Post by The Wastelander on Jun 29, 2015 12:18:03 GMT
Aelita hadn't gotten very far beyond the Rusty Shoe. That cool mare had vanished pretty quickly, so Aelita had been left behind among the wrecked train carts. Luckily the presiding family had been rather nice to her- they'd even let her help them out with serving food. Who'd have thought of all the jobs in the wasteland, she'd wind up being a waitress. Some things never changed, huh? Holding her writing implements in her magic, she approached a table at the end of the yard. "Welcome to the Rusty Shoe, can I get you anything?" she chimed in her well rehearsed yet still genuine-sounding way.
Spring Serenade. The little party had finally reached the Rusty Shoe, and it hadn't felt like it'd taken too long since they'd left the campsite. The merchant's bag was beginning to weigh on her back, and it seemed like the little princess Ocarina was fairly tired. She'd gone through so much in so little time! Spring, who knew the Rusty Shoe well enough from all her times passing through, left her and the masked stranger behind at one of the cars to seek out food at the other end. Spring looked up now from her seating at the makeshift table to the unicorn mare, curious. "Ah, yes. What all does the Rusty Shoe have on the menu today?" She asked politely.
Aelita smiled at the polite tone from the lady. That was a nice change! While neutrality was enforced by law here, that didn't stop many of the faction-loyal types from being awfully unpleasant to anyone who wasn't in their clique. "Today we're lucky enough to have fresh Dveka Pods, grown in purified soil for maximum taste and minimum Winds," she spoke warmly. "We've got the usual suspects, of course: Saltrock Split, Greybark Salad, and Tatsel Soup. Or if you're feeling adventurous, our chef's special today is Whytael Preserve- but be warned, it's got a kick heftier than an Earth Pony."
Spring Serenade listened curiously to the list of things the waitress pony rattled off and made a face at the last. Whytael? That was meat- speaking of, what mad pony managed to kill one to supply them with such a thing? Yeesh. "The.. salad? sounds fine to me. Just as long as it doesn't contain any, er, meat." The mare replied after a moment of careful thought, smiling slightly in an embarrassed sort of way. She wasn't so sure what all of these things on the menu were, let alone who this unicorn was- she'd never seen her at the Rusty Shoe, so she must be new. Huh.
Aelita's ears twitched at the request. So, she'd made the right call by offering the vegetarian menu then! Good. "Of course," she replied with a formal nod and her continued smile, "I'll be back with your salad in no time." And with that she'd turn to trot off to the kitchen and have them prepare it. ---- Some moments later, she emerged from the kitchen carriage and made her way back to the table. "One Greybark Salad," she stated informatively, placing the dish down on the table in front of the other. It wasn't very exciting to look at, to be frank. It was pretty true to its name- lots of shades of grey, no doubt the leaves and pea-sized berries of the aforementioned plant among several others. There was some colour in the sauce, at least, with it adding a soft green to the dull backdrop and smelling curiously like mint. Surely a rare commodity in post-war times. By the time Spring might have noted all of this, Aelita would have already moved to the next customer. Waitresses made pretty poor company, alas.
Scootaloo wandered in with heavy hooves, looking pretty damned tired. By all accounts she was an average Earth Pony- a little scrawny, maybe? The weight of whatever that metallic pack was over her back can't have helped her lack of energy much. She slunk over to the table near Spring and plonked down heavily on the seat, almost immediately slumping over and hitting the top of her forehead on the top of the crate-tables. She then heaved a deep sigh. "Fuck walking. There's gotta be an easier way to travel," she grumbled to herself.
Spring Serenade let herself relax once the waitress moved off, entertaining herself in that small quiet time to look around at the Rusty Shoe. There wasn't much to look at other than the scattered, rusty cars and the sparse gathering of ponies that came and went. Her attention switched back to the waitress as she returned briefly with the food. After a quietly spoken 'Thank you!' she peered down at her food with distaste. It made her miss the rich foods of her home, but.. it was the Wastelands. Had to make do. Spring levitated her fork up and began to tentatively eat at the salad, and was afforded the distraction of a new pony. She jumped a little when they faceplanted the crate-table and glanced over with some concern. "Are you.. okay?"
