private Bounties and Video Games, 1x1 with Dynamo Pad

[Catpone Cerberus 23,594]

OOC:https://mlpforums.com/topic/187168-bounties-and-video-games-with-dynamo-pad-ooc/

@Dynamo Pad
What looked like a armored dragon and a crow were flying over ponyville
*caw* *caw*
"I know, I know, I'll give you food when this is done." 
The dragon was Ember, a red pony-dragon hybrid, and she was wearing a full set of armor, wielding a custom made spear, which both were made from a dark metal. She was a bounty hunter, and she had just gotten a new target to go after, though this one was bit special, because unlike usually, she wasn't meant to capture or kill anyone, instead she had been asked to just scare the target. She hadn't actually been given a clear reason why it was what she was meant to do, but since it fulfilled her requirements, she didn't have any reason to not do it.

The pair was heading towards the home of their target, when the crow started to caw, signaling to Ember that it had found who they were looking for, he seemed to be just leaving somewhere, a great timing in Ember's opinion. She observed him for a second from the air, before eventually landing right in front of him, holding the spear with her wing, the crow landing on one of her horns. "Dynamo Pad, I assume"

Edited August 7, 2019 by Catpone Cerberus

[Dynamo Pad 11,306]

@Catpone Cerberus

It was a sunny afternoon in the bustling town of Ponyville. Ponies and other random creatures, who had been visiting Twilight's school of Friendship, had been walking and/or exploring the town. Dynamo Pad, a blue unicorn male, had just exited the front door of his home. He had been so fixated on the latest anime that had just been announced that he didn't realize that it was starting to fall into the afternoon times. Which mean that he had to hurry and make his way over to the arcade for work. "Oh, I just hope I'll be able to make it. Otherwise, Button will never let me hear the end of it." He huffed with each step he took in his run. 

At first he thought he heard a cawing sound from the skies, but he looked up to see a few stray birds passing by. He must have been imagining things, but paid it all no mind as he saw the arcade was within his field of view. He was about to reach his destination, but slowed his sprint as a pony had landed right in front of him. At first glance, he noticed this pony had armor and a sort of bird on her shoulder along with a spear. He soon noticed, however, that this pony had horns on the top of her head. He seemed to recall that the only ponies that had horns were either changelings, dragons or yaks, but he couldn't tell for sure, due to all of the armor this creature was wearing. Upon squinting his eyes to try and get a better look, he soon discovered that this creature, indeed, had the eyes of a dragon. He even noticed the long tail that looked to be in the shape of a flame, but he was confused. How was this creature both a pony and a dragon? He didn't want to ask as it seemed rude. He blinked a couple of times as this pony-dragon hybrid had called out his name. "Eeyup. My name is Dynamo Pad, but how did you know that? Have we met somewhere before? I hope you can forgive me, but I need to get to the arcade, or I'll be late for work." He tilted his head to the side as he was confused as to what was going on.

[Catpone Cerberus 23,594]

@Dynamo Pad

Ember got surprised by the lack of any real reaction from Dynamo, because though her targets were sometimes perfectly calm, he was different because it wasn't the usual cocky kind of calmless. "That's awfully calm reaction to someone stopping you while holding a weapon..." "... Regardless, I'm here because someone wants you to pay for your crimes." she readied her spear, but didn't do anything else with it for now. 

[Dynamo Pad 11,306]

@Catpone Cerberus

Dynamo blinked a couple of times at the mention of a weapon. "Wait...so that spear is real? I mean, I know of video game weapons, but I didn't think there could be actual weapons. I guess some kingdoms can use weapons, or something like that." He began to ramble quickly that it was as if his words were mixed together. "Wait a minute. With that armor and weapon. Does that mean you're from the game, Skyrim!? If so, then does that mean you can do the Fus Ro Dah spell?" His eyes sparkled with wonder and curiosity as he had a giant grin upon his face. His smile and look upon his face soon faded into a neutral, yet worried expression once this pony-dragon hybrid readied their spear. 

