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Post by KaosuKishi on May 10, 2012 9:48:47 GMT -5
Herb was still waiting for Chase to drink the medicine, keeping one ear on the conversations around him. He couldn't make much of most of them, seeing as he rarely spent larger amounts of time in places like Ponyville, but he kept listening all the same.
His eyes widened when he saw Icarus state, a quick scan showed his black eye and limping leg, at least sprained if not broken outright. He glanced at Piston, seeing her rising temper, and decided to to do something before she did something stupid. He called out to her.
"Piston, right? Look into my saddlebags, there should be a small red cup in there. It's an ointment. Put it on his black eye and leg. It'll numb the pain and help with the swelling. I can't tell whether his leg is sprained or broke. The ointment will help until he can get it checked out properly. I'd do it myself, but I can't move right now, lest my friend here just falls over."
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Post by Kuro on May 12, 2012 14:53:38 GMT -5
Demure's reaction to Cotton's interesting choice of headwear was different from Piston's; instead of snickering, he seemed rather unsettled and winced at the...smile she made when she awkwardly hissed the word "friends".
"Uh...Hi, there, Cotton." He was trying to look at her, but his eyes noticeably kept darting back to the helmet. "That, uh...You. Um, it's nice of you to come back to us, since you probably have so much...work...to...do." His eyes had kept going back and forth throughout his words and near the end they just stayed on the...it.
When the red stallion came in battered and bruised, Demure gasped and immediately ran over to him. "What happened? A-are you, er, I mean, uh, you said you were going to go look at the sad pony, right? Y-you..." He saw the expression in his eyes. "...Why are you looking like that? Your eyes, I mean. Its not as if y-you failed anyone. You look like you're guilty or...something. Wh...What happened?"
He then heard that the...zebra?...couldn't help because he was holding up Midnight. "I-I can help! Er, you're the one who can heal, you should be free to do the healing. I can just hold her up for you..." He was by her side, ready to keep her from falling. He had volunteered because it made sense for the doctor(?) to be able to do the doctoring and he honestly wanted to help, but after he said it he realized that this meant a pretty pony leaning on him.
He tried his best not to blush at the thought.
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Post by CJ on May 12, 2012 22:52:24 GMT -5
Cotton kept her half smile up as Piston and Demure analyzed her new hat. She felt relieved they did not ask anything about it. She wouldn't have to reveal her true purpose, to win their friendship so she could convert it to magic for her artificial horn.
Icarus surprised Cotton. Ponyville was a relatively peaceful place. To think a pony could suffer the injuries he did was almost unfounded. Thoughts of a great sacrifice made to help another emerged in her mind. She immediately started to form a story around it. In reality, she assumed he met some terrible accident.
Herb, on the other hand, didn't surprise her. Oh, who was she kidding, he did. She had no idea what he was or where he came from. She had never seen a zebra before (though she had heard of them). She watched carefully as he prepared to heal Icarus.
Cotton noted Demure trying to help out. Was this what friends did? She tried to imitate him.
"I can help too, if you want, right? Icarus? You want help, right?"
Cotton's eyebrow twitched as she kept up in her act.
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Post by KaosuKishi on May 16, 2012 11:18:38 GMT -5
Herb shot a last look at Chase, his gaze telling her to drink the potion, or else. Nodding to Demure, he went over to his saddlebags and pulled out a small red jar. Trotting to Icarus, he opened the jar.
"Lie down and stick out your leg, please. It looks like it's only sprained but as I said, I have some experience but I'm not a doctor, just a herbalist and a brewing expert. As I said, as soon as the ointment kicks in, please go and see a proper doctor."
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Rinji
Pirate
The Catman King
Necromancer
Posts: 171
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Post by Rinji on May 18, 2012 20:22:48 GMT -5
Icarus slowly nodded and hunched down, sticking out his leg as he was told to do. The ankle was very swollen and underneath the red coat, he was showing bad signs of bruises. He sighed, wondering how he ended up in this mess.
"Well, I couldn't find anything out about what happened in the library. They told me that it was a restricted area, and only people who were directly involved were allowed in. I guess eye-witnesses weren't included under that category." As soon as he said "eye witness" his eye twitched and the pain struck. He winced some but remained calm. "I don't know if a doctor is really needed in this case. I should just try and stay off of it for a bit. But thank you. My name's Icarus, by the way. Icarus Libra. Friends call me Izzy."
His glance went over to Cotton, then to Midnight and he kind of gazed at her for a moment. Even with her broken horn, he could still see...
He shook the thought away and readied himself for the Herbalist to rub the ointment on his ankle. He gave a sigh, and started to think for a moment.
