LonnaKitty

Layla nodded. It was still around, thank the stars. What he asked her was not odd to her, but she nodded, happy to answer his question. "My family was the one who planted it so long ago, we took care of it, giving it magic crystals and our magic to help it grow and be strong, to protect the lands. We were it keepers and caretakers. I am happy it was still able to thrive." She smiled sadly. A mixture of relief and sadness. There were new keepers of the elements. Maybe she could meet them one day, maybe they will be able to take care of the tree again. She placed those thoughts in the back though, it was time to focus on the present. "We were trapped for so long, I am sure much has changed, I am going to safely assume the monarchy of Equestria has changed. I knew of a king and queen when I was a filly, before we were locked away. Has it changed?" she asked the question softly, like she felt nervous about asking the question.

@Illiad Easle She grinned at him and nodded. She thought about her next question while she took another bite of her food. She supposed she should ask the biggest question of all, a bit of a sad look on her face. "I guess I should withhold my curiosity for a moment to ask my question, but...what happened with the Tree of Harmony?" she looked so sad as she asked this question. Since her family had such close ties with the tree, it was important to know what happened to the tree, the focal point of their entire society. She just hoped nothing horrible happened to it. She hopes that now that the barrier is gone, she could even visit it, if time allowed.

She was on the edge of her seat as she listened to him talk about the thestral. Enjoying every moment of new knowledge. She tilted her head though when he mentioned Nightmare Moon. She wondered who that was. She would have to chalk it up as another question to ask for sure. "I know that the barrier made things stay away from us, we saw things in passing, but nothing ever stayed long enough for us to study, so maybe that's why..." she pondered to herself. She nodded at his suggestion of going back and forth with the questions. That did seem a bit better. She was glad he dropped into a more informal tone, it made her more at ease for sure. She was about to answer when Orange Blossom came back, setting down some nuts and berries for the stallion, and a nice plate of carrot soup for the princess along with a large tankard filled with a juice of some sort. Argante thanked her, she did a quick little curtsy, and left the two. "So let's see....about me huh?" She mused, taking a sip of her soup before mulling the question over. Honesty was best policy she supposed. "Well, I am a curious mare by nature, always curious about things I don't know, a bit mischievous too, I played my fair share of pranks back in the day." she giggled softly. "I really love the stars, and music. I like to sing to the stars sometimes.." her gaze was far away admitting that, then she blushed deeply as she realized what she had said. "Oh stars above why did I say that? Uhm, I am also quite clutzy, mainly with words, as you can now tell." She laughed nervously, the blush still on her cheeks. Oh stars above don't think I am too weird, I am being right embarrassing right now!

She smirked at his little slip, deciding to let him save face for a little while longer while she answered his question, however a dull orange mare came up with the largest of smiles. "Oh stars above, welcome princess!" the older mare grinned, giving the princess a hug which she returned with just as much enthusiasm. "Guess your here for your lunch?" she winked. Argante nodded and the mare laughed, drawing her attention to the stallion. "Ah! Pardon my manners! I am so all over the place today! The name is Orange Blossom, it's nice ta meet you. You want anything?" She asked, when she received her answer, she returned back to the tavern, making the lunch. "Now to answer your question. We know little to nothing, we have not been able to venture out, we have only known this forest and its creatures, the barrier protecting us for a long time, while it also hid us as well." her voice was a bit tight, her ears flattening sadly. They perked up quickly though at the prospect of knowledge. "However I guess my first question is what kind of pony was that, that delivered the letter!? I have never seen a pony like that before and they looked so amazing in every sense of the word! I mean, what other wonderful things could be out there that can be discovered! I am so curious about it all I just don't know how to fully begin and..." She trailed off as she realized she did nothing but word vomit. Her face became flush, a deep crimson on her cheeks as she readjusted herself and coughed. "But uh, yes, let's do one question at a time huh?"

