private Slice of life: Crossing paths (a learning RP)

[glacialchill 17]

OOC Page Here

 

     The sun shines over Ponyville, ignoring the few clouds in the sky to cast a bright, cheery glow over the fairgrounds. Although the Arbor day festivities were not to begin until the next day, that doesn't mean that the grounds are not crowded. There is a constant bustle around the fields as entertainers, bakers, trinket peddlers, and even the occasional jeweler are setting up their stages, booths, or tents. Several groups of volunteers from Ponyville have arrived to assist with setup, adding their numbers to the crowd. A warm breeze pushes it's way past the ponies as each goes about their particular tasks, before making it's way to the town itself. 

 

     A cyan unicorn reluctantly sits up in her bed, looking out at the bright sunshine that was ever-so-happily interrupting her sleep. 

  "I really should find something to do with myself," She thought. "I'm hardly going to fit in here if all I do is sleep all day and mooch off my friend..."

   

  She looks passively out the window at the crowd already forming by the fairgrounds.

  "Later. Mingling can always wait until tomorrow."

 

  The unicorn rolled over again and pulled the blanket over her head with a sigh. She wasn't quite hungry enough to go out again.

[Senor Citizen 516]

Standoff had had some issues with this one. He didn't like bodyguarding, the ponies he was assigned to all ended up being incompetent. Babysitting was never his strong suit. He stuck a few more slugs in his vest's inner bandoleer, sighed, put it down, and set off for the designated area.

[Pixel Mouse 84]

Something had woken Pixel Mouse up...

 

"Urh..." He moaned...

Rolling over, he managed to open the drapes of his window awkwardly with his hoof.

 

As he opened it, a thin beam of fire burst through at him, burning his eyes.

Panicking, he closed the drapes. Wait what? Fire?

 

Rolling over in the opposite direction this time, he looked at his alarm-clock.

His blurry vision cleared a little and he made out the time. While his eyes had cleared, his mind hadn't and it took him a while to fully understand the numbers.

 

"11:00 PM..." The words didn't seem to make sense to him. "11:00 PM" He repeated, with more understanding this time. 

He spoke them one last time. "11..." This time they hit home.

 

He sprung from his bed, quickly brushed his teeth and ate the remainder of a salad he had made for dinner last night.

Bursting out his front door, he stepped into the new day.

[Love*Potion 575]

Kismet sauntered through the fields between her cabin and Ponyville. The sun was shining, the grass was swaying, and the clouds floated wearily by.

 

"Hmmm." Kismet thought to herself, "I wish I could just snooze here in the sun all day." But she had other engagements to attend to. Her mind took her back to a week ago, when she had first seen the poster for the 75th annual Arbor Day fair.

 

...

 

 

She trotted through the busy streets of Ponyville, crowded with the afternoon bustle of the marketplace. She was on her way to Sweet Apple Acres to pick up some delicious, juicy red apples for a new recipe; however a large group of ponies caught her eye.

 

"No way!" one pony exclaimed, "The Arbor Fair is next week!?"

 

Kismet stopped dead in her tracks and flinched at the two words. Immediately a wave of dizziness and confusion overtook her. She knew what this meant, but she could not understand it.

 

"The 75th Arbor Day Fair...." she thought, "I... I think..."

 

Almost unconsciously she pushed her way through the crowd to the front.

 

"There's something different about this year." she thought, "I just know it!"

 

 

She stepped up and said firmly:

 

"I volunteer to help with the festivities."

[LeJAKoJAK 49]

"AAaaaaaaand I have everything ready." Pinoak looks around his wagon home, looking at various props and puppets strewn about the room.  "I believe I'm almost set for the show." Pinoak stretches his forelegs over his head and trots outside. He walks over to the side of the wagon that is facing the road, and starts pulling at a handle on the same side. Pinoak gives it a strong tug, but it doesn't move. He tries again, but with the same results.

 

"Looks like I need to give her a good oiling later. She's stuck pretty tight." Out of the corner of his eye, he spots a lavender mare with a brown mane and tail.

