private A Long Journey (1x1 between C. Thunder Dash and Raven Rawne)

[Courageous Thunder Dash 7,809]

@@Raven Rawne,

 

"No prob, and you sure you don't need a ride anywhere else. Everything's scattered around this area of Equestria...I could just wait here in case you need any further stuff. I really don't have anything planned, and my next event isn't even until like a week from now..." Nitro said.  

[Raven Rawne 1,374]

@@C. Thunder Dash,

 

 The mint mare nodded at the stallion's offer. "Heh, thanks, but I need to spend a few days on hoof now. Kinda hard to spot herbs when speeding like you did, right? Besides, some places can't be reached in any other way."

 

She waited gingerly for Nitro to park his machine, so she could get out... and asess the mess in her wagon. Natural thought for a moment, then added. "Maybe you could use some time off the wheel? Unless you have something on your mind to spend your time till you need to go someplace else that is. I could show you around. Some things are best to be appreciated slowly, you see."

[Courageous Thunder Dash 7,809]

@@Raven Rawne,

 

"As I said, I don't have any events to do for the next week. But there is a car show in Baltimare I usually go to, which is in about 3 days. In exchange for you showing me your herbs and nature, I could show you a street racer's life." Nitro stated as he parked his truck and turned off the engine.  

[Raven Rawne 1,374]

@@C. Thunder Dash

 

Natural order thought for a moment, then noticed the truck stopped, so she let go of the handle and unclasped the safety belts.  "Hmm, normally I avoid large cities but, why not? So after we get the wagon off the truck, would you like to accompany me for two days? So we have enough time to reach Baltimare."

[Courageous Thunder Dash 7,809]

"Sure. I could finally stretch my wings out...I don't fly as much though..." Nitro said showing a little bit of his folded metal-plated wings. He would plan to tell Natural his story, and hoped she would be able to listen. After, he would want to listen to her story. 

[Raven Rawne 1,374]

@@C. Thunder Dash

 

The mare glanced at the wing,  frowning slightly. "Some kind of accident? No need to tell, I'm not nosey."

She changed the topic: "So can we get my wagon off the truck now? I need to rearrange things to make more sleeping room. You do have a sleeping bag at hoof, right?"

[Courageous Thunder Dash 7,809]

@@Raven Rawne,

 

"Yeah...I got two sleeping bags. One for a spare in case something happens to the other." Nitro said as he got out the truck and stretching out his metal-plated wings. He then unstrapped the straps around the wagon, pulling the ramp down and gently guided the wagon down the ramp. It was pretty clean with no scratches or cracks.  

[Raven Rawne 1,374]

@@C. Thunder Dash

 

"Alright." She opened the doors and hopped off the truck, surprising the urge to kiss the ground. Natural waited till Nitro released her mobile home, and once it was in the clear,  went inside. "Hooollly..." - she could be heard from the enclosed space as she brought back order inside.

[Courageous Thunder Dash 7,809]

Nitro locked up his truck and engaged the security systems. He then strapped his high-tech watch on his left foreleg and launched a small drone with a camera high into the air. He then caught up to Natural and looked around. "Whoa..." Nitro stated as he heard his voice reverberate through the area. 

[Raven Rawne 1,374]

@@C. Thunder Dash

 

Natural Order was looking around the small interior.  She checked the straps on the crates and barrels in the corners, and picked up several wooden containers with some plant ingredients that fell off the shelves. One was broken and it's contents - dried mint leaves - were all over the place.  The wagon had a strong scent of the herb.

 

The mare heard a voice behind her and looked back, brushing a barrel with her tail.  "Told you it's not built for such speeds... I'll clean it up in a minute and we should be good.  Wanna check on that secret garage while I prep for heading out?"

[Courageous Thunder Dash 7,809]

@@Raven Rawne, 

 

"Alright, I've registered you on the drone I launched. If you need me, just stand right under the drone and the signal will go to this watch on my hoof. The drone is black, so you probably won't miss it." Nitro said as he started to back away, looking at Natural. 

[Raven Rawne 1,374]

@@C. Thunder Dash,

 

Natural Order nodded and turned back to her cleanup. Only after a moment did she perk her ears and hastily peek out of the wagon to catch Nitro. "What a... drone?"

 

She couldn't see him around.

 

With a shrug, the mare got back to the task at hoof. She cleaned up the spilld mint, restacked the shelves, cleared up some floor space for the second sleeping bag by stacking the crates in a corner and strapping them up with some rope. Then, she took out her crossbow and placed it in the place of honor in front of the wgon, along with some bolts in a quiver. Natural Order looked her mobile home over, and noted with satisfaction that nothing was broken or anything. She then ent back for a cup of water from a barrel and to grab her pipe.

 

Sitting on the doorstep, puffing the pipe and fixing the black feather in her hat, the mare waited for the stallio to show up.

 

Eventually, she recalled the drone thing and looked around to find it. Something black was hovering above ground nearby, so maybe that was it. She walked under the strange thing and looked up to inspect it. She didn't recall ever seeing something like that...

[Courageous Thunder Dash 7,809]

@@Raven Rawne,

 

A harmless scanner beam emitted from the drone and scanned Natural. It let out a beep and transferred the signal to Nitro's watch. Meanwhile Nitro was finishing up running a diagnostic on his Koenigsegg Agera R. His watch beeped. He then pressed a button on his watch. The drone hovered down in front of Natural and a holographic screen appeared. Through the watch, Nitro could see Natural clearly. "Hey Natural, are you finished?" He asked. His voice could be heard clearly through the drone's speaker.  

[Raven Rawne 1,374]

@@C. Thunder Dash

 

The mare closed her eyes instinctively as done sort of light beamed from the hovering thing. She heard it flutter in front of her and lower it's altitude, and opened Obe eye to see what was going on. Somehow,  she could see Nitro and hear his voice. With some uncertainty, she nodded.