She giggled softly. A twinkle in her eyes. "Well then, let's go to the tavern." She lead the way out the keep, going back into the town. Several ponies either waved, or bowed, or just said hi. She responded in kind, and was always smiling. "So then, to answer your first question, the name of this place, the town was once called Harmona. In honor of the Tree of Harmony that this town was built for. Honestly, I just think my dad was bad at names." She laughed at that. Her mom would complain at him a lot about the name for the town. Its why she told her children that she was the one who named them. She refused to let her husband name the children. It was a funny memory. "We are just pony folk now, we were once called Protectors of the Tree, but I am sure that title was lost centuries ago, as well as our history." Argante got a far away look in her eye, seeming to remember something else. Shaking her head as the two of them approached the tavern. She sat at an outside table, which was old and wooden, the chair a wooden stool. The tavern itself was made of stone and thatch, very old timey. "Now for your last question. I feel my power has lost its power, mainly cause, well, its my own personal feelings mind you, but..." She shifted a bit. "Well, I am sure you have seen, I am not treated like one of royalty, just one of high position. Not that I mind, mind you. The title is wasted on me. I care for my ponies though. I will do right by them. I am just one remainder of a time long lost." She smiled sadly as she watched other ponies walk by, seemingly lost in thought.

Argante tried not to giggle. How very formal, it made her want to laugh though. Ponies haven't been that formal with her in years. She took a deep breath and smiled. "Please, there is no need to bow to me, though princess is my title, I am afraid it has lost its power of these many years.." her smile was sad. How many years had it been? A couple hundred at least. She glanced to the tapestry, a frown on her face that faded quickly as she shook her head. "I am honered to have you as our first guest here in...quite some time." Her wings fluttered as she was uncomfortable in the formal wear she was wearing. "I am happy to answer any questions I can, and I hope you will answer mine in turn, I have...so many." she tried very hard to keep her excitement to a minimum, but the curiosity was plain to see in her eyes. "If you would like, we can start with a tour of the village? It is around lunch time, and I am sure you are hungry." she offered. Stars above she knew she was, she could feel the hunger gnawing on her stomach. She didn't have time to grab breakfast, but by golly she would have herself some lunch darn it all.

To say that ponies would stare was an understatement. Everypony in this village stared, more curious than anything, watching as the head of the guard walked the large pony to the keep. She didn't speak, and two other guards flanked on the tall stallions sides. They were being cautious. Which was understandable in a way. As they approached the keep Shadow Jewel shouted up to lower the gate. The large gate creaked and groaned, the chains lowering the large oaken door with a loud thud. She scoffed a bit and rolled her eyes. Guess she would need to train the unicorns again, they were slow with the opening. "This way." she grumbled. Walking into the large opening to the inner courtyard. It was fairly large, spaces that lead to alcoves were dotted on the sides, a large staircase lead up to another set of doors, the image of a tree carved into them. There were all kinds of ponies walking around in the courtyard, by their clothes they were maids, other guards, errand boys, all manner of types. It was like stepping into the days of old. Shadow Jewel opened the large doors, waiting for their guest to come into the main hall. When he stepped in she closed the doors and stepped in front of him. "The Princess Argante will be down shortly, I will go and fetch our princess, please feel free to look around, but do not leave the area." her voice was curt, she lifted hoof to her chest, banged it two times, bowed, and took her leave up the grand set of stairs. If he looked around, he would notice that this building was OLD. The walls were all cobblestone, the floors were much the same, cept a carpet kept from hurting hooves on its surface. There were a couple of tapestries. A few depicted the Tree of Harmony, one even showed Starswirl! There was one that was odd though. It wasn't that it was unkempt, but, it depicted a family. The large stallion was the brightest white, with amethyst eyes and a dark black mane, and he was an alicorn. The mare was the blackest night, with golden eyes and a white mane that was bright against her dark form, she was a unicorn. The was a young filly, she was a nice shade of grey, a perfect mixture of the parents, she had her fathers eyes and her mothers mane, she was a unicorn. Yet what was odd, was there was a rather large hole in the tapestry, if one looked hard enough though, there was a dark grey pair of legs still there. Meanwhile, in the upstairs part of the keep, Shadow Jewel made it to Argante's room, knocking on it, she did the customary bow when Argante answered, causing a soft laugh to come from the alicorn. Jewel smiled and lead her princess to the stranger, telling her what she noticed about him and other details. Argante took a large deep breath, her nerves were starting to get to her. Yet she would persevere, she had to. For the sake of everyone! She found the stallion and smiled at him, her jewels shimmering in the light that came through the windows. "Hello Midnight Star, I am Princess Argante. It is lovely to meet you and to have you here in our village."