 

"Um, excuse me, miss." Pinoak comes up to her and asks, "Are you one of the volunteers? If you are, would you mind giving me a hoof with my stage? It's a bit stuck....."

[Azure Flames 303]

Azure had woken early so he could start to prepare his pasties for the fair 

 

he has cinnamon bun, chocolate and almond croissants ready to go in the oven

 

strawberry cream ready to be piped in to cream puffs and a refrigerator full of supplies for his famous Rainbow Soda and Magic Ice Coffee 

 

after he finished the preparation for his goods he put them in the fridge so they can be fresh when he bakes them on the day of the fair 

 

he then decided to go check on his stand

 

he grabbed his saddle bag and headed out to the fair grounds 

 

as he walked to his stand he passed by  a yellow unicorn trying to set up a stage

 

Azure was about to offer to help when the yellow unicorn ask one of the fair volunteers for help

 

so azure continued on his way

 

when he got to his stand he pulled a check list from his bag

 

"an insulated cabinet to keep the baked goods in so they don't get cold...Check"

 

"chalk board display signs to show what i'm selling and their prices...Check"  

 

"two cooler for the drink supplies...Check"

 

azure pulled slips from his bag

 

"the receipt for an order of six 8 pound ice bags...Check"

 

he was ready for the fair

[Love*Potion 575]

"Um, excuse me, miss, are you one of the volunteers? If you are, would you mind giving me a hoof with my stage? It's a bit stuck....."

 

A voice struck Kismet out of her daze, and she glanced lazily to the side.

 

"Somepony should help that guy..."

 

It took her a moment, but then she realized that the unicorn stallion was talking to her! She timidly stepped up to him and asked,

 

"Umm... Hello? Did you need something? I'm really just here for the decorations but I suppose I could lend a hoof to a fellow pony."

[glacialchill 17]

((Somepony correct me if I am wrong, but... I notice that both I and Azure make a lot of new lines when we type. While that would work great for a chat-room RP, I'm not sure it works well here. Can somepony enlighten us on the OOC thread?))

 

    Gale sat up again not ten minutes later after coming to the conclusion that the sun was determined to wake her up whether she liked it or not. 

  "Fine, fine... I'll get up." She said to the sun. "Just don't expect me to be happy about it."

 

    She rolled out of bed slowly and stretched her back before walking sleepily out into the sunlight. Once she was outside, she felt a bit better, and a smile crossed her face.

  "Well, time to find something to do..."

 

    She closed the door behind her and turned to make a beeline for the library, where she hoped to find some relief from the ponies gathered around the fairgrounds.

[Love*Potion 575]

The tall, mustard yellow unicorn began speaking to her, but Kismet wasn't listening. Her mind became focused on the wagon. The huge, wooden structure was impressively built, with enough room for a pony to sleep in! Her eyes skimmed the side of the cart and noticed some wooden planks were darker than others. It was a slight difference, but a difference none the less. As she looked closer, these darker spots were in the shape of a - rectangle?

 

She continued to inspect the cart and noticed a handle at a weird angle. It didn't look natural, so the probability that it was supposed to be like that, or even for decoration, was slim to none.

 

Finally, everything clicked.

 

The wagon had been made for a pony to travel in, all over Equestria doing.... something? Never mind that detail, anyway, this wagon has been all over, traveling to faraway, distant lands. The pony who owns it must be attracted to gatherings of some sort- perhaps fairs much like this one? And where there are fairs there are posters to advertise it.

 

"Which would explain the odd-shaped marks on the side" she thought to herself.

 

Her mind took her back to the peculiar handle, and realized that it was at an odd angle because, well, it was stuck! 

 

"My guess is that this unicorn was too busy repainting his wagon to remember to oil his handle" she smirked.

 

All this happened in a matter of seconds. The thoughts flowed through her mind like a river of information. When the rapid waters slowed, she spoke to the stallion in front of her.

 

"Is your handle broken? I would be happy to fetch some oil for you! I'm sure it will be tuned up in no time!"

 

She paused,

 

"That is, if that's what you needed me for..." she said sheepishly.

