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#Post#: 2728--------------------------------------------------
Premonition
By: Ruby Fortuna Date: May 20, 2014, 1:24 am
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Yet another clear day in the small town of Ponyville.
Mid-summer, birds singing, not a dark cloud in sight, sun
shining brightly, it was all such a beautiful day, so much so
that Ruby decided that spending the entirety of it in the shadow
of an alley in the marketplace was just foolish. The upper crust
could go for a day or two without knowing what their immediate
future held, being either how faithful their lover would be or
how well a business transaction would go over, and as
unfortunate as it was, most of them would live to be able to
chastise her for not being in her usual place. If you are trying
to run a business, young lady, then you should act
professionally. To which she would respond, I am pretty
confident that tarot card readings are a hobby, not a
business... and since when does professional financial
consultation include the need for divination?
Whatever, now was not the time to be thinking about the future
of what she does for a hobby, now was a time for research and
reading. She sat under a tree near the edge of town, a small
stack of books off to her side and a few open in front of her to
several different pages. The book of mythical beasts was off to
the left, on the pages of shapeshifters and deceivers; a book of
lingering magical effects and afflictions open in the middle,
loaned from the librarian that lived in the tree in the middle
of town, open to mind affecting ailments and their origins; and
finally, a book of intermediate magic. Normally this level of
magic would be absolutely draining for her, but ever since that
night in the fog when she tried to hunt for witches during the
witching hour, she had been feeling a little more confident and
capable. Aside from the fact that she felt absolutely starved
after that night to the point of dizziness, it had absolutely no
effect on her day to day life, and it confused her.
Hence why she was researching and experimenting, with Pharasma
coiled around one of her legs. She wanted to know what had
happened that night, what had inflicted this new condition upon
her, and even more importantly, if there were any potentially
noteworthy downsides to it. Ruby had been at this for about
three hours constantly now though, and she was starting to get a
bit antsy and sore from sitting still for so long, and she
needed to shake some blood back into the leg that her python was
squeezing before it up and fell off. She stood up and stretched,
each individual leg reaching out before she gave a hearty
full-body shake, looking off into the distance at the foreboding
border of the Everfree Forest.
It was a place that Ruby had always wished that she were
confident enough to visit on her own, but going to a place to
try and find the various beasts that interested you usually
involved a degree of danger that needed to be accounted for, and
Ruby still had not bothered to learn anything with which to
defend herself. Why would she? This town was quiet and nearly
criminal-free. Everypony here practically knew each other by
name; there was even a pony who knew which ponies were new faces
in town, and promptly throw surprise parties for them. It was
all in good fun, but Ruby wouldn’t be surprised for the day when
she read in the paper headlines ‘New Elderly Stallion in Town
Dies of Heart Attack During Surprise Party’.
Sitting back down as she kept staring back into the forest, all
stretched with fresh blood pumping into her limbs to keep them
from falling asleep, she pulled out the familiar box of tarot
cards, as well as a fourth book: a fantasy book penned by an
author who was either using a pseudonym, or was the most
unfortunately named pony in the history of the silly names Ruby
has heard. Sadeye Plum. Such a purple name if she ever heard it.
Regardless, it was a series of fantasy novels that she had been
coming around to enjoying, and it has been giving her things to
think about the past few days, such as her own epic fantasies
that she could come up with, and how many ponies could possibly
be interested in them. Compared to the high-brow, cultured tales
that she was used to, this was a shamefully guilty pleasure,
reading about valiant paladins slaying evil mages. Such drek
indeed. As she picked up where she left off, four books open in
front of her, she shuffled her cards, using different techniques
she had come up with after hours of ‘professional’ shuffling,
stroking Pharasma like he was a scaly cat, and becoming less and
less aware of the ponies around her.
