Suddenly, I'm Respectable [Ceria]

[Richter]

Upon arrival in Ponyville, the first thing Richter always spotted was the pavillion, which sat smack-dab in the middle of the town. The stallion could recall the one time he passed the pavillion on his way home from shopping. His sisters were with him, and they were so rambunctious that they bumped right into Richter and made him drop all of the food on the ground. It was an embarassing sight, seeing the young colt scramble to pick up all of the dropped food. Ponies certainly stared. "Ha," he thought. "If dey stare now, it's cuz I'm important." This was certainly true; Richter had earned his place in Equestria, and he was certainly proud of his achievements. However, he didn't wish to boast about it today, so he left his armor back in Canterlot. He was plain ol' Richter today. At least he had a winged crest on his rump to show that he was successful, though in what was the only uncertainty.

The winged stallion fluttered to the ground before the pavillion itself. He glanced up at the structure, now far taller than he was. He could certainly change that in an instant, but it was nice to seem so small once again. His size certainly played a factor in his achievements, for he had always wanted something bigger and more than what he was given. He gave a smile, content with the fact that he wouldn't have to be haunted by memories while he was here. Though he would admit, he gave a look around to see if anyone was judging him, but everypony's eyes were focused on something else.

ooc; This'll get better once I get into his character more, I promise~

[Ceria]

Ceria was on patrol today for the weather. Much unanticipated rain came down last night. Though the rain was scheduled, they had miscalculated the density of them and it rained too much. So, for today, she was keeping an eye out for clouds, making sure today would be a very sunny day, something she loved to do. It was her special talent, after all.

She gave a silent prayer, grateful her wings were holding up. If anything, it was her leg that was giving her problems. Just another reason to keep on flying. Ceria somehow found herself back in Ponville, though her area of assignment had been the outskirts of town. What time was it now? Surely past her break time, which she hadn't even used as she had been so happy with her duties.

She didn't really want to stop, but she had to admit that she was feel a bit beat down at the moment. She could do with a snack, a quick nap or simply enjoying being near other ponies. She tried to decide where to go. Something sweet? Something filling? Her stomach growled. Okay, whatever was near by. She looked around, looking for a food stand, just something she could eat quickly before going back to work.

Over there! Just a few blocks past the pavilion was one of the Apple family selling something. Ceria didn't mind what it was. Anything and everything they made was delicious and better than anything in Cloudsdale, where she had considered relocating to for the sake of flying before her accident.

She began to descend when she felt her wing twitch. Over working, she thought to herself and not wanting to think her wing would give out, again. She wasn't too much far now. Maybe she could just head for the ground right now, and not the food.

Barely five feet away from the ground, it gave out and she fell. Five feet was nothing to her, compared to all the other times she had fallen, but with her leg acting up, she feared the impact of the landing.

[Richter]

The stallion's ear gave a twitch, making the stallion turn his head. "I swear, da thing's got a mind of its' own," he thought, figuring that the twitch was just a mere spasm. When the stallion actually looked to the sky, he spotted a passing mare. Das it? he thought, practically accusing his ears of trying to mess with him. This mare was coming in for a landing, just like a usual pegasus would. For some odd reason, she seemed a bit hesitant, but Richter simply shrugged it off. Nothing too interesting, at least he didn't think so. However, this opinion would end up changing rather quickly, as the pegasus' wings seemed to just give out on her. It all happened rather quickly, and Richter didn't even notice that he had rushed forward in an attempt to catch her. Fortunately, since he was a guard, he was used to having to react quickly. It took a split second for him to position himself at her side, using his wings to propel him forward. Quickly, the stallion held out his arms and moved upward as gently as he could, trying to make sure that the impact of his hooves wouldn't hurt her.