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Post by KaosuKishi on May 19, 2012 6:11:09 GMT -5
Herb smiled softly as he carefully rubbed the ointment on Icarus' leg and a little around his eye.
"Well, it's your leg, Icarus, I can't force you to go anywhere, just promise me to be careful, I hate seeing others being hurt. My name's Wild Herb, by the way, just call me Herb, or Doc, if you want to, like Chase over there does." He chuckled before frowning. "And it is rather strange the guards acted like this. I've met the Royal Guard multiple times before I came to Ponyville and they were always nice, if not a little too silent..."
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Post by CJ on Jun 5, 2012 20:15:41 GMT -5
Cotton observed Wild Herb's actions regarding Icarus carefully. This was an act of kindness. She had read it about it in fiction and nonfiction, though she barely recognized it herself.
"Well, Doc," she said his name as though it was stuck in her teeth. "You're a very odd one, being a green Zebra and all, though I'm sure you know that yourself. Could you please tell me your backstory in full? Friends do ask for backstories, right?"
Cotton looked at Demure, "Chase" and Piston with a pleading frown. She had to get the metallic horn contraption on her head working somehow. By taking small steps, like asking for backstories, she could get a handle on this "friendship" and unlock the magic needed to power the device.
Wild Herb might notice Cotton never introduced herself. She was well on her way to social etiquette.
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Post by Neurotick on Jun 11, 2012 21:54:33 GMT -5
"I'm ffffine! Honefffft!" Midnight said, her tongue sticking out of her mouth and flailing about with every syllable, "I juffft fneed fffome refft ifff all."
At that, Midnight lifted herself up onto her own four hooves...and promptly fell over onto Demure. Whether the very feminine pony could hold her weight was debatable. Either way, Midnight ended up down on the floor once again, swatting her hooves in the air in a futile attempt to get back up.
"...OK, mayffbe I fneed a liffle helfff," Midnight pouted. She sniffed at the strange concoction Wild Herb had placed in front of her. She aimed her tongue, still wagging about for some reason, so that it dipped into the drink to taste it. Sure enough, it was sweet. Maybe cherries or something, it was hard for Midnight to place the exact flavor. She picked it up and chugged it, the entire jar emptied after only a few gulps. Sure enough Midnight's headache soon subsided and she was significantly less dizzy in a few short moments. Her tongue was back in her mouth where it belonged, too.
"Much better!" Midnight picked herself up from the floor. She was better, but not back to normal, so she still needed to prop herself up on Demure just a little. She hoped the pony didn't mind too much. She looked at Icarus with a smile and proclaimed, "see, Izzicarus? Doc Herbie's gonna fix you up all better. He's the best~!"
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Post by Kuro on Jun 11, 2012 23:21:15 GMT -5
"Oof!"
Demure had not expected Midnight to simply fall on him. The sudden weight made his knees buckle at first, but after that he kept her somewhat upright. Midnight's crutch was rather wobbly though as it spoke to Icarus.
"N-nice to meet you. Its a shame that we can't find out why the stuff happened...I really wanted to see why the pony was so sad." No, wait, that came out wrong! Did that make him sound creepy? Why did he say that? Why did he say anything?! "Well, er, I mean-" No no no, just don't say anything. Don't mess it up again.
"..."
Demure had an awkward silence to himself as he looked for something else to talk about and divert attention away from the obvious strangeness of what he had said. He found it in Cotton's odd behavior, which he continued to raise an eyebrow and wince at.
"Well....Er...I suppose that friends do, kinda, give each other a little bit of backstories, maybe. Uh, thank you for the help, Wild Herb. It is weird, what the guards did. Maybe, they, uh, are just trying to protect - uh, well, wait, no, they did beat him up...Er, maybe we can go back as a group and try again? I-i mean, strength in numbers, right? Of course, we could just do other things, maybe. I mean, its all up to you guys..." Demure really wasn't sure of what to do and he did not know why he was still talking. As for Midnight, although he did not know of what the pony thought of his support, Demure certainly did not mind the situation. Well, maybe a little, he was almost blushing and everything...
"Y-yeah, thanks again for helping the two out, Wild Herb." He took notice of Midnight calling Wild Herb "the best" and for a second, part of him was a bit jealous. But then his common sense won out and told him that there was nothing to be jealous about. I mean, really. He had noticed Icarus staring at something for a bit, and at first he thought it was because the white pony had something on his face. He recognized a gaze when he saw it though, and his eyes darted between Midnight and Icarus for a bit. A small smile popped up on his face for a moment, but his face quickly reverted back to its usual nervous disposition.