#Post#: 2729--------------------------------------------------
Re: Premonition
By: Dais Clash Date: May 20, 2014, 3:49 am
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Dais strolled through the park to one of the loneliest parts he
knew, his eyes dripping tears like leaky taps, his heavy old
book hovering magically beside him. With a heavy slump, Dais
fell down underneath a tree and let the book fall on top of him
with a groan. "Brash hates me" he muttered to himself "I'm a
useless friend. Everything is my fault. Even little foals are...
huh?"
Dais stopped himself as he realized that somehow, he wasn't as
alone as he thought. In fact a young mare was busily reading,
stroking a python snake and shuffling cards just a few meters
away. "OK Dais, you can do this" he whispered to himself,
rolling over to get a better look at her "Just one make friend,
just to prove to yourself that you're still alright. Just stay
calm, act natural, help her out if you can, and who knows, maybe
she can help you? And then tearing down Brash's home tomorrow to
build a homeless shelter will be that much more satisfying."
Dais grinned malevolently and barely suppressed an evil laugh as
he stood up. "Wonder who this pony is, anyway..." he whispered
to himself as he strolled over "I've never noticed another pony
studying around here be..."
Suddenly, he stopped and blurted loudly out what he'd really
wanted to say all along. "Oh my gosh, you like Sadeye Plum!? Me
too! Have..."
Then, quickly, he shoved a hoof in his mouth to stop himself.
Withdrawing it after a few moments, he giggled nervously. "I
mean... um... how do you do? I'm Dais Clash, mayoral assistant.
Just thought I'd stop by and say hi..."
#Post#: 2734--------------------------------------------------
Re: Premonition
By: Ruby Fortuna Date: May 20, 2014, 1:12 pm
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Ruby suddenly snapped the book shut as she heard somepony
suddenly blurt out that they liked Sadeye Plum as well, the
volume closing with a loud *clap* as her head suddenly jerked up
with eyes wide and surprised, even from behind the mane that
hung barely parted from her face. Her heart started racing as
she looked around to find out who was speaking to, and if she
was in trouble with the law again. How many times does she have
to tell the property owners that it isn't technically loitering
if the property is available to the public and she wasn't making
a nuisance of herself? Can't they just leave her to quietly read
all four of these books in peace? Her frantic searching then
fell upon a blue pony standing next to her, introducing himself
as the assistant mayor, and that he'd just stop by to say hello.
The mare simply sat where she was, staring at Dais in disbelief,
and bewilderment, more with the fact that somepony had apprached
her in the first place than with the fact that someone wanted to
say hello, but then again, saying hello to someone did require
the approaching of an individual in the first place, otherwise
it would be incredibly awkward shouting greetings from the
opposite ends of the park. That is, of course, if Ruby was even
inclined to greet this stallion in the first place, which, being
made clear by the fact that she continued to stare at him in a
manner that would make the usual pony very uncomfortable, was
not going to happen anytime soon. Slowly, her eyes narrowed
judgementally on him, taking on a very disinterested and sour
look as she started to set the book back on the ground. Nearly
fifteen seconds had passed by now since his unprompted outburst,
and it was only then that she decided to speak up, in a
decidedly more even tone.
"Just because I read drek does not mean I like drek," was the
plain statement that came forward. A typical double-edged
statement with multiple meanings, though judging by the lack of
praising tone in the statement, the meaning had leant itself
more towards the fact that she actually didn't like what she was
reading more than the fact that she loved it. Ruby was, however
very much in denial about how much she enjoyed reading this
book, and to be honest, she wasn't entirely sure why. It wasn't
like she was in some sort of committed relationship with old
tales and lore, but it still felt like she was cheating on the
cultured partner with the cheaper partner. "This is reading
material that I use to remind myself that I am glad that I enjoy
more eloquent and well-written titles, such as The Canterbury
Tales or Trotterus and Criseyde."
"Preferences of literature aside," Ruby continued, turning back
to the three books that were open in front of her, not so much
reading them, but more pretending that she was reading them; she
already knew what was on these pages, "what do you -actually-
want? If you are looking to have me fill out even more census
forms that I can't seem to get enough of in the mail, or if you
are one of the regular ponies whom I read tarot cards for and
you are so desperate to know if your spouse is cheating on you,
then I'm going to have to be polite and give you a flat-out 'no'
to that." Out of the corner of her eye, she glanced back at him,
"'Politely', of course. Just because I am taking a break and
having a bit of 'me' time does not mean I can be rude."