"Hey! Just try and calm down for a moment? Crimes? What kind of crimes did I even commit? As far as I know, I haven't committed any crimes, or even plan for that matter." He trembled slightly as he felt a bead of sweat travel from his forehead and down the side of his face. He didn't have that many spells to use for defense or offense, but he would defend himself if he had to. Although, he still wanted to talk things out and try to be civil about this situation.

It was at this point that Button Prompt, a purple Pegasus and owner of the local arcade in Ponyville, was making sure that said arcade was running like clockwork. He had remembered to message Dynamo that it was time for him to show up for his shift, but that was a while ago. He was a fair boss, but he knew that the blue unicorn was never late. 'Hmm...perhaps I should just notify him to see if he's still going to show up.' He was about to send a message, but stopped as he saw both Dynamo and this other armored pony standing outside and near the arcade. "What in Equestria?" He raised an eyebrow and made his way to the front doors of the arcade. As he pushed the doors opened and stepped outside, he kicked off from the earth and started to fly slightly off the ground. "Hey, D-Pad! I called you in to come to work a while ago and now you're wasting time by seeing some special somepony?"

Dynamo looked over and smiled as he was glad to see his boss was here. However, it all changed with a blush as he heard the implication in Button's words. "Oh, no. It's not like that, Button. Although, I'm glad that you're here because I really need your help. This armored pony wants me to pay for some sort of crimes that I didn't even commit. It just makes no sense whatsoever." Button patted his chin with his hoof as he tried to take all the information into his mind. "Well, then can you hurry it up? I need you here to help me out. We'll be getting some new game orders in the next few days. We'll be getting into the major gaming season and I'll need all the help that I can get, okay? Just finish up whatever that needs to be taken care of and then get in this arcade to work." He started making his way back into the arcade. All the while, leaving Dynamo alone with the pony-dragon hybrid, while Dynamo's jaw dropped and eyes widened at how Button just abandoned him.

Edited August 8, 2019 by Dynamo Pad

[Catpone Cerberus 23,594]

@Dynamo Pad
Visible confusion came to Ember's face after Dynamo's whole video game talk, and it hadn't gone anywhere even after Dynamo eventually turned back towards her, even the crow seemed to be tilting its head, even though it probably didn't understand a word that had been said. Ember was thoughtful for a second before lowering her spear "It's looking like I have been lied to..." she gave Dynamo a piece of paper that had a small list of different crimes "...just know that somepony claimed you've done these and wanted me to scare you." this may have been seemingly quick and careless change of opinion, but having a long experience with dealing with different creatures, and the senses of a dragon, she was able to read from Dynamo lot more than his words and direct actions revealed "Also, I will be back soon, you will help me to figure out who is stupid enough to lie to me." she then took off, and she wasn't lying, she was back after ten minutes or so, this time without the armor and weapon, and made her way into the arcade.

[Dynamo Pad 11,306]

@Catpone Cerberus

Dynamo had gulped as he felt as if he was in trouble. He didn't want to resign towards this fate he was given, but he felt like there wasn't any other options given to him. However, it all changed as he listened to her response. He raised an eyebrow in confusion as it seemed that even this pony-dragon hybrid was at a loss for words. "Somepony had gone and make such false accusations? Now, why would somepony want to go and do something like that? That just doesn't make any sense." As he saw a list was being presented, he took the list in a levitation spell and brought said paper towards him. He scanned through the contents of the paper, before shaking his head and returning his attention towards the pony-dragon hybrid. "No. I read through this entire note and none of this matches up to me, whatsoever. I can promise that I wouldn't lie to you about any of this and if there was something up, then I'd tell you. I'll be in the arcade if you need me. I don't want my boss to not let me hear the end of it on the chance of being late for work. I'll most likely be at the front desk, or assisting the other ponies and creatures playing video games." He watched for a moment as she took off towards the sky, before turning towards the arcade and hurrying into the building.

After giving his apologies and explanation towards Button, the blue unicorn began getting to work around the shop. As he was making sure that the gamer's were having fun and that the arcades were up and running. Dynamo wasn't able to get that idea out of his mind about somepony wanting to scare him. If the dragon-pony hybrid did return, then he'd do his best to talk to her and figure out what was going on and to solve this situation.

