Lambicorns // Festival of Dreams • Dreamland

[gremlin]

I'm collecting stardust!
Username: Gremlin
Art/Writing:

Lambent looked up to the other elder and nodded slowly. As the familiar clouds of Nai’a’s dream fell away Lambent found themselves back in the warmth of their cave. Rousing themselves from the nest they shared with Grimm, they suddenly felt alone. Having Grimm captaining a team left them little time to come home and spend time together. Lambent did their best to shake the feelings hanging over their head and head out. Perhaps on their hunt for stardust they could swing by and visit Grimm.

Encouraged by this thought Lambent trotted out of their cave and into the dimming light of the setting sun. The young deity had mentioned hills and high places. So much had changed since Lambent had been young, long ago stardust had been more plentiful, one couldn’t swish their tail without kicking up stardust. But times had changed, there was no use living in the past. Language had changed too and Lambent was determined to learn modern dialects. As they pondered where to start, they noticed the telltale glimmer of stardust up in the twisted trees above them. They concentrated and closed their eyes until they felt the familiar feeling of crystals fusing together. They opened their eyes to see a perfectly formed staircase of glowing orange crystal. “This will be…” realizing they had an excuse to use a new word they excitedly shouted “LIT!” then realized how loud the echoing word was and blushed slightly. They gracefully glided up the staircase and up to the top of the trees. There they found the branches covered in the fine shimmering powder they sought. Forming yet another crystalline structure, this time in the shape of a basket, they gently shook each branch into their small receptacle. They sealed the container with more crystal, forming a large glowing rhombus. Now that that was out of the way they could visit their mate!

315 words

[redcore]

I'm down!
Username: saccharine.
Signed-up Lambie: Rocco
Proof of Team Dream Allegiance: [x]
Other: "Oh, well, if it's that important I'd be happy to help out!"

I'm collecting stardust!
Username: saccharine.
Art/Writing:
Rocco wakes up with a start, tangled in their blankets. All they can do for a moment is just lay there and stare up at the ceiling, their mind hazy as they squint from the morning light filtering into their eyes.

And then, all of a sudden, they remember.

"The Queen of Dreams!" they shout, sitting bolt upright. Memories of their dream come flooding back to them. "I met the Queen of Dreams... I can't believe it!"
They clumsily kick their blankets off and leap out of bed, leaving the sheets in a heap on the floor, and pull their signature red sweater on. A message from a dream and a potentially dangerous quest? This was just the thing Rocco had dreamed would happen to them as a kid.
“Wait, wait, calm down,” they remind themselves. They couldn’t just rush out without a plan. Nai’a had said stardust would be found high up, but where was high up?
But as soon as the question enters Rocco’s mind, they know the answer. There was a steep hill with an old wishing well sitting at the very top that Rocco used to visit with their sister and grandmother as a kid. It had been years since Rocco was last there, and now was a better time than ever to return. It was rather far from their home - it’d probably take the whole day to reach the top of the hill, but Rocco supposed that was a good thing. They would need to stay at the hill until night regardless. And maybe it would give them an excuse to visit their grandmother too, after they’d completed their little quest.
Grabbing their messenger bag, Rocco packed a generous helping of snacks and water, as well as a small satchel that used to house their rock collection to hold the stardust in, and set off.

The sun is starting to set when they reach the base of the hill. At this time of year, it’s covered with flowers, and the amber light from the sun dyes everything a lovely orange. Rocco can’t help but smile. The journey was long and tiring to make on foot, but they had made it.
They start their ascent up the hill, and make it to the top just as the sun dips below the horizon, making it just dark enough to see the telltale glow of stardust.

Except, no matter where Rocco looked, they couldn’t find any.

Slight panic rises up in their throat. They didn’t come so far just to fail! “There’s gotta be at least some here. Cmon…” they mutter, circling around the top of the hill. But it isn’t until it’s dark enough for the first couple stars to come out that Rocco sees a glow from atop the roof of the well.
“Of course,” Rocco says to themselves with a laugh, shaking their head. Pulling out the satchel from their bag, they carefully climb up the side of the well and scoop up enough stardust from the roof to fill the pouch. They turn to leave, but at the last second sprinkle a pinch of the dust into the well water.

After all, the well had granted their childhood wish of an epic quest. Perhaps Rocco could pass some of the good fortune on to someone else.

[549 words]

[EchoIre]

Any posts after this one will not receive the bonus 10 gems, however you may still sign up and yesterday's prompt will remain up for a few hours longer

[Rylf]

I'm down!
Username: Rylf
Signed-up Lambie: Valanx
Proof of Team Dream Allegiance: Dreamer
Other: “Count me in! I’m all for a new adventure. This is real exciting!”

[SunnyStreets]

I'm down!
Username: Ravenwhisper's wish
Signed-up Lambie: creamsicle
Proof of Team Dream Allegiance: here
Other: "I've got a bad feeling about messing around with people's dreams... I'd rather avoid them entirely."