#Post#: 2742--------------------------------------------------
Re: Premonition
By: Dais Clash Date: May 20, 2014, 9:06 pm
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From the moment she began staring at him, Dais felt bad for
coming over. He looked down and moved his forehoof in little
circles along the ground. As she spoke, Dais crept away slowly
with embarrassment. When she was finished, Dais didn't look up,
his expression a very clear frown.
"Oh, I'm sorry" he muttered "I just thought... you know, since
we're both taking a break... that's usually a good time to meet
new ponies... make new friends... don't you think?... umm...
yeah, I might just leave now... sorry for bothering you..."
With that, Dais put on a nervous grin, and backed away for a few
paces, before turning away, strolling back towards his book
dejected, and with his head hung low, whispering to himself.
#Post#: 2748--------------------------------------------------
Re: Premonition
By: Ruby Fortuna Date: May 21, 2014, 2:00 am
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Ruby watched as Dais shrank away from her after her little
speech about how she had no time for census forms or tarot card
readings today, apologizing to her and saying that he only
wanted to make friends. She maintained eye contact with him for
as long as she could before it was broken when he looked back to
the ground, shuffling back to where he was and whispering under
his breath. Part of her wanted to know what he was saying under
his breath, if it was something about her, or if it was
something else. Whatever it was, it was just like the whispers
that other foals made behind her back when she would sit off to
the side and read her books of 'boring' tales and monsters. They
thought she couldn't hear her, but she knew what they were
saying. Was it any different here? Was the assistant mayor above
calling a random late teenaged mare names behind her back? Did
she care?
A simple huff of air escaping her lips, blowing a few
low-hanging strands of hair from in front of her eyes, was
enough to answer the last question as she looked back to the
three open books in front of her, the questions she had been
researching taking a back seat for the time to her current
thoughts. Awfully skittish and shy he was, yes. Did I do
something to drive him away? Surely I can't have been so
offensive... her thoughts drifted back as she felt movement on
her leg once more as Pharasma climbed further up her shoulder,
sticking her head on her collar bone and flicking her tongue at
her neck, giving Ruby one of few very rare fits of giggles,
"Pharasma~!" She laughed out, trying her best to bring her neck
away from the snake as it tasted the air, to no avail,
"Staa-ha-haap~!"
When she finally pushed the albino python a little further down
her leg, Ruby brought the snake in front of her with a warm
smile as she said, "Are you driving ponies away from me again~?
You being a scary snake? Who's the scary snake?" The python
didn't seem to make any response, other than the occasional
flitter of its tongue to taste the air. Still, it was enough for
Ruby to take it as an answer, and she continued to converse with
it, "Yes you are~! You're the scary snake! Scary, cuddly snake!"
Stroking the python's head a little more, she leaned back
against the tree, mood a little lifted as she looked back out to
the forest in the high noon light. Barely a shadow in sight, it
made the forest almost... inviting, even despite how dangerous
she knew it was.
Unaware that this entire time she had been shuffling, she looked
back at the deck of tarot cards, quite possibly the most well
shuffled deck in history, and decided to slow down a bit. Racing
the shuffle like a madmare would only serve to make the draw
messy. If she was supposed to be channeling spiritual energy
into these cards with each pass, wouldn't a moment like this be
the best time to slow it down? When she was feeling the most
positive? Sure... having a bit of 'me' time... She crossed her
legs as she leaned back against the tree, cradling the python
like it were a scaly, limbless child, and shuffled the
mint-smelling tarot cards every so often turning her head a
little more to look at the ponies that passed by from behind the
low hanging hair in her bronze eyes.