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Post by KaosuKishi on Jun 12, 2012 9:30:28 GMT -5
"It's really no problem, Demure, was it? I am a herbalist and brewer and healing concoctions are my specialty, though I can do other things. I like helping others, it's that simple."
Wild Herb smirked at Icarus' gaze before turning to Cotton. She was a little rude in not introducing herself, but he didn't mind, everyone had their quirks, and hers seemed to be uneasiness in public.
"I'm green because I am only half Zebra. As you can see, I have a cutie mark, something zebras usually don't get. My father was an earth pony. I've been traveling all over Equestria and other countries, and came to Ponyville in hopes of finding a home. My half-breed status and eyes tend to unnerve others, so I had problems doing so in the past..." He smirked. "And might I ask your name, as you seem to know mine?"
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Rinji
Pirate
The Catman King
Necromancer
Posts: 171
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Post by Rinji on Jul 4, 2012 19:08:55 GMT -5
"Well, I guess I'm kinda late. I need to get to the corne--"
"Izzy!" A whole bunch of fillies shouted as they ran down the street toward the crowd of ponies.
"Kids?!" Icarus looked as they began to surround him. "Hey."
"We've been looking for you!" Fizzy said, smiling at him, her beautiful blue mane and sky blue coat shining as she gazed at her favorite story teller.
"Yeah! Come on! Keep telling us the story about the Pegasus! You know! The one fighting the Evil Black Dragon!"
"Ah, yes, Broad Sword and the Black Dragon Swamp..."
"Yeah!" All of the fillies said at once and began to sit around him.
"Alright, so through the swamp, the brave Broad Sword Mare tromped her way through the swamp. Her hooves sinking into each patch of mud, slowing her every step." Icarus continued his story about a brave mare who braved her way through a dangerous land, with Thieving Dogs and even a horrible Swamp demon standing in her way. With perils at every turn, she even found a brave steed, with whom she fought the Swamp Demon with her sword and his great feats of magic.
He ended with a cliffhanger, as the both of them found the black dragon of the swamp in the distance. That was when he stopped, and all of the little fillies expressed their dismay.
"That was awesome! And is Broad Sword going to get together with Fire Ball? He sounds awesome!"
"Now now, we're going to finish the story next week. I'm sure I can give you a great ending." Izzy smiled, genuinely loving the smiles on their faces and their honest expectations they expressed.
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Post by Kuro on Jul 30, 2012 22:30:07 GMT -5
Midnight had steadied herself enough to not require Demure's help now, and when she got off, he thought of what to do now. He could go back to reading that love novel...Maybe interact with these new...friends? No, no, they probably didn't know each other well enough for that. Well, maybe. He had little intention of going to try and visit the prisoner, though. It was still odd that the guards had been so rough with Icarus. Well, they didn't really need to see the prisoner, did they? But, it would be nice to see if the gray pony was alright. She had seemed so sad, and that bothered him for a reason that could be seen on his flank.
Maybe...
...Maybe tomorrow. He sighed, a little dis - no, a lot disappointed with himself. He should...But, he couldn't. He knew he had no excuse, but....But. A quiet sigh to himself. For now, he would...make himself known with these new "friends". If he did, they would be his first ones; he wasn't very well-known in Ponyville, and for his whole time here he had not minded that...for the most part. Who to talk to, though. Maybe, maybe, maybe, uh, no, he was busy, she was busy, and, and -
He gulped and trotted over to Piston, who he hoped, well kinda hoped not actually maybe, was not busy. "Uh, s-so, P-piston. H-h-how about I, uh...hear, your music? I mean, i've heard it before, but, uh, I mean now, or how about we go outside and...listen to your music? Please? I-i mean, its okay if you don't want to, I mean, if you're busy then that's perfectly fine, I don't mean, er, want to bother you, or, anything. I-is that...okay?"
He had practically been cringing throughout that whole thing, his nervousness or awkward manner extremely apparent. He hoped that he hadn't made a fool of himself - oh, he did, he had, this was a stupid idea, stupid. He hope he didn't seem weird or anything. He had heard the others talking and focused on them as he waited for Piston's answer - stupid, stupid. He found Wild Herb's backstory interesting, as no doubt Cotton did, and he also found Icarus's storytelling skills to be superb. Of course, he probably wasn't going to tell them that, since it would be very awkward to just compliment them out of the blue, or, maybe he could bring it up in a conversation, but how would that conversation start, and....er...vice versa.
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Post by Kyubey on Jul 31, 2012 14:23:35 GMT -5
Piston didn't say much as all of her new pony "friends" began making small talk around her. She was excited to meet new people, and actually make some connections for once, but now she also had to accept that this was exactly the sort of social situation she wasn't used to, and she had no idea what to say. She thought about how to interact with everypony without being rude, but she hardly interacted with anypony without saying something impolite. The Ragin' Scourge of Ponyville was not known for her skills in the realm of decent conversation. She wanted to be nice and civil, but she didn't even know what that normally entailed.
