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

(iz hokai! x3)

Star smiled through Misfit's explanation, noting the few times she stuttered. So hewasa scientist, how fascinating, just like me! Then the filly went on about the Everfree Forest, though Star already knew of it, having gone exploring there multiple times during her stay in Ponyville.

She gave the blue pony a kind smile, "Oh I should know, the Everfree Forest is wonderful, though most of the ponies in Ponyville find it too horrifying to enter." The mare put on a thoughtful expression, "It's not as bad as most would think though."

"So... w-what are your parents like?" The cyan unicorn started at this, her brows creasing together.

"My parents..." she began quietly, pausing to sip her soup, "They were very kind, I remember. My dad bought me a telescope when I was three, and my mom always supported my many experiments." Star drank a little of the juice before returning to her story,

"They loved me and my sisters as much as the next pony," she chuckled, "And they cared for us with all their heart. I grew up in Maneapolis, but when I was older the family moved to Manehatten. Why? I'm not sure, my parents came in and we just up and left." Star sat back thoughtfully, "My mom, Nellie, was a unicorn. She had the most beautiful singing voice, and the most luxurious coat, I remember wishing to grow up exactly like her. Of course, that didn't happen." she let out a quiet laugh, smiling at the memories, "My dad, Fallen, was a unicorn as well. He was rather silly, always cracking jokes at the most random of times. But he was great." Star finished, taking a sip of her soup.

"Why do you ask?"

(Oh! Are you still gonna join my site?)

Misfit was happy beyond delight that Stargazer agreed with her upon the wonder of the Everfree forest. She took more sips of her soup and bite out of the fruit. Then she quietly listened as the mare answered her question and described her own parents. At first, she was happy, since they seemed wonderful, but then she took in a few key words that made her smile disappear. Mostly, the word 'was'. Was her parents... gone? Was she an orphan too? Not that she could ask her that. It would be too nosy, and she could be sensitive to speaking of them. It hurt her a little inside. She may have to go through the pain of no parents, but it isn't fair for other ponies.

She hesitated before answering Star's question. "W-well... no reason, r-really. I j-just thought, I shared s-something about my p-parents, and I don't w-wanna do all the ch-chatting, so...."

The filly had told herself she wouldn't ask, but it still came out. "Uhm... Star? D-did something happened to your p-parents?"

((I probably will, but I'm really busy at the moment, and I know that if I started, I wouldn't be able to stop for a while... ^_^; I'm sorry if I disappoint you))

(oh no it's fine! I was just wondering ^.^)

"Oh, no nothing happened to them. I just haven't seen them in a while, I don't even know where they live." Star replied kindly, smiling at the filly's curiosity. "I just don't know if they're still like that, for all I know they could have changed into timberwolves." The mare chuckled a bit at this. "I only used past tense verbs because I don't know anymore. I just remember how they used to be."

Star gave Misfit a warm smile, taking a few more spoonfuls of soup. She loved the filly's curiosity, it was a fresh change from the cautious, less-risk taking ponies in Ponyville.

Misfit was relieved. For a moment, she had thought that Star was speaking of her parents like they were almost forgotten or cut off, or even worse, late. She continued eating, taking a big scoop of the steaming soup. But then she took in Star's words. "Wait, w-what? Why don't y-you know where they live? Did... Did something happen? Because if you got disconnected with your family, it'd be terrible!"

To her, losing family or forgetting to get in touch broke her heart so quickly, the mood in her eyes swung down within seconds. "We can try to find them! I mean, aren't you already trying to find something? Could... Couldn't we just try to find them..?"

She was on a roll now. "Because they sound wonderful and caring and I were them I would feel horribly sad if I lost contact with MY daughter... Don't you wanna see them again? I mean, it's okay if you don't, but if happiness is all you can remember, shouldn't we try to find them? Do... Do you remember their names?" She had to do this. If Stargazer still cared about her seeing her parents, Misfit would do whatever she could to help. The filly felt a surge of determination, and waited intently for Star to respond.

Stargazer listened silently to the filly's determined reaction. The mare's eyes filled with sadness at Misfit's attempt to reforge the bond between her and her parents. Though, it was too late. It had been too long since Stargazer had spoken to them, they'd probably forgotten all about her by now. They were more concerned with her younger siblings anyways, it wasn't as though she was needed.

"Oh no, Misfit it's perfectly fine." Stargazer replied warmly, giving the filly a kind gaze, "My parents don't need me anymore, and I don't need them. There's no reason for us to meet up." Star blinked slowly, watching for the little mare's reaction. She didn't want to upset her new-found filly, she only wanted to care for her, "They're too far away, plus I have someone to look after now." She added with a light giggle, ruffling Misfit's mane lightly.