#Post#: 2778--------------------------------------------------
Re: Premonition
By: Hawkson Heartfixer Date: May 23, 2014, 1:19 am
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Another oh so beautiful day in Ponyville, like it ever wasn't.
Not with the ever oh so loyal and brave Rainbow Dash and her
committed team of pegasi on weather patrol. You know, when they
weren't all sick. Still, Hawkson couldn't help but envy them,
flying around, free as can be. Hawk had only flown a couple
times in his life himself. But enough about old memories and
impossible dreams.
Hawkson walked down the rather colorful streets of Ponyville
with a bag of bits in his hoof. His disguise spell had worn off
at this point, fully revealing his cutie mark and returning his
voice back to normal. He brushed a loose strand of peach-ish
colored hair out of his eye while he slowly walked along, lost
in thought.
So maybe he had stolen the bits in his hoof, big deal. Not like
the mare really needed all those bits anyways. She probably had
some extra money in a bank account or something. And he planned
to pay her back three fourths of the bits if he got the chance.
Ok half. Ok a fourth. Look he needed a train ticket to Canterlot
to find a house or apartment. He had some old friends to help
him in Canterlot he just needed the train ticket, then he'd be
good on bits for a while. He'd promised Vec he wouldn't steal
but... Well whatever he did was in her best interest. He'd
thought he'd have to do something like this so he left her back
in Phillydelphia with some neighbors who'd send her down when he
sent them a letter. Vec didn't really like him stealing and he
had to admit it was a bad influence on her but what could he do?
They had to eat.
And, logically speaking, he'd earned the bits at this point
right? It was suppose to be a simple job. The local thief liason
around here, called Cloaked Dagger, pointed out a pony he could
steal from pretty easily and how he could do it. The guy was a
professional and he liked to help the less fortunate become the
fortune if they brought some rich snobs down a peg. He cast the
disguise spell on himself, ate a bit to help him get his energy
back, and went off to find her. It all went smooth until that
masked pony showed up. Cloaked said if he did it right nopony
would really look for him, he'd make sure of that. Nothing was
said about superheroes. His eyes still hurt a bit from that
bubble mix he got in his eye. What kind of idiot plays with
bubbles in an alley anyways? Like, seriously?
Hawkson is so caught up in his thoughts he doesn't even notice a
magenta unicorn resting under a tree until he almost trips over
her. "Oh sorry, didn't see you there." He says in a gruff voice.
He then notices the python wrapped around her.
"OH MY !@#$ING FAUST, WHY ARE YOU HOLDING THAT THING?" Hawkson
loudly yelled, jumping away from the mare and climbing up the
tree a little and cowering on a branch in an attempt to escape
the scaly serpent of assured death if he went near it.
#Post#: 2779--------------------------------------------------
Re: Premonition
By: Dais Clash Date: May 23, 2014, 1:38 am
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Faster than a thundering bolt of lightning, Dais raced from the
tree nearby where he was reading, hooves kicking the air like a
roadrunner, and a great cloud of dust rising up behind him.
Barely had he been gone from the mysterious young mare, and read
literally only two sentences more from his book, before he was
able to find some excuse to rush over there again, once again
bearing a large (though this time, slightly fake) grin.
"I heard yelling!" he said rapidly as though this was the most
exciting thing to have happened in his life so far "Are both of
you alright? Is anypony hurt? Can I help? Can we be friends?
What were you yelling about? May I be of assistance? Nothing
horrible happened, no? Why are you up on that tree? You all sure
about the answers to all the previous questions?"
Dais stopped himself, breathing heavily, and his heart beating
very quickly. He glanced from pony to pony, kicking himself to
stop his tail wagging like a dog's.
