It Takes A Slum To Know A Slum (Masquerade/MoonLemon)

"Well I must say I wanted to know, but if you don't want to talk about it here, then that's okay with me." Star nodded politely, "It must be an intriguing tale." she grinned, taking a bit of her pizza.

"I'm actually here on business. A friend of mine had some information on something I'm working on, but I'm afraid I can't tell anypony before it's done." she said sorrowfully, "I thought I'd lost what she gave me when the paper disappeared, luckily, May found it." she smiled, "Where do your parents live SnapDragon?" she asked curiously, completely unaware of the filly's orphanness.

The pizza arrived at the perfect time. Now they could just enjoy themselves, not having to worry. Well, Stargazer worry anyway. But the filly would try to have fun. She didn't get a lot of opportunities like this everyday, though probably more than the common street-rat, since she was a bit friendlier. Snapdragon understood that Star couldn't tell what she was working on. Everypony was allowed secrets. Everypony, and anypony who says otherwise either is silly, a gossip, misunderstanding, or all of the above.

The next question caught her off guard, but she quickly recovered. "My parents...? Oh, they live in a forest outside of town. I could bring you there, if you'd like, after we finish eating." She explained. There was SOMETHING outside town in the forest. Not her house of course, that had burned down. But there was her father's hideout, a spacious, multi-level shelter of peace and study that took place in a hollow tree. She made up her mind, coming into an idea. "Yeah! And then I could tell you the reason once we're there! Does... Does that sound alright?" The filly asked, yet to take a bite of pizza.

"that sounds lovely" Star smiled, noting the filly's moment of shock. "I'd love to go there, it sounds nice." she grinned, "Are you going to have any? It's quite good." she asked, nodding to the pizza.

She wondered why the filly wasn't having any, after all, she had said she liked pizza. But, Star wouldn't ask no matter how curious she was. Even though she was a scientist who always asked questions, she could tell when asking them came to no avail.

The filly nodded her head. Of course. Star had went through all the trouble of ordering them a large pizza, it would be rude not to eat any, right? She had just been nervous. But... she was starting to settle down. Stargazer seemed like such a kind pony. She would understand. With a small nod, Snapdragon levitate a piece near her mouth. She then took a decent bite, closing her eyes and chewing slowly.

It was delicious. Just delicious. A look of bliss and taste came over her face. It was cheesy and gooey and hot and delectable and so, so very yummy. Tasty. Wonderful. Savor-able. Again, she'll repeat, just delicious. She quickly finished the piece, trying to savor it, but it was hard. It was just too good. She levitated another, but paused to say something to Star. "This is great! Thank you so much!"

"Of course, you seem rather hungry." she smiled, not mentioning the filly's magic. She thought there had been something about that hat......

"Please, have as much as you want." she giggled, taking another slice. "I'm sure glad I met you, Snapdragon."

Star grinned sweetly, she was fairly sure the filly was hiding something. Her knowledge of the pony psyche is rather large, and if you add that to her scientific interests, she can guess nearly anything correctly.

The filly blushed lightly, tainting her cheeks in a cute pink. She turned her head away before looking back at her, slightly embarrassed. Usually she was the one to say things like that. The moment of flushing passed quickly though, replaced by a return of the feelings. "I'm really glad too! I don't get to talk to a lot of ponies a lot as interesting as you, nor barely ever go into a place like this!" She admitted, gesturing to the pizza shop. An idea for conversation popped into Snapdragon's mind. The filly took off her patchy hat, putting it on the table beside her as she unclothed her horn. "Hey, do you know any good spells?" She asked, bopping her horn with her hoof lightly. "I only use the basics, and fire magic. I don't ever really have the opportunities to learn new magic. But you're a unicorn too. If I can ask, are you any good at magic? It's okay if you're not."

"Well, I'm not bad at them." she said with a smile, "I've done research on many spells, and even tried creating one-it doesn't work." she laughed, "But, mistakes are made in the scientific world. I do know of a rather basic and easy spell. It's called the 'Mask Spell." It can change the appearance of the user to anything you dream of. But, it has to be done in a mirror and lasts for two days." Star explained carefully, "There are no side-effects that I have seen so far, so it's safe for you to try it. I could teach you later on." she grinned.

As a matter of fact, Star knew many spells. Most of them were to help with her research, but some proved useful in other ways.

