private A day in the city of Trottingham [1x1]

[Plume 922]

[OOC:http://mlpforums.com/topic/117530-1x1s-solromance-anyone-no-longer-searching/#entry3364546]

 

@@Ampharos, 

 

Jazz was lost.

 

One minute she'd has a perfect understanding of where she was. The next, that had vanished in a puff of smoke as she took one single turn. She'd never really been the best with maps or directions, instead choosing to remember locations and roads by landmarks, but that was impossible in a city she'd just set hoof in for the first time. She'd just arrived on a train from Ponyville, the place she'd chosen as residence, to play for a friend as backing for a concert. She had literally gotten of the train 10 minutes ago, and had already managed to lose her bearings.

 

Luggage still in tow, Jazz sighed, stopping in a feeble attempt to figure out where in Equestria she was standing. "Seriously? The hotel is supposed to be five minutes away!" she mumbled, angry and tired. There were a bunch of ponies passing by in both directions who gave her odd looks, but the mere thought of speaking to anypony made her throat dry up, so she just continued stubbornly onwards. What else was there to do?

Edited December 28, 2014 by MiniKirby123

[Ampharos 1,009]

"Lost, I presume?"

 

The voice came from next to Jazz. Like, literally right next to her. An orange coated pegasus with fiery hair was walking alongside her, looking forward as he walked. His crystal blue eyes darted around every so often and his face was straight. He seemed to be waiting for an answer, despite having been walking with her for Celestia knows how long. Judging from his accent it would seem he was a native to the city.

Edited December 28, 2014 by Ampharos

[Plume 922]

Jazz almost jumped five feet in the air, her whole body stiffening in shock. She had noticed the stallion walking next to her (who wouldn't?) but she just assumed that he was headed to some destination just like she was. Well, like she was trying to. When he spoke to her, which was the one thing she had not expected and was definitely dreading, it took all her self control not to just fly away and never speak to anyone ever again. Taking a deep breath, she swallowed her fear and changed her expression to one of nonchalance, continuing to walk. "What does it matter to you?" she asked, willing her voice to not waver.

 

[Ampharos 1,009]

Ash cast Jazz a sidelong glance before he quickly looked forward again. "To help out, of course! Why else?" he questioned, raising an eyebrow yet still looking forward. "I wouldn't ask you if you were lost if I didn't want to help you find your way were my assumption to be correct and you were, in fact, lost. I'll take your rather vague and defensive inquiry as a 'yes', and now ask you where you are headed to." The stallion spoke rather quickly and left little opportunities for Jazz to offer any input even if he asked a question. "By the looks of it, with your luggage and foreign accent, you've just arrived here and either looking for a hotel or a relative's home. Seeing as how you cried out in exasperation earlier in regards to a hotel, one could guess you're trying to find a hotel. Which hotel may that be?" Again, he had spoken without letting Jazz answer.

Edited December 28, 2014 by Ampharos

[Plume 922]

Jazz had never met anypony who spoke more or spoke faster than this pony in her life. Then again, neither had she met a pony so terrifyingly happy, or so persistent. She sighed, rolling her eyes, waiting patiently for him to finish talking, while at the same time  taking the chance to gather her wits. She closed her eyes, trying desperately to resist the urge to facehoof while also resisting the urge to punch his face in or tell him to leave her alone. She knew she should accept it as a blessing: there was no way she could ever ask anypony for help, so she would have been doomed to walk in aimless circles forever unless he had offered help, but for some reason his current responses really were not helping her appreciate anything. "Good job! Want a silver star for figuring that out?" she remarked sarcastically, before turning and attempting to stare him straight in the eyes, considering the fact that he was glancing every which was except at her. "The Lucky Horseshoe." she stated simple and bluntly, realising she was going to need all the luck she could get if she wanted to keep her sanity.

[Ampharos 1,009]

Ash often made people want to hit him, both unintentionally and intentionally. At the moment, he was making Jazz feel this way unintentionally. Well... For the most part. At her saucy reply, his face remained rather straight. "I've always preferred Bronze, actually. Alloys are always a good time, and it has a nice color. Makes things look... Rustic," he replied. It was hard to tell if he was being serious or returning or snarkiness. "Lucky Horseshoe..." he mumbled to himself. "Ah! Follow me!" Ash exclaimed, moving forward slightly so as to take the lead. Despite Jazz's efforts to look him in the eye, Ash hadn't given Jazz so much as a glance since the last time he did so.