[SunnyStreets]

I'm collecting stardust!
Username: Ravenwhisper's wish
Art/Writing: look, I found some stardust. I've been here all night. now, get me down will ya!

[EchoIre]

I'll be posting today's prompt at 1:30 CST! If you haven't completed it already, you still have some time <3

[EchoIre]

The new prompt is up!
All prizes are determined by RNG; some had a higher chance of rolling than others.

-Stardust Collector (adds glittering rings of stardust around your lambie's front paws/hooves)
-Stardust Savant (adds a halo of glittering stardust above your lambie's head)
-Lost Nail File (adds short claws to your lambie's paws)
-30 gems
-Ornate Jewelry Box (adds up to two small to medium sized pieces of jewelry to your lambie)
-Horizon Gem (used in a dreamfusion)

@bakuraas. Nai'a seems surprised when you return, perhaps not expecting someone so young to be the first back. "That was quick." She remarks. She peers inside the bag you give her, as if to make sure you didn't fill it with sand in an attempt to trick her. She makes an impressed sound when she sees the amount of stardust you collected. "I'll give your bag back tomorrow." After that you wake up, and rather suddenly too. The bag is gone, but there's a sizable pile of gems where it once was. (+30 gems)

@Gremlin Nai'a just barely hides her smirk as you return with the container of stardust. Still, she's gentle when taking the crystalline structure from you - though you're willing to bet that's only because she doesn't want to spill the stardust. She idly turns the container over, watching the stardust glitter as it shifts. She seems younger, just for a second, before something like a scowl falls over her face. "Did you really say 'hype train' before? I could've sworn I- actually, I don't want an answer to that. Just-" She turns away and you're awake, just like that. There's two circles of glittering stardust by where you sleep, hovering and moving in an ethereal way. You find that if you put your arm through the middle of one, it floats there. (+ Stardust Collector)

@saccharine. Nai'a's eyes widen when you hand her the messenger bag, surprised by it's weight. She lifts up the flap to confirm its all stardust, then looks back up at you. Her surprise quickly fades once she meets your eyes, though the typical disdain doesn't return in full. "Huh. Well done." She comments. "You should really consider making a living out of collecting stardust. Thank you." You wake up before you can say anything, and find a polished silver jewelry box at the foot of your bed. (+ Ornate Jewelry Box)

@Ravenwhisper's Wish "Stars above- you can fly, can't you?" Nai'a sounds exasperated, but helps you down regardless. It does nothing to calm your nerves, nor does her three-eyed scowl. "Next time, I'm letting you fall." She takes off to the sky, large wings taking her to the clouds quickly. There's two small rings of stardust where she was; at first, you think she left them behind, but quickly realize that they aren't so much piles as they are rings of the glittery stuff hovering a few inches off the ground. They float where you put them, the dust slowly turning to sparkle in the light. They would make pretty cool bracelets... (+ Stardust Collector)

@DaniCalifornia Unable to find Nai'a in the waking world, you go to sleep and hope for the best. You find yourself among the same clouds, this time holding the basket of stardust. Nai'a is in the same spot as before, but once again swoops down to your level. She takes the basket from you, quickly looking it over. She's holding a pale, round gem in her other paw, which she then hands to you. "I never had much use for these, but I hear others look pretty hard for them. Even if you can't use it, I'm sure you could trade is easily." You wake up with the cool gem clenched in your paw. Strange... (+ 1 Horizon Gem)

[bakuraas.]

I'm hunting fairy feathers!
Username: bakuraas.
Art/Writing:[1022 words]
[ feat. Iso and one of Iso's fathers, Minerva ]

"Fairy Feathers? Gosh, It's been a while since I've heard of anyone needing that...it's a very...archaic ingredient. But...if it's for the Festival of Dreams, I'm sure it has some purpose...but collecting Fairy Feathers is awfully difficult if you've no idea where to go..."

Iso watched as his father tapped his hoof on the table, clearly pondering what he should do. For a moment, Iso wondered if waking up and telling someone about what he was asked to do was a mistake, maybe he'd get grounded for this...but, instead he heard his father get up from the table and walk over to a bag-rack near the door, picking up a small pouch from it and fastening it around his flower collar. "Oh well, Me and Phoebus have been meaning to take you to my childhood home at some point, to show you around nature in an environment I know...but I guess we can take that trip early."

