Mookie winks in at the well (PAARS)

[Crescent]

[[cont. from the Dance Studio]]

Blink.

A little blue colt had suddenly appeared near the well that stood alone and forgotten in the middle of the small clearing. Mookie blinked and looked round in a confused daze of sorts. He looked round. Again there was no one he recognised there.

He wasn't sure what had happened. He had just wanted to get somewhere else, and had assumed Wing Lady was following. But now she wasn't here. She had disappeared again.

He bit his lower lip and tried not to cry. He reminded himself that big boys didn't cry. A few moments he sat there, his eyes very wide and the little tuft of a forelock trembling a little as well as his chin as he tried not to cry.

Then a little sniff could be heard. Then another.

And finally the little foal started crying.

"Wiiiiiinggg Laaaadyyy!!! Moommmmaa!!! Dadaaaaa! Waaaaa!"

[WingSong]

((Cont. from "A sad pegasus" in Ponyville.))

Wing Song was still in a bit of a daze from her recent encounter with Rogue, but reminded herself that she still had a foal to look after. With an audible sigh, the mare noted that she seemed to be failing at everything lately. It also came to her attention that, in her embarassment, she had ended up running away from town, which is where she would have expected Mookie to be.

The mare stopped and flopped down right where she was. "Oh, I'll never find him now!" The queen would have pointed out that a lady must never speak to herself in public, had she been there to hear.

Wing Song put her head down in the grass - which would have earned her another lecture from her mother - and stayed like that, watching a blade of grass fall across her nose, then pick itself up again to wave in the breeze. Then it repeated the motion.

The princess was beginning to feel slightly sleepy when she heard a faint voice and jumped up. Which direction had it come from? She sneezed once, then again, and briefly wondered if she had some sort of allergy to a plant nearby. The mare shook it off and craned her neck, trying to see out over a tall bush. "M-mookie?", she called, hoping she hadn't imagined it. "Are you out there, Mookie?"

((Bit late to pick up a PAARS, isn't it? Ah well, I've been indecisive most of this time on whether she should get it - and besides, she hasn't been getting out much. I guess it should be added to the thread title...and if you don't want CC or Mookie to get it, they can be carriers or something...))

[Crescent]

[[Ohh darn it the PAARS. Actually, WS and Mookie both picked it up already way earlier, when they were in the Gib looking for flowers-thread, because that one was PAARS infected. Also, Rogue and Angel carried it and yeah, anyway. I don't know yet if Mookie will get sick, Crownie probably will (though she certainly won't die) and Tramp will get sick, to add some angst in Rogue's direction. The point is that the Dance Studio is now infected too, and the dance studio thread should have been marked after WS and Mookie came in but Angel doesn't seem to be listening to me. Ah well.]]


Mookie stopped screaming for a moment when he thought he had heard something. He pricked his ears and blinked tears off his eyes.

"Are you out there, Mookie?"

He was sure he recognised that voice. He wasn't sure who it was. Was it Momma? Maybe it was Wing Lady? Yes, he was sure it was Wing Lady. But where was she? It was hard to see through the tears.

"Wing Lady?" he asked, sniffling. "Wing Lady?"



Crystal Crown was walking from her bookshop toward the well, oblivious to anything around her. She was nearing in fairly close to where Wing Song was, but didn't see her. She was still dreaming of her White Knight, whom she had just recently met and spent a wonderful time with. How much of this wonderful time was her illusion and fantasy was not certain, but she believed firmly it was all as real as the ground underneath her hooves. She was again wearing her maiden's hat and the cape as she approached the well at a solemn, even regal pace.

[WingSong]

((Ah, right, I forgot - Fizzie's condition must be contagious. I thought Wing Song had been exposed to PAARS, but I'd been having trouble deciding whether or not she should just be a carrier. Anyway, good thing I have you to keep track of these things for me! ))

Wing Song was now sure the voice was Mookie's, and thought she could tell what direction it was coming from. She jumped up and called again with renewed enthusiasm, "Mookie! Oh, I'm coming!" She wanted to race off, but had to pause to untangle her hair from a small shrub.

The delay was just long enough for her to catch sight of another approaching pony, and the mare was momentarily distracted. Judging by the way she dressed and carried herself, this pony was also some sort of royalty. With one hoof still on the last knotted lock of hair, she was struck by the horrifying realization of how much she was disgracing her homeland, through her appearance alone.

The princess decided to play it safe and temporarily abandoned her mane to go down into a smooth curtsy. "Oh, hello." Wing Song opted to keep it simple, and not address her as "princess" until she was sure - she had gone through quite enough misunderstandings already.

