Discovering a Mutual Friend

16 January 2015

22:21 Inky pushes Ruzeth over and flops on them.

22:22 Ruzeth yelps at the sudden addition of a batpony "get off me Inky, you're fat"

22:24 Inky laughs. "I'm not fat, silly!" she says brightly, but rolls off of Ruzeth anyway. The bat pony hugs the zebra and pulls him over to a tree, where she can lean against the trunk with Ruzeth in her lap.

22:34 Inky squeezes Ruzeth to see if he squeaks.

22:35 Ruzeth makes a noise like a dog toy as the air is forced through his lips

22:35 Inky eeees happily and clops her hooves together!

02:52 Inky cuddles Ruzeth under a tree :3

02:53 Ruzeth leans on the old grey mare, resting his head on her chest. "Well...its been awhile since that uhh giving your magic back incident."

02:57 Inky brings up a hoof to Ruzeth's mane and gently rubs through it, making it jingle. She blushes, her face turning pink behind the purple gray fur. "Um, yeah," she says with a nervous laugh. "I'm sorry, I know that was really, um, forward. Kind of."

03:00 Ruzeth turns his face away from hers, also turning a bright pink that showed through under his white stripes. "Ya ummm...I'm just glad I managed to help...though forgive me if I dont ever want to do that again...It was a bit...much."

03:00 Ruzeth seems to be less of his usual bouncy self as they cover this topic, squirming a bit in her cuddles.

03:02 Inky loosens her hold, making sure the zebra doesn't feel too trapped. "I really appreciate what you did," she says, looking away. "But I completely understand." She gives him a few pats. "You're, um, a bit young..."

03:21 Ruzeth sighs once more, folding his ears flat as he stares off into the distance. An awkward silence hangs in the air as Ruzeth tries to figure out what to say. Eventually a passing bird reminds him of something he'd been meaning to ask the mare about. "Oh...ummm...I think i might have met one of your friends in the forest the other day."

03:54 Inky stares into the gently waving leaves in silence. When Ruzeth always up, she turns back to him and tilts her head. "One of my friends in the forest?" she says, her mind not immediately jumping to Zuthal. It does after a little while, and recognition flashes over her face. The bat pony had always been awful at hiding her emotions.

04:02 Ruzeth grins at Inky as she lights up with recognition and nods, "Yep, he mentioned that you told me about him or something. It was this crazy looking pony, much bigger than you and he had like a lizards tail covered in fur. He crashed when I startled him but then we went hunting for herbs," The zebra runs his words and sentences together as he excitedly tells Inky the story. He pulls from her grasp, dancing around in front of her with excitement. His rings jingly loudly at his movements.

04:20 Inky is wide eyed and open mouthed as Ruzeth describes what Zuthal looks like. "You actually met Zuthal?" she asks, incredulous. "Don't talk so loud!" The mare glances around, making sure there was nopony within earshot, then gets up and pulls Ruzeth back to the trunk with her. "He doesn't want ponies to find about him yet."

04:27 Ruzeth nods at her with a big grin on his face. "Yes I met him. Hes really funny." He squeaks and collapses onto her as he's pulled off balance, resting once more on her body, though he still quivers on her. "But why? I mean...those tongues are kinda freaky...but...hes nice if strage."

04:43 Inky holds Ruzeth close to her, feeling the young zebra quivering with excitement. "He's... Had some bad past experiences with ponies. They're not all as accepting as you or I," she says. "I've had some bad experiences myself... so I can empathize with him on this." The mare absently unfurls a bony, membraned wing and drapes it over Ruzeth's back.

04:54 Ruzeth takes a deep breath, frowning harder and calming down as his face looks a little more glum. "Both of you guys as well? At least you arnt bitter like he or those zebras I met down at the docks are...Most ponies are nice and you just ignore the jerks." His tails movements still a bit, slowling the steady jingle.

05:09 Inky tilts her head, confused by the zebra's reaction. "As well? Who're you thinking of?" she asks, curious. Her tail idly swishes near Ruzeth's, occasionally brushing up against him. "You're the only zebra I really know; are the others different?"

05:18 Ruzeth bites his lip letting out a long sigh as he leans into Inky's warm embrace. "Well the first day I was here, me and lucent went to the neighborhood south of the docks, you know...those slums. And there we met quite a few zebra's while we were trying to find me my teacher, the ones the spirits hinted at, and may of them expressed negative things about ponies and said it was becuase they were treated bad or something..."

05:23 Inky hugs the zebra a little tighter as she hears him sigh. She shakes her head. "I haven't really been over there," she says. "So I don't know... but that sounds like it might be true, unfortunately." Her tufted ears droop. "It makes me sad to see ponies bitter like that, even if I can see why."

05:40 Ruzeth bites his lip, his own ears uncharacteristicly folding down as well, making the zebra look about as sad as when he though he failed her in bringing back her magic. "Miss Inky...why are ponies meant to you, or Zuthal, or those zebras down in the docks? It doesnt seem right at all..."

05:45 Inky lifts the young zebra up just a bit and squeezes his head to her fluffy chest, her purple-gray forelegs blocking out some of his vision. After a moment, she lets go and drops her legs lower, into a more normal hug. "Because," she says, trying to put her thoughts into words. "Because they don't know any better," she says at last. "They think it's okay to do those kinds of things."