Iso's beamed a grin, running over to meet with his father at the door and grab his own bag. "Wow, is your childhood home really that unknown?" Minerva laughed, putting his wing around his son as a form of a hug. "Not exactly, Iso. But, when we get there, keep close to me and don't wander off with any butterflies you don't know, okay?" While Iso didn't know exactly what that meant, he got the general idea down, so he nodded and sang out a bit as he confirmed his understanding. "Got it~!"
~~~~~
After a good while of walking, and at least two breaks so that Iso could properly hydrate and appreciate some of the sights on the way- mostly of fields and flower gardens- they arrived at a large expanse of forest, and though the outside seemed to just be a wall of pine trees, the area which they arrived at looked as if it had a very small pathway that went into the woods. There were even small stones that looked like lambicorn paws and hooves, though by their placement, it seemed that the path into the forest was so small that it was a balancing act to keep on it.

Iso looked up to his father, who smiled at him before trying to explain to calm him down. "Okay, Iso. The fairies might be a little forgiving because you're younger, but I want you to be careful. They put these rocks down to keep big mean lambicorns from coming into here. But we're not big an mean, are we?" Iso nodded his head, he didn't think he was big or mean. He watched as Minerva put his hooves down onto the rocks, making sure to only step on the rocks placed on the ground, and moving forwards until there was enough space for Iso to step on as well. "Just be careful, and if you get scared, hold onto my tail, okay?" Iso looked down at the rocks, carefully putting his paws down on the stones and carefully putting all his limbs on the path. In a strange way, it seemed like the rocks themselves were helping calm him down.

Iso walked carefully behind his father as they moved forwards, looking down enough so that he could see the stones and step on them properly, but not so far down that he would lose sight of his father's tail. It didn't take very long to go through the path, but it felt a lot longer in Iso's mind. There were so many trees and plants around them, it was almost claustrophobic, and yet before he could think too much about how tight the squeeze between plants was, he found himself in a clearing with Minerva. He yelped a little bit, however, looking up fully to see a creature under a large cloak, with a huge mask in the shape of a butterfly that made it so that you could only see the creature's bright pink eyes.

The cloaked creature began to talk, an angry sounding feminine voice coming out from under the mask. "Who goes there?! No Lambicorns are allowed in here unless-" Before they could finish, Minerva gave a soft giggle, and spoke while putting his hoof on the cloaked one's shoulder. "Mom, it's me. Also I brought Iso...You're not wearing your glasses under there, are you?" That caused the cloaked one to gasp, giggling a bit as they took off the mask, revealing an aged and smiling female lambicorn underneath. Iso didn't need any more time to recognize her, and ran over, quickly hugging her while squealing out happily. "Grandma Birdwing!"
~~~~~
After a bit of catching up, including some talk about how Iso's grown so much, and a little bit of conversation that Iso didn't really understand, Minerva finally mentioned what they were here for. Causing Iso's grandmother to laugh a small bit. "Can I get you some Fairy Feathers? Why, that's like asking a farmer if he can get eggs! Of course I can, my dears! Thankfully Iso here was told what they look like, or else I might have to show him your baby feathers!" Minerva laughed, covering his face as he giggled out a reply to that, however, that was interrupted with Iso's voice full of shock upon putting two pieces together. "WAIT!! Was Dad a fairy!?" Both Minerva and Grandma Birdwing laughed at that, deciding to elaborate more on that after they got the feathers.

It didn't take too long to get the feathers, getting a decent amount from Grandma Birdwing's hoard of them gotten from shedding Fairies, though she did take the chance to pick out some of Minerva's baby feathers and showing them off as an example. Pretty much assuring to Iso that not only was his father a Fairy, he STILL was a fairy! Or at least, part fairy! After a bit more conversation, the group decided to stay at Grandma Birdwing's house for the night, since she had a guest bedroom and a couch for the two to use. Iso snuggled up in the bed, holding the bag of Fairy Wings in his arms carefully, hoping they would be good enough for Nai'a.

[Rylf]

I'm hunting fairy feathers!

Username: Rylf

Art/Writing:

"OH wow, fairy feathers. This is so cool!" Valanx exclaimed, whirling in a circle midair. His eyes closed momentarily as he took a moment to appreciate the breeze and fair weather. He refocused and moments later, darted down towards the ground at incredible speeds, excitement clearly splayed out across his face.

"SHINY," he screeched, nosediving into a prairie towards a faint sparkle, landing before it and investigating. Valanx approached it without any sense of caution and pounced like a lion on a mouse, gripping the object between his front paws. He brought it up to his face and then frowned, "Aw, not a fairy feather." His frown quirked up only a brief second later, "But boy, this coin sure is shiny! I think I'll keep you~"

With that, Valanx shot back into the clear blue sky like a rocket launching, laughing as his wings propelled him upward towards the sun. He hovered briefly and then set off back on his adventure, flying to and fro, picking up plenty of shiny objects along the way. Nothing very notable happened and Valanx was growing tired. He eventually decided to land and take a rest by a little pond to get a drink and stretch his muscles.

"Ahhhh, relaxing." Valanx sighed blissfully, the sun warming his back as he lay sprawled over a small boulder, his head resting between his paws, his eyes lidded and sleepy.

The moment didn't last long. Valanx shot to his feet quicker than a bullet, once again fully awake. His eyes widened with surprise as he lept off the rock and pounced upon a soft shimmering in the bushes. He pulled it out to reveal his prize. Not one, not two, but three sparkling, glittering fairy feathers in his grasp. "YES! I FOUND THEM!" he exclaimed, his rest long forgotten as he raced back into the air to meet his Queen Dream.