Storymaking in the Woods (closed)

[clouddreamer]

It was a sunny beautiful afternoon and Cloud Dreamer was galloping through Whitetail Woods. As soon as she had finished her story for the day she decided she wanted to go daydream and create another story. So she had set off, racing through Ponyville into the woods.

Ducking under a tree branch, she made it to her favorite daydreaming spot, a soft grassy hill with a few wild flowers growing on it, the perfect place to lay down and look at the clouds. She skidded to a stop at the top, her hooves kicking up bits of dirt.

Cloudy started up her spell and began to make a main character. It was always one of the hardest, but not too hard. With a thoughtful expression on her face she began warping the colors and styles from one thing into another, stopping every few seconds to look at something to decide to change it or not, until she found something she liked.

Finding something she liked, she began to experiment with it, making it walk, run, and fight air. Smiling, she made the character dissapear and lay down to look at the clouds and get idea from them. This would be a great afternoon for her.

[Ranger]

Ranger was checking his traps along the Whitetail wood line, after hearing of a manticore sighting in the area, he decided he can never be too sure. Naturally warning signs were placed to warn ponies not to go near the edges of the woods and stay on the roads. Ranger was worried, if this kept up, even his traps wouldn't stop the monsters.

It was then that he spotted Cloudy laying down on the grass looking at the clouds. He approached her casually, "Heya!" He called.

[clouddreamer]

Cloudy's eyes were fixed upon a cloud, figuring out it's shape, when Ranger spoke. Alert, she flipped over on the grass. Seeing him, she rose. "Oh, hello." It only took a moment before she reconized him, as she payed attention to Equestria's forces. "You're Ranger, aren't you?"

The unicorn had never seen the pony up close and began to study him with her eyes. Every part of him looked the a character straight out of one of her fairytales! The cloak, the mask, the looks of a hero, it amazed her.

[Ranger]

"Yeah, I was just checking in here. What're you up to all the way out here?" He asked, sitting down close to her. stretching his neck a bit and looking at Cloudy intently, before thinking, "You're from Ponyville, right? I'm not confusing you with anyone?"

[clouddreamer]

Cloudy finished admiring the earth pony to pay more attention to what he was saying. "Just making my lastest story." She smiled, tempted to get into how hero-like he was.

"Yes, in fact I am from Ponyville. Ever seen a building like this?" Her horn and eye began to glow and a building over 50 feet tall appeared next to her, her house. It resembled a castle closely, though a small one. It was no where the size of the Canterlot castle, having only three towers and the main body.

[Ranger]

"Ah, yes, never went in there to be honest, never had the time. I've been busy as heck lately..." He was of course, referencing Sprite's abrupt arrival to Ponyville, he sighed he still hasn't managed to convince her to go to school yet, and had to home school her, as well as take care of her on top of his other duties. Ah, hopefully he could talk her into going to school soon... hmm...

"Well, just a heads up, monsters have been spotted even out here recently, so try to be careful." He asked, about to trot away before feeling bad about his demeanor, at which point he shook his head slightly, and asked, "What's your story about?"

[clouddreamer]

"You should come sometime, I have tons of great stories to tell. I could tell you the schedule if you wanted." Cloudy noticed him shaking his head, and at first she thought he was saying no to the schedule, but then discarded that thought. For some reason, she felt her heart pound, but ignored the feeling almost completely.

When Ranger aquirred about her story, she hessitated a bit to tell him due to the fact she had just started to make it. But she decided if she sparked his intrest it might have possitive outcomes. "Oh, well it's about this evil female unicorn who is the head of a group of mages. There is the second in charge unicorn, a male, who's married to an earth pony and has an earth pony daughter, well the evil unicorn just hates earth ponies. And then this popular beautiful pegasus and this popular mean unicorn in this daughter's class. The three set out to take down the evil unicorn. That's really all I've got." Cloudy finished, blushing slightly, before realizing Ranger didn't know her name. "Oh, and my name is Cloud Dreamer but you can call me Cloudy, if that's not to informal to you. You are part of the Equestrian Forces after all."