[Plume 922]

Jazz was speechless, her jaw practically dropping at his reply. This pony was sure special. She had only met one other pony just as oblivious and somewhat thick-headed as he was. That pony, however, was now one of her best friends. She somehow doubted that he would ever reach that sort of status though. She breathed a sigh of relief when he took the lead. Not only was she glad that he knew what he was doing and she hadn't just spoken to somepony she didn't know the name of for no reason, but she was also relieved that now she hopefully no longer had to talk to him. She let him take the lead, falling into step behind him as she followed him through the winding streets, noting some landmarks as she went. No time like the present to try to get acclimated to new places.

[Ampharos 1,009]

Special... Now that was quite a word to describe Ash. He looked around as he walked, occasionally slowing down to inspect... something that he had found intriguing.  He continued walking for quite a bit, and eventually entered what looked like a coffee shop. He then got in line and waited, a small smile on his face. He began humming a tune to himself and tapping his hoof. 

 

Yes, he really just did that. He didn't even seem to be aware someone was with him at that point. Most would leave if they were Jazz in this situation. But what would Jazz do?

[Plume 922]

Jazz almost smashed straight into the stallion before her multiple times when he stopped for no apparent reason. She had just begun to think that maybe asking him for help was a mistake when he suddenly walked into a coffee shop. Eyebrows raising, she followed him in to see what business he had there, but when she realised he was just buying a coffee or something edible, she decided that she may as well get a bite to eat. By the time she got to her hotel, if she ever did at the pace she was currently going due to Ash, it would probably be in hours, so she decided to get something quickly so she wouldn't starve. Getting into line behind him, she noticed he was humming, and paid close attention to the notes for lack of anything else to do. Unsurprisingly, it began to loop after a while, and she quickly made up a harmony which she whistled over the top of it, earning a couple of strange looks from the others in the shop. 

[Ampharos 1,009]

Ash had stopped shortly after realizing the whistling from behind him was harmonizing with his own humming. He looked backwards at the pony behind him, and then turned his head back forwards. "Oh, you're still here. Lovely. I presume you'd like something to eat or drink? Anything in particular?" he asked, talking to essentially the space in front of him. He did turn back for a second to look Jazz up and down, and then craned his neck to look at her flank. He nodded to himself, as if he'd just confirmed something, but said nothing before once again turning to face forward.

[Plume 922]

Jazz trailed off awkwardly when Ash stopped, feeling uncomfortable now that she was the sole sound. "No, I'm merely a ghost come to inform you that the real Jazz has died." she said, smirking. She thought about the question, placing a hoof to her chin as she contemplated her answer. "Nothing in particular. I'll check the menu when I get up there. Why? Gonna be all chivalrous and pay for me? Because that ain't happening." She stated matter of factly, crossing her hooves as she waited. When he tried to study her flank, she shuffled uncomfortably, confused as to why he was studying her cutie mark so closely. "Mind enlightening me as to what you were doing, hotshot?" she said, before realising that that nickname was actually very fitting.

[Ampharos 1,009]

Ash looked back at Jazz, a small smile on his face. She was quite the snarky one, that one. "I suggest you make your decision soon." Ash gestured towards the ponies in line. Only one was in front of him now. "The muffins here are wonderful. I've never had a better chocolate chip muffin than I have here," he told her, giving no protest when Jazz said she wouldn't let him pay for her. He seemed a bit perplexed at the tone of her question, but he seemed to understand rather quickly. "Oh, you took that the worst possible way you could have..." Ash muttered to himself, raising his voice for his following statement. "You harmonized quite well with me earlier, so I was curious if your talent was music-based," he explained.

 

((Last post for the night. About 2:30 AM here TT^TT))

[Plume 922]

At his gesture, Jazz took the moment to stick her head a little out from the line, blinking a little as she tried to spot what the menu was while not taking up too much space. "Apple crumble, muffins, muffins, muffins, hot chocolate, frappes..." she read aloud as she eyed the menu, mentally weighing up her options to make the best choice. "I'll probably get a frappe. Maybe a mocha one. I feel like something cold." she stated, cocking her head a little as she shuffled a little further forward in line. "The worst possible way? There's only one real way to take it when a male starts studying your flank, good sir." she said, crossing her front hooves a little protectively. She winced a little when he raised his voice, her ears flattening back on her head a little. "You're plenty loud enough normally, if you haven't noticed. Oh and... Uh... Thanks." she said, her voice dropping to a mumble at the end as she flushed in embarrassment, a hoof instinctively reaching up to play with her mane. Jazz was never good at taking compliments, really.