Then she became a tad bit ill when she realized she was thinking of acting "civil."
When Demure finally addressed her, and asked about music, her face notably lit up. She never imagined that somepony like Demure would actually want to listen to her music. Now, a whole world of conversation topics was brought up. Even better, she didn't have to talk much at all. She could just play her songs.
"You heard my music before? Rock on! What'd you think of it? I've been told that my early stuff was better, and don't get me wrong, I like that stuff too, but it's not like I don't play that stuff anymore, but what's wrong with expanding my horizons a little, right? Anyways, did you have any requests? I'd love to take requests! Wait, I still don't have my guitar. Anypony here got a guitar I could borrow? I'm gonna play some songs if you guys wanna listen!"
She still hadn't forgotten the injustice that happened earlier, but now was not the time to fight against the establishment. For now, she would just make sure her music was extra-rebellious.
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Post by Neurotick on Aug 9, 2012 23:35:28 GMT -5
Midnight's headache slowly subsided, her wobbly legs stabilized, and soon she was standing on her own power and her makeshift crutch was free to go socialize with somepony else. She, on the other hand, was free to sit down at the edge of the large group of ponies around Icarus. She listened to his story with a blissful smile, but on the inside her mind was working quickly.
An adventure was stirring, and not the one in Icarus' story. There was something going on with that grey pony, something probably maybe sinister and evil in nature that needed to be defeated. Not just by one adventurous adventurer, but by a group of close-knit comrades with different strengths and weaknesses so that they could overcome any obstacle.
Maybe someone with a loyal heart, and another with a wild streak, and maybe one who is shy on the outside but kind on the inside, and a selfless healer, and a pony who needs to learn the meaning of friendship.
And of course, a spunky young adventuring pony to lead the group to greatness.
By the time Icarus' story ended, Midnight's eyes were practically gleaming from the plan forming in her head.
As the crowd of ponies dispersed now that Icarus' story was over, Midnight trotted up to him with a wide grin.
"Hey. Heeeeeeeey." Midnight got up very close to Icarus, just close enough that it was inside the usual bubble of personal space, but not so much that it was awkwardly invasive. "Izzyizzycarus! We have to go do a thing! An adventure thing. We totally have to get everypony to do an adventure thing."
Midnight then turned around and addressed the other ponies still in the library. Not the countless ones that were looking for books or trying to read, though they were probably startled just the same when Midnight suddenly shouted: "HEY GUYS! WE SHOULD TOTALLY BREAK INTO THE--oh sorry."
She was immediately shushed before she could reveal her super wonderful plan.
Instead, she went back to the general area of where the ponies were that she wanted to address, and spoke in a much quieter tone, "hey, dudes, my adventure sense is totally tingling right now. We have got to talk to that grey pony--oh, no, the other one, not you," she motioned to Demure before continuing, "--and find out what happened. If the guards won't let anypony in, then we'll just have to find a way in ourselves."
Yes, Midnight was entirely serious about breaking into a jail and talking to a pony who nearly destroyed the library.
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Post by Kuro on Aug 12, 2012 22:17:11 GMT -5
Demure's face lighted up at Piston's positive reaction to his words. She wasn't rejecting him, wasn't yelling at him, she was nice! Things were going surprisingly well.
"I-i thought that your music was, er, great! Yeah, yeah, nothing wrong with expanding your horizons, it's good, it's, uh, good, wahtever you say. With requests, er, I guess -"
It was at that moment that Midnight chose to yell at the top of her lungs in the library. Demure jumped a few feet into the air with a scream and landed with ruffled hair and a quivering body. He tried to compose himself after a few moments, putting his hair back into place, his face blushing. He coughed a few times and listened to what Midnight said. He really didn't know what to think of it, or maybe he just didn't want to know what to think of it? He...really, didn't, know? He...wasn't sure. He did want to know about the sad pony. He hated seeing such a troubled face. He felt like he had the obligation to make her smile. Maybe it was the cutie mark, but then again he had earned the cutie mark, but then again...Eeehhhhhhhh, he wasn't sure, wasn't sure, wasn't sure...The guards...and...all.
"...I....guess....that we can maybe brea - er, go...into the jail? The sad pony was rather, er, melancholy. We...I'm, i'm sorry. I don't really know. Uh, um...Whatever you guys say? I'm...with you, I, guess."
Was he going to regret this, was he going to regret this, should he do this, oh gosh why was he doing that and this ohhhhh boy.
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