Moonstone and Posey in the Garden

[Crescent]

[[cont. from Sunlight&Moonstone's Cottage]]

Moonstone walked at an unhurried pace toward the part of the garden where the violets were. His gentle dark eyes looked at Posey with an almost apologetic expression as they walked on.

"I do hope you weren't terribly troubled by my rather vacant expression earlier," he said, deciding to bring the topic up right away so as to not forget about it. "I am afraid there are many thoughts in my mind that distract me at times from society. My mother, bless her, is unaware of most of them, of course, which is why I wished you not to make it too obvious that my attention was wandering. She does worry so easily."

[WingSong]

"Well, you know she cares. It must be nice, having her as a mother. She seems very...involved. Of course, I'm sure that means that she will notice at some point." Posey, unused to being this close to a stallion, discreetly let her hooves carry her a safe foot farther from his side. "In fact, it might even be better to speak with her yourself, rather than let her pick up on something on her own." Shy to be giving advice, she pretended to be extremely interested in a flower she passed, pausing to run a hoof across its petals.

After struggling with herself in silence for a moment, the mare finally spoke up again in a quiet, timid voice. "If I may ask, what exactly is going on that you think Sunlight would worry about?" She kept her gaze fixed on the flower.

[Crescent]

Moonstone listened to Posey's advice with a very grave expression. It was true, of course. He should talk with her eventually. He was sure she would understand... it was just that she had her way of interfering. He wasn't so sure if he could bring himself to leave after all, if she tried stopping him. She could always come up with all kinds of excuses. He hardly even noticed Posey keeping her distance. He was, after all, a gentlestallion. He wasn't used to closeness, at least not with the opposite gender.

Moonstone hardly even noticed the short silence between them as she paused to examine the flower. He watched her as her attention was on the flower. She seemed very shy indeed. That made him feel more comfortable around her. It was a similar quality to what he had perceived in Skyflier.

His mind returned from mares to more disagreeable topics when Posey asked her question. He could not think of offending the mare by rudely telling her it was none of her business. It wasn't like Moonstone anyway. He stepped closer to the flower she seemed so fixed on, trying to see if there was something truly interesting in it, and also to appear more casual as he thought of an answer.

"Well, it is only that... Do you ever feel like there is something... somewhere, waiting for you? Something you have to discover, no matter how far it might take you?" he was surprised to be speaking of it to her like this, but then, he wasn't accustomed to lying.

[WingSong]

Posey side-stepped away from the flower and back around Moonstone, so that they had now switched places on the garden path. "No, I'm afraid I can't say that I can relate. My life seems to have settled itself in for a long stay quite some time ago."

Taking a few steps forward as a cue to keep moving, the mare was struck by the thought that her life seemed to be taking a gradual turn, so that it hardly stood out when she was suddenly befriending strangers and helping to plan garden parties. Speaking slowly, she added, "I do like things as they are, really. I'm content with my garden, and everything being so...quiet all the time. But come to think of it, it must be a bit of a nice feeling, knowing there's more to come."

[Crescent]

Moonstone looked back and over his shoulder to Posey, then turned and started to walk again, listening to her reply. He felt he knew just what she meant when she spoke of a settled life. That was what his mother's was, and what his own was, as well. There was really not much but routine there. And yet, he knew... soon, there might be more. Much more.

"I have had this feeling, you see," he said as he strode next to her, smiling a bit wistfully. "For quite some time now, in fact. I keep thinking it may be time I... I take up on my wings, so to speak." He gave a laugh. "I suppose you must think it's pretty sad, anyway. A grown stallion like me living still with his mother."

[WingSong]

"It hadn't even crossed my mind!", Posey said at once, her tone sounding almost scolding - although it was odd and out of place with her soft, faint voice. "I think if more ponies were this close to their parents, Dream Valley would be a better place. Besides - I know you understand how important you are to Sunlight."

She knew her last statement was a bit discouraging to him, but couldn't decide whether or not to add something supportive onto the end. After all - Sunlight was her friend, and while Moonstone had come across as a very nice stallion so far, she didn't want to bring any heartbreak to the kind older mare. Posey was finding it extremely difficult to carry on a conversation on something she couldn't express any thoughts or opinions about, so she picked up the pace and decided to remain silent.

Of course, then the mare was worried that she'd left things sounding somewhat open-ended, and decided to nudge the topic along, so it wasn't quite so obvious what she was doing. Pausing for him to fall in step with her again, she asked weakly, "So...you're going to go in search for this something, then? Where in Ponyland could you go?"

[Crescent]

Moonstone had to smile at the notion that if more ponies were as close to their parents, Dream Valley would be a better place. He supposed there was a good point to that. After all, friendship had come scarce lately, at least moreso than it had been once upon a time. How many ponies these days even knew their neighbours? He shuddered at the thought how it would be in a large town like Ponyville, where there were even more ponies, and more distance between them.

The note of understanding how important he was to Sunlight also stroke him, but in a bad way this time. His smile faded as he walked along the beautiful garden path, toward the spot where the violets were. Oh, yes, he knew well. But he could not stay with his mother forever. One day he would need to leave - to get married, if nothing else. He was sure he would find the right one some day, and settle down, have a few foals... and even though Sunlight would naturally still be around as a grandmother, she couldn't be there the same way she was now.

