Time of the Mime (Open)

[mutemover]

(Sorry bout that, IE troubles again)

The golden-yellow pegasus flew at a leisurely pace towards the great cloud-city. After quite a few years of traveling around, she was finally back, back in the city of her birth. A small pit formed in her stomach; she had absolutely NO intentions of meeting any ponies that she knew.

Landing at the gate, Mute fluttered a short way inside the city and laid her few belongings against a cloud-wall. Moving a few steps out into the street, she tossed her empty cap onto the ground, to collect 'contributions', as she called them. Mute was hopeful that the ponies of her hometown would be generous in their support of a pony like her; after all, their hospitality reflected somewhat on her, didn't it?

Taking a deep breath, the mute mime began her routine.

[quartzwing]

Quartz Wing flew into the clouded streets of her birth city, Cloudsdale. It had been ages since she last roamed through here, for good reason of course. She flew with a purpose, despite not having any particular reason for returning "home". After a bit she decided to land and walk. Flying was one thing, but the feeling of her hooves on cloud was just unbeatable. Those poor souls on the ground had no idea what they were missing up here.

She walked past a few groups of pegasi ponies darting this way and that. She kept her eyes locked ahead, no sense in drawing in any unwanted attention. Today was her day off, and she was going to do her best to enjoy it. Up ahead she saw an unfamiliar sight. Some bright yellow pony was doing... a dance? No. She was a mime. Huh...

Quartz approached the interesting character slowly, stopping a few yards away to watch. She plaid the part well, that was sure. Obviously the pony had put a lot of work into her routine, if that's was the right term to use. And what was this? Quartz Wing noted the small overturned hat near the pony. Then it clicked.

Was the poor thing living on the streets? Perhaps this was just her work. Either way Quartz understood the solitude of surviving on your own. Rather than flash back to those thoughts in her head, she walked over to the pony's hat. She reached back into her armor's pouches, pulling out and dropping a hoofull of bits inside the pony's head wear.

"Here you go kid, nice work you're doin' here." She let off a bit of a half smirk to the mime pony before taking a step back. She was actually quite good for what she did, and Quartz was happy to watch. Not every day you got to see a show like this.

[mutemover]

Mute broke her stony face and smiled gratefully at the mint-green pony. It seemed that the pegasi of Cloudsdale would live up to her expectations, if this pony were any indicator. Even so, Mute coudn't help but wonder a bit at the black clothing the mare wore.

Is that armor she's wearing? No, that can't be right. Can it? I'll have to check this out, especially since she's so nice and all.

After a few minutes Mute approached the end of her routine. The mime decided to humor her donor, trotting over to the minty mare and pretending to encase her in the oh-so-common invisible box. She couldn't keep a smile from her face as she 'pushed' against the 'walls'.

Once she had finished with that, she took a break from her miming and pulled out her notepad. Writing quickly on it, she showed the pad to the generous mare.

"Thank you so much! I really appreciate every bit.

I know the pad is kinda awkward, but I actually am mute, I can't speak. I can read your lips, though, so you can just talk to me normally.

And is that armor you're wearing? That's really nifty.

My name's Mute Mover, by the way. Nice to meet you!"




(I wish I could come up with a clever, interesting description of Mute's routine, but I just can't think of anything cool. )

[quartzwing]

Quartz Wing watched as the yellow pony continued her routine, eventually moving in her direction. She was soon surprised to find herself encased in an invisible box. Letting off a small laugh and a grin, Quartz looked around at her invisible prison while the young filly tested the "walls'" strength. When she finished, Quartz gave a slight applause of her hooves against the road below.

"Well done little one. Well done."

The yellow pony was enjoying herself, Quartz could tell. It had been a long while since she'd seen somepony so young and full of happiness. Maybe it wasn't as rare as she remembered... When she reached for the notepad Quartz shot an inquisitive look in the pony's direction, tilting her head a tiny degree to the side.

Was the performance not over? Maybe she liked to stay in character after she was done. Or some other reason of course. But whichever it was, it was strange. When the notepad presented itself to Quartz, she quickly read through it. Oh, she was mute... the poor dear. It didn't seem to bother her too much though. She'd asked about her armor. Most ponies just pretended to not see it, or not see her.

Quartz mentally frowned upon herself. Why did she choose right now to stop and smell the roses? She was drawing attention to herself. She wasn't used to being this careless. She had half a mind to end the meeting right here and retreat beyond the city. But what good would that do for this little one? Instead, she'd just have to be careful with what was said...

"What a lovely name Mute Mover. I go by the name of Quartz Wing." she said as she turned a bit to the side, flashing her gem encrusted wing blades up in the air for a moment. Quickly she settled them against her back and refaced the young pony. "And yes... this is armor. Of a sorts." She turned her gaze away from Mute, instead looking off to the side at nothing in particular.