Misfit was confused. So, Star still liked her parents and remembered only wonderful things about them, but didn't want to see them? It didn't make sense. At least, it didn't to her. She would respect Star's choice, of course, but just wanted to understand why. "But... Star.... Family isn't all about n-needing someone. Neither is l-love. I mean, I-I've lived for a couple y-years without my parents, and I don't need them, b-but.... I would do nearly anything t-to just see them again. D-don't you want to see them again, before it's too l-late? You never know w-when something m-might..." She paused. "...happen."

The filly gazed at Star, her mane being ruffled by the cyan mare. She giggled a little, then sighed. "I.... I'm sorry. I guess i-it's just my own thoughts. It's strange, to me, but then again, I'm not y-you... If that's what you think, then that's just okay, right? Beeh... I'm sorry I-if I don't make m-much sense..."

She ate a little more soup, and finished her last bite of the fruit. "So... You said you have siblings? I didn't know that.... W-what are they like?"

Stargazer smiled at the filly, trying to hide the sadness that grew in her eyes. She couldn't tell this little pony why she wouldn't go see her parents, it would crush her! She simply couldn't! Instead, she sipped a bit more at her own soup, licking her lips to relish the taste before responding to Misfit's next question.

"I have three sisters," She began, being careful to use present tense, "There's Jasmine, Salondra and Astrid. Jasmine was the youngest, Salondra the eldest and Astrid the middle child with me. We would always get into trouble with mom and dad, Salondra was the one who came up with the plans. I loved them very much, and we were always there for each other if the time called for it."

"Jasmine was my favorite. She'd always stop our playing if ever I was hurt, and she was so caring. I remember she got her cutie mark before me, a nurse's plus. She became a nurse, if you hadn't guessed," At this, Stargazer let out a laugh, "Salondra was the playful, troublesome one. She always came up with these plans to get all of us into trouble."

"Astrid was the most unsocial. She'd always hang around inside, banging around in her room. She went on to create new weapons and such for the guards up in Canterlot. She cared the least for me, I'm sure. But I never minded. She was the most beautiful of all as well, with her silky white mane. Jasmine and Salondra were jealous of her all the time, I wasn't though. I didn't mind being the least pretty one. I preferred to stay in and experiment." Stargazer finished with a grin, drinking the rest of her drink.

She was oblivious to the fact that Star was hiding something about her parents.

Misfit listened quietly to The mare's description, sometimes nodding her head or softly smiling. But when Stargazer finished, the filly's brow furrowed. "Least pretty? But... If you're the least pretty, t-than your sisters must look n-near to goddesses. I... I mean, I know you might th-think I'm trying to f-flatter you, but, to m-me, you're very pretty. You h-have a good smile. And bright eyes."

She leaned back in her seat, eyes wandering to the floor. "Though, if you r-really think that you a-are the least pretty, and you're fine with it, than I s-suppose that's just how you f-feel." The filly watched the flower bits float about in her soup. "You know, pretty flowers usually taste b-bad, or can even be poisonous. But 'regular' flowers can t-taste so, so much better, and you c-can usually create wonderful things with th-them if you put your mind to it. They're useful, p-practical. So, I suppose I'd w-want to a regular flower too..."

"Ah, sorry about that. I really l-like metaphors. Anyway, you're sisters sound r-really cool... I would love to meet them s-someday, especially Astrid. She seems i-interesting. Though, when you s-spoke of Jasmine, it kinda reminded me of h-how my mom used to be."

Stargazer paused for a moment, listening to Misfit's compliment and metaphor. She felt blood rushing to her cheeks at the kind words, and hid the fact by taking a few more sips of the soup. She was astonished by the filly's metaphor, it was a rather interesting and correct one.

"Wise words for one so young." she smiled, "Yes, Astrid was always the kindest." Star nodded, losing herself for a few moments in memories. Blinking, she pushed them away with a sharp prick to her heart.

"Would you like to tell me about your family?" she asked cautiously. She was curious about this filly's parents, wondering what they were like and how they acted. But she spoke softly, not wanting to drudge of bad memories for Misfit, but she couldn't hold back her curiosity.

(Sorry it's a bit short, I'm typing this as school starts so I gotta finish now TT~TT)

(Oh, it's completely fine! Besides, that's not short at all. I just sometimes get carried away when I write.)