He was unsure of how exactly she would land, though he was determined to make sure it was in his arms. "I got'cha, miss!" he exclaimed, hoping that he would in fact snatch her in time.

ooc; BLAGHGH so short. But I figured I'd leave it a bit open-ended to let you determine how she lands. >_>

[Ceria]

Ceria found that the difference between withing with the air underneath your wings and falling with the air all around you were extremely different. One had a sense of joy. While she fell, she found herself void of anything pleasant thoughts and scared out of her mind. She shut her eyes closed tightly trying to embrace herself for the inevitable. Darn gravity, why did it have to be so persistent?

She waited. And waited, but she didn't feel the ground underneath her. She peeped through one eye and noticed something that she wouldn't have expected in a million years. Though she was definitely not shy, she was always over looked, the pony that nopony would ever notice, even if she was falling. She looked at the colt that caught her. She hadn't noticed him around here before. Well, possibly once or twice on her mail routes, but she doubted that he actually lived here.

"Eep!" she squeaked as she jumped out of his arms. She wasn't falling as fast and she was ready, making sure she wouldn't land on her bad leg. "I'm sorry, sir," she said as she landed. She winced, but managed to hide it as it wasn't too bad as it could have been. She looked down at the ground, not knowing what to do. She couldn't fly at the moment (though given an hour's rest she probably could) and her leg hurting as much as it could, she couldn't walk either.

With her lack of social activity, she had no idea what to do next, minus the physical problems. She already said sorry, but he had helped her from a fairly painful landing. She looked around and noticed they had made quite a scene. She blushed, but the color of her checks matched the color of her coat, hiding her embaressment.

"I had an accident a while ago. It hurt my wing and my leg as well," she decided to tell him after a wait. "So it means a lot that you helped," she said, resisting not to add 'though I'm somewhat used to falling now'.

[Richter]

He was surprised that she didn't react to the impact itself. In fact, it was almost as if she hadn't felt his hooves at all, and she remained there in his arms for a moment as he stabilized himself. Richter's eyes trailed to the mare's face, an expression of concern and worry plastered across his own. It would take a moment, but she did come to, which was fortunate for Richter. The stallion thought he'd have to go and make a scene by having to rush the poor lass to the hospital. He had a brief moment of relief, his concerned stare quickly turning to a cheesy grin. She seemed shock by his presence, causing her to leap from his arms. Richter pulled them back in response, hoping that he hadn't come off as frightening to her. The mare gave a quick apology, most likely for both her actions and for the fact that he had to catch her. "Naw," he assured her. "No need to apologize, it's my pleasure."

Simply watching the mare now, Richter could tell that she wasn't one to say much else besides straight facts. No little side comments like he often gave; she simply explained her injuries and left it at that. The stallion knew that there were many quiet-types, though personally he didn't understand the personalities themselves. He had his childhood to thank for that, for the job he had taken up required him to be loud. If you weren't loud, you wouldn't earn money. Plain and simple. But it was from that job that Richter was able to earn his bold stature. It's certainly helped him throughout the years.

So being that talkative type, Richter attempted to salvage what was left of the conversation. "So you say you's was injured, eh?" The stallion gave a glance to her wings and the leg she hadn't been leaning on. "Don'tchu think it's a bad idea to be flyin' around like dat then?" The stallion gave a little chuckle, aware that he was taunting her a bit. If he were in her shoes, he'd be eager to get out there as well, especially if an injury had happened during his younger years.

[Ceria]

Ceria found this colt to be rather weird. It was his pleasure to help someone? Did he like it when people were in trouble, then? No, no, that would be ridiculous. Still, she didn't find him as the average pony. She took a glance at his cutie mark. Interesting; she hadn't seen something like that before, but it raised her curiosity about who he was. No, she didn't see him as a mysterious pony that she just HAD to know about, but it didn't mean she couldn't wonder about it.

"Oh, well, I just love to fly. This is just a minor setback,"she told him, curious why he wanted to carry this on. To make it less awkward, possibly, but it wasn't doing her any favor. If anything, it was even more so trying to carry on a dead conversation with an antisocial pony. He really wasn't from around here, was he? Manehatten, possibly. Everyone there always tried to be so fancy and considerate when half of them weren't. In her opinion, at least.