[mutemover]

Mute did her best to hide her surprise at Quartz' wing blades. It wasn't just the fact that this pony was armed... but those blades were so opulent, it just shocked her that ponies would put that much money into an instrument of death. Starting to feel uncomfortable in the presence of the warrior pony, the mime decided to put her fears to rest. Taking the pad in her hooves again, she wrote;

"Do you fight for a living? With the blades and the armor, I kind of assumed so. I guess I can understand that. I know I wouldn't be able to do it, though. And, if it isn't armor, per se, what is it?"

Mute paused, considering whether or not Quartz might like to hang out. The mime did love attention, but Quartz was a warrior... In the end, the yellow mare scribbled a little more on the paper.

"I don't know if you'd be interested, but maybe you could stick around a bit? I'd enjoy the company, since not everypony stops to talk with a mute mime."

[quartzwing]

Oh now she'd done it. The poor filly looked upset... Maybe she'd been too forward. It wasn't every day somepony came across another with killing machines on their back. Quartz hadn't meant to make her feel uncomfortable, just to get the message across. That way there wouldn't be any over thinking or assumptions. Things she would rather avoid.

She read the paper carefully before responding. "Yes, sometimes I fight for my job. But mostly I'm just around for show, you know. Like looking intimidating so to keep bad guys away. Mostly I just deliver packages, gather information, escort ponies. It's not usually dangerous." She hoped the answer would paint her in a slightly less violent light. Sure she used her gear to fight, a lot. But that's not "who" she was, it was just something she had to do.

She'd asked about the armor. Quartz glanced back at the black clothing strung across her body.

"Well, it is armor. It helps keep me safe when things get dangerous. But I, uh... use it for other things too." Quartz inadvertently reached across her front with her right foreleg, rubbing at her left upper leg. She knew beneath the scars of her past rested silently against her pelt, scars that only displayed the weakness she once held. But no more would the world have the slightest clue. "Mostly I just think it makes me look tougher. Keep chumps off my back." She struck a fighting pose, putting on an intimidating face. She quickly recomposed herself and laughed, grinning widely.

The mime pony paused a moment before continuing to scribble away at the pad. What she wrote surprised Quartz. "H-hang out? With me?" What was she supposed to make of that? Something about this young filly was effecting Quartz Wing, she could tell. Normally she just managed to drive others off with her actions and personality... which was her goal. Now here she found herself, having a legitimate conversation with the girl.

"Uh..." She looked around at the surrounding city street, glancing at groups of ponies as they walked or flew by. Maybe a little pony to pony conversation would do her some good. It would be a huge break from the normal turn of events. She'd just have to be careful (as always) with what she said and did. Smiling down at Mute she continued. "Yes, I would love to spend some more time with you Mute Mover."

[mutemover]

Taking a moment to think about her response, Mute tapped a hoof thoughtfully on the cloud beneath her; she smiled at Quartz' imperious look, glad that Quartz had agreed to stay and talk for a little while. The company helped her to keep her spirits up.

On the one hoof, Mute did NOT like combat; on the other, there were times when force was needed... Quartz seemed to walk the fine line between the two. She wrote;

"Okay, so you only fight when you need to. That's about as good as a pony could ask, I think."

Mute passed the piece of paper to Quartz while she thought about what else she wanted to write. That motion that the minty warrior had made with her right forehoof was enigmatic, but Mute could tell it was almost habitual, the way she did it. Something that Quartz remembered, that was impressed deeply upon her mind. The mime decided it would be prudent to let that topic drop, if only for now.

"So, what kind of ponies have you worked for? If I'm allowed to ask, that is. And I'm guessing you've been all across Equestria, so where did you enjoy being the most?"

[quartzwing]

Quartz looked over the note passed to her, glancing over at Mute as she contemplated her next set of words. She seemed to accept what Quartz had said, even if it wasn't everything. It was true, Quartz Wing only fought when she had to, though it was pretty subjective on when that is. But the way things went for her, getting sappy and morally apprehensive was a dangerous fault.

She hoped the small pony wouldn't continue much further on her history. Normally she would have abandoned the conversation by now, or have not have even said the things she did. Quartz Wing waited patiently for the next piece of parchments as Mute Mover wrote.

What kind of ponies had she worked for... There had been so many over the years. None really note worthy, to be honest. "Well... I've worked as a guard for a few self proclaimed "celebrities", though I don't keep up with who's who anymore." She raised a hoof to her chin as she though about past clients. "I try to keep little contact between whoever hires me though." She looked back up at the sun, then turn backed down to face Mute. "Oh! A dragon hired me once. Got a big chunk of his treasure stolen by some treasure hunter. Needed somepony discreet, like myself, to retrieve it."