 

"Well... yeah.  I'm good to go, but if you need more time, I can wait, no problem. Oh and bring that sleeping bag, I cleared up some space inside for both of us. Hope you don't mind sleeping on the wooden floor... but it has great insulation."

[Courageous Thunder Dash 7,809]

@@Raven Rawne,

 

"Actually, my truck bed can hold us both. If you don't mind, we could sleep there. I'm just about done with this diagnostic test on one of my cars." Nitro stated as the test results showed everything was good. "Alright, I'm coming up now. I'll see you then." Nitro said cutting off the transmission. The drone then flew back to it's resting pad and shut off. Nitro came flying up and swooped down, landing in front of Natural. "Well everything is good." Nitro stated.  

[Raven Rawne 1,374]

@@C. Thunder Dash,

 

The mare looked questioningly at the projection, but remained silent and just observed the stallion showed there. She nodded when he said he's coming to her, and again was surprised by the flying thing as it made the image disappear, and fly to some kind of resting spot. Natural muttered under her nose: "I feel like a cavepony or something..."

 

She didn't have time to muse further on her tech unsavvy when the pegasus showed up in pony, landing right in front of her. The mare looked backat him and asked: "Did you just say your truck bed? I thought we're going on hoof. Unless you want to drive it veeery slowly to match my speed or something."

[Courageous Thunder Dash 7,809]

@@Raven Rawne,

 

Nitro thought for a moment. "Hmmm...since we're out in the desert region, and there's no place to leave my truck, minus well just have to hitch the wagon this time, and use it as a temporary bed until we reach a large city or a small town. I could perhaps slightly modify your wagon...if you'd let me..." Nitro said.  

[Raven Rawne 1,374]

@@C. Thunder Dash,

 

A small tick, just a teensy one, but it was there, yeah. The mare apparently didn't like the idea of "modifications". She asked, looking straight at the pegasus. "what do you mean by that? Adding a loop to put on the hook so it can be towed by a car, or something more... invasive?" And I don't know about you, but I'm fine with sleeping in my tiny enclosed wagon, especially in an open area, so I won't get all chilled in the night by the wind, but maybe I'm just weird like that..."

[Courageous Thunder Dash 7,809]

@@Raven Rawne,

 

"Well, the modifications would include, adding suspension, titanium bracings and special tires..." Nitro stated. He had all of the tools and stuff with him to modify Natural's wagon. It would take him about a half hour for him to do the modifications. "I mean, going 5mph around here isn't that reasonable..." Nitro added.  

[Raven Rawne 1,374]

@@C. Thunder Dash,

 

She slowly, veeeery slowly, raised an eyebrow at all those propositions. Then, replied with some strain to her voice, as if... holding back a tirade?"

 

"Nitro... See, there IS a reason why i keep my stuff simple to the point of being like museum exhibits. Do you have any idea how much income I have? I'll tell you - not much, and not steady ticking. So fancy stuff like that, while, yes, it would be great to have it and all that jazz, will make me homeless and flat broke at the first sign of trouble. Not something I look forward to. So I appreciate the offer, but I'll decline. Can't afford the maintenance, even if I didn't have to pay you for the parts in the first place. I was fine as it were, if that's any consolation for you. Plan B?"

[Courageous Thunder Dash 7,809]

@@Raven Rawne,

 

"But hold up...I never said you had to pay for it..." Nitro said winking at Natural. He'd do it absolutely for free. These parts last for over 10 moons...so you won't need to worry about maintenance..." Nitro stated looking at Natural. He knew she would worry about the money and the maintanance.  

[Raven Rawne 1,374]

@@C. Thunder Dash

 

The mare was getting tired of this. She sighed deeply and pointed at the wagon. "Look at it. Simplicity incarnate. I can get a new axle by just chopping a young tree. I see you mean well, but at some point, I will have to look into that fancy stuff, and most importantly,  it will be In the middle of nowhere. So not only will I have to pay a leg for repairs,  but also get stranded without a quick fix. So I would appreciate if you just drop that case, alright? I'm not changing my mind. But I do appreciate the offer."

 

Natural turned around and walked back to her wagon to strap herself to the harness,  and lowered her hat to shield her eyes from sunlight. "So we're going or?"

[Courageous Thunder Dash 7,809]

@@Raven Rawne,

 

Nitro sort of slumped, disappointed and a little upset inside that Natural didn't take his offer. This alone would put quite the damper on their time and cut the time between now and the car show close, about  "Jeez this mare is quite stubborn...maybe it's because she's been alone for so long and thinks she could push it on her own. Oh well...there goes my plans....all blown to pieces..." He thought. "Well...now it'll take about 4 days to reach the next city at the pace we'll be moving..." He said. 

[Raven Rawne 1,374]

@@C. Thunder Dash,

 

Natural Order strapped her harness as the stallion ranted about the slow down. She looked up at him from under the pointed brim of her hat, and cocked her head slightly, causing tehe ponytail to act like a pendulum for a moment. "Hey, it's how I roll, okay? Not everypony likes it fast. So I have a proposition: we split up, and meet up in Hollow Shades. There's a nice inn there, called "Oaken Barrel". Not the most catchy name around, but still. I think I'll make it in... five days there? Or so. Meanwhile, you can go to Baltimare for the car show. Sounds reasonable, hmm?"

[Courageous Thunder Dash 7,809]

@@Raven Rawne,

 

"Alright, but promise me you can accompany me to an even bigger car show that's gonna take place in Detrot, which is my hometown..." Nitro said as he helped Natural with her wagon. He then climbed into his truck. "You sure you don't need anything else before I head out?" Nitro asked.