"Besides, if I stay off my wigs for too long, I won't be able to do my job as well," she told him, her words sounding strangled coming out of her mouth. She coughed, trying to cover it up. It was so weird, and she began to become suspicious of him, though she knew she had no reason to.

"Well, thanks. Again. But I need to get going,"she said, trying to sound a bit stronger, holding up her head slightly. She tried to walk away when her leg gave out on her and she fell, taking a sitting position on the ground. Oh, buck it, she thought, agitated.

[Richter]

A love of flight. Richter could certainly agree to that; flight was one of his well-appreciated skills in the Royal Guard (so much so that his cutie mark featured a nice pair of wings). His own gave him so much speed in combat, and having to deal with an injury there would certainly be devastating. He'd want to get back in the skies as soon as possible too. But still, Richter felt as though this mare should be resting her wings, at least a bit longer. She did make another good point, though. Wouldn't want those wings getting rusty now, would we? Plus, when there's a job to be done, someone's got to do it. Well, now that he had basically tore apart any attempt to assure that she shouldn't be out and about, he figured that the least he could do was escort her back home. Judging by her little fall, she could certainly use him to lean on.

He couldn't help but chuckle when she fell back. "So determined to get away," he thought as he strolled to her side. Richter respected her attempts to ignore his help, but he wasn't a Royal Guard for nothing. The boy was addicted to helping others, both in and out of armor. "It sure don't look like you're gonna make it very far wit'out hurtin' yourself more," he said, lowering his head a bit so that he was right at her level. The stallion offered her a hoof. "Would it be too much if I offered ta take ya home?" He gave a smile, hoping that she'd feel a bit more willing if he appeared more friendly.

[Ceria]

She didn't really like the fact he was giving her so much attention. Sure, it was nice not to be invisible, but she didn't know what to do with the attention. She chewed on the inside of her cheek and contemplated what to say next, planning out carefully so she could get away on her own. Was there any way for her to get away on her own? There had to be a way... But...she guessed it wouldn't hurt to make an acquaintance, or, possibly, a friend.

"Um...I don't know," she said, looking away from the hoof he offered for her. Home with Berry was almost thirty minutes away from here by air, possibly twice that by hoof. "Okay," she decided, taking his hoof to help herself up. Her leg was still sore, throbbing at the strain. It almost felt like she could feel where the old gashes were.

"I'm Ceria, by the way," she said. Maybe it would be less awkward for her if he wasn't such a stranger? It was worth a shot. "Who are you?" She regretted the words as they left her mouth. She almost sounded accusing with the tone of her voice, but there was no way she could take it back, so she quickly added something more. "I haven't seen you around these parts."

She waited for his answer, then continued. "I live past the Apple's land. It's a small little place; blue roof," Ceria told him. It was nice living out of town. She didn't have to deal with neighbors and they had enough land to farm a bit of fresh food when money was tight.

[Richter]

The stallion was glad that she wasn't going to make this too difficult. Celestia knows that charming mares was quite a task, though he wasn't necessarily doing this to charm her. He did want to help her out. After pulling her from the ground, he glanced at the injured leg before strolling over to that side, figuring it was where she would need the most support. He was hoping that she'd get what he was implying and put a front hoof around his neck so that she could hold on properly, though judging by her previous actions, she probably wouldn't feel too comfortable. Still, Richter would be staying by her side, at least until he got her safely home. "Ceria, eh?" he said, turning his neck toward her and tilting his head a bit. He gave a chuckle, realizing that she was probably just concerned about having a stranger help her. "Dat's 'cause I don't live 'round here," he admitted with a grin. "Da name's Richter. I'm actually from..." A bit quieter, he said, "Canterlot." The stallion gave a quick glance around, hoping that his social status wouldn't cause an uproar. He knew how Ponyville ponies adored the Canterlot lifestyle, and they were probably dying to get a taste of it whenever they could.