#Post#: 2781--------------------------------------------------
Re: Premonition
By: Ruby Fortuna Date: May 23, 2014, 3:02 am
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Ruby was starting to drift off as she leaned back against the
tree, feeling the warmth of the sun on her coat, and the scaly
mass that was the python as it shifted in place to expose as
much of itself as it could to the sun, while at the same time
keeping itself hugged close to the body warmth that Ruby gave
off. Cold-blooded animals were scary-looking and threatening,
sure, but they can be the most willing to be cuddly pets,
especially when they can thrive off of something so simple as
body heat, and only being fed once a month. In her opinion,
Pharasma was the best kind of pet that Ruby could ask for, even
if it earned her a few weird looks, and some of the more
squeamish ponies recoiled in fear. It was so nice under this
tree after all, what would she care about weird looks if she
suddenly decided she wanted to take a quick nap? It wasn't like
she was doing much on this little break, and a nap would help
her remember things in the long run.
Her eyes would have started to drift closed too, if it weren't
for the stallion that was approaching and nearly tripped over
her. The gruff voice telling her that he almost didn't see her
there was about to be countered with and you should watch where
you are walking, but she was interrupted by the loudest yell she
had yet to hear from a stallion standing right next to her, even
louder than that earlier fellow who shouted at her about liking
the author of the book she was reading. Not even long before she
was about to cover her ears, the most astounding sight came with
the noise, one that even she was not accustomed to. She watched
this grown stallion leap backwards and clamber up the tree she
was leaning on, like a cat, and clung to the first branch he
came to that could support his weight. Ruby stood up and looked
up into the tree after him, the expression on her face still in
utter disbelief as the leaves that were shook off the branch by
Hawkson's sudden ascent flittered to the ground, and she asked
but one question, pure curiosity and bewilderment in her tone,
"How in Celestia's name did you get up there so fast?"
Then came the second stallion in this three-pony stage comedy,
the blue unicorn from earlier with the questions of books, back
in an instant as though it was his calling to be where fear and
danger were in this town, asking a series of questions, some not
even related at all to the situation at hoof. After blinking a
little at Dais' question, and the entire situation in general,
Ruby simply said, "I'm not sure... I think he saw my snake and
somehow, uh, somehow he tree'd himself." She looked back up at
the pony that had cornered himself like a cat before calling up,
"You aren't an ophidiophobe, are you? Pharasma isn't a
rattlesnake or a viper; she is a ball python and perfectly
harmless!" As she said that, the snake in question took the time
to drape a bit of itself around her neck, no doubt a terrifying
and nerve wracking thing for anypony who didn't know a thing
about snakes.
#Post#: 2790--------------------------------------------------
Re: Premonition
By: Hawkson Heartfixer Date: May 23, 2014, 3:17 pm
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Hawkson just ignores the magenta colored mare's question about
how he got up the tree so fast. He'd climbed a many a thing in
his life of occasional thief-ness and guard chase scenes, the
least being trees. Though he didn't say any of that. Instead he
just awkwardly lay there on the tree branch, his yellow eyes
locked on the snake.
When the blue unicorn who presumably had too much caffeine, and
possibly other things that can't be referenced here, came
rushing over his eyes leave the snake for a bit and watch him
do... Whatever it is he's doing with his tail. He immediately
looks back at the the snake when the blue unicorn is done
sputtering his nonsense, Hawkson still cowering on the branch.
He listened in on explanation of what happened from the magenta
unicorn. He'd usually laugh at "tree himself" but fear tended to
push humor back. He still didn't take his eyes off the snake as
the magenta one told him the snake was harmless. He was about to
come up with a snarky response but the snake, foul beast it was,
draped itself over her neck a bit, causing him to whimper a bit
and cling tighter to the branch.
#Post#: 2798--------------------------------------------------
Re: Premonition
By: Dais Clash Date: May 23, 2014, 10:01 pm
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Dais fidgeted awkwardly, his smile gradually diminishing, and
his posture quickly sinking. "You sure there's nothing I can..."
he began, but then he sighed and reconsidered "I'm sorry. I
didn't mean to get in your manes. I'll be over there ... under
that tree ... reading that book ... if anypony needs me ... not
that you would ..."
He was about to turn away when he remembered Hawkson was still
clinging to a tree branch. "You absolutely positively sure
you're ok up there? You look like you've seen a ghost."
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