05:53 Ruzeth lies peacefully in her grip, pressing his face into those legs and and closing his eyes. As her hooves move down he squeezes her back, staring up into her eyes. "But...why dont they know better? Why do they think its ok?" He asks, sounding quite confused. His mane jingles as he's shifted around, the rings clinging together.

06:05 Inky shrugs helplessly. "Nopony told them it was wrong! Now a lot of them are set in their ways," she says, softly stroking the zebra colt. "Ruzeth, don't let any neighsayers keep you down, okay?" The bat pony smiles down at him, one of her fangs poking out in the corner of her mouth. "You know what's right," she says, holding a hoof to his heart, "so just be yourself!"

06:10 Ruzeth nods as Inky gives him those words of encouragement and pulls away once more with his energy having returned. He gets to his feet and bounces in place with a bit of a smile. "Well, then we just have to show them they're wrong right? We should go grab Zuthal from his home and drag him through town so that they all know he's a good pony."

06:14 Inky gets to her hooves, nearly as sprightly, though she doesn't have the advantage of youth on her side. The older pony laughs, then shakes her head. "I wish it were that easy! It doesn't really work that way, though," she says with a little sigh. "And I think Zuthal would have some issues with your plan. But some ponies learn... really slowly," the mare says, thinking of her slowly progressing attempts to reform GyroTech.

06:19 Ruzeth frowns and dances around Inky, having as much trouble keeping his hoove on the ground as Pinkie Pie. His entire body quivers with untempered excitment and his rings jingle all aroudn the place. "Oh cmon, you told me to follow my heart. That I know whats right. And my heart says that we should drag Zuthal out to the docks and introduce him to everypony."

06:24 Inky chuckles, and trots around with Ruzeth so that they were circling. "Sure, but Zuthal wouldn't like that at all!" She tries to figure out how to explain this to the excited zebra. "If those ponies don't like zebras, I don't think they're ready to meet a full grown tatzlpony either."

06:34 Ruzeth frowns, slowing the pace of his bouncyness as Inky begins to crush his plans, but still, he didnt think he had a fully bad plan yet. "But you said those ponies just hadnt learned any better. Doesnt that mean its our job to teach them that its wrong?" He asks, now more trotting than bouncing.

06:40 Inky nods. "Yeah, but sometimes the direct approach is like running full-tilt into a brick wall," she says with a laugh. "You have to be a little craftier than that!"

06:44 Ruzeth sighs and stops moving entirely, letting his head and ears droop down as Inky shuts him down again. "But then...what are we supposed to do? How do we change their minds?"

06:49 Inky sees the zebra wilt and trots up to him, throwing a foreleg over his withers. "Don't look so glum, Ruzeth," she says. "I dunno what we're supposed to do! You can't let it get you down, though." The bat pony uses her foreleg to lift up Ruzeth's head. "You just have to keep smiling and do the best you can!" She gives him another warm smile, with one escaped fang poking over her lip.

07:01 Ruzeth doesnt seem perk up at Inky's hug, instead remaining with his eyes firmly planted on the ground, that is of course, until Inky tilts his head up to smile. The silly expression cheers him up after a moment though and he giggles. "You're so silly Miss Inky. But we gotta figure out how to make it work. But...I gotta run off now...Miss Subira wanted me for something~"

07:03 Inky 's smile widens when she sees Ruzeth cheer up. "I try!" she says. "And that's okay, I ought to head back to the library anyway." She blinks, and does a slight double take. "Wait, miss Subira? Who's that?"

07:09 Ruzeth giggles excitedly and resumpes his happy prancing , hardly keeping still infront of the mare. "Oh, its this zebra I met the other day and went on a retreat with. She's taught me all sorts of shaman things. I think she's the one the spirits wanted me to meet. I dont know how long she'll stay before she goes travelinga gain though..."

07:13 < Inky> \_(?)_/ (I think we'll figure out what her plans are better while we do her stuff)

07:14 Inky 's eyes widen, the pupils almost invisible in her gold eyes as they contracted against the sun. "You met a shaman?" she says, excited. The bat pony hops around with Ruzeth, seeming almost even more excited than he is. "That's great, Ruzeth! If she has time, I'd love to meet her!" The mare glances up at the sun, squinting. "I really ought to go though." She suddenly leaps towards him and wraps him up in a tight hug. "It was great to see you again," the older mare says, nuzzling at the back of his mane.

07:28 Ruzeth nods at the mare and dances around with her excitedly, "Yep, I did, she definietly was the real thing. I'd have come by and talked to you sooner if she hadnt drug me away like that. She's really nice though, I bet you'd like her," Ruzeth respons mirthfully. He squeals as he's tackled to the ground by her hug, having been unprepared to face the brunt of a full grown pony. "It was great to see you too. I'll see if she'll meat you.

07:34 Inky squeezes Ruzeth even tighter, then gets back to her hooves. The bat pony dusts herself off and spreads her wings, pausing to help Ruzeth back up before taking off. "Come find me again soon!" she says as she circles him. "Same way you found me today, or leave me a note at home!"

07:53 Ruzeth nods at Inky, getting up to her feet. "Of course I will. I dont wanna leave you alone for as long as I did this time." He waves as Inky disapears into the sky, smiling at her for a couple minutes before turning to head down the street, making his way over to where Subria had told him to meet her.