"Wow! That sounds amazing!" Snapdragon admitted. She could just imagine all the things she could do... she could make herself look like a noble... oh, but even better, it could make it so that whenever she stole something, she could use a different face! ...But that would be very dishonest. Besides, what if she accidentally made herself look like a pony already living in Manehattan? What if they got caught because of her. What if they were PUNISHED? Oh, she would feel absolutely horrible! Besides, she didn't want to make theft her main job. That was supposed to be Alchemy. Even though sometimes, she will admit, stealing a piece of bread or even a small gem gave a pony such a thrill, such a rush of adrenaline and freedom. Though it was hard for her to ever steal something big, since her conscience would just pile up the guilt every night after.

But... with that spell... she could look like a dragon. A real, live, fire-breathing, scaly, dragon. Well, some of them weren't scaly. Or fire-breathing. Or, in a few ugly cases, alive, but that didn't matter. She could find a nice drake and become his friend, meeting him only twice a month at some certain rock outside some certain forest, and they would talk and go on adventures and laugh and cry... And while they grew older into the ages of teen years and into a a full-grown adult, it would grow to be more than friendship... but love. And then, during one of their meeting, her spell would sputter out, and the drake would see how she truly was... and accept it. Then, they could be togetherm as pony and dragon, forever...

Wah. She pulled herself back to reality. She only got that way when it had something to do with stuff like that. Especially dragons. But changeling were nice too. Their fangs were so handsome. But she was getting way too ahead of herself, getting way too  excited. "I would love to try it! Though... er, sometimes, when I try new spells or I get really excited, my magic-"

Ah. Like now. Her pizza, which had been levitated by her, was still as such, but with one more factor.

It was on fire.

Star giggled, "Oh dear. I suppose first you'll need to master magic. Have your parents not been teaching you?" she asked, taking her glass of water and putting the fire out, "Oh, I'm afraid your pizza's all wet now." she wore an apologetic smile, "If you'd like, I could teach you to control your magic." she offered politely, taking a bite of pizza as if nothing happened. She didn't even note the filly's lack of concentration for a moment there.

She finished her pizza quickly, taking a sip of water. "It won't be easy. But I can help." she grinned.

The filly blinked. At first, she got incredibly excited. But then she had to think. She wanted to be better at magic, but she didn't have time for it. Not to be rude, but she literally didn't have time. Her days were already filled up with doing things just to get on with her survival. Learning more and better magic was only open to ponies who were not only surviving, but already thriving, and had time. But it would seem mean to say no to Stargazer. Besides, Snapdragon did, in fact, want to be better.

"I would very much like that." She said truthfully. "But how long are you staying in Manehattan? I wouldn't want to hinder your adventures... or get you stuck taking care of me. So, I would love to, as long as it doesn't give you any troubles."

"I have time, I'm supposed to be stationed here for about 6 months. And in the meantime, I'd love to teach you about magic. And don't worry, you don't look like a filly who needs taking care of anyways. Plus, my apartment is too large for just me. While I train you, would you like to stay with me? As long as it's alright with your parents of course." Star offered. It was true her apartment was too big for just her, though she didn't mind. She was used to having so much space to herself.

Honestly, she wouldn't mind having company. She got lonely from time to time. The filly was the perfect one to fill that spot. Star laughed to herself, "I have no problem with it."

A place to stay? Even though it was very temporary, it meant a lot to her. It was also a big step, a scary step. She felt a small surge of panic inside. Would her parents want her to do this? What if they thought her doing this showed she wasn't grateful for what they had done for her? That she had moved on? No, she would never move on. She loved her parents, and would never forget. And they would wonder why she even thought twice to not say yes to such a perfect deal as this. She quickly came to a decision.

"I would love to." She admitted, and grinned from ear to ear. This was going to be amazing. She would finally learn magic again! She hadn't learned anything new since that on performer came to the city a few years back, and she had only learned to make a little fire star anyway. That was just for looks. This was REAL. Snapdragon continued eating the delicious pizza.

"So... once we're done here, do you want to go to the place in the woods so we can ask me parents?"

"Sure. That would be lovely." Star smiled. She finished her third slice of pizza, then leaned back in her chair.

"Man I'm stuffed." she laughed, "You can have as much as you want, then I'll take the rest to go."