Scootaloo grunted with the effort of hauling her head up from the table to look at the pony who'd just spoken to her. "Huh?" she answered ever so elegantly. "Yeah, yeah." She waved one hoof semi-dismissively. "Just been walking for-fucking-ever to get here is all. Cloudun's a long-ass way from here and this heap of shit-" she paused for a moment to gesture to the strange machinery on her back "-is even heavier than it looks." What a charming mouth she had on her. "Don't see unicorns much out here," she noted without leaving any time for Spring to comment on her luggage, "You know my deal. What's yours?" Might as well swap stories while they were talking, right?
Spring Serenade looked a little surprised by the pony's response, marveling at the language she displayed. It always surprised her, even now, the way Wastelanders swore. Where'd that even start, anyway? The unicorn set her fork down on her picked-at salad once the question had been asked of her. "Oh, well I have not much of worth to share. My companions and I are traveling, just trying to get home you see." Spring replied smoothly, gaze flicking down to the strange machinery on the other pony's back. "So, Cloudun was it? How goes it there?"
Scootaloo did her best not to look obviously bored by the response, but it was pretty damn boring. Generic response #473 or what? "No close call escapes from a horde of angry raiders or a pack of mutated beasts? Aw. Y'know, for a place as fucked up as the Wasteland is, I hardly ever hear any stories of daring adventures... Just idiot faction business, and the uneventful travels of wanderers." Yawn. She shifted her weight on the seat to get more comfortable on it. "Cloudun's the same as ever, honestly. That tawny bitch shouting at everypony like she's Queen of the Wastes, and mechanics like me trying to keep those reckless dumbass Wonderbolts' equipment in working order. I use my spare time to work on... personal projects." Probably explaining the pack she was carrying. "But I don't get much of that lately." Why was she spouting all this to an outsider? Who knew. Probably on the assumption she was nopony important and had nopony important to tell about any of it.
Spring Serenade frowned in response, her ears flattening back at the mare's wordy response. "One would think a pony to be glad they did not get attacked by anything. Regardless, there is no telling what may happen on the road ahead once we leave the Shoe. So sorry to hear about Cloudun though." The unicorn said as she turned briefly back to her food and forced down a few mouthfuls. "We found an unfortunate mare wandering too close to Ponyville, but I do not believe she knew the dangers. She fortunately did not suffer anything."
Scootaloo could only shrug at the other's apparently cautious worldview. "Live fast, die young," she offered, very nonchalant about the concept. "I've come to enjoy that about the Wasteland. Even if I die to some half pint mutie, and my death is utterly meaningless, I'll be happy if I go down fighting." Life was what it was, now. Might as well find the fun in it all. The mention of Ponyville wiped the smile off her face, though. "You what? Ponyville? What kinda dumbfuck would go there?" The dangers were common knowledge among Wastelanders, weren't they? "She walked away unhurt? That's luck, if ever I've heard it." Some ponies were not so fortunate. "So is she one of your travel buddies? She can't be much use to a party if she didn't even know about the Winds there... I'd ditch her, if it were me." Probably just as well that it wasn't.
Spring Serenade hummed thoughtfully in response as she ate what was left of the salad and pushed her plate away. As distasteful as it looked, she supposed it was alright. If you were hungry enough. She quietly resolved to bring some food to Ocarina and the earth pony and focused back on the other stranger. "I cannot blame some ponies in the Wastelands, especially if their parents are foolish enough to try to shelter them." Spring said, following the lie she'd made. "I hope to keep her with me to teach her the dangers.. It is not like there is anything more important to do around here, is there?"
Scootaloo pondered it for a few moments, but couldn't come up with anything. "I guess not." If teaching brainless civvies got this pony's rocks off, who was she to judge? Some would probably think her interest in machines an equally bizarre and pointless pursuit. "I don't see any merchants here," she noted abruptly. "Fuck me." With more grumbling she descended from her seat and steadied herself on her hooves. "No point wasting any more time in this shithole, then. Good luck with your pet moron. Maybe by the next time we meet you'll have taught her a few tricks, huh?" She laughed at her own joke and turned to wander off into the wasteland. Truthfully she just didn't want anypony watching her while she worked on her tech, but the merchant story was a pretty good one.