[Crescent]

Mookie was fairly sure he could hear Wing Lady's voice somewhere. He stopped crying for a moment and sat still, listening, his big wide eyes filled with tears but calm for now. Had he heard right?

"Wing Lady?" he asked, hopefully.


Crystal Crown paused when she heard a voice, and looked round her, until she spotted Wing Song. The golden long hair cascading round her received a strange halo from the sunlight, and it became clear to Crown in a second what was going on. An angel had come visiting her! A smile spread over her face as Wing Song curtsied.

"Oh, no, please don't," she spoke softly as she fell into a curtsy of her own. "I am sure I do not deserve obeisance from such a wonderful creature as yourself." She straightened up again and her eyes wandered aimlessly, catching sight of the brambles that were holding "the angel's" hair captive. She gasped and galloped to her quickly. "Oh, my! You have fallen into a trap! Don't worry, Your Highness, I will help you off."

She wasn't quite sure how she should have addressed the angel, but she figured that "Your Highness" couldn't go badly wrong.

[WingSong]

((LOL! An angel - love it!))

Wing Song blushed, assuming that the mare had in some way recognized her. "Oh...you-you know then...about me?"

At Crown's offer to help, she immediately piped up, "Oh, you don't need to fuss over me or anything, really, it's no big deal. I mean, uh, you and I aren't really all that different, are we?" It was her usual defense in cases like this, although she hadn't had to deal with any "subjects" since she'd come to a new town. Still wondering how she had been recognized when she had opted not to wear her tiara that day, she wondered if this mare really was another princess.

Distracted by her thoughts, she failed to hear Mookie this time. However, she was aware of something nagging in her subconscious, and at once remembered the foal. "Oh! I'm sorry, miss, but I was looking for a little colt. I really must get back to that..." In her haste to get away, she tripped over her hooves again and hurried to pick herself back up. "...Oh, well I don't seem to be doing a good job of it right now."

The mare gave a sigh, then a soft laugh, before going on, "I seem to be missing my wings today... I don't suppose you'd be willing to help me search the area? His name is Mookie - he's blue, and fairly short." Wing Song held up her hoof as an example, casting a hopeful smile in Crystal Crown's direction.

[Crescent]

[[Hehe I believe we shall have loads of fun with this misunderstanding between the two of them ]]

Elsewhere, not far away, Crystal Crown was quite enthralled by her meeting with an angel. Perhaps she was her guardian angel? The one her parents had gone to meet? Perhaps she had news of her parents, perhaps they were coming back soon. She must have been an exceptionally high ranked angel, having such wonderful golden hair and a chiming voice as she did. Crystal was certain she could hear harps playing at the background as the angel spoke. Yes, she must have come down with a message...

"Oh, you don't need to fuss over me or anything, really, it's no big deal. I mean, uh, you and I aren't really all that different, are we?"

Crown was most exhilarated at this notion. Indeed? Had the Gods themselves already deemed her ready for an angelic profession? Did she maybe have a halo already? She looked round herself quickly, but could detect no halo as yet. Ah well, perhaps it was metaphorical, and the angel was being nice on her. These thoughts distracted her sufficiently so that she missed most of what the angel was saying.

"I seem to be missing my wings today... I don't suppose you'd be willing to help me search the area? His name is Mookie - he's blue, and fairly short."

Yes, of course, Crown had wondered where her wings were. She had assumed she had not been deemed worthy of seeing them yet, but now that the angel explained that she hadn't got them, it all made sense. She must have opted for not showing up with wings so as not to frighten the common mortals. Yes, that must be it. But wait, who was this Mookie now? Crystal Crown stared at the angel without comprehension for a few moments, before she realised what must be going on. Of course, the angel had lost her protege. This was slightly disappointing, as Crown had rather hoped the angel might have been there for her - with news of her parents. But one mustn't be selfish. The angel's protege surely needed her. And likely, if she helped the angel, she might be able to contact the guardian angel who was keeping her parents, and perhaps get a message through.

"Oh, certainly," she said happily, nodding. "He must be quite distraught without you." She furrowed her brow in thought for a few moments, trying to think how to go about finding the angel's protege. Then, suddenly, her face cleared off. "I know - why don't we use the Wishing Well!" Suddenly she blushed, realising she had not introduced herself. "Oh, dear me, I am so sorry, where are my manners? My name is Crystal Crown, I am the Princess of.... oh, but I do believe we should go to the Well. Do you have a coin? Ah, but of course you wouldn't need one, I'm sure the Well will answer any question you might have. Come, my Lady, it's right this way."