[Catpone Cerberus 23,594]

@Dynamo Pad
Ember walked into the arcade, and it didn't take long for her to locate Dynamo, so she made her way to him. Now that she wasn't wearing her armor, Dynamo would e able to notice few things that weren't really visible before, most obvious ones being probably her having scales instead of coat and the flame-orange mane, and smaller details being things like her lack of cutiemark. The crow was now sitting inside Ember's mane, only its head visible outside it. 

After any possible customers had finished their business with him, she addressed him "Without wasting any time, all I know about the pony hiring me is that he's he, and that he's a pony, do you know any stallions that would want harm to come to you."

[Dynamo Pad 11,306]

@Catpone Cerberus

As the blue unicorn had finished assisting another pony with an arcade game, he had soon noticed the pony-dragon hybrid had soon arrived. He looked over towards her direction as he had taken notice of her having scales instead of a coat. Along with the flame-orange mane and having no cutie mark. He blushed slightly as he thought she looked pretty, but he shook his head to erase the blush. He took a deep breath and exhaled slowly in a sigh as he knew this situation had to be solved.

After listening to her addressing him, he nodded as he listened intently to what she had to tell him. "That would narrow things down, but I don't think so. I don't really have any enemies here, in Ponyville. I have rivals when it comes to video game tournaments, but none of them would really go and try to do this kind of stunt." He stopped for a moment to think as a possibility had formed in his mind. "I might have an idea, but I don't know if the theory is possible."

[Catpone Cerberus 23,594]

@Dynamo Pad
"Then spit it out, and tell about those rivals too, though for latter all I really need is names and if by any chance they have done any crimes, I have my ways to figure out everything else about them from that." Ember didn't seem like she had patience for any nonsense, though this was actually an act, because with personal matters it didn't really matter when she got it done, and depending on what type of a pony they were talking about, she may want to actually wait a bit before doing anything.

[Dynamo Pad 11,306]

@Catpone Cerberus

Dynamo had winced as Ember told him to hurry and tell her the theory he was thinking of. From the way she spoke, it seemed as if she was running out of patience. "Okay, okay. I've only met a couple of rivals, like Chill and a few others. They are pretty nice and are helpful when it comes to practicing for upcoming tournaments. Although, I can mostly guess it would have to be a couple of bullies from my past. One is named Cosmic Clown. A neon green unicorn, who acts as if he's the best video game player in the world. Thinking that it's destiny that decided the outcome on everything and everyone. Another would be named Frozen Abyss. A ebony Pegasus, who thinks that strategy is all that matters in the rules of life. If one strategy doesn't work, then he'll always have a plan waiting to be set in motion. Finally, there's Cheap Shot. A red earth pony, who thinks that money will get him everything he could ever want in his life. Even if he has everything, he'll never stop and won't ever be satisfied. Cheap is all about brute strength, Frozen is all about strategy and Cosmic is a bit of both. I hope what I said was able to help you, Miss...I hope you can forgive me. I know you were trying to find and scare me from what you were talking about earlier. However, I don't think I ever got your name. Considering that you already know my name."

[Catpone Cerberus 23,594]

@Dynamo Pad
"Well isn't that a collection of very unfortunate names, I can see why they have ended up as bullies..." Ember commented with lot more relaxed tone "...I'll look into them and see what I'll do, but don't worry, I won't kill any of them." "And my name is Ember, I always forget to introduce myself,because those I go after usually know me already." she then looked around the arcade "Say...is there any machine that tests one's reflexes? I haven't been in this arcade yet before." she wasn't really a gamer, but her line of work did wonders for one's reflexes, and she liked now and then test them in less dangerous way.

[Dynamo Pad 11,306]

@Catpone Cerberus

"You can say that again. They'd do everything in their abilities to make others utterly miserable. Even those they saw as 'weak' or threatening were instantly picked on. Sometimes it would be pranks and other times it would be rallying others to say things." He sighed, remembering how he was targeted by the three of them. "Thank you and I appreciate that. If you find out anything, then let me know as soon as you can. I understand that you know my name, but I'll say it again to be formal. My name is Dynamo Pad, but you can call me Dynamo. It's nice to meet you, Ember." At the mention of a machine that tested reflexes, the blue unicorn placed a hoof upon his chin. "Hmm...that depends, really. Are you looking to test reflexes with your hooves, with weaponry, or both? If so, then I have a couple of FPS games that can work with reflexes. If you're looking for something else, then we do have a dance machine. I know it might not be much or the same, but it's all about rhythm, timing, and reflexes." He says, pointing to each game that focused on what she was looking for. 