[Ampharos 1,009]

Ash nodded at her decision. "You aren't getting anything to eat?" he asked, cocking an eyebrow. At her comment on what he had mumbled to himself, Ash seemed to think for a moment, before shrugging and nodding again. She certainly had a point there. "Oh, my apologies. I hadn't meant to speak as loud as I did. I usually work with constant noise. It's a force of habit. I was just stating a fact, though." he explained, and something dawned on him suddenly. "You know, you haven't told me your name yet."

[Plume 922]

"Eat?" Jazz mimicked, throwing the idea around in her head a little. "Nah. I don't eat very much." she decided, shrugging a little. To be honest, Jazz normally always just forgot to eat, since she felt like she always had more important things to do then eat. "Eh, it's alright. Work with constant noise? What do you do?" she asked, now curious about what his special talent was. She was never really good at figuring out cutie marks unless they were obvious, so she decided against studying his flank. "My name? Jazz. Jazz Sonata." she said, sticking out a hoof to shake. "And you are...?"

Edited December 30, 2014 by MiniKirby123

[Ampharos 1,009]

Ash nodded at her response in regards to food. He figured that she just either wasn't hungry or was one of those ponies that just didn't like to eat in front of others. "Ash Finder. I'm a pyrotechnic-engineer-mechanic-inventor. My mum and dad both did the same. Well, my mum was the pyrotechnic. My dad was the other things. I got the best of both worlds. Or... 4 worlds I suppose." The whole time he was speaking he had just stared at Jazz's hoof, but after he finished speaking he eventually shook it and turned back to the cashier, who was waiting for him to take his order.  "I'll take a hot chocolate and a muffin please."

 

"Will that be all?"

 

"Certainly not. I'll have a mocha frappe as well," Ash said to the young stallion behind the counter. He looked back at Jazz and flashed her a cheeky grin before turning back as if nothing happened. Before Jazz could even protest, Ash gave the cashier the exact amount of bits without needing to even hear the amount he needed to give. He then stepped to the side to wait for his, and now Jazz's, order.

[Plume 922]

Jazz smiled a little. "Ash. Suits you. But I'm still going to call you hotshot." she said, smirking cheekily. "A... A what?" she asked, eyes widening in confusion. She had gotten what words he'd said, but had not processed them properly enough to be able to grasp any sort of meaning. "Wait... So you make things relates to fire." she said slowly, enunciating each word carefully as she tried to piece together what he meant, looking to him for confirmation of her theory. She shook his hoof firmly, swallowing nervously as he turned away to order. Ash was in front of her in the line. That meant that she would be next. And she had to speak, to a stranger. 

 

She was just swallowing her nervousness and trying desperately to remember how to breathe when, all of a sudden, Ash ordered for her. It took Jazz a couple of seconds to react, but when she did, her eyes widened, her jaw dropped, and she awkwardly stepped out of the line. The mare behind her made an annoyed sound, obviously upset that Jazz had taken up an entire area of the line for no reason. 

 

Walking over to Ash as he waited for the order to be made, she punched him lightly on the shoulder. "I thought I told you not to pay for me!" she exclaimed, shoving the right amount of bits into his hooves as she puffed out her cheeks in annoyance. "Either way... Thanks. For ordering. I wouldn't have been able to do it."

[Ampharos 1,009]

"I suppose 'hotshot' is just as fitting." Ash agreed, continuing to speak as Jazz put the bits in his hoof. "Sometimes, yes I do. Other times, I make things with gas. Other times steam. If you can build it, I know how to. If you can't build it, I'll figure out how to. And you're getting these back one way or another," Ash said, holding up the bits for a second before he put them into the folds of his bandana. The order was dropped in front of Ash, who threw the bagged muffin on this his bag, picked up his hot cocoa with his mouth, and balanced Jazz's frappe on his head. "Shll 'e 'it?"  he asked Jazz, meaning to say "Shall we sit?" It was hard to speak correctly with a cup in your mouth.