She started to walk determinately toward the well.



Mookie was quiet again. He couldn't hear anything and frowned. Was Wing Lady there? Should he have tried winking? He wasn't sure.

Suddenly a breeze brushed over him, and he could hear a noise. It wasn't anyone calling, however. Instead, it was a strange chiming sort of a noise. He looked around him, puzzled, until suddenly his eye fell on the old well. It was only now that he saw the sparkly little sticks that hung from the small roof above the well. They chimed as the wind brushed them against one another, an echoing, eerie sound that caught the fascination of the small foal.

And they were so sparkly. His worries about finding Wing Lady all forgotten, he got up on his feet and made his way to the well, looking up with bright big eyes to the chimes.

"Purdy," he said and reached up a hoof, striving to touch the chimes. He couldn't quite reach them, however. How vexing. He furrowed his brows. The chimes held his entire attention now. He must get closer. He set his forehooves on the stone ring of the well and pushed himself up. Once his back hooves were on the narrow edge of the well, he reared and leaned one hoof to the prop of the well-shed [] and one hoof up toward the chimes, quite happily oblivious to the long fall yawning below him.

[[Some excitement. ;D]]

[WingSong]

"Oh, dear me, I am so sorry, where are my manners? My name is Crystal Crown, I am the Princess of.... oh, but I do believe we should go to the Well. Do you have a coin? Ah, but of course you wouldn't need one, I'm sure the Well will answer any question you might have. Come, my Lady, it's right this way."

The princess was disappointed when Crown trailed off before revealing her home kingdom, as she would have loved to write home to her parents and find out more about this somewhat strange royal. She was impressed so far with the mare's behavior, and thought she was surely almost ready to take the throne and become a queen.

At the suggestion of visiting a wishing well, Wing Song was almost doubtful about whether or not she should follow. Since she had been a filly, magic of any kind had always intrigued her, but her reasonable half reminded her that this was no time for childish fantasies. Crown seemed so confident, however, that the princess couldn't help but trust her.

Hurrying after the other mare, Wing Song decided to strike up conversation. "You really do have quite a lovely name. May I call you Princess Crystal? I think it has a nice ring to..."

She fell silent when the well came into view, and along with it, a silly little foal that seemed about to fall in. She was so shocked, it took her a moment more to realize that it was a very familiar silly little foal. "Mookie!" Wing Song leapt forward, front hooves stretched forward, and squinched her eyes shut in a mild cringe at the thought that it would not be a comfortable landing for her.

((Clearly we're not killing little Mookie off, but I figure I'll give you some space to decide how it all happens. ))

[Crescent]

[[of course. ^-^]]

"You really do have quite a lovely name. May I call you Princess Crystal? I think it has a nice ring to..."

Crystal Crown had been anticipating a chance to smile and happily accept this name - oh, she would of course like any name the angel decided to give to her - when Wing Song suddenly broke off, and froze for a moment, then leapt forward. Crown let out a little cry, surprised, and jumped backward. However, her eyes widened and another cry froze on her lips when she saw what was going on at the well. Of course, she did not register a little foal in mortal danger - what she saw was an intruder reaching for the wind chimes she had carefully hung onto the well. An expression near to a snarl wiped away the pleasantness of her face and she hunched down a little, as though a cat preparing for a leap.

However, what Wing Song was beating her to the punch. Obviously, Crown mistook the "angel's" efforts as trying to protect her well from evil.

Mookie, upon hearing the exclaim behind him, was so startled, glancing behind him, that the tender balance he had been holding himself in caused him to lose his footing. A scream, and the little foal was falling, until...

Twinkle of a fading triangular star, and he was gone. The little foal's winking abilities were quite instinctive, and strong enough to help him in these kind of situations.

Crown blinked and straightened up again from her hunching pose, the snarl dropping off into a confused expression. Where had the little demon went to? A little frightened, she looked all around her. Maybe it was trying to sneak in on them?

This time, luckily, the foal didn't wink far. He reappeared beside the well, on solid ground, a few paces off from Wing Song. As soon as he reappeared and he saw Wing Lady, his face lit up.

"Wing Lady!" he exclaimed, happy.

[Angel624]

((Oh, ya. Thanks for letting me know, Cres! ^-^))

[Crescent]

[[No prob

...*shoves thread back to rp'ing*]]

[WingSong]

Wing Song's head hit the covering over the well, front hooves stretched over where Mookie had been. She opened one eye when she heard something close enough to her name, and whipped around to glance at Mookie. She jumped forward again and pulled him into a hasty hug.