Spring Serenade gave the Shoe a quick glance around, but neglected to mention the merchant's bag she'd carried with her. She didn't see the point, since she wasn't Bits himself, and didn't think the unicorn would appreciate her selling things for him. Oh well. "Very well, good luck with your pursuits." Spring responded mildly and slipped out of her own seat. She waited until the little earth pony had left before she went to chase down the waitress- her companions would no doubt be wanting some food by now.
Spring Serenade. The little party had finally reached the Rusty Shoe, and it hadn't felt like it'd taken too long since they'd left the campsite. The merchant's bag was beginning to weigh on her back, and it seemed like the little princess Ocarina was fairly tired. She'd gone through so much in so little time! Spring, who knew the Rusty Shoe well enough from all her times passing through, left her and the masked stranger behind at one of the cars to seek out food at the other end. Spring looked up now from her seating at the makeshift table to the unicorn mare, curious. "Ah, yes. What all does the Rusty Shoe have on the menu today?" She asked politely.
Aelita smiled at the polite tone from the lady. That was a nice change! While neutrality was enforced by law here, that didn't stop many of the faction-loyal types from being awfully unpleasant to anyone who wasn't in their clique. "Today we're lucky enough to have fresh Dveka Pods, grown in purified soil for maximum taste and minimum Winds," she spoke warmly. "We've got the usual suspects, of course: Saltrock Split, Greybark Salad, and Tatsel Soup. Or if you're feeling adventurous, our chef's special today is Whytael Preserve- but be warned, it's got a kick heftier than an Earth Pony."
Spring Serenade listened curiously to the list of things the waitress pony rattled off and made a face at the last. Whytael? That was meat- speaking of, what mad pony managed to kill one to supply them with such a thing? Yeesh. "The.. salad? sounds fine to me. Just as long as it doesn't contain any, er, meat." The mare replied after a moment of careful thought, smiling slightly in an embarrassed sort of way. She wasn't so sure what all of these things on the menu were, let alone who this unicorn was- she'd never seen her at the Rusty Shoe, so she must be new. Huh.
Aelita's ears twitched at the request. So, she'd made the right call by offering the vegetarian menu then! Good. "Of course," she replied with a formal nod and her continued smile, "I'll be back with your salad in no time." And with that she'd turn to trot off to the kitchen and have them prepare it. ---- Some moments later, she emerged from the kitchen carriage and made her way back to the table. "One Greybark Salad," she stated informatively, placing the dish down on the table in front of the other. It wasn't very exciting to look at, to be frank. It was pretty true to its name- lots of shades of grey, no doubt the leaves and pea-sized berries of the aforementioned plant among several others. There was some colour in the sauce, at least, with it adding a soft green to the dull backdrop and smelling curiously like mint. Surely a rare commodity in post-war times. By the time Spring might have noted all of this, Aelita would have already moved to the next customer. Waitresses made pretty poor company, alas.
Scootaloo wandered in with heavy hooves, looking pretty damned tired. By all accounts she was an average Earth Pony- a little scrawny, maybe? The weight of whatever that metallic pack was over her back can't have helped her lack of energy much. She slunk over to the table near Spring and plonked down heavily on the seat, almost immediately slumping over and hitting the top of her forehead on the top of the crate-tables. She then heaved a deep sigh. "Fuck walking. There's gotta be an easier way to travel," she grumbled to herself.
Spring Serenade let herself relax once the waitress moved off, entertaining herself in that small quiet time to look around at the Rusty Shoe. There wasn't much to look at other than the scattered, rusty cars and the sparse gathering of ponies that came and went. Her attention switched back to the waitress as she returned briefly with the food. After a quietly spoken 'Thank you!' she peered down at her food with distaste. It made her miss the rich foods of her home, but.. it was the Wastelands. Had to make do. Spring levitated her fork up and began to tentatively eat at the salad, and was afforded the distraction of a new pony. She jumped a little when they faceplanted the crate-table and glanced over with some concern. "Are you.. okay?"
Scootaloo grunted with the effort of hauling her head up from the table to look at the pony who'd just spoken to her. "Huh?" she answered ever so elegantly. "Yeah, yeah." She waved one hoof semi-dismissively. "Just been walking for-fucking-ever to get here is all. Cloudun's a long-ass way from here and this heap of shit-" she paused for a moment to gesture to the strange machinery on her back "-is even heavier than it looks." What a charming mouth she had on her. "Don't see unicorns much out here," she noted without leaving any time for Spring to comment on her luggage, "You know my deal. What's yours?" Might as well swap stories while they were talking, right?