Thank goodness her home was outside of Ponyville; they would eventually get away from the large crowd, though it would certainly take a while on hoof. He'd offer to fly her home, but again, he didn't want to push her limits. Looking on the bright side of things, they could at least stop at the Apple's farm for a snack. The stallion looked ahead, ready to walk beside Ceria when she was ready to get going. "I used to live outside'a town too, y'know," he said, almost focusing on the path before him. "It was just me an' my sisters then. Times was tough, but we all got struggles." He gave another glance toward her. "How 'bout'chu, then? Any struggles, at least besides your wing dere?"

[Ceria]

So he wasn't from here...that made sense. But the reason why he would whisper the city he was from was beyond her. Was he worried that people would swarm him, thinking that he'll take them with him to Canterlot? Sure, the idea was nice, but most of the people here were either here because they liked the quiet country side or they have their roots here. Maybe someone who didn't like this town might want to leave, but this place had so many nice ponies that it would be hard to say goodbye. But for her...she didn't have any friends. Acquaintances, yes, but rarely any friends. Well, she did have Berry, but he was her guardian.

"Well-," she began, though cut off when she accidentally stepped on a stone. "Well, Richter, it's nice to meet you," Ceria said. Though this was odd and strange to her, it wasn't bad at all. Relieving, almost. She listened to him talk about having lived outside of town with a rough life. It made her think she was almost lucky, having Berry to take carry of her and then she remembered that he now lived in Canterlot. He must have it nice now.

"M-me?" she asked, shocked. Do people really open up so easily to people they've never seen before? Or is this a common form of chatter. "Parents abandoned me. Told me they would come back and all I had to do was wait, that they would bring me back something. They never came back," she said with a sigh. "It happened under the tree over that way," she said, nodding her head towards the outskirts of Ponyville.

[Richter]

Richter's eyes were locked on Ceria's facial expressions as she roughly explained her past. He cleared the lump forming in his throat, realizing that they had more in common than he had originally thought. Just bringing back those vague memories of his mother and father made Richter nervous; he didn't want to go and get emotional in front of this stranger. An actual response came after a few moments of silence. "Ahh," he began. "Das such a shame. A pretty girl like yourself, left behind by ol' ma and pa?" He gave a chuckle, hoping she wouldn't take that complement too seriously. "My parents left too. Gone, just like 'dat. 'Cept they didn't return from work one day. Never really got da chance ta say g'bye." Quickly, before an entire recollection of the event played through in Ricther's mind, the stallion decided to change the subject.

"But...ahh. I don't like ta think 'bout dat much." He shook his head, finally expelling the thoughts from his mind. "I tend not ta dwell on dat past much." He attempted a smile, fighting the sadness that seemed to consume him. Turning back to the road ahead, Richter could see that they were quickly exiting Ponyville, heading for Ceria's home, conveniently past the Apple family's land. Helping her along, the stallion grew more and more curious. "So, what did'ja do ta your wing dere anyways?" He asked, figuring that they were far along in their friendship to ask about her injury. Friendship? Yes, Richter would certainly call it that. Though he had just met her, he could feel the friendship developing, at least on his end.

[Ceria]

Ceria never liked sympathy. It was always awkward and it didn't do anything, either, and make any conversation come to a halt.It wasn't like anypony being sad for her was going to change anything. If anything, it made things harder to go about with. Somehow, she was almost relieved when he explained that something similar had happened to him and his sisters. At least he had his sisters, she thought, bitterly. All she had was the ability to go out and fly, but even that was going to disappear soon.

"Me niether," she agreed. You couldn't change the past, so why worry? "Oh, what happened?" she asked, almost liking the change of subject, even though it was still a tough one for her. "I was clearing the skies and a strong gust strained my wing, so I fell. Next thing I knew, I was on the ground in a forest with some deep cuts on my leg and wing." She waited for a moment, trying to keep her cool. That day made her wounds her. "The doctors said that it was really close to being irreparable, but only just. I'll be fine. It's just been taking a long time for it to heal."

