revenance_rpg | Face down in the dirt, only his pride is hurt

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Face down in the dirt, only his pride is hurt

Who: Pony!Edge.
What: Suddenly, a pony. He was not prepared to be a pony.
Where: Ponyville.
When: Shortly after access to Ponyville opens.
Warnings: Overuse of the word pony.

Some days, Edge wondered just how his life had come to this.

"This", in this case, was his unusually long face planted in the dirt, after he had taken two steps into the new world, tripped over forelegs that had been arms just seconds ago, and pitched forward ungracefully. His swords, no longer gripped in his hands since he had no hands to grip with, lay on each side of him in the ground, while his cloak was splayed out between two wings that his body had instinctively spread to try to catch his fall.

"I'd say this was all a bad dream," he muttered into the ground, "but I already knew that."

For the moment, he'd honestly lost all will or desire to move.

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There was a faint snort from just beyond the bridge. The rather spectacular faceplant had not gone without an audience, it would seem.

"You'll want to move. Others will trip if they come through after you, and I doubt it'd be pleasant for anyone involved."

Given his flattened position, Edge would likely noticed aqua-blue hooves at the edge of his range of vision, standing where the wooden bridge met solid earth. Said hooves were accompanied by three pairs of cream paws attached to a pink Frootz Cat. Sad cat had no problems wandering over to the fallen ninja. Creamy muzzle was also lowered, and Lela meowed in concern. Is pony-Person okay?

"I'm still not sure on exactly how to move," the ninja admitted, but she probably had a point. He gave a quick test of all of his limbs -- which led to him freezing in some alarm once his wings fluttered.

"What exactly am I feeling back there?"

The aqua pony's feet move carefully, stepping onto the first plank of the bridge. Just because she's steadier on her feet didn't mean Carolina was completely steady as a quadruped yet.

"Slowly works," she replied, without much humour, but Lela was quick to gently nudge against his side, then move towards his back legs. If he needed help getting a limb in position, the little spirit was glad to assist! "Concentrate on positioning your front feet first." It's what she used as a starting point.

Edge couldn't see the slicked back ears or the briefly disgruntled look Carolina gave his back. "Wings."

Edge attempted to bristle at the affront to his dignity that was help, but the unfamiliar feeling of raising hackles startled him right out of his pride. "Wings. Really."

He started to get up, to what a normal person would be 'hand and knees', only to discover that his legs were now so proportioned that he was on all four hooves again.

"Sooo I'm an Eidolon now," he said, in the carefully neutral tone of voice of a man who had several opinions on this, all of them more or less hysterical.

"I don't know what that is," Carolina replied bluntly, her head tilting to one side. Her ears remained settled back. "But here, it seems like everyone is some kind of pony. You just happen to be one with wings - a pegasus."

Lela rubbed her head gently against Edge's fetlock in encouragement, before dancing her way back to the earth pony freelancer's side. Carolina, for her part, was predominantly aqua, with a deep red mane and tail; she had no wings and no horn, however. Her own body was clad in archaic-looking armored plate.

"Pony? There's been a name for these creatures the entire time and no one told me?!" Edge's wings shot straight out and up with his indignation, so forcefully it startled the heck out of him and he jumped a foot or so from sheer alarm, then scrambled around in a circle in a reflexive attempt to see what had just yanked on his back.

Carolina could tell the exact moment he realized what had happened by the droop of his head and tail both.

Carolina watched the spectacle without comment, save to arch a brow (in so far as a pony could) as the ninja did the closest equivalent to flailing that this form appeared to allow. At least, to the best of her knowledge - and that was fairly limited where ponies were concerned. Lela hid behind her forelegs, watching with wide yellow eyes.

"If you ever asked. I'm sure they would have told you so." Of their present number, the only one she'd had exposure to that she particularly liked was Rarity - a good sort, for a fashionista. (The less said about her opinion of Luna, the better.) But at least she didn't laugh at Edge. "What's an Eidolon?"

"Summoned monsters," he said, carefully turning around with very deliberate steps of all four hooves. Okay, he could get used to this... maybe. At the sight of one of his swords lying on the ground, he leaned over and kind of... batted at it with a hoof.

Nope. This was gonna be trouble.

"That's all I could think that they were. I've never heard or seen of such creatures before, but the Feymarch has far stranger things in it."

That earned a blink. "Like the dream spirits?" An honest question, given the only exposure to magic that Carolina had had was here in the dream realm. There were a musical mew from Lela as she scampered out from behind her Person's legs.

"Unicorns and pegasi only exist in legends in my world, usually relegated to storybooks for kids. Normal ponies are domesticated animals, and don't talk back." Then the aqua pony shook her head slightly as Edge fumbled with his weapons. "My weapons were affected too. You'll probably have to use your mouth." She didn't sound particularly enthusiastic about the idea. "Or have a spirit carry it."

Her grappling hook was now a lasso, for reasons beyond her understanding. And as for her guns...

"That's pretty close. Not quite, though... like midway between the Dream Eaters and that really smart dog that draws."