(sorry for the shortness)

Snapdragon had barely finished her second piece. "Ah, I'm pretty full too..." She said, giggling a little sheepishly. Though the filly wouldn't tell Star this, she wasn't used to eating a lot, so being able to have as much as she wanted was too much for her usually undernourished stomach. She was both excited and dreading the inevitable explaining she would have to do once they reached her father's study. No, excited was the right word. She just wanted somepony to talk to. Though she was a very anti-social looking filly, it wasn't that way on purpose. She loved friends. She even more loved friends that were almost closer than family. Sadly, Misfit had never gotten a friend like that in her life, except maybe one filly when she was much younger. But that other foal had moved away once Snapdragon hit the 3rd grade.

"So, should we go?"


(OOC: It's fiiiiine~)

"Sure, just let me package this up first.." Star nodded, getting a plastic box and placing the rest of the pizza in it. "Lead the way Snapdragon." she smiled, following the filly.

She really wanted to meet this filly's parents (not knowing she had none). Whoever raised such a pony deserved gratitude. Of course, Star wondered why the filly had been in the alley in the first place. What parents would allow their daughter to hang out in the backstreets?

As they walked out of the restaurant, Misfit couldn't help but feel nervous. But she hadn't done anything wrong. She never said her parents were... well, alive. She hadn't said they were deceased either. But Star hadn't asked. But... what if she took back her invitation of staying with her? What if she took this as lying?

No. She had to stop being so gloomy! This wasn't like her at all, worrying about things like this. Life is life, and she had to live it to the fullest! The filly smiled at the cyan mare. "Okay!" They then began their journey to outside the city.

She knew exactly where she was going, though by the way she walked, you wouldn't think it. Sometimes she would look like she was about to go straight, but she suddenly turned right, or took a sharp left unexpectantly. This was only because she was thinking while she walked.

While they walked, she tried to make up some chat to pass the time. "So..." She tried to think of a subject, any subject. "So, who's you're special somepony? If you don't mind me asking."

Star chuckled a bit at this, "I'm afraid I don't have a special somepony." With a smile, she followed Snapdragon closely, turning when she turned, etc.

Star had hoped there might be something with Stormy, but he hadn't said anything, so neither did she. He certainly was something, and Star admired his knowledge and storytelling more than anything. She wished she could see him again.

"How far away is this place?" Star wondered curiously.

Snapdragon stared back at Stargazer for a moment. "Wha? You don't? I-I'm sorry, I just assumed, since you're so smart and pretty and kind... But it's your choice, of course." She thought for a minute, continuing to walk as they were nearly to the outskirts of the city. "I really don't know what's going on in a stallion's head..." She finally remarked. She spoke honestly. Star was a wonderful mare, everything you would want in a mate. A bit quirky too, which made her even better. They passed the fence and gate that led to outside the city, and you could see the trees of a forest in the distance.

"We're almost to the forest!" She assured Star. "We'll get there quicker if we run." The filly grinned.
She may not be strong, but she was quick. little blighter.

"How about a race?"

Star giggled a bit, "I don't really care much for it." she noted with a smile. The filly seemed to be bursting with joy as she asked for a race. Star laughed a bit,

"Sure let's race. I don't exactly know where the house is, so it's not fair. But I'm game." she chuckled, stopping. She drew a line in the dirt with her hoof, "Okay, this is the starting line." she explained, standing behind it.

"Okay, I'll do that countdown." and with a laugh, a board appeared above their heads. On it was the number 3. It started to countdown.

3
2
1
go! showed up, and Star darted off into the forest. She ran slowly, keeping the filly in sight.

Snapdragon took off, bursting with energy and speed. This was fun! She may be thin and wiry, but that helped with running. She tried to make sure not to trip, which could happen easily because of her long legs. She galloped like this for awhile, completely determined.

As she ran, she suddenly felt an absence. She looked over her shoulder, only to see Star a bit far behind. She knew that the mare could run faster then that... Was she running slow to make sure Snapdragon won? Well, that kind of lost the whole competition ordeal... "Star! Are you letting me win...?" She called back to the cyan pony, a slightly accusatory tinge to her voice, but more jokingly then angry. She gazed back, waiting for an answer...

SLAM!! She ran head-first into a tree on the edges of the forest. After the shock of the impact and the sore pain, she shook her head, trying to rid of the hurt. But she couldn't. Her head wouldn't move. Looking up, she realized her horn was stuck in an oak.

She involuntarily swore. "Oh, buck..."

Star laughed, "No silly. I just don't want to get lost!" she called. She was catching up and the filly was talking, but suddenly she crashed into a tree. Star sped up, worried.