[LeJAKoJAK 49]

"Well, I have some oil in my wagon, but I really need to get the stage out. It shouldn't be a problem, just need a little bit of muscle to help get it unstuck. And even if I wanted to oil it, I still need to pull it out first. But thank you for the offer for grabbing some oil. And as for the handle, it's fine, it locks so ponies can get a better grip on it."

 

Pinoak notices the odd looks at the wagon. "And if you are wondering about these carvings, each one represents a new town or area my family has visited. I'm a traveling story collector and puppeteer, as were my parents, and was my dad's parents, and so on. Some of these carvings go back about 100 plus years." Pinoak points out a carving of a barn and an apple tree. "This one is Ponyville's Sweet Apple Acres when my grandparents visited Ponyville for the first time. OH! But if you want, we can talk about the carvings later, we need to get the stage out! So how about you pull the handle, while I pull it with magic. Sound good to you?" 

 

Pinoak looks at Kismet and holds out a hoof, "I'm Pinoak by the way. And you are?"

 

(OOC: @@Love*Potion, Sorry about taking a bit to post. If you want, you could temporarily take over my character to describe how you help with the stage and getting it pulled out.)

[Brain Drain 93]

Dusk walks out of the Everfree forest and walks towards a hill that over looks Ponyville and notices all the ponies around the fairground and thinks to himself, "Is there something going on this month?" After a few seconds of thinking, he shrugged his shoulders and starts to walk towards a tree saying to himself, "A nap couldn't hurt." He yawns and slowly falls asleep.

Edited March 23, 2013 by Witch Doctor

[TBB Symphonia 39]

Judith walks onto the fairgrounds in casual attire, making it a point not to attract any unnecessary attention. She keeps a low profile while she checks out the vendors and staff members from a distance. As far as she could see, nothing was out of the ordinary, but she still needed to check out the surrounding buildings and wagons without anypony noticing.

 

(OOC-I have no idea what Judith should be looking for. If anypony has any ideas please feel free to give em. Thanks)

[Love*Potion 575]

Kismet blushed and stuck out a hoof,

 

"Oh! I'm sorry. Don't mind me, I uh- tend to let my mind wander. Not too good at multitasking you know!"

 

Kismet gave her best smile and looked down from the confused pony's eyes- his hoof was still shaking hers.

 

"Oh!" she exclaimed, "My name's Kismet!"

 

As soon as she finished introducing herself, she pulled her hoof back and gazed back toward the wagon.

 

"I'll uh... just try and push this lever then" 

 

Kismet hopped over next to the cart and heaved her front legs onto the lever.

 

"Ready when you are, boss!" 

 

Pinoak stepped back with an amused smile. An aura of magic surrounded his horn as he began to force open the stage. Kismet began pushing down on the lever with all her might, even flapping her wings to create more force. Finally, as the old wood creaked, it suddenly sprang open, puppets and supplies falling to the ground. Pinoak rushed to pick up his treasured items, but something else caught Kismet's eye.

 

"What is this?" she mumbled.

 

In her mouth she held a peculiar old piece of parchment, with ancient writings and symbols scattered messily on the page. It had fallen out of the wagon as the ponies had opened it. Kismet's curiosity was burning inside her.

 

"I smell an adventure," she smiled.

Edited March 25, 2013 by Love*Potion

[LeJAKoJAK 49]

Pinoak takes the piece of paper from Kismet. "I honestly have no idea. I've never seen it before." 

 

The yellow unicorn flops on the ground in front of the pegasus, examining the paper. "Hmm....... is that? No, it can't be, great grand puppet's? Wait, this is what dad was talking about?" His head snaps up and stares at Kismet," Do you know what this means?" Pinoak hops up, grab's Kismet's face, and essentially slams his forehead into hers. "This is a map to the Stringhoof's grand collection! Can you believe it? AREN'T YOU JUST SO EXCITED?!!?"