[Ranger]

"Heya Cloudy, I'm Ranger, even though you already seem to know me. And I probably will! Sounds like a fun place. Maybe I'll take spr..." he coughed slightly, no one knew his little sister was living with him, and it was best like that for now.

"What do you do there?"

[clouddreamer]

That cough trick, she knew that cough trick! It was the same thing she did when she accidently began to mention a part of her past. He had a secret, something. Maybe revealing the parts of her past that didn't make her burst out crying would open him up slightly. After all, she felt strangely relaxed around him.

"Well it's my house, I live there for one thing, as well as sleep. I have a little library so I read there, and I have my storytelling there as well. I have guests over sometimes. As well as other normal house activity." Cloudy explained.

She then became serious, sitting down and looking him in the eye. "Can I tell you a secret?"

[Ranger]

"A secret? Okay. Is it a good secret or a bad secret? Or a grey area secret? Maybe an embarrassing secret? I digress, anyway, let's hear it!"Ranger leaned low and close to Cloudy, so that her precious secret would not leak out! He could not forgive himself if someone would overhear it while she was telling it to him!

And he knew a thing or two about secrets, that's for sure!

[clouddreamer]

Cloudy began to tell her secret in a normal tone. "Well, back when I was a filly I wanted to be a hero. I thought my magical talent was some sort of amazing thing, something new and special. I thought, 'If I am able to enter Celestia's School of Magic, I'll find my talent and be an amazing unicorn, a hero.' I was driven largely by fairytales, dreaming of being like the characters, brave, strong, kind, helpful, powerful. I made up monsters and faught with them."

Cloudy paused to use her "Imagination Projector" spell, showing a little filly that was her using the exact same spell to create a dragon, then using the spell to make it look like she was using magic on it to defeat it. It was exactly what she had done, created her own little place. Of course, she wasn't nearly as good as it as she was now, so it looked must less realistic. Making the image dissapear, she continued her story.

"But sadly, I never entered, I never studied magic, and I never became a hero." She stopped for a moment, before adding something. "But sometimes, I pretend I'm a hero again and fight off all sorts of things when I'm alone."

Secret finished, she brought her muzzle away from his ear. "Seeing you today reminded me of it, you just look like a hero. Your mask, your cloak, even your name." Cloudy stopped, finished with little story. Little did she know Ranger's true form.

[Ranger]

Ranger laughed uncomfortably, "I'm not a hero." he said seriously, "I just do what I think I should, that's it." He thought for a moment, and then said, "Being a hero is not about adventure or excitement, it's about doing the right thing when you can. Helping a friend, being a good example, these are more heroic than going into the woods like a foal." He peeked over in the direction of Everfree, before looking back at Cloudy.

[clouddreamer]

Whatever she had said wasn't right. It didn't look like it had opened him up any, or done anything but create one awkward moment and a subject that she had been on multiple times. No matter, she'd try her best to say this the way she should. "I guess you are right Ranger. I've done good all my life, I've always wanted to do good, yet I never really felt like a hero." She looked into the sky in silence. That hadn't been what she wanted to say, but maybe that would have a better result.

[Ranger]

"We all get our chances. Just make sure you do the right thing when you get yours." The masked pony said, scuffling his hooves on the ground a bit, unsure of what he was expected to say. "Anyway, I better carry on with what I'm doing, have a nice day Cloudy." He nodded at her, starting to walk off.

He would think what an odd pony, but then again, who was he to judge?

[clouddreamer]

The next awkward silence made Cloudy's heart drop. She usually knew what to say to somepony, but not when she needed to now. Everything was fine until she had to open her big mouth and attempt to flatter him by calling him a hero.

"Oh, yes of course. I wouldn't want to keep you Ranger. Please, carry on. Have a nice day as well." Cloud Dreamer hid her dissapointment as well as she could. Though she couldn't bare eye contact, she smiled a friendly smile, one that hurt. "Farewell."