Just outside the castle: Starhopper arrives

[starhopper]

((i am just copying and pasteing my thread in the other board here. i hope this is ok??))


*Starhopper concentrated from the center of the City of Landoware, flashing a last smile at Queen Krikket, queen of the elves. With a deep breath, she winked out, traveling to what she hoped was her destination of Ponyland. She was 10 when she was last there, and she wanted to see what had changed. Keeping in mind what her Mysticaran unicorn friend had said just before she left Newport for the City of Landoware, she sighed a little. Maybe Athara was right, home is never the same after you leave. No matter, she will know as soon as she opened her eyes. She felt the soft grass under her hooves already. She looked around, and breathed in the fresh air. Seeing the castle not so far away, she let out a whinny of joy as she kicked her rear hooves out, acting like a young filly. Blushing slightly, she settled down and looked around more carefully.*

"I guess I have finally made it back," she muttered to herself. "Now what?"

*She stood for a little bit, just breathing in the air. Mysticara never had as fresh air as this. Neither did the place she visited before, Earth. SHe was glad to be back, for the time being. She smiled, knowing she would eventually get bored and wink someplace new again.*

[Crescent]

[[since what he was doing earlier on DV is officially ended as the royal family has left Dream Valley, I'm bringing Starshine over to meet her, if it's all right. ^-^]]

A white pegasus stallion was walking on the soft grass, his head slightly hung and his rainbow mane halfway on his eyes. He had the strong form of an experienced warrior, which was likely why it was so easy to define him for a male despite the fact that he had no feathering on his hooves. He hadn't noticed Starhopper's arrival but was not far away from her, walking in his thoughts in her general direction. Starshine had not had a good few days. His brother's unexpected return had only served to make him angry, and the departure of the royal family - well, Starshine felt himself more or less responsible. He felt he should have been able to protect them well enough so they would not have needed to leave. He felt he had disappointed every expectation laid on him.

[starhopper]

*Looking over at the pegasus, she blushed a little, hoping he didn't catch her acting so silly. tossing a stray lock of mane out of her face, she trotted toward him. He looked as if he had not had a good day, but Starhopper was just excited about seeing another pony. It had been what? five, maybe six years since she has seen another pony. She cleared her throat politely before speaking.*

excuse, me, but i am new here, i guess you could say. my name's Starhopper.

*the sun qlinted off the metallic strands of her hair and the glittery fur on her sides as she smiled nicely at the pegasus.*

[Crescent]

Starshine tossed his head up in surprise when Starhopper suddenly appeared so close to him - it almost felt to him as though she had just winked in, but he supposed it was because he had been too deep in his thoughts to notice her. He looked at the unicorn with a dazed expression for a few moments. He didn't recognise her. That was odd. He recognised most of the ponies who lived in Dream Valley - or at least made his very best to.

His expression melted from dazed into friendly, however - there was no reason to suspect she was an enemy.

"Ah... hello," he said. He stopped walking and stood, his metallic coloured symbol sparkling in the sunlight. "I am Starshine, a guard of the castle. May I help you?"

[starhopper]

"well, i don't know, really. i haven't been around here since i was a child. i've been exploring, and just returned a few minutes ago, actually. "

*she glanced around a little.*

"it's not much like i remember, but then, it's been a long time for me. maybe you can fill me in on what's been going on. in a nutshell, though," she chuckled a little. "i got involved in some politics not so long ago, that i didn't really want to be involved in, so really, a basic idea would be best."

[Crescent]

Starshine looked at her curiously, despite himself a little fascinated.

"Well, I don't know where to start," he said and then sighed a bit, tossing his head and tail, and while doing so, turned to look behind him to the castle. There was a sad expression in his eyes. "As far as politics goes, you have arrived at a bad time if you wish to stay unaware of politics. The Locket has been stolen by pirates." He shook his head and looked back at her. "The Royal Family has fled Dream Valley. We are... quite at a loss as to what we should do, and then there is a strange disease creeping along in our midst."

He smiled ruefully.