"Oh my gosh! Are you okay Misfit?" she asked with concern, ignoring the filly's curse word slip up. "Ooh, that looks a little painful." she giggled, "Here let me help you." Carefully, she placed her hooves around Misfit's horn and tried to pull it out. It didn't work, so she stopped for fear of hurting the girl.

"hm." she said, stepping back. "I have an idea." she cautiously focused her magic, attempted to cast a spell to pull her out. She used her magic to pick the filly up, and tried to pull her out.

(I'll leave it up to you to decide if it works)

"Uh... yeah, I think I am..." The filly replied to Stargazer's concern. She winced as the mare pulled at her horn. It was somehow ironic: The first time she showed he horn to somebody in a month, and she ends up getting it stuck in a tree.

Before she could question Star's idea, Misfit felt her hooves suddenly levitate of the ground, the pressure of the unicorn's magic making her ears pop. She felt the magic pulling, trying to pull her out of the wood. It was so close, there was just a little notch that wouldn't come clean...

Snapdragon let some of her own magic surge into the oak, breaking away the knot of wood that was holding her horn captive. With a sharp creak, she was out. She shook her head, making sure she had no splinters. Splinters were hard to get in a horn, but when it DID happen, it was extremely painful. Luckily, there was no excess wood to be seen. She turned and grinned at Star. "Thanks, I re-" But then felt a warm glow on her back. She turned back to the now punctured oak...

And it was on fire. It was burning slowly, since the tree was still green and sappy and alive, but... "Ahhhhh...oops...." She smiled sheepishly. "Umm... can you help? It seems whenever I use magic a trace of fire comes with it..." She asked the Stargazer, rubbing the back of her head, embarrassed.

Stargazer giggled a little bit, "It's alright. Just a little mishap, happened to me all the time." she nodded. With a wave of her hoof her horn glowed a light primrose, and a silver bucket appeared.

"This should do the trick." she commented to herself, raising the bucket above the tree. She tilted it and blue water flowed freely from it, swiftly putting out the burning tree.

"There, all better." she grinned at Misfit, "Where to?"

Misfit felt relieved to know she wasn't the only young unicorn with certain 'combustion' problems with her magic. She was also relieved the fire was out. If left alone with a sparky little flame, she could get a little curious. And sometimes curiosity was the potential for... ahem, accidents. Her cheeks were tinged with rosy-pink, embarrassed still. "Thanks..."

The filly perked up at the question. "Oh, now that we're a the edge of the forest, just follow me!" She answered, gesturing with a toss of her head. She then began trotting into the trees.

The forest was only decent-looking when they first started walking, but once they got a little deeper, everything adorned bright, alive colors. The trees, a picture of pines, oaks, ashes, birches, poplars, and more, each vibrantly showing their differences like a well-thought-out collage. Plush mushrooms sprouted from roots and thin shimmering-clear streams trickled around the bright grassy terrain. "There's four depths of the forest," she explained as they walked, "There's the common outside one, which makes it seems like any common forest. Then there's this on, which I really really like. This is the one the house is in. But then, if you go deeper, it gets really jungle-y. I only go there to get some Alchemy herbs and stuff. There's a lot of sink-holes there, so you need to be careful. The 4th depth... well, I've never been there. My dad told me not to go there." After a minute more or two of walking, they come upon a small clearing.

In the middle of the clearing stood a huge tree. It swiveled slightly at the base, and the thick roots curled up from the soft earth. A few yellow-glinted windows showed from the shadowed hollows, along with a broken stone-path that led up to a quaint little door. At first, one would think the tree had gems plastered to it's deep jade leaves, but upon closer a closer look, you would fine they were not in fact jewels, but beads of dew, hundreds upon hundreds beads of dew. "This is a tree my dad would call a 'Dewy'." The filly explained. "They are related to desert plants, so they don't need much water, but their roots still suck a lot up instinctively. So they get rid of the extra water from the leaves, which makes sure even the tiny buttercups get their share of a drink. Daddy planted it himself." She smiled proudly at her knowledge. "So, what do you think?"

Star followed Misfit, trotting through the common forest with little interest. Her eyes grew wide with surprise as they entered the second depth of the forest, making a slight 'O' with her mouth. "Wow! It's beautiful." she gazed in awe in all directions, staring at the gorgeous foliage and colors.

"I would love to study this forest. It's very different and unique." Star walked next to Misfit, slightly behind the filly. "Four depths huh?" she said wonderingly. She stopped upon entering the clearing, staring at the tree. "Wow, how did he make this? It's absolutely amazing. Mustof taken a lot of skill."