[Catpone Cerberus 23,594]

@Dynamo Pad
"Not really what I'm looking for, though I guess I can try the dancing machine just for sake of it." Ember replied before making her way to the machine, after paying up, the first thing she did was to go to the volume settings if there was such thing, and put the volume to minimum, because it didn't really add anything for her. After putting a hoof for each button once, she started a song, in the hardest/fastest setting of course, and it was immediately apparent what she was used to doing, because instead of her movement looking anything like a dancing, it was more like dodging. After she finished, with a high score, she walked back to Dynamo "Lacks the element of surprise."

[Dynamo Pad 11,306]

@Catpone Cerberus

"My apologies on not having what you were looking for in regards to train in reflexes. This isn't really an arcade I own. It more of less belongs to my teacher from my original hometown of Fillydelphia. If I can, I could try and look into getting games that work on reflexes. You said you haven't been in this arcade, yet. Have you been in other arcades before? What kind of games did they have that had your ideal setting of reflex video games?" He wondered as Ember made her way towards the machine. He raised an eyebrow as she set the volume setting to low. He wanted to question the reason, but he soon stopped as she had set the settings to most difficult setting and started dancing. His jaw dropped in amazement at how quickly she began to dodge instead of dancing, before seeing that she finished with a new high score. "That wasn't too bad. You've got the dancing moves, or dodging skills in this case. My special talent is all about video games, but even I have trouble when dancing to a highest difficult setting on the dance machine. You're pretty awesome, you know that? Also, what did you mean by lacks the element of surprise? Were you expecting the song you picked, or the game in general to throw you a curve ball?" He whistled in astonishment, before raising an eyebrow in confusion. 

[Catpone Cerberus 23,594]

@Dynamo Pad
"I'm not sure if they are even considered to be games, they are those that either has several buttons that light up at random and you have to press them quickly when they do, or has one button that lights up with color that tells you to either press it or not to press it. There's lot of different machines but the base idea is the same with all of them, you must react to things quickly. They had those at Manehattan."

"I simply mean there isn't any surprises. The order you're supposed to move in is based on the song, thus it's a pattern, and thus it isn't really question of reflexes how well you do, and instead it's about how quickly you can figure out the pattern" Ember explained,  she seemingly ignored the praise. 

Edited August 15, 2019 by Catpone Cerberus

[Dynamo Pad 11,306]

@Catpone Cerberus

Dynamo hummed at the thought of her response, before nodding understandingly. All the while, his jaw fell slightly at her explanation of surprises. "I guess it's all about what game you have in question. I always thought that most games were made to be played differently, but it looks as if they all have a common factor. Even in some games like Overwatch, I have to react accordingly to other players. Along with how there are different reaction times from other players and different ways to respond. It's also the same thing with fighting games. You can either react quickly, or react by having a sort of plan. I can see reactions and reflexes go hoof in hoof."

"It's a shame that most games and/or songs play in the same order. You'd think they'd change the way the song is to be played on the dance machine. It honestly would take away from the whole practicing something over and over, until it becomes stuck in your mind. It makes games like that more challenging and makes for a better reaction time." Dynamo noted, while looking around at the other arcade machines. "Is there any other game that you wanted to try out? There's still plenty of games that might take your interest." He hoped that he would be able to get to know her. Even though he was supposedly targeted by someone to scare him, he still felt that she wasn't bad, or evil. He just didn't understand the pony-dragon hybrid and hoped that he could change that. 

Edited August 15, 2019 by Dynamo Pad

[Catpone Cerberus 23,594]

@Dynamo Pad
"Well, technically reactions and reflexes are the same thing since reflex is just an automatic reaction." Ember pointed out with rather nonchalant tone "And when it comes to song based games, you can't really change how you play a specific song, because the song is always the same." "And no, there really isn't, I'm not really that big on games because with a life like mine, video games get boring pretty quickly due to there having no consequences for losing."