 

He pauses for a moment, realizing how much of the mare's space he is invading, and quickly backs away. Sheepishly, he says, "Sorry about that. Well, first off, thank you for the help with the stage, secondly, thank you for finding this, and thirdly, DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW--" Pinoak looks around, noticing the stares he is starting to attract, then appropriately lowers his voice. "Do you have any idea as to how important this is to me? Every generation, the current owner of the family wagon goes on a trip to my family's story library. And the current storyteller, IE, me, has to go and gain the knowledge of the generations before the storyteller's time. And it looks like it's my turn to go."

 

He looks at the paper once again.  "Looks like I'm going to have to skip Appleloosa this go-round." 

[TBB Symphonia 39]

Pinoak takes the piece of paper from Kismet. "I honestly have no idea. I've never seen it before." 

 

The yellow unicorn flops on the ground in front of the pegasus, examining the paper. "Hmm....... is that? No, it can't be, great grand puppet's? Wait, this is what dad was talking about?" His head snaps up and stares at Kismet," Do you know what this means?" Pinoak hops up, grab's Kismet's face, and essentially slams his forehead into hers. "This is a map to the Stringhoof's grand collection! Can you believe it? AREN'T YOU JUST SO EXCITED?!!?"

 

He pauses for a moment, realizing how much of the mare's space he is invading, and quickly backs away. Sheepishly, he says, "Sorry about that. Well, first off, thank you for the help with the stage, secondly, thank you for finding this, and thirdly, DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW--" Pinoak looks around, noticing the stares he is starting to attract, then appropriately lowers his voice. "Do you have any idea as to how important this is to me? Every generation, the current owner of the family wagon goes on a trip to my family's story library. And the current storyteller, IE, me, has to go and gain the knowledge of the generations before the storyteller's time. And it looks like it's my turn to go."

 

He looks at the paper once again.  "Looks like I'm going to have to skip Appleloosa this go-round." 

Judith turns the corner to hear a pony yelling. "DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW--" the pony stops and looks around realizing he is attracting attention.Judith thought this pony was a bit suspicious since he was yelling about a piece of paper. Luckily the pony did not notice her peering from behind the wall of a building.

 

She thinks to herself Hmm, I better keep an eye out for that nutjob.

 

(OOC- I don't really mean your a nutjob, I'm just having Judith think your a bit crazy since you were yelling. Later on she'll change her opinion.)

[Senor Citizen 516]

Standoff stood near a stall, watching the proceedings. The party (don't get too distracted, there is going to be a party) was tonight, and if his sources were right, something was going to go wrong. He watched the weird one yelling about something or another.

[Brain Drain 93]

Dusk woke up from his nap to hear a pony screaming about something. So he decided to walk into town to see if he could earn a few bits or maybe figure out what was going on in town this month.

 

As he was walking into town he thought, "Better keep my eyes open, never know what to expect." He continued to walk towards the market to find none of the vendors had anything he wanted, so he started to make his way to the fairgrounds.

[glacialchill 17]

((OOC: LeJAK, I must ask that if you make an all-OOC post, that you make it on the OOC thread. oh, and phone post, so no color... ))

 

Finding nothing interesting in the library that she hadn't already read, Gale makes her way to the fairgounds. Upon arriving, she tries to stick to the calmer pockets behind and beside the stalls, and avoids drawing any attention to herself. But after hearing an especially loud shout, her curiosity got the best of her and she went to investigate.

 

By the time she had reached the spot she thought the shout had come from, things had queted down. Before too long, she lost interest and blended back into the crowd, hopefully unnoticed.

[Love*Potion 575]

Kismet was stunned. She couldn't believe this one little scroll could have so much meaning to this pony. It seemed so important to him, and who knows what untold riches and knowledge may be laying wait at the end of it. She was itching for an adventure, something to prove herself and test her new cutie mark- her true talents were yet to be revealed. She looked at the yellow stallion, excitedly scrutinizing every inch of the page. She took a deep breath and asked:

 

"Ummm, Pinoak? Since I am the one who discovered this... thing.... I think it is only fair if I came along to assist you in your.... quest." Kismet gave her most courageous smile and tried to look confident to win the pony's trust.

 

"That is, if that's okay with you..."

