the squeamish type, although she probably wouldn't be happy when she had to wash the blood off of those sheets.

"Nrrf -- shrry. Heer." She held the roll of linen wraps out to Quantum, and then moved to the kitchen to see how Silent had been faring.

"U-Uhm...did you find everything alright, sir?"

[Opal]

Silent Cheer took the pot off of the stove and set it on the counter beside him. He stuck another note onto the pot, saying "Whatever you need this for, it's here." He brought the pot into the room with all the other ponies to find the injured pony bleeding all over the sheets that were laid out for him. Not the one to enjoy bloody sights, Silent set the pot at the house owner's feet, and slowly retreated to the bathroom for a while, to satisfy his upturning stomach. I really am some form of terrible, he thought to himself, as more of his lunch fell into the pot. Feeling better, he tore off another sheet of paper, and posted it outside the door, this one saying "If you need any more help, I'm in here". An arrow pointed to the door.

[Twimsy]

Persnickety winced. Her window and piano were ruined, the culprit was bleeding everywhere while one concerned individual tended to him and the other now holed himself up in her bathroom to toss his cookies. She wished to find a stone wall upon which to clonk her head several times over. Instead she just dealt with the matter at hand, nudging the pot of water closer to Quantum and Cloud.

She could gripe 'til the cows came home when health measures had been sorted out.

[CloudShimmers]

Cloud looked up at the mare, "I am very sorry for crashing through your window and destroying your piano, after I'm done bleeding I'll help you clean up and see how I can help."

[Thebluemage]

Quantum smiled lightly as he heard Cloud's apology, despite the fact he was starting to lose a worrisome amount of blood....

Getting straight to work, Quantum reached over and grabbed the roll of bandages, quickly thanking Persnickety for the essential threads, and lightly grabbed the wounded colt's wing. Working gently to ensure that he did not feel any more pain then necessary, Quantum wrapped the wounded wing up in bandages.

"There ya go partner. Now your going to have to rewrap those every day to ensure the wound doesn't get infected or some other nasty thing." Quantum said cheerfully, it felt good to help somepony in need, even more so to stop blood from getting everywhere.

Looking towards the bucket of hot water, Quantum decided it was time to clean up a bit, it seemed that his pristine white coat had been dyed an unsettleling crimson in some areas, and you just can't have that!

"Now, I reckon that problem is solved. I say now is a swell time to clean up this here mess." The Scientist suggested offhoofedly, how hard could it be to remove a bloodstain?

[Opal]

Get ahold of yourself, Silent thought. There's a pony out there in some serious trouble, and you go straight to the bathroom for some minor squeemish sickness? What's wrong with you!? He had to walk out of there eventually, and felt that it might as well be now. Waiting for a couple of seconds, he counted to three in his head before slowly opening the door.

Luckily for him, the pony was already bandaged. He walked over to the rest of the group, and after getting a glance from the house owner, quickly wrote down "sorry" on his notepad. He gave the best apologetic grin he could muster, even blushing a bit on purpose. Figured himself a jolly good actor, when he wanted to be.

[Twimsy]

"What I'd like to know," Persnickety said to the blue pegasus, "is why in Equestria you dive-bombed my apartment in the first place. Don't tell me you're a foreigner trying to fly in the cold weather." It was the only reason she could think that anyone would go about falling from the sky in such a fashion. "As for helping, you can help by telling me what sort of tea you like. You're in no condition to help clean." Well alrighty then, Mama Persnickety.

She glanced over to Quantum, wincing at the smears of blood on his nice, white coat. "I may have some bleach somewhere, if just washing it doesn't do the trick. Can't say I'm an old hoof at cleaning blood off of things, but..." She trotted over to the kitchen once more, opening a small closet to rummage through. Producing a broom, dustpan and a small bottle of half-empty bleach. She looked up as Silent approached, shaking her head, "No, it's fine. Just one of those days, it seems." She paused. The pegasus always tried to be an introvert, but that thrice-accursed empathy she kept made it difficult.

"...Perhaps the lot of you should tell me what you'd like for tea, hm?"

[CloudShimmers]

Cloud stood up after the bandage was tied, and followed Persnickety, "Yeah actually, I was flying a bit too high and my wings froze." He half chuckled, "But really, I'll give you as much mone-" he looked back at the wreckage then at her, "But I suppose its a sentimental thing, isnt it? a piano that nice." He looked down, "My dad had one like that, I wonder if I still remember how to play?" He looked back up, "I'll help in whatever way necessary, even if it means spending more time in town that I intended." He smiled as warmly as he could.

[Thebluemage]

"Well thank you kindly ma'am, I would love to bleach this confoundable blood off ma coat!" Quantum thanked with a smile, not only was the blood scary, but it felt extremely uncomfortable as it stiffened his fur.

In short, he needed to get clean and washing was doing a less-then-effective job.

When he heard her next question,Quantum was at a bit of a loss.He had never had a luxury such as tea before and was used to Cider or water when the time came for a drink, so he was confused as to what to ask for, but it was rude to refuse somepony's hospitality.

"Well thank you Ma'am, Ah will just take whatever you think Ah would like." He said as he looked around for a broom, it was remarkable that nopony had stepped on any glass yet.