"Still, I welcome you, Starhopper." He bowed his head briskly in greeting. "Do you have a place to stay? I would be more than happy to offer you lodging at the castle if you do not."

[starhopper]

"pirates and disease? the fates must have known what they were doing then, when i got a touch of homesickness. there is not much i can do in the way of healing, but i would be glad to help in any way that i can."

*she shook her head a little*

"as far as where i am staying, i would be glad to take up your offer of staying in the castle. i have recently returned from a long journey, and i never even thought of what to do once i got back. now that i am here, i am at a lost as to what to do next. i appreciate your warm welcome, especially in hard times like these."

*she bowed her head in respect to him, the way she had learned in landoware. she never even thought whether other ponies would think her mannerisms odd, she had been influenced by many cultures, and adopted some of their ways as her own.*

[Crescent]

Starshine smiled and bowed his head also, not unaccustomed to such mannerisms.

"No need, no need," he said kindly. "Trying times require more from all of us, but they are the times that test our hearts. Come," he said and nodded his head toward the castle. "I will take you to the castle. I can tell you meanwhile everything you may want to know."

He was more or less deliberately not mentioning anything about his recent appointment as the Guardian of the throne. He felt honoured by the choice and would never have bragged about such a thing.

[starhopper]

*she followed him in, glad to have been welcomed as warmly as she had been. after seeing the sights she has seen, she knew that not everywhere was as nice as home.*

"i have no questions for the moment, really. just a need to rest after such a long transportation. i will be glad to answer any question from you also, in case you have any."

*she was eager to share some of her adventures, but did not want to bore the stallion if he didn't want to hear them. he seemed to have something heavy on his mind, and she hoped that he would ask, if only to get him to forget his troubles for a little bit*

[Crescent]

Starshine looked at Starhopper curiously as he started to walk toward the castle, at a leisurely speed as there was no hurry. It seemed to him that there was no hurry at all in Dream Valley, though there should have been the worst hurry in the world. The Locket was stolen and a strange disease was creeping over the world, and yet there was no hurry here. It felt strange to him.

He did take the unicorn's offer for asking questions gladly, however. It would be good to get his mind off of troubling thoughts.

"Well, I do have one," he said with a gentle smile. "I wonder where you're coming from."

[starhopper]

*starhopper smiled back*

"as to that, i'm not so sure you'd believe me. but i came here from a totally different world. i'm not sure i could tell you where that world is, but it's really amazing!"

*it was easy to tell she was excited about her recent adventure.*

"the people there called themselves elves, and i was able to help them reestablish their city after an attack from some undead. they called me an emissary of athara. it was interesting... apparently, their goddess was a unicorn. of course, i never met her, but still!"

*she suddenly stopped, realizing she was babbling, and blushed a little.*

[starhopper]

(( ooc: *creak creak creak* crickets are nice for this time of year ))

[Crescent]

[[lol yes, crickets are quite enjoyable. Not to worry... I'll come scatter off the crickets as soon as I get the chance... hopefully soon. There are a couple of crickets in our thread in Highlands too... *wink wink* ]]

[Sweet Pop]

(( lol. when my new character is stamped i might bring her in if you all dont mind. ))

[starhopper]

crescent said:

[[lol yes, crickets are quite enjoyable. Not to worry... I'll come scatter off the crickets as soon as I get the chance... hopefully soon. There are a couple of crickets in our thread in Highlands too... *wink wink* ]]

((lol, gah! now i feel bad... it's been a couple of weeks since i've been to h.m.! *runs off to check things out there.* hee hee, i've had a LOT of b.s. going on with college lately.....))

[Crescent]

[[lol 'tis okay, I just thought to note here in case you'd forgotten... And SweetPop, certainly you can bring yours in. I'll try to reply to this now so we can move on.]]

Starshine was taken aback at first by her tale. Names and events seemed to float past him he couldn't grasp, and he walked forward in silence as he attempted to take it all in. A different world? He had to fight down the urge to ask her where the world is. She said she could not tell, he should take her word for it. As his responsibilities in the Valley had grown recently, he had to take a practical and wary view on the matter. He couldn't quite decide what to make of her. She seemed earnest enough, but Starshine wondered if it truly was the truth.