His mouth? He hesitantly reached out and grabbed the hilt of one sword between his teeth, looking extraordinarily pained that his life had come to this. Carefully, he turned, to find that the sword slide quite easily into the adjusted sheath at his side.

"Guess this explains why I don't have my mask here. And I've never heard of a pony before I came here." Edge's world, after all, had chocobos.

One ear sank to the side, while the other pricked up, giving a quizzical look to Carolina's now-equine features. The what now?

(Someone had yet to encounter Amaterasu.)

"If there are masks, I wouldn't know how you'd tie one on except to have the help of a friend with magic." Or an AI-turned-baby-dragon. She had a helmet, but wasn't making use of it at the moment for much the same reasons. "I suspect these forelegs are a little more flexible than I currently know how to use, however."

"Well, I got my cape all right, didn't I?" At that, one of Edge's wings flipped back, causing the cape to snap behind him melodramatically. Some things were just so instinctual, even a form change couldn't remove them.

"Uh, so, are you someone I know? I'm not recognizing the voice, but for all I know, I sound way different and just can't tell..." He grabbed the second sword in his mouth, then slid it back into its sheath in turn.

"And I kept my armor." Carolina gave the rough approximation of a shrug. "Though it's a little...lower tech here than when in other worlds." Equestria was not precisely the pinnacle of technological advancement, that was for certain.

It was a good question, however, and for a moment the freelancer regarded the ninja thoughtfully before shaking her head, red forelock drifting into her eyes. "I don't believe so. I'm Agent Carolina, and this is my Frootz Cat, Lela." The pink kitty spirit with strawberry tipped ears mewed at Edge on cue most cheerily. "And you are?"

"The name's Edge," he said, lifting a hoof to his chest proudly as his wings extended again. "And I'm also sorry I haven't met you before! Though you shouldn't knock the armor, it's a good look on you."

Speaking of instinctual things... But Edge's flirting paused as he glanced behind him at his own wings. He didn't say anything out loud, but his face showed clearly that he was wondering if they worked.

The flirtation earned a very flat look and a roll of green eyes from Carolina. Really? You're flirting with her while she's a /mare/? And after that dramatic entrance, too. Edge was almost as bad as York.

Luckily for Edge, Carolina was still getting used to her own pony form. Or that would have earned him a solid kick.

"Armor is armor," is all she bothered to dignify that comment with instead, even as she watched him turn his attention to his wings. Nope. Still not jealous of those. "Should probably practice walking before attempting take off," she advised, though the ponylancer suspected that advice wouldn't do much good.

She was female, she didn't sound ugly, she was a human originally (right?), why NOT? He rubbed at his chin with one hoof as he considered. "True, but if these do work, that'd be pretty amazing, wouldn't it? I mean, flying? Like a bird? That'd be something pretty amazing, even as a... 'pony'!"

She takes it back. You're definitely worse than York.

Mindful of her armor, Carolina stepped back once, then twice, mindful of foot placement, allowing plenty of room for Edge to stagger off the bridge. "I fail to see the point of adding wings here if they didn't have any use."

"Not to mention, the two Princess ponies can fly," she pointed out, ignoring that they also had magic and far floofier manes and tails.

"And that's pretty amazing, isn't it? Flying! Who wouldn't want to fly if they could?"

Having forgotten his own agreement that walking first would be better, he gave his wings a couple of experimental flaps. Not much more, though. "Yes, I definitely think they'd work!"

Her ears flicked back. And stayed back, though Edge, enjoying the possibilities made manifest in the presence of his new appendages, wasn't likely to notice; it helped that her redredred mane made it east to hide the emote.

"Who indeed," she replied, recognising a rhetorical question when she heard it, before Carolina turned - carefully! - and began to walk away. No wings here. "Try not to fall flat on your face in the effort." Or in the river. Fishing you out would be embarassing.

"Hey," Edge said with more cockiness than he properly deserved to have, "it's not how much you fall on your face, it's how many times you get back up again till you stop falling."

She was walking away, so he really meant that as awesome parting words. He meant them, though; he'd figure out flying, even if it took a lot of mistakes and practice.

Hooves paused, and she glanced back over her shoulder, one ear flicked in Edge's direction. For all the attitude --and she herself had once been well known for possessing the cocksure confidence that came with knowing you were Just That Good-- that was a good work ethic to have.

Then Carolina kept walking, Lela mewing farewell before trotting to catch up to her pony!Person.

But, you might have impressed her, Edge. Just a tiny bit.

Although the worlds that forced changes on all visitors were generally few and far between, Aeleus had managed to deal with the shift will enough. Or at least, he'd managed it better than Edge, but given Edge's current position, this isn't particularly hard.

"It could be a worse dream, however."

The owner of the voice, or what can be seen of him given Edge's unusual vantage point, appears to be a rusty brown sort of pony, and a fairly large one at that.

"Not sure my pride agrees," Edge groaned, as he began carefully levering himself up on his forelegs. Well, he thought as he got a proper look, he's not the only one who turned into an Eidolon. "Is this some black magic spell? Because the only ones I've heard of that changes people's forms do it to pigs or frogs, not...Eidolons."