She sighed and looked at where they were. "Oh, take a left here."

[Richter]

With a curt nod, Richter turned in the direction Ceria had pointed out, waiting until he was back on the path before speaking up again. The cause of the injury didn't seem too intense, though that didn't change the fact that it had done just enough damage to render her nearly incapable of flight. He couldn't imagine having an injury like that, though working in the guard it was bound to happen some time. Just the idea of sitting out potential battles...well, Richter couldn't even imagine what he'd do in a situation like that! Honestly, he'd probably go out and injure himself even more, since he couldn't stand sitting out for so long. In the long run it'd probably do some permanent damage, but with a spirit like Richter's, the stallion couldn't care less as long it didn't have to do with what was going on right then and there.

"Das a shame," he said, shaking his head. "All dat from a bit'a wind? Must'a been one heckuva gust." The stallion gave one quick glance at the mare's injured wing, imagining a beat-up appendage in its' place. "Couldn't imagine losin' a wing. What's dat make us pegs, eh? I could never handle bein' grounded permanently." Nudging her gently with his shoulder, he added, "Ey, I'd be itchin' to get back in da skies too. But'chu needs ta take it easy, especially if da docs told ya ya could've lost it, y'know?"

[Ceria]

"Oh, it was," she said. It sounded kind of wimpy to her that she was taken down by some wind- she was a pegasus after all!- but it really had been something and it bend her wing back funny. It wasn't something she could have recovered mid-fall, though she wished she had managed something. There was nothing she could do to the past, so she just had to figure out what to do now and hope for the best in the future.

Ceria laughed lightly. "Yeah, a peagsus without being able to use wings? It's like an earth pony not being able to walk; it just doesn't sit right," she sighed. It probably wasn't a fair comparison, but the feeling behind it was the same. It's loosing a piece of you.

"Yeah. I always want to get back up there, so I try to take it easy," she said. There was no way she could stay out of the skies for long. "I won't loose it. The way it is now is so much better than it was a few months ago. The muscle just spazzes every so often. It'll go away in an hour or two," she explained.

She noticed the familiar apple tree, the one that looking like it was windblown as a sapling and was always tilted to the side. "We're almost there," she said.

[Richter]

Richter continued smiling, realizing that he was successful in making Ceria come out of her shell a little bit more. Here the two were, simply chatting and laughing, genuinely having a good time. Well, Richter thought they were having a good time. He couldn't say the same for Ceria just yet, though he was pretty sure that she had warmed up to him already. It was hard not to be friendly with Richter. When she mentioned the fact that her wing was actually doing better than it had been, he couldn't help but feel relieved. "Months?" he wondered. "It took months ta heal? Dang." It was amazing that she could go for so long without going crazy.

For the first time, Richter gave a good glance around at the area they'd been walking through (he'd been quite focused on her the entire time, to be honest). The Apple family's land was truly marvelous; it was quite a break from the hustle and bustle of other towns and cities in Equestria. It was rather nice, honestly, though Richter doubted he'd be able to hang around for long before getting bored. The pegasus was quite a social creature, and it was quite obvious to him that not many ventured out here and hung along for long (unless they lived here, of course). He'd admit that the trees were quite nice, though they couldn't compare to his love for the things found back at the Royal Guard base. Nothing really could compare to him, so he just stopped trying. Everything was always second best.

Richter turned back to Ceria once a little idea popped into his head. "Eey, I think dere's a rehabilitation program fo' guard ponies back in Canterlot. Dey gots professionals who can give ya a bit a therapy ta help build da muscles back up." Yes, he recalled a couple of buds who had gotten injured during the recent changeling attack; one in particular had broken his wing, just as the mare at his side had. "If ya want, I can look inta it for ya...?" It was certainly worth a shot, and he was sure that the therapy would help speed up the healing a bit more. Anything to help a fellow pegasus.