[Azure Flames 303]

Azure decided to look around the fair grounds and see the other vendors and stands to see what others were offering.. he saw a lot of  great offering from food and drinks to shows and games, this might be the best fair yet the thought to himself. he wondered around a little more

[LeJAKoJAK 49]

 

"Ummm, Pinoak? Since I am the one who discovered this... thing.... I think it is only fair if I came along to assist you in your.... quest." Kismet gave her most courageous smile and tried to look confident to win the pony's trust.   "That is, if that's okay with you..."

 

"Okay? That'd be wonderful! Traveling is so boring when you go alone. It's always nice to have a companion." Pinoak looks off to the side with a quizzical look.  "Now that I think about it, it's always been someone else to find the paper and join in the quest." 

 

As Pinoak is staring off to the side, he takes a note as he looks at the sun. "OH! It's almost time for my first show. We can talk more about the outing later." He starts to run towards the wagon as ponies start to wait by the stage.

 

Pinoak looks back, "If you aren't needed elsewhere, you could help with the show. It's always nice having an extra hand with handing me puppets. And it'll be fun!"

 

(OOC: Sorry about the all OC post. I'll do it in the OOC next time.)

[Brain Drain 93]

As Dusk arrived to the fairgrounds he noticed a vendor that was selling cider. He walked up to the vendor and dropped a couple bits for a pint of cider. He walked over to a shady spot and watched the crowds pass him as he drank his cider. As he was finishing his cider he thought, "I guess it's time to gather info on some of these ponies." He started to scan the area for a target to follow, when he saw a pony walking around checking out the vendors and decided to follow this pony for a bit.

[TBB Symphonia 39]

Hmmm what could this nutcase be planning with that piece of paper?  He did mention a collection, but what could it contain. I also need to keep an eye out for that informant that was with him. These thoughts were swimming through Judith's mind as she seen the nutjob gallop toward his wagon to start up a show.

 

I better take a closer look by blending into the crowd. She trots casually toward the rest of the ponies that were waiting in front of the wagon. She stays toward the back so she can make a quick escape just in case things get hairy.

Edited March 27, 2013 by TBB Symphonia

[glacialchill 17]

Gale had been slowly making her way past the crowds when she happened upon a stage that folded out of what appeared to be very intricately carved cart, probably large enough to live in. Judging by the ponies gathering outside the stand, something was about to start. Hopefully a music performance. Gale finds a spot nearby where she can watch easily, but won't get trapped in the crowd.

[LeJAKoJAK 49]

"Wow, looks like a lot if ponies are waiting for the show. If you want, you could help with another show. It seems that it's my cue. Talk to after the show!"

Pinoak runs inside the wagon. Moments later, the area around the audience starts to darken, and the stage seems to brighten. Pinoak pops out from the bottom of the stage and leans his legs on the bottom edge of the stage.

"Good evening everypony! I'm sure most of you guys know me! If you don't you do now. My name is Pinoak Stringhoof, traveling puppeteer and storyteller. I've been all around the world! From the plains of the Zebra homelands, the mountain homes of the griffin kingdom, the high and low courts of Canterlot, and now here, in the lovely town of Ponyville, with an equally, lovely audience.

 

Now, today's story comes from the griffin kingdoms. The story takes place in the Aponachian mountain, and revolves around a griffin hunter, and his seven dogs."  As Pinoak describes the scene, he disappears beneath the stage. In the background mountains start to appear, and in the foreground, a small hut appears.

 

"Now some of you may know, that the griffons are primarily carnivorous."

The crowd gasps, followed by murmurings of Murderers and Savages.

"Woah woah woah. Calm down everypony. They aren't being savage at all, this was not only a different time for griffins, they had to hunt because they also need to eat. Now, where was I? Ah yes, I remember now!"