There's a considering pause before Aeleus answers. He does know a thing or two about the cause, but Edge's words are worth consideration - especially at the mention of some sort commonplace magic that can do similar things.

"It would be a form of magic, if it follows the paths I expect. However, I cannot claim to be familiar with Eidolons. Are they similar to what we usually refer to as summons?"

"That's them. Summoned monsters, called monsters... they have a lot of names." He hesitated, balanced on all four legs, because this felt weird -- he ought to be on his knees, like this, not standing perfectly.

He very carefully began tapping each hoof in turn on the ground, just to acclimate to the new and strange sensations this new body brought.

Aeleus nods at the comment. It's hardly surprising, given the various different worlds, and honestly as long as he has a point of reference, it doesn't much matter to him what Edge wants to call them. The names don't matter nearly as much as the phenomenon as a whole.

"I don't believe we are currently eidolons, no. If anything this is likely more akin to being made a frog or a pig. In fact, if one ignores the unusual colors, we mostly resemble ponies."

"Ponies?"

Edge stared at the other pony with undisguised shock.

"You mean all this time, Luna and Rarity, there has been a word for what they are and no one ever told me?!"

Of all the reactions that could have come in response to his comment, Aeleus could honestly say that Edge's wasn't one of the ones he was expecting. Still, it wasn't a hard question either, not that he would have been less inclined to answer if it had.

"There has been, yes. What have you been calling them, if I may ask?"

"Eidolons. That's the closest thing I could think of to what they're like." Edge laughed awkwardly. "Well, guess I owe them an apology."

Aeleus simply nods at the comment. Without any reference to horses, he can easily see how Edge might have need to fall back on something more familiar. On the other hand, he's also pretty sure that few of the ponies currently present (at least of those who are naturally ponies) would have been too put out at being called something else.

"It certainly can't hurt," he answers. "Although I can't imagine they would have been particularly bothered by it."

"I think it just confused them!" Edge laughed again, then turned his attention to important matters like walking. He began on the wrong foot, trying to move both a front leg and a back leg at the same time, but he quickly figured out the one-at-a-time thing before he crashed to the ground again.

"Hey, this isn't so bad."

Edited (stupid html) 2013-10-20 17:10 (UTC)

Once again Aeleus nods. It would, after all, certainly make sense. Especially if they'd never heard of eidolons before, and given it sounds like a fairly world-specific term he would hardly be surprised if the ponies hadn't been familiar with it. He hadn't been, so why expect others to be?

"Not once you get used to it, no."

"I guess it wouldn't be! Rarity and Luna get around just fine." Whether his cheerful failure to acknowledge that they were born that way is boneheaded or an inspiring statement on them all being the same despite the outer shells they wore was pretty much up to Aeleus.

He lowered his head, sort of hesitantly lurched forward, then stopped. "I think running may have to wait till I find softer ground..."

For his part, Aeleus was perfectly willing to assume the latter. He might have been wrong in that regard, but that was certainly no reason to not at least initially assume that Edge was simply making boneheaded statements. Instead, he turned his attention to Edge's other comment.

"I may be able to help with that, although we might want to move away from the entrance to the place first."

"Help with that? You can still do stuff as a pony?"

Edge hadn't considered it possible, mostly because his main supernatural talent, ninjutsu, relied so heavily on finger motions. Needless to say, it didn't translate.

"I can, yes. It might not be quite as easy in this form as my normal one, but it'll do well enough."

After all, the earth would answer one way or another if he asked it to. That he wasn't in quite the same shape that he normally was didn't really come into play much.

"This I gotta see!" Edge began carefully walking away from the Ponyville entrance, off to the side towards a grassier area.

Fortunately for Edge, Aeleus was more than okay with practical demonstrations. Especially after he'd basically offered to use them to make things easier anyway.

There's no great fanfare to it either, once they get to the grassier area. He can already feel the earth under his feet - under his hooves? - and that's all he needs. He does tap ones of his hooves against the ground but that's hardly anything at all, at least comparing to the fact that a scarcely a moment after he does so a boulder quite literally tears itself out of the ground.

Edge let out a whistle, which actually surprised him when he considered he could do it as a pony. "Hey, how're you still able to do that as a pony? I guess you don't actually have any finger gestures involved in the magic, huh..."

"Not in this sort of magic, at least," Aeleus answered with a nod. "There are schools of magic that require more specific gestures, but geomancy is not one of them."

"Geomancy, huh? Never heard of that..." Edge pawed at the broken ground again curiously, trying to compare the pattern of its emergence to the sort of damage caused by ninjutsu, or comparatively, that technique Lin used which he hadn't seen in a ton of detail.

Generally speaking, it appears to be more like Lin's earthbending than anything else, although Aeleus is not precisely familiar with any of the techniques that Edge might have been inclined to use.

"It's not very common, even where I'm from."

He prodded one particular stone as if it told him something. It... didn't, despite his optimism. He couldn't learn anything meaningfully useful from this residue.

"Same thing with ninjutsu. They say it's like a variant of Black Magic, though -- same deal?"

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Face down in the dirt, only his pride is hurt

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