"I still think this unnecessary." Argante sighed as her mane was pulled at, clasping the crystals into it, making it shimmer. Another maid was draping a gossamer fabric along the mares flank, the purple fabric melding against her to make her dark coat look like the night sky. Rose Bud chuckled at the glaring princess, putting a few gems into her tail. "You know as well as I, that Hoof Beat would have our hides if we didn't follow tradition. You know how much of a stickler he is." She giggled. Argante rolled her eyes. Yeah, hundreds of years later and he was still a pain in her flank. "Besides, we want to make a decent first impression." Rose continued, checking each crystal. She nodded and grabbed the crown from the dusty box. Both mares looked at the crown with sadness. The crown was a polished silver, a beautiful moonstone placed in the circlets center in a tear drop fashion. It was very bittersweet to see the piece of jewelry again. Rose placed the circlet on Argante, the tear drop resting under her horn. She looked to Rose and smiled softly, the two sharing a moment as they finished prepping quietly. Meanwhile outside, Shadow Jewel spotted the one entering the clearing. She was wearing the royal guard armor its white gleam shining the what sunlight dappled through the trees. She held of her fellow guardsponies, approaching the stallion herself, her eyes were cold and calculating as she stepped up to him. She glanced over him quickly, nodding as she made the quick mental checklist that this was the pony that was coming to their small town. "Welcome, my name is Shadow Jewel, I am the head guard and right hand pony to our princess. We have been expecting you. I am glad you made it through the forest safely." her voice was calm, direct, it held no warmth though, but no malice either. She turned on hoof, facing the way to the village. "Please follow me, and do not mind the stares you may receive, we have not had a visitor in a...long time." there was a bitterness to her voice then, her eyes narrowing at some memory. She began the trek to the large stone keep at the other edge of the fairly large village.

Hoof Beat, a strong dapple grey and white stallion, stared at this new pony that bore a letter to their princess. He was weary, and for good reason. No one had come to their town in centuries. He had sent Joyleaf to go and fetch their princess, watching this new pony. They don't know how the barrier was broken, and now everyone was on edge, especially him. Soon their princess, tall and regal, her coat a midnight black and hair white as starlight, joined them. She got an excited twinkle in her eye when she saw the new pony. None of them had seen someone of their kind before. It sent a shiver of excitement through her body. She kept it at bay though, having to remain calm in front on this newcomer, her subjects were quite on edge after all. She received the letter and thanked the pony, telling them if they wished to stay they could, but if they needed to leave she would not be offended. She smiled kindly and went on her way, the council of harmony closing in around her. She read the letter, once, twice, thrice. How exciting. A visitor from abroad. She ginned wide and looked to her council. "Well? What is it?" Hoof Beat grumbled. Argante rolled her amethyst eyes, well he was pleasant as ever. She couldn't blame him though, she knows he was not okay with everything going on. "A visitor will be coming soon. His name is Midnight Star." She turned to her head of guard, Shadow Jewel. The hardened pony stood up a bit straighter as Argante gave the description of the stallion that would be here within the day. Shadow nodded, going to the barracks to inform the guard that they would be having a visitor, and to double up patrols for awhile, to protect against the threats of the forest, now that their protection, and curse, was gone. "We will need to prepare a room." Raindew, an old unicorn stared off in thought. Argante nodded in agreement, sending off Joyleaf to tell the keeps maids to prep a room for the guest. Raindew smiled, slowly traveling after the young green pony, who bounded away. "We will also need to prep the jewels." Rosebud smiled. Argante shuddered, groaning. She forgot about the ceremonial thing. Rose smiled and trotted off, going to dust off the dusty box. Argante looked to Hoof Beat and he snorted, walking off to do who knew what. She sighed and shook her head, not wanting to let his bad attitude to effect her mood. Argante looked to the sky and smiled though. What a glorious adventure this was gonna be.