[Plume 922]

"Impressive." Jazz said, nodding in admiration. She appreciated it when ponies put their talents to use. "Oh no I'm not. I will give them to you if I have to shove them down your throat while you sleep." she threatened, glaring at him before bursting into giggles at how ridiculous he looked with a cup balanced on his head. She swiped the frappe off his head with a small jump, having to flap her wings once to stay in the air long enough to get it down without spilling it everywhere. Speaking of spills, she grabbed a couple of napkins from the dispenser on the counter, before turning to Ash. "We shll 't." she said, copying his words exactly as she wandered away to a table at the relative back of the store and sitting herself down, taking a long sip of her deliciously cold drink.

[Ampharos 1,009]

Ash chuckled at her threat, finding it quite amusing. She was keeping those bits if Ash had to spend his entire lifetime getting them back to her. That was the challenge he had just created for himself. He loved challenges! When Jazz took the cup off his head, he grumbled, "I 'ad it!" into his own cup. Sighing, he followed the musical pegasus to a table and sat across from her. He placed the cup down and exhaled deeply. "So! How're you liking Trottingham so far?" he asked Jazz, although he was looking at his cup at the moment, seemingly inspecting it for some reason.

[Plume 922]

Jazz rolled her eyes. "Course you had it, hotshot. It would've been on the floor as soon as anypony bumped into you." she said, nodding towards the door as a steady stream of ponies began to file through and the number of ponies in the cafe just about doubled. "Liking Trottingham?" she asked, stirring her drink with the provided straw and resting her cheek on her other hoof. "Idunno. It seems like a nice place, but if everyone is as loud and weird as you, I don't know how I'm going to survive." she said, grinning cheekily. "I'm going to go sight-seeing later, once I leave my luggage at the hotel." she said, emphasizing the last words and giving Ash a pointed look.

[Ampharos 1,009]

Ash just scoffed and waved off the subject. He totally would have had it. Probably. "Weird, hm? Most ponies would take that as an insult. I'm not most ponies, though. I'm rather flattered you already think I'm peculiar. Means I did a job well done," Ash said, snickering a bit. At her comment on her luggage and the hotel, Ash seemed a bit perplexed for a few moments. Then a look of realization came upon his face. "Ah yes! You were heading to a hotel, right. What was it called again? Lucky Horseshoe? Yea, I don't have the slightest idea where that is. If you want to go sightseeing though, I'd be happy to be your guide. Blue Gears is open most of the day." Ash transitioned from the two subjects seamlessly, as if Jazz wouldn't have a problem with him not knowing where the hotel was.

[Plume 922]

Jazz just smiled, shaking her head a little at the other pony. "Most ponies would. But, as you have just clarified, you are a weirdo, hotshot. Good job." she said, congratulating him on successfully achieving the first impression that he was aiming for. "Oh. So... You don't know where the Lucky Horseshoe is? Great. Just great." she said, resting her head in her hooves. "I have to get there before 12, and it's already 10. I've wasted half an hour being pulled along by you, when you had no idea what you were doing." she growled, anger flashing in her eyes. "Why'd you lie? You could've just made everything easier and told me that you didn't know." With that, Jazz stood up from her seat, lifting the handle of her suitcase and picking up her drink. "Well. Since you don't know,. then I guess I have no reason to stay. I was just thinking that maybe you weren't so bad after all, but I guess I was wrong."  she said, a slight twinge of sadness in her voice as she turned away from him, making her way towards the door.

[Ampharos 1,009]

When Jazz got up to leave, a frown made its way onto Ash's face. It was the only emotion he'd shown thus far other than his cheekiness. "Technically I didn't say I knew where it was. I just said to follow me, and you did. Don't get you your knickers in a twist, though. I asked someone on the way where it was," he explained quickly, even moreso than usual. He didn't want her to leave this soon. She was... interesting. "It's not far from here, you'll make it on time. I promise."

[Plume 922]

Jazz paused, turning around to give him a disbelieving look. "Ash. I know you're socially challenged, but seriously? Saying something like that implies that you know what in Equestria you're doing." she said, shaking her head and face-hoofing. Hearing what she said next, she looked back up at him, eyes narrowed a little as she tried to judge whether or not he was telling the truth this time. "Fine. But you promise, yea? One chance to redeem yourself." she said, her expression deadpan and her tone deadly serious. 

Edited January 2, 2015 by MiniKirby123