(OOC: Major Puppet actions are in between ** )

In the Aponachian mountains, there lived a hunter, his mate, and their seven dogs. The mate one day, received a letter from her sister in the capital. *A female griffin walks out of the hut, followed by a male griffin and 7 dogs.*

The mate says, ‘I’ll be back in a week. Don’t forget to feed the dogs and take them for their daily walk. I love ya sweetie!’ *The female griffin, the mate, gives the hunter a kiss*

“Oh don’t worry about us dear. You know I take good care of my dogs. I  love you too.” *The female griffin walks off stage.*

‘Alright boys, let’s go get some dinner.’ *All of the dogs barking while the griffin goes inside the house. Moments later, he comes out with a bow and arrow. The dogs start running towards stage left, followed by the griffin. As they run, the background is constantly changing, showing that they are running.*

While the hunter and his dogs were going through the woods, they spot a new creature. *The creature pops up on a background tree* It was like nothing they have ever seen before. It was a black furry creature, with a long, hairless neck, and an even longer furry, bushy tail. The creature stared at the hunter, with it's huge, saucer eyes. *A pair of semi-transparent eyes start to dominate the open stage, looking right at the audience.* The hunter and his dogs were frozen stiff, scared beyond belief.

After a long and silent pause, the hunter came to his sense and did the first thing that came to mind. He shot at the beast.*The griffin pulls back the bow, fires an arrow, and hits the beast right in the head. The arrow disappears. The illusionary eyes turn inward to stare at the griffin, while the beast’s neck stretches forward and stares him right in the eye.* But the arrow did nothing. It just vanished.

The creature, without moving a lip, says in a quiet voice, “Ponmacho.”, then runs off into the woods. One of the dogs goes crazy, upset that they couldn't get it,  and takes off after the beast, running as hard as he could.

“Biscuit! Get back here! What do you think you’re doing?!”

 

The group starts to chase after Biscuit. *Now, the background is changing from location to location, with the griffin and the dogs looking all around the stage. At this point, the remaining dog puppets start to search through the audience, causing some of them to gasp and giggle.*

 

They searched for hours, but couldn’t find a sign of either one of them. The griffin returns home, enraged at the fact that he is missing a dog. *The set changes back to the hut. The dogs are still out and about in the audience.*

The next day, he goes searching for his dog again. The hunter takes his pack out to where they first saw the beast. And like the day before, he shoots at the beast, it replies with a ‘Ponmacho’, and a dog takes off after it, never to be seen again. *Each of the dogs in the audience disappears, one by one.*

This keeps happening every day until all of the hunter’s dogs have disappeared. On the final day before his mate comes home, he sets out to see if he could find any of the dogs. He goes to the site of where he met the black creature.

 

*This time, instead of the creature having black fur, it has the fur coloring of the first missing dog.*

 

‘Ponmacho’

 

With a burst of speed that would make Rainbow Dash jealous, the creature takes off towards his hut.

 

“What the?”

*The beast puppet hops off the stage and starts to run through the crowd with the griffin in tow. After a few seconds of chasing, the scene changes to the hut, with the beast running inside, followed by the griffin. The house interior is revealed while everything goes black around it. Inside, there are six more of the beasts, all with the fur colors of the missing dogs, are staring at the griffin. Then cries of ‘Ponmacho’ are heard, from all around the audience and stage. The griffin screams*

“GRRRRRRRRREAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!”

*The audience jumps at the noise while the griffin runs out side. The hut interior disappears, and the exterior is revealed. The original black creature was sitting there. The two illusionary eyes appear again.*

‘Ponmacho.’

*The set fades to black while the audience starts applauding. They are abruptly cut off when the lights come up, showing the mate walking into the house. The doorway of the hut’s interior is revealed, while the rest remains black. The mate walks in, the rest of the hut is revealed, and another one of the creatures is sitting there, with the same feathers of the hunter, staring at the mate. The stage blacks out.*

 

 

 

(OOC: Please please please PUHLEASE, critique this. I'd like to go back and edit it to make it as good as I possibly can. Normally, this story involves humans, and because I'm an oral storyteller rather than a word story teller, I haven't gone into a lot of detail with this story. The story is actually based off of a storybook I was read in 1st grade. I would give credit to the author, but I can't find the book anywhere, no matter how many searches I do. I believe it was originally a folk story from the Appalachian Mountains, but I can't confirm it. I hope you guys enjoyed it. And sorry about the delay.

 

Sidenote: Sorry about the formatting. It's acting weird for some reason. I don't know why.)