[Dynamo Pad 11,306]

@Catpone Cerberus

Dynamo tiled his head to the side as he weighed the opinion of Ember's technicality. "I guess reflexes and reactions are basically one in the same. I've always heard other ponies say that you either have one quirk, or you have the other quirk. Wait until they get that reality check..." He chuckled slightly, turning towards her and frowned at her view on games. "...Unless you increase the difficulty on the game. It's why it would be nice to have a song based game where the notes are different patterns. Just like they do for TV game shows like Press Your Luck. I heard back in the day the pattern was almost the same, until someone figured out the cycle. Nowadays, the pattern changes drastically that you never can keep an eye on how the pattern goes. It's why it would be more interesting for song based games to have a bit more of a challenge, so to speak." "I would agree, but most of the time, I compete in gaming tournaments. It's a shame when you lose early on, or you get so close that you lose at the very end of the tournament. Other times, you practice and practice, but then your whole team doesn't want to work together or listen to what the plan is..." He gasped suddenly, his eyes widened as the blue unicorn was going on a rant.

With a deep breath and sigh, he gave the pony-dragon hybrid an apologetic look. "...I'm terribly sorry about all of that. There are times I can lose track when I'm talking about a video game. I know that you might not understand, but I guess it's better to have different outlooks on one thing or another. Speaking of which, you were talking about a life like yours. What kind of life do you lead, anyway? If you don't mind me asking, that is. Seeing how you told me that you work as a bounty hunter."

[Catpone Cerberus 23,594]

@Dynamo Pad
"I can shed bit of light to my life, but first I'd like to mention something..." Ember started with a generally friendly tone "...I understand that in tournaments losing is bit more serious, but the thing is, to even consider doing something like that, I would need to constantly practice playing games, which won't happen if I get bored in an hour..." she smiled kindly "...Also, never apologize for being passionate about something, besides if I didn't want to hear about video games, would I be talking to somepony who works at an arcade?.." she didn't really expect an answer, as was evidenced by her continuing right away "...anyway, back to me, for obvious reasons I won't go in too much detail, but simply put, I go after beings who don't really care for morals and laws, so if I was ever lose in the game that is my life....let's just say dying is the best case scenario." 

[Dynamo Pad 11,306]

@Catpone Cerberus

As he began listening to Ember's explanation, he thought he heard a friendly tone in her voice. With how she had acted earlier when they first met, it was and interesting and kind change of pace. "I guess video games aren't always for everyone. I can only hope that having fun, while playing a game is still there. It's why I like video games in the first place. It's a nice way for others to connect through games. Even when they don't have a gaming cutie mark, or if it's more of a casual gamer..." He smiled back kindly, while chuckling slightly as she continued her remark. He looked at the pony-dragon hybrid with pride as it seemed that she stood against those, who wanted to be above the law and rules. He soon frowned at the mention of her best case scenario."...Fair point and touché. I've had to learn that I can't always be the best, but it doesn't mean I can still get too competitive in some games. I've had moments where I dropped in the leaderboard because some teammates went off on their own. I get that there's no need for an apology, but I can be a little over the top."

"I've met many ponies and creatures, who come from all over Equestria and have different stories to tell. You're definitely the first one that I've met that is a bounty hunter. Granted, I don't know that many bounty hunters. I guess it's all about a secret sort of thing. Otherwise, then the secret will get out and then other's will be in danger, or will use the knowledge against them. Still, it's pretty disheartening to hear that losing one's life is more of a best case scenario in your choice of words. I'm going to guess and/or assume that losing, or failure isn't really an option, is there?"

[Catpone Cerberus 23,594]

@Dynamo Pad
"It isn't really, though no one is perfect, so it's more like, you can lose a fight, but you need to always win the battle..." Ember said, maybe a bit too nonchalantly considering the topic at hoof "...And to comment on the whole secrecy thing, yes, those in my field tend to hide their identities for obvious reasons, but for me that hasn't really been a possibility, because...well, look at me, there isn't that many Dragon-ponies walking around, so it would be easy to guess who I am just based on my shape." 