Spring Serenade looked a little surprised by the pony's response, marveling at the language she displayed. It always surprised her, even now, the way Wastelanders swore. Where'd that even start, anyway? The unicorn set her fork down on her picked-at salad once the question had been asked of her. "Oh, well I have not much of worth to share. My companions and I are traveling, just trying to get home you see." Spring replied smoothly, gaze flicking down to the strange machinery on the other pony's back. "So, Cloudun was it? How goes it there?"
Scootaloo did her best not to look obviously bored by the response, but it was pretty damn boring. Generic response #473 or what? "No close call escapes from a horde of angry raiders or a pack of mutated beasts? Aw. Y'know, for a place as fucked up as the Wasteland is, I hardly ever hear any stories of daring adventures... Just idiot faction business, and the uneventful travels of wanderers." Yawn. She shifted her weight on the seat to get more comfortable on it. "Cloudun's the same as ever, honestly. That tawny bitch shouting at everypony like she's Queen of the Wastes, and mechanics like me trying to keep those reckless dumbass Wonderbolts' equipment in working order. I use my spare time to work on... personal projects." Probably explaining the pack she was carrying. "But I don't get much of that lately." Why was she spouting all this to an outsider? Who knew. Probably on the assumption she was nopony important and had nopony important to tell about any of it.
Spring Serenade frowned in response, her ears flattening back at the mare's wordy response. "One would think a pony to be glad they did not get attacked by anything. Regardless, there is no telling what may happen on the road ahead once we leave the Shoe. So sorry to hear about Cloudun though." The unicorn said as she turned briefly back to her food and forced down a few mouthfuls. "We found an unfortunate mare wandering too close to Ponyville, but I do not believe she knew the dangers. She fortunately did not suffer anything."
Scootaloo could only shrug at the other's apparently cautious worldview. "Live fast, die young," she offered, very nonchalant about the concept. "I've come to enjoy that about the Wasteland. Even if I die to some half pint mutie, and my death is utterly meaningless, I'll be happy if I go down fighting." Life was what it was, now. Might as well find the fun in it all. The mention of Ponyville wiped the smile off her face, though. "You what? Ponyville? What kinda dumbfuck would go there?" The dangers were common knowledge among Wastelanders, weren't they? "She walked away unhurt? That's luck, if ever I've heard it." Some ponies were not so fortunate. "So is she one of your travel buddies? She can't be much use to a party if she didn't even know about the Winds there... I'd ditch her, if it were me." Probably just as well that it wasn't.
Spring Serenade hummed thoughtfully in response as she ate what was left of the salad and pushed her plate away. As distasteful as it looked, she supposed it was alright. If you were hungry enough. She quietly resolved to bring some food to Ocarina and the earth pony and focused back on the other stranger. "I cannot blame some ponies in the Wastelands, especially if their parents are foolish enough to try to shelter them." Spring said, following the lie she'd made. "I hope to keep her with me to teach her the dangers.. It is not like there is anything more important to do around here, is there?"
Scootaloo pondered it for a few moments, but couldn't come up with anything. "I guess not." If teaching brainless civvies got this pony's rocks off, who was she to judge? Some would probably think her interest in machines an equally bizarre and pointless pursuit. "I don't see any merchants here," she noted abruptly. "Fuck me." With more grumbling she descended from her seat and steadied herself on her hooves. "No point wasting any more time in this shithole, then. Good luck with your pet moron. Maybe by the next time we meet you'll have taught her a few tricks, huh?" She laughed at her own joke and turned to wander off into the wasteland. Truthfully she just didn't want anypony watching her while she worked on her tech, but the merchant story was a pretty good one.
Spring Serenade gave the Shoe a quick glance around, but neglected to mention the merchant's bag she'd carried with her. She didn't see the point, since she wasn't Bits himself, and didn't think the unicorn would appreciate her selling things for him. Oh well. "Very well, good luck with your pursuits." Spring responded mildly and slipped out of her own seat. She waited until the little earth pony had left before she went to chase down the waitress- her companions would no doubt be wanting some food by now.
End.