"Oh, Mookie! You just...you keep on scaring me like that!," the mare tried unsuccessfully to scold him as she patted his forelock into place.

She turned her head away to sneeze, opened her purse and tried to reach for a handkerchief, then realized that she had given it to another sneezing pony and brought her hoof back to the ground again as she let out another sneeze. "Oh, excuse me!," she said apologetically, "I'm not used to allergies - I never got them back home."

Waving a hoof to dismiss the subject, she gestured to Mookie and turned her gaze to Crown. "Now, Princess Crystal, this is my, uh-I mean, this is Mookie. The, uh, the Mookie I was looking for earlier. I'm very lucky he's alright, because he keeps running off." Raising her head proudly, she added, "He's very special - he has winking powers, even though he's only an earth pony."

She was quickly settling in from the frightening experience moments before, and she glanced down at Mookie, prompting gently, "Now Mookie, this is Crystal - Princess Crystal. Be polite, and give her a little bow, because she's a special pony."

[Crescent]

Crystal Crown was most amazed to see the angel hug Mookie and talk to him in such a familiar, happy way. She figured at once she must be mistaken - surely an angel would not converse so with a demon. She then waited quietly, her head a little tilted to one side. When the angel introduced her to the little foal, her eyes went a little wide. A winking earth pony! It was amazing indeed. She gasped a little and then examined Mookie intently as the angel turned to talk to the pony again. What creature could this be? She could not quite place him for anything.

Unless, of course... a terrible thought came to her. This little one may not be as innocent as he seems. What if he were a demon after all, only posing as an innocent little foal. Surely the angel might be thus tricked, and perhaps even in danger.

Mookie, for his part, understood very little of what was going on around him. He was just happy that he'd found Wing Lady, and so he hugged her tight when he could, smiling happily. After a moment he realised that she was trying to tell him something that seemed important. He wrinkled his nose a little and listened.

"Now Mookie, this is Crystal - Princess Crystal. Be polite, and give her a little bow, because she's a special pony."

Mookie looked up at Wing Lady with wide, wondering eyes.

"What's bow?" he asked, quite confused, falling to a sitting position.

Crystal was still eying Mookie with some amount of wonder and thoughtfulness. She didn't want to offend the angel by calling her companion a demon, but what else could she do? She couldn't allow the demon to trick her.

[[uh oh.]]

[WingSong]

((Hehe, this is getting good.))

"What's bow?"

Wing Song was quite surprised at this, and made a mental note to teach Mookie proper etiquette around royals at some later time. At this she realized that she hadn't thought very far into the future when taking on the responsibility of caring for Mookie, and yet she couldn't bring herself to hope that his real parents would turn up.

The princess returned to the matter at hand and, feeling the need to make up for Mookie's inability to show proper respect, she said hurriedly, "Well, in any case, Princess Crystal, Mookie is very glad to make your acquaintance."

Remembering that she had hoped to find out more through her parents about the other princess' origin, she went on, "Oh, and it has just occurred to me... Could I please know your parents' names? I might have heard some mention of them." With any luck, the names would at least be recognizable to the king and queen - all she needed to do was remember them well enough.

[Crescent]

Mookie didn't understand what was going on. The adults were talking about something boring which didn't concern him. Slowly his attention was beginning to turn back to the sparling wind chimes on the well.

Crown was a little disappointed to now for sure be ascertained that the angel was not there for her. She was also increasingly worried that the angel believed this little demon to be her protege. Was she truly the only one seeing through this innocent guise? But then, she surmised, angels were paragons of good and thus might be sometimes blind to the extent of evil. That must be it. She should attempt to get the angel alone with her somewhere so that she might warn her of the demon when the demon wasn't listening.

Crystal Crown was, however, eager to turn the topic of the conversation to her parents - she felt it must be a sign. Surely the angel already had looked into the depths of her heart and seen there her fondest wish; to find her parents. How wise and kind she was! Crystal Crown felt blessed to have met her, though she still couldn't decide whether it was a mere coincidence or if she was being tried for some divine reason. Perhaps the Gods had some plans for her, if she proved herself?

"Crystal Snow is my mother's name," she replied, unsuspecting of any misunderstanding. "My father is known as Chivalry." Her face grew sadder. "They are away right now, and I don't know where they have gone. But perhaps you can help me find them, after all, you move in the same circles, so to speak." She laughed in a bit embarrassed sort of way. "Myself, I haven't been deemed ready yet."

[[Isn't it fun how they both think they're talking about the same thing? *is curious to see if WS continues to allow for misunderstanding*]]