Though she knew Startgazer was trying to hide it, Misfit knew she was blushing. The filly grinned. It made her happy to make another pony feel good about themselves. Even if they didn't believe it, she had to say the truth. That was on thing she could always pride herself in; she tried to always be honest. But being honest isn't the same thing as hiding secrets. Those are very different, and in which she has both: Honesty, but also kept many secrets.

But of what Stargazer asked was not a secret. Her happy smile turned into an almost odd-looking one, as if it was almost sad, but also knowing. "If you'd l-like me to... but, you don't have to be c-careful with what you say, o-okay?" She proclaimed, responding to the mare's softened tone. "I-I'm not made of glass, though I know I made a b-bit of a scene back in the gardens... I'm sorry about that. But I don't want you to think I-I'm that fragile. You can t-talk to me like you would with any other pony. Is that okay?" She tapped her hooves together. Everything seemed like it was suddenly moving slower.

"I would like t-to tell you about my family, though. I'm just not u-used to anypony asking that, anypony that'll actually listen. Bah, I'm being confusing again, aren't I?" Misfit took a breath.

"Well... I was an only-foal... I never had any siblings. Th-that's why your family sounds so amazing. But my mom and dad were plenty enough f-for me. My dad worked as a p-professor for a few schools, Plantology, Ontology, Magic C-chemisty, that kind of stuff. Professor Mandrake. He w-was a very very intelligent stallion, but he loved foals and would n-never be afraid of goofing off with me when I was younger, e-even if it made him look ridiculous. And he loved to sing. He used to sing nearly every day when I w-was a foal. Oh...and he was a unicorn. That's how I got my horn, you see." She said, glancing up at her own. "My mom, Ginger Snap.... she was a baker. Not only that, but she loved gardening too. She grew h-her own ingredients and used her own r-recipes. In fact, she had her v-very own bakery, here in Manehattan. A lot of ponies thought it was strange, s-since she was a pegasus, she didn't care much about that, only of being kind. She would s-spend days and days coming up with a perfect recipe, while my father spent d-days and days mixing brews or making plant hybrids. Like this tree. This whole study was one of his g-greatest works, in his mind. Did you know this tree grew being partially hollow inside? It t-took him weeks to perfect it..." Her eyes were almost half-lidded.

"It's kinda funny, you know... I used to h-hang out in this place all the time when they were still... here. I still think I c-could just go up the stairs and seem him hunched over his desk, and I could stay up talking to h-him until I fell asleep on the couch. It doesn't seem th-that long ago I would come home and she would shove her newest recipe in my h-hooves and beckon me to tell her how it tasted. But it's been a couple years now..."

Misfit shook her head. "Bah, I'm sorry. I'm being all... feel-y and sentimental a-again. Sorry about that."

(LIKE RIGHT NOW I GOT REALLY OUT OF HAND OH MY GOSH THIS IS WAY TOO LONG. I'm sorry, I had a snow day today and I got a bit bored...)

"If you'd l-like me to... but, you don't have to be c-careful with what you say, o-okay? I-I'm not made of glass, though I know I made a b-bit of a scene back in the gardens... I'm sorry about that. But I don't want you to think I-I'm that fragile. You can t-talk to me like you would with any other pony. Is that okay?"

Star felt slightly bad about assuming the filly would burst into tears at the mention of her family, she knew she shouldn't have done so. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to insult you." She smiled apologetically, before falling silent to listen to Misfit's description of her family. Star laughed when it was appropriate and put on a solemn face when need be, her soft pink eyes softening even more as Misfit spoke the last part. It was so sad, to think that memories could be so strong. I should really do a study on that she thought suddenly, then instantly felt bad about the idea being sprung from a filly's sad story.

"Well your father sounds like my kind of guy," Star chuckled, imagining what it would have been like to work with him. No matter what subject scientists studied, they all had similar characteristics, "And your mother sounds like she was perfect for him. Your family seems so perfect, and I'm so sorry that your time together was so short." She said kindly, resting a hoof on Stars shoulder. "I know I could never replace such wonderful parents, but the least I can do is take care of you for them. I'm sure that if they could see you now, they'd be so proud of you."

Stargazer felt proud herself, of her new ward. She vowed to always protect the young mare as if she were her own, but would never ever pretend to be her parents. She knew that the mother and father of a pony were precious, and it was horrible that one so young would lose such amazing parents. But, that was the past, and Star lived in the present. This wasn't the time to wallow in sadness, this was the time to look forward to a better future. Maybe she could never replace Misfit's parents, but she could save her from living a lonely life.

(It's fine, I love when your posts are long-that's not pressure to make them long all the time though, I'm fine with whatever. And so so so so sorry about this suuuper late post! I've been really lazy lately and idk....sorry!)