OC Slamjam Round One: Glyph Dance vs. Loud Mouth
The sun was low over Manehatten, the late afternoon preparing to bleed the last of its light into dusk. The din of the city did not abate, but within the mish-mash of sounds, a voice called out.
“See ya tomorrow, Glyph!” A construction worker called out to a departing stallion.
“See you tomorrow, Hard Hat!” the pony replied, waving a hoof at the rest of the off-duty crew. He received various calls from them as well, before he headed off into the city.
Glyph Dance was a cobalt coated Unicorn stallion, with an aquamarine mane and tail, the former neat with slight bangs, while the tail was cropped short to avoid it snagging on something in the construction yard. His Cutie Mark was a simple silver cube wrapped in an aura an identical color to his own lavender one, which matched his eyes. Around his waist a dark brown tool belt hung, an assortment of items stuck inside, including a hammer, nails, screw driver, and a pair of daggers, carefully concealed to avoid a scene with the local guard. You could never be too careful, especially in Manehatten.
The construction yard had been close to Timeless Triangle, and Glyph could hear the sounds of somepony talking through a megaphone. It wasn’t unusual for performances or speeches to take place in Timeless Triangle, and they were often worth a laugh, if not something to pass the time. Like that blue unicorn illusionist with the wacky hat and “better than you” spiel, or the extremely loud and bombastic minotaur who clearly thought the word “subtle” referred to some kind of unground turtle. Intrigued, Glyph found himself angling towards it, drawn to the event for a reason he couldn’t quite place, and found himself in the midst of a crowd listening to a Pegasus giving a motivational speech.
She was pretty, in a way, with her tan coat and blonde mane that probably was called “dirty blonde” for whatever reason. Her mane looked messy, and her wings looked fluffy, the feathers seeming to stand out at random, as if she hadn’t preened them recently, but that gave her a sort of wild look, and for the ponies who were usually out at this time, the young club-and-bar hoppers generally, it appealed to them. Her Cutie Mark was a radio microphone with silver colored sound waves coming from it, and a big smile was on her face as she spoke to the crowd that had gathered.
Glyph listened, and felt himself nodding along with some of what she said. A lot of what the mare was saying was more or less standard; “dream big,” “believe in yourself,” “don’t give up.” The sort of things that were Motivational 101. But the way she said them resonated with Glyph. She spoke with conviction and in a way that told him she too believed in what she was saying. And that made it resonate with the young unicorn all the more strongly.
Her speech ended after a while, and an Earth Pony walked up to the stage beside her amidst the applause. “Thank you for that! A hearty round of applause for Miss Loud Mouth!” the Earth Pony said, waving and smiling. “Our next guest…” Glyph tuned it out, the show over, for him at least, and he wandered out of the crowd to find dinner somewhere.
But even as he trotted away, something in him had sparked to life. Hearing the mare, Loud Mouth as she had been introduced, had rekindled a desire in him that had lain dormant for a long time. Glyph Dance had spent several years on the road, learning about his magic, testing its limits, and exploring the vastness of Equestria. It had been a wonderful experience, but he’d eventually settled down in Manehatten after five years being more or less a vagabond. By day, he worked with the Big Building Construction Co., using his abnormally strong telekinesis to move heavy loads quickly and safely. And at night on the weekends he moonlighted as a bouncer for the Strobe Light dance club, tossing out unruly or drunk ponies. And it was a good life, he wasn’t complaining. He had friends, good co-workers and bosses, and he made a decent amount of bits. But recently, he’d been feeling cooped up in Manehatten. His years of wandering had given him itchy hooves, he supposed, though he’d never worked up the courage to do anything about it. After listening to Loud Mouth’s speech, his desires burned brightly once more, and he felt his courage grow.
The night was here fully now, the moon hanging high in the star speckled sky, and after finishing a quick meal at a nearby diner, Glyph Dance found himself walking through the park outside of Timeless Triangle. He felt it would do him good to get some training in. Glyph made his way to the edge of the small lake in the park, and closed his eyes, his horn glowing. Soon, large blobs of water lifted out of the lake, gripped in a lavender magic field, and began to dance about. Opening his eyes, Glyph carefully moved his water around, sometimes separating the larger blobs into smaller ones, and other times merging small ones into bigger ones. It took a lot of concentration to merge telekinetic fields quickly and easily, and if you weren’t careful, the objects being manipulated could become damaged. That was why Glyph practiced with water.
In the moderate darkness, the park lit by lamps, distant neon signs, and the bright moon, Glyphs lavender-glowing water blobs were quite visible, and their dance almost mesmerizing. After a few minutes, Glyph could feel his magic being strained. Merging and separating magic fields was taxing for any unicorn, and he felt that this was enough training for one night. He released his magic, and the water fell back into the lake with soft splashes.
The sound of clapping broke the silence, and Glyph jumped in surprise, spinning around to face the audience. Behind him, seated on a nearby bench, was the Pegasus from earlier, Loud Mouth. She gave him a sheepish grin, one that Glyph returned with a hint more embarrassment, and trotted over.
“I didn’t see you when I came over,” he said, awkwardly, and she nodded.
“I came a bit after you started. It was really impressive! You’ve got a lot of control!”
“Thank you, miss. Do you mind if I sit down?” Loud Mouth shook her head, and scooted over a bit, letting Glyph take a seat on the bench next to her.
“I heard your speech earlier. It was really good,” he began, and he saw her smile become a bit forced.
“Really? Thank you.”
“In fact,” Glyph continued, “you inspired me to try and do something I’d been wanting to do for a while.”