As she stopped and blushed, seeming embarrassed, he scolded himself mentally for all the suspicion. What would become of him and Dream Valley, if he were to suspect every fellow pony of evil?

"It sounds like you've had... quite an adventure in this land... land of the Elves," he said, nodding. He flicked his tail as he turned his eyes forwards, toward the Dream Castle. "I am sorry that we can't offer you much rest here. Dangerous times are upon us, like I said... well." He arched his neck, blowing air firmly from his nostrils. "You have some powers, I expect, I have never heard of... since you can travel to other worlds."

He still wasn't completely convinced that he believed her, but it was not polite to openly suspect.

[starhopper]

*well, my powers all seem to be tied to travelling. unfortunatly, i can't seem to wink to places nearby without a lot of concentration. and oddly enough, i never seem to wink to the same place twice, and everytime i winked somewhere that was far away, it was a totally different world. sadly, i don't think i could tell anyone where the worlds are because all the stars are different, or at least in different positions in the sky. it's quite complicated, and hard for me to explain, but they have no way to travel off their worlds, at least, not for a long time yet."

*she looked thoughtful for a moment, thinming of what starshine had said about the times of the place. perhaps her thoughts of remaining seperated from everything here was wrong. these were her people, not some strange creatures... she still had to learn about them, but at least they were the same as she was. well, for the most part. she alsmost giggled out loud... her spakly body was different then starshine's white coat, that was for sure.*

"as far as difficult times. when i rest a bit, i will be glad to help in any waythat i can. perhaps my disinvolvment is not the right way to go about things. i have to remember that i am not a stranger here, well, in race anyway. i am a pony as all of you are too, so i will help in what way i can. this is my homeland, and it would not be right to just sit back and let things fall."

*she looked around the castle curiously. she had been in plenty of castles that were mae for two-legged elves and humans, but never been in a castle made and designed specifically for ponies. she almost felt out of place, even if it was her homeland.*

[Becka Pone]

Comet was lonlier than he'd ever been across the Rainbow. Karma was gone to Ponyville to help watch the nursery, Bella had followed just a day ago, Kail was off saving the world again (why didn't Comet ever get to save the world? He was older than she), and Canto was sick in bed. He'd sent Comet out for something... soup maybe? Chicken with noddles? Puh, Comet had no idea why a pony would eat such a strange thing, but Canto had already tried to explain the differences in the pony digestion system from that of the horses across the rainbow. He had a book on it somewhere, by a great PonyTown scientist, if only he could find it in the piles of books that littered the house. Then again, Comet couldn't read.

Taking the long way to the grocery store (which was just down the street actually), Comet trotted around Dream Valley for a while, hoping to see a friend. Of course, he didn't have many friends, being freakishly tall and symbol-less. Still, Comet was very nice to everyone he came across, and when he came across a pony that glowed with sparklies all over her body, he couldn't help but run over in excitement.

"Holy Rainbows, you look so cool!" He smiled down at Starhopper with a big goofy grin.

[Crescent]

Starshine listened to Starhopper quietly, quite impressed by her apparent experience. He began to wonder if she might be of help indeed, even if it seemed like they needed miracles rather than anything else. He had difficulty in coming up with a reply when she was finished, but just then a new pony arrived to the scene. Starshine jumped back a little when Comet ran to them. He said nothing as he stood aside, allowing the other two converse. His mind went back to his duties at the castle. Oh, how he wished he would have known what had happened to Princess Rain. And if her disappearance had anything to do with his brother Skydancer... he grit his teeth, his attention and thoughts quite diverted from what was physically going on around him.

[starhopper]

admin said:

"Holy Rainbows, you look so cool!" He smiled down at Starhopper with a big goofy grin.

((ooc: i hope i am interpreting comet right! he is a horse? or at least horse looking??))
*starhopper jumped at the sudden appearance of the new pony, correct that, he appeared to be a horse.*

"well, actually, i am quite warm, thank you," she smiled back at him. "i am starhopper."

*she wasn't sure how to react to him. he had a contagious grin, though.*