But more importantly... there was the call. Moonstone walked now beside Posey, and was leading them at a steady pace toward the violets, though they were not making good time. He wasn't in a hurry, after all. Her question made him look at her again and smile. She seemed very trustworthy, and her shyness really was very appealing.

"I don't know," he answered with a low, thoughtful voice, looking at her. There was a strange air to him at the moment, his mind lingering in things that seemed not of this world, and it affected his entire being. There was an old expression in his eyes. Older than his years - and a strange yearning lit them from within as well. It was obvious the wait for the quest had already altered him. "I don't know where I would find it, whatever it is. I don't even know what it is that I should find. I don't know if I really should even go anywhere to find it. At least, in body." He looked at Posey with a smile. "You see, I have... powers. Wait. I'll show you."

He stopped abruptly and held out his hoof in front of Posey to make her stop as well. Then he smiled to her gently and closed his eyes. He concentrated. Two blinks of an eye when nothing happened, and then a shimmering star appeared right in front of them onto the pathway. It grew in size and shape, until it was the spitting image of Moonstone, its eyes closed and its body shimmering and glimmering. It took a while until the shimmering settled, and then the projection stood there, looking as solid as the original. The real Moonstone stood still rigid and unmoving, but the double now opened his eyes and looked at Posey with the same gentle smile that had been on real Moonstone's lips a while before.

[WingSong]

First, Posey's mind tried to convince her that she was seeing double, and things went a bit blurry as her eyes tried to readjust accordingly. Reminding herself that this was entirely possible with unicorns, the mare shut her eyes for a few seconds and when she reopened them, she was ready to stare back and forth between the two Moonstones.

Genuinely curious, the mare took a hesitant half-step forward and then allowed herself to pace to the second Moonstone's side and back around to face him, wondering if he could even see her through this set of eyes. Sticking with the assumption that he could, she raised a hoof towards his shoulder as though to give it an experimental poke.

Realizing at the last moment how disconcerting it would be to have her hoof go through empty air, Posey went ahead and asked, "Is it...I mean, like this, are you...solid?"

[Crescent]

Moonstone smiled a little when Posey circled him, looking rather disconcerted. When she raised a hoof as if to try his shoulder, he wasn't surprised that she stopped herself. He had found it slightly disconcerting the first time he had walked through a tree when he still hadn't know how to make his projection solid.

"Oh, yes," he replied. "Quite solid." He raised a hoof and brushed it over Posey's leg just to show her he was indeed real. "I have managed that only lately, however. I used to be quite, uh, transparent only a few months ago."

His real body remained deathly still and unmoving, like a statue.

[WingSong]

((Hehe. *awkward* So...um...suddenly, I'm like, "What about Posey?" Uh...yeah...))

The mare held back a shiver, afraid of how rude that would seem to Moonstone. She certainly didn't want to make him feel uncomfortable when really, his powers were quite amazing. He seemed to be working hard at developing them as well.

However, Posey still wasn't sure that this second Moonstone being solid was any less eerie than a simple projection would have been.

She cast a worried glance in the direction of the original Moonstone, worried that he was putting too much energy into showing her his powers. "And...when you do this...," she began to ask gently, already feeling foolish about her question, "do you...feel...alright?" She wasn't sure why the state the first Moonstone was in reminded her of someone that was sick, but she felt the sudden unjustified urge to seek medical help.

((If this seems way out of it for her, it's because - as you know - I haven't made any posts for her char in a good long time. ))

[Crescent]

[[Haha I came through Dream Valley and was like OMG you posted for Posey! Lol. Anyway, I'm happy we get to continue this. And it sounds okay to me - I know it's hard to pick up on a character you haven't played in a long time. Let's see how I fare.]]

Moonstone smiled a little, noticing the mare's uneasiness clearly. He found her concern endearing rather than offensive - after all, she couldn't know much about his magic and was likely to feel uneasy.

"Oh, yes, I'm quite all right," he said, then shook his mane a little, a tired look suddenly passing his eyes. "However, remaining in this form does drain me. If you'll excuse me..."

He closed his eyes, and slowly the double image of him vaporised and faded away. Soon enough the real Moonstone nudged his head up, shaking it a little as though coming back to consciousness from a dream.

"I am still practicing, you understand," he explained.

[WingSong]

((Hehe, and you totally made me look bad by posting the day after my months-late reply. Not that I'm not happy. ^^))

"I am still practicing, you understand."

Posey was surprised when Moonstone came across as almost apologetic for wanting to revert back to his original state. "Oh, why honestly, I couldn't even tell!," she said encouragingly. Then, realizing how it might have come across, she blushed and hastily added, "Oh, not to say that you aren't improving... Not that I can personally say that you are, because this is the first time I've seen you using your powers. What I meant to say was...you seem very good at it..."

She trailed off uncomfortably, worried that she had just made a complete fool of herself in front of him. She couldn't even seem to form a sentence the way she wanted to. The mare looked at the ground and let her gaze wander to the flowers again, the blush not leaving her cheeks.