“I’m glad to have been of help.” They lapsed into silence for a while, Glyph unsure of what to talk about. After an awkward few moments, he glanced over to look at Loud Mouth. She was staring through the trees, her gaze latched onto the semi-visible billboard that stood near the entrance to the park. It was showing an advertisement for the city’s premier radio station, Manehatten 93.6 “The Mane Event.” There was a hungry, longing look in Loud Mouth’s eyes, one that surprised Glyph.
“You’re interested in radio?” he hazarded, and she nodded.
“It’s how I got my Cutie Mark. I was working as an errand runner for the Cloudsdale radio station, 97.4 “the Bolt,” when a freak storm struck and no one was around to deliver the emergency weather bulletin. I ended up taking the initiative, and wound up giving updates and warnings, as well as general news, for six hours straight. It was exhilarating, and then I got this.” She wiggled her flank a bit, showing off her Cutie Mark. “My dream then became to host a radio show, just talking and being listened to by hundreds. But no one would hire me. I’ve tried to get into the business, but I’m always offered menial jobs, or bit pieces, and while I worked them, they just weren’t giving me any satisfaction. After a while, I wound up working for a friend, giving motivational speeches around Equestria. It’s alright, but again I just don’t enjoy it as much as I wish I could. Now here I am, 31 years old, and unhappy with my life.” Loud Mouth sighed, and Glyph felt a pang of sympathy for her.
“While I don’t know how that feels exactly, I do understand how it is to be unappreciated.” Glyph began. “You see, I only know one spell; telekinesis. My Cutie Mark displays that fact. And my family is all unicorns, and they all have varied spells. Not a lot of variation, but being a one-trick unicorn is, well, unusual.”
“Were you bullied a lot?” Loud Mouth asked, curious about where this was going.
“Yup. Other Unicorns made fun of my lack of spells, and generally gave me grief. It was hard.” Glyph sighed, thinking back on his past. “But you know what? It made me stronger, in a way. I only have telekinesis, but my power has been honed to be one of the strongest, if not the strongest, telekinesis-fields in Equestria. I can lift over a ton at once, or lift dozens of smaller things simultaneously. And I practice my skills everyday, so I get better and better.”
“Well, that’s nice and all…”
“There’s no one job I can do, is what I’m getting at,” Glyph said, interrupting the Pegasus mare. “I don’t know what I want with my life, or what I want to do with my talents. Sure, there’s a lot I can use it for, but why would I?” At this, Glyph turned to Loud Mouth. “But you? You know what you want to do! You know what you can do with your gift! And even though it isn’t what you may want exactly, you still do it, and do it well! When I heard you speaking, it encouraged me to go out and find a purpose.” There was silence once more, but it was a contemplative sort. Eventually, Loud Mouth smiled.
“Maybe you should get into the motivational speech business, with that kind of talk.”
Glyph snorted in amusement. “Maybe I will!” The pair shared a laugh, all tension gone, replaced with a smooth sort of comradery. Time passed, and eventually Glyph got off the bench, preparing to head home.
“I wish you all the luck in the world for you dreams to come true, Loud Mouth. And even if they don’t, well, at least you tried!”
“Thank you. I never got your name, by the way.”
“It’s Glyph Dance.”
“Well, Glyph Dance, since you know my dream, it’s only fair you share yours.” Glyph paused, before smirking.
“Well, if you insist.” Glyph turned to face the moon, and stood up on his hind legs, forelegs thrown wide open. “My dream is to one day have the telekinetic power to move the sun and moon all on my own!”
Loud Mouth stared at him, before bursting into peals of laughter. “That’s… really? Eh-heh… wow, you’ve got a long way to go!” Glyph got back on all fours, and turned back to Loud Mouth with a wide smile.
“Indeed I do! And even if it’s impossible, Guess what?” He leaned forward. “It’s still my dream!” With a laugh, he turned away, walking off into the night, leaving behind a chuckling mare to her own thoughts.
“So, you’re really leaving?”
“’Fraid so, Hard Hat. I’ve got the itchy hooves, and I just can’t sit still anymore.” Glyph Dance was standing in a small office, face to face with Hard Hat, his boss. The Earth Pony sighed, but gave the younger unicorn an encouraging smile.
“You’re a good worker, and a better pony. I hope you find whatever it is you’re looking for. And if you ever need a job, well, just stop on by, and we’ll find something for ya.”
“Thank you Hard Hat. It’s been a pleasure working with you,” Glyph said, giving his ex-boss a hoof-bump.
“Back at ya.”
Leaving the tiny building that served as the office complex, Glyph found himself taking a deep breath of the morning air. He’d given his leave notice to the Strobe Light, and now was free from the construction job. He’d paid several months’ rent on his tiny apartment in order to keep it under his name for a year, since he didn’t want carry all of his belongings around with him. Instead, Glyph had only a duffle bag filled with some basic necessities and bits, and of course, his tool belt around his waist.
Smiling to himself Glyph trotted out to the train station, ready to begin the next leg of his journey. He didn’t know what he would find, but he was certain it would be an adventure.
Elsewhere in the city, Loud Mouth was humming happily to herself, her mood noticeably better since before.
“So, did something happen last night?” One of her co-workers asked, sidling up next to her. “Meet a special pony out and about?”
“I did, actually. And he gave me something I hadn’t expected.”
“Oh?” her friend asked, raising an eyebrow suggestively.
“He gave me inspiration.” Smiling to herself at the memory of last night, Loud Mouth looked out a nearby window at Manehatten, briefly wondering what Glyph Dance was doing.
“I hope he has a good trip.” With a spring in her step, Loud Mouth trotted off, ready to face another day.