Finally, after many moons (as she only traveled by moonlight), Stardust had found the lands of the mysterious Lunaris Herd. Nocturnal, night sky-themed ponies roamed around the herd lands, and it immediately felt like a sort of home to Stardust - a feeling she'd never quite had before in life. Unfortunately, the herd was quite choosy in who they decided to admit into their family. And the first step to acceptance was a lengthy trial, meant to ensure that potential new members were truly a good fit and dedicated to the herd.
Tonight was Stardust's trial. She would be alone on the outskirts of the herd lands, "forced" to stay awake all night without speaking to a single soul. When Stardust learned of this ritual, it took a lot for her not to smile widely. She was already naturally a nocturnal pony, so staying awake wasn't the problem, not speaking to anyone was. It wasn't as if she was a talkative pony - she was actually rather shy - she just hated to seem rude and despised the idea of having to ignore someone if they did approach her during her trial.
As the sun set over the horizon, Stardust shook her sleepiness off and blinked wide, her large pink eyes taking in the surrounding environment. The herd lands were beautiful, as were the ponies within, so she sought to knock this trial out of the park so she could finally be (tentatively) accepted within the Lunaris.
She set off towards the outskirts of the herd's lands and plopped her rump down on the ground. Stardust set her mouth in a straight line, forcing herself not to open her mouth for any reason. Determination flooded over her as she finally, finally started her trial.
Many hours passed before her trial was, well, actually trying. Eventually, towards the end of the time period, a bright red pony waltzed up to her, a friendly smile on their face. "Excuse me, do you live here?" they asked her, seeming innocently curious. This rogue pony had no idea what Stardust was facing or why she wouldn't speak to her, but Stardust just nodded respectfully and attempted to avert her eyes. She knew she was coming off as rude, but she honestly had no other idea as to how to handle the situation.
After she didn't give the other pony a straight answer other than a non-committal nod, the red pony's eyebrows furrowed together. "Alright then..." they trailed off, flicking their tail in mild annoyance. After a few beats of pausing to leave, the red pony flushed even redder, finally realizing that the starry-night-sky pony must be a mute. "I'm so sorry, I just assumed..." they trailed off again, their face the deep red color of a certain flower that bloomed in forests that Stardust had once come across. Not knowing what else to do, the pony bowed their head and awkwardly walked away, feeling foolish.
Once the pony had gotten a decent distance away, Stardust let out a deep sigh. She felt awful for now responding to the other, but it was beyond worth it for acceptance into her new family. This was certainly tougher than she thought it would have been for a shy girl like her, but a necessary evil in finding her place in this world - nay, this galaxy.
She remained stoic and silent for the entirety of the night, her bright pink eyes quite literally lighting up when she saw the sun peeking its way over the horizon in the distance. Stardust waited for the sun to get higher, high enough to denote daytime, before she rose from her position and took a moment to stretch her achy, long limbs. She smiled, big and wide, to herself, realizing she was now able to enter the herd territories to report her good news. She had passed her trial. And now, she finally had a place to call home.
Tonight was Stardust's trial. She would be alone on the outskirts of the herd lands, "forced" to stay awake all night without speaking to a single soul. When Stardust learned of this ritual, it took a lot for her not to smile widely. She was already naturally a nocturnal pony, so staying awake wasn't the problem, not speaking to anyone was. It wasn't as if she was a talkative pony - she was actually rather shy - she just hated to seem rude and despised the idea of having to ignore someone if they did approach her during her trial.
As the sun set over the horizon, Stardust shook her sleepiness off and blinked wide, her large pink eyes taking in the surrounding environment. The herd lands were beautiful, as were the ponies within, so she sought to knock this trial out of the park so she could finally be (tentatively) accepted within the Lunaris.
She set off towards the outskirts of the herd's lands and plopped her rump down on the ground. Stardust set her mouth in a straight line, forcing herself not to open her mouth for any reason. Determination flooded over her as she finally, finally started her trial.
Many hours passed before her trial was, well, actually trying. Eventually, towards the end of the time period, a bright red pony waltzed up to her, a friendly smile on their face. "Excuse me, do you live here?" they asked her, seeming innocently curious. This rogue pony had no idea what Stardust was facing or why she wouldn't speak to her, but Stardust just nodded respectfully and attempted to avert her eyes. She knew she was coming off as rude, but she honestly had no other idea as to how to handle the situation.
After she didn't give the other pony a straight answer other than a non-committal nod, the red pony's eyebrows furrowed together. "Alright then..." they trailed off, flicking their tail in mild annoyance. After a few beats of pausing to leave, the red pony flushed even redder, finally realizing that the starry-night-sky pony must be a mute. "I'm so sorry, I just assumed..." they trailed off again, their face the deep red color of a certain flower that bloomed in forests that Stardust had once come across. Not knowing what else to do, the pony bowed their head and awkwardly walked away, feeling foolish.
Once the pony had gotten a decent distance away, Stardust let out a deep sigh. She felt awful for now responding to the other, but it was beyond worth it for acceptance into her new family. This was certainly tougher than she thought it would have been for a shy girl like her, but a necessary evil in finding her place in this world - nay, this galaxy.
She remained stoic and silent for the entirety of the night, her bright pink eyes quite literally lighting up when she saw the sun peeking its way over the horizon in the distance. Stardust waited for the sun to get higher, high enough to denote daytime, before she rose from her position and took a moment to stretch her achy, long limbs. She smiled, big and wide, to herself, realizing she was now able to enter the herd territories to report her good news. She had passed her trial. And now, she finally had a place to call home.
(WC: 654)