She pushed her hoof back to the cloud, nodding as she finished. "As for where I enjoyed the most... I would have to say..." She was completely stumped. Where HAD she enjoyed being? The only place that came to mind was Manehattan, but it had been years since she'd been there... "I guess Manehattan. I used to live there when I was little. I've had the best, and worst moments of my life there. Nothing that's happened so far to rival those good ones though."

[mutemover]

Mute nodded along appreciatively as Quartz talked about her past work and such. She was pretty impressed, all told, especially since the green mare had worked for a dragon. THAT was awesome.

The yellow pony found it interesting that Manehattan was Quartz' favorite place; Mute had expected more of a rural setting, since she didn't really associate urbanization and combat. Hey, there are always surprises. Besides, the mime was pretty fond of Manehattan as well; there were plenty of ponies there that would often stop to watch her perform for a little bit. She made a mental note to stop there after she'd finished up here in Cloudsdale.

Mute didn't want to ask too much of Quartz on their first meeting, for fear of feeling like an interrogator. She nodded solemnly, indicating her intentions to the green mare. But, she still wanted company... talking about herself was out unless Quartz asked, in which case... nah, Quartz seemed reliable enough. Mute felt confident that she could trust the warrior pony. If her own past came up, she'd talk about it. Some of it.

An idea struck Mute. Writing on the pad, she began to smile again. Having ponies to talk to generally did that.

"I have an idea! Do you want to try out miming with me? It would be fun, and you could learn something new. At the least, it would be good practice for your balance and coordination."

[quartzwing]

Waiting for the other pony to write out another response, Quartz watched her with patience and curiosity. She wasn't sure how Mute would take the information she'd just given. It wasn't much to go off of, but she could see something like that leading to further questions, more prying into the confines of her history. Starting to become a little worried over the extent of their conversation, Quartz tried to focus more on how the yellow filly was reacting.

Suddenly she'd burst into a smile. Though surprised at the outburst of emotion, Quartz maintained her neutrally composed expression. She cocked her head to the side while Mute Mover wrote down her next sayings. Finally presented with the notepad, she read across the request.

It was kind of her to offer to let Quartz join in. However... it wasn't something she intended on doing. Maybe if they were in private, out of the eyes of the judging public. But Quartz wasn't prone to making a fool of herself out in front of everypony. She frowned a bit thinking over how to respond. She didn't want to upset this young pony, but she wasn't really feeling miming either.

"Well... that's very nice of you to offer. I think I've gotten plenty of practice for my balance and coordination for a while." She worked up a half smile to her conversational partner before continuing. "If it's okay with you, I'm going to politely decline. But I don't mean to stop our meeting here! I just don't feel quite in the.... miming mood."

She looked away from Mute apologetically and winced slightly. Hopefully Mute Mover wouldn't be upset over her decline. She didn't want to cut ties now, but for some reason acting out like that wouldn't be in her best interest.

[missyrandom]

(I don't mean to be interrupting anything, but is it okay if I join, or are you kinda up to something? Sorry, I just like to ask before joining especially if they are in quite a bit)

[mutemover]

(Feel free to join! It's open to all.)

[missyrandom]

(Okay, I'll join after you post!)

[mutemover]

(Oh, derp, I thought you were going to post first... My bad, I should've been communicating.)

Uh oh. It was the frown. Mute knew that expression, the frown that meant that ponies were about to sugar-coat their words. Expecting the worst- maybe she'd been offended by Mute's offer?-, the yellow pegasus kept up her cheery expression.

Reading through the words, Mute was not as crushed as she thought she'd be. Really, all Quartz had said was that she didn't feel like miming. Mute could understand, sort of. Not really. But, nonetheless, the minty-hued pony still wanted to stay with her. That was fantastic. So fantastic, that the mime just wanted to do a backflip.

So she did. Twice.

[quartzwing]

Well the filly certainly wasn't upset over her response. She'd even smiled and flipped. Twice! Quartz grinned contently at the yellow one's actions. Her innocence and youth kept her head on happy memories of her own past. Something she wouldn't mind being exposed to more often.

"Well, I'm glad that you're taking my refusal so well Mute Mover. Did you have any sort of activities in mind?"

She glanced around the streets, unsure what to make of the various passing ponies. She wasn't used to staying in the open for so long, and would have liked to go somewhere more private or secluded. But she didn't want to give Mute any reason to be afraid or uncomfortable with her. So, she'd let the young pony decide for herself.

"We could go somewhere fun. Or somewhere you like to go to. Or just talk, go flying... whatever you'd like." She smiled, hoping that the pony had something in mind, specific or not. Maybe getting to know this pegasi better would be good for Quartz's own pysche. And her day off was to be enjoyed. If being around Mute made her happy than so be it, that's what she'd try and do.