[Dynamo Pad 11,306]

@Catpone Cerberus

"Yeah, but try telling that to Cosmic and the others. All of them believe that they are at the pinnacle of perfection. Thinking that they don't need to practice and even if they did, then they'll just say someone cheated in the game if they still lost. They think the idea of not being perfect is not in their vocabulary. I agree that losing a fight in inevitable, but it just shows that you still need practice..." Dynamo said, while feeling surprised at how nonchalantly Ember had replied. Although, he felt as if he could understand her form of logic from what she had explained. "...I had a feeling that there would be a sort of secrecy for being a bounty hunter. I had heart about different fields in that regard, but I always tried to stay out of trouble. If someone had found out their identities, then it would sort of make one wonder what their next moves will be. Forcing others to be on high alert, or something like that..." He shrugged his shoulders as he took a guess. He wasn't really sure and didn't want to assume anything.

"...I've met other ponies and dragons, but you're the first dragon-pony that I've ever met. Are there others out there that are like you? I hope that's not a personal thing to ask. At first, I would have said that I was surprised about a dragon and pony being together, but I think it's pretty cool and sweet. Seeing how every creature from all around Equestria are starting to work together in friendship. Seeing how there's also a school that's teaching about friendship in town. I also remember the dragon, Spike, who still has a crush on Rarity. Who are you parents? If you don't mind me asking, that is."

[Catpone Cerberus 23,594]

@Dynamo Pad
"It is very usual for those with any type of power over others to think that they are perfect..." Ember commented "...But to answer your questions...As far as I know, I'm one of my kind in Equestria, but this is a big place, so it's possible there's other's like me, though they don't necessarily look the same, since we are a mixture of two species instead of our own species..." "...And for my parents...I don't know who my biological parents are, I was adopted by pegasus couple after I was left on their doorstep, for their safety I won't tell who or where from they are..." "...And before you ask, I really don't blame my biological parents, after all, ponies and dragons being allies is a pretty new thing."  

[Dynamo Pad 11,306]

@Catpone Cerberus

"I'm surprised, but then I guess bullies like Cosmic and the others think they have a sort of superiority complex. I guess they'd need to have a reality check, or for someone to help them understand. That is, if they'd be willing to understand..." Dynamo replied. "I guess there's probably other pony-dragons out there, in Equestria. Maybe they're just living in different parts of the world. Perhaps there are other hybrid creatures like types of griffons or yaks, but we just don't know it yet. I know it’s not the same, but I can relate...” He looks up and points to his unicorn horn. “...I wasn’t born like most ponies. When I was born, the doctors tried to u defat and why my unicorn horn was curved. They ran through so many tests that they decided to say it was a birth defect. There was a possibility that I wouldn’t be able to use magic. I could after some time, but it was a scary possibility.” 

“There's also something I was wondering. Since you are party dragon and party pony, then do you have or can you get a cutie mark?" He raised an eyebrow in curiosity, before frowning about the mention of her parents. "...I know I don't have to apologize for anything, but I'm really sorry to hear that. I'm glad to know that there were those who took you in and were able to raise you. Since the school was opened, a lot of other creatures have been visiting more frequently to Ponyville. So, I guess it's not untrue about how dragons, changelings, yaks and others being allies with ponies is a pretty new thing. I think it's pretty cool as it's nice to see new faces at the arcade every now and then."

Edited August 20, 2019 by Dynamo Pad

[Catpone Cerberus 23,594]

"If it helps, there's other curve-horned unicorns out there." 

"As you can see, I don't have one, and considering I already know what I'm good at and don't have it, I'm pretty certain I will never get one..." Ember replied with a friendly tone "...and you're right, you shouldn't apologize, because as I said, I don't blame them, besides, that all happened before I was old enough to know what's happening around me, so I haven't exactly lost anything, as far as I know, it could be actually a good thing I don't know them." even though her words could be taken as bit...non-friendly, her friendly tone made it clear they weren't meant in that way. 

@Dynamo Pad