On the search! (attn; Hollow Waltz)

[starsong]

Starsong was distraught. She was already part-way through her tour and still lacking the choreographic prowess she sought after! Having officially run out of places to search, the pegasus found herself wandering idly through Ponyville, watching the others as they carried on with their meagre little lives. Ugh, nopony was of any use! Here she was, in the middle of a crisis, being completely ignored like she was just the same as every other pony in Equestria. Didn't they realise that talent alone was not enough? To be a true star, she would need the skills of a dancer, and without that, her future concerts would be a complete flop!

"This is practically useless." Came a short huff. Grimacing, Starsong continued her idle trot through the town, keeping an eye out for any signs of hope. Not that a lot of the denizens here would be of much help, in her eyes. Of course, there was always time for her disbelief to be challenged, should anyone wish to approach her.

[hollowwaltz]

Jobless. Hollow plodded through Ponyville park, her head held high but her thoughts dropped low. She had already left Manehattan for a job; the society, the class, the wide selection of theaters and other places seeking to employ someone of her skills. There weren't any fresh opportunities there, and she realized it still, but... Now she was jobless again. Of course the theater she had found employment at (and a rather generous employment it was, at that) would go under before they'd managed to get their first production off the ground; what else could she have expected.

The park was rather beautiful despite the chill in the air, but Hollow was far too concerned with her own predicament to care. Her luck was going absolutely rotten recently, and she really couldn't see it turning up anytime soon. This was the end of the line for her, she could just tell. She cocked her head upward quickly and continued her graceful walk, she had to keep appearances after all, but she wasn't feeling it anymore.

She found a bench which was relatively clean, and decided to sit down. It wasn't as though there was anything left to do. Settling herself on the bench calmly, she quietly pondered her fate.

[starsong]

Trundling past the idle ponies, Starsong let out another indignant sigh. Searching for anypony of use in this town was futile! Perhaps a stroll further out would soothe her problems. As such, the pegasus found herself drifting towards the park nearer to the edge of Ponyville, a figurative cloud over her head. Oh, would her crisis never end?

A heavy sigh left the mare began to think of just giving up entirely. Her show could survive without choreography, sure, but it would not nearly be the hit she wished it to be - and she'd be kicking herself for not pursuing her dream further! Oh, if only she knew where to look!

"Argh! There's gotta be at least one pony in Equestria that actually knows how to prance to music!" Came a frustrated cry as she reached the park, pretty much blind to any pony who may have been in the vicinity. Honestly, she had no belief that she would find the pony she sought here, so she wasn't scanning the others around her right now. Seeking some kind of calm despite her irritated state, the violet pegasus promptly parked her haunches underneath a shady tree, groaning profusely. "I'm gonna be a laughing stock."

[hollowwaltz]

Hollow's langorous lament for the loss of her career was very rudely interrupted by another pony complaining about her own troubles; Hollow didn't pay too much attention to what she said. At first she tried to simply ignore the other pony outright, but then they said that they were going to be a laughing stock, and she couldn't let it stand.

"Do you mind?" she said angrily, drifting off her bench like a specter. "I highly doubt that your petty complaints are any concern of the ones listening to them, especially not those of us with real problems." she normally tried to restrain herself in situations like these; it was so ungraceful to voice such concerns, but the other pony had set her off and she was tired of restraining herself. "You may have concerns with your reputation but I hardly think you'll lose your career over it. I threw away my entire life in Manehattan for a job, and then the theater collapses!" She sighed dramatically, shaking her head and running a hoof through her mane. Even if she was going to voice some of those uncouth concerns of hers, she wouldn't allow it to ruin her image. "If you would be so kind, I would much enjoy it if you allowed me to lament in peace."

With that she stamped a foot down softly (always softly, didn't want to chip a hoof) and then turned towards the bench she'd claimed a few moments ago. She'd had quite enough of other ponies' problems.

[starsong]

The violet pegasus whirled around to face the onslaught of angst directed towards her, a scowl on her maw.

"Excuse me?" Starsong snapped. Just because she wasn't on perfect form today didn't mean she was going to stand for any disrespect from another. She had every right to express her woes in any way she pleased! "Who's to say my problems aren't just as bad as yours? If you are a theatre pony, then you of all ponies should understand that putting together a show is hard work! And without back up, my own talents are nothing!"

Starsong wasn't particularly interested in this other pony's life story, either. She'd said it herself - everypony has problems, and what did she have to care? To be honest, part of the reason she was even voicing her concerns was in some last-ditch hope that somepony might hear her cry for help and... well, you know, help. Silly her for thinking that could ever happen. "I'll just move out of your little paradise of quiet then, shall I? Hmph."

[hollowwaltz]

Hollow shivered a little at the other mare's continued tirade, doing her best to maintain control. That outburst had been bad enough. The pegasus wasn't making any easier for her, of course; what was she offended about? Hollow had every right to mourn the loss of everything she had; it was everything. "If you're the future of theatre I weep for the arts," she said softly, with a wicked cut to it. "You could take to learn some self control."

The other pony was finally leaving. Hollow relaxed, deciding to make one more comment before she went back into her own little grave of lamentation. "If your talents are that worthless, perhaps you should rethink your career choice." with that, she sunk back into her lamentations, considering what she could possibly do to relieve them. She could hardly go find another job around Ponyville, she had a hard enough time finding actors who could dance when she'd found a job. There wasn't another theater. And she had already forsaken Manehattan, and wouldn't return with her tail between her legs anytime soon.

Perhaps she should just give up, end it all with one last performance. That would be a fitting end to her unsuccessful career... she pondered it for a few moments, liking the thought but not sure if she should rush into the end so eagerly just yet.

[starsong]

"I never said my talents were worthless." Came Starsong's first retort, the most important point she felt she had to make clear. A fantastic amount of ponies loved her song, that was for sure, but it was the rest of the show surrounding it that the pegasus was concerned by. "And I'm not rethinking my career. I'm going to stick with it - there's no way in Equestria that I'm becoming a one-hit-wonder!"

Starsong almost shivered at the thought. Urgh, she couldn't let her stardom die so soon! Although, if her fans ever caught wind of her arguing with another pony like this, her popularity with them might well slip... In an attempt to seem not quite so distasteful, the violet pegasus fished out the words to explain herself a little. "Look," she began, decibels dropping a few notches, "I'm a songwriter and although I'd be considered a success at the moment, I've only got one completed song so far. There are others but... well, you know, I need time to complete them and I can't do that whilst on tour." Pausing, she turned to face the other pony, studying her slightly. "I was looking for somepony who might be able to help me make my show a little more... exciting. I mean, I can only fill so much time with one song and some crowd interaction, and my audience will get bored if I don't add something else soon. Right now, it's only myself on stage, mostly standing in place when I'm singing."

It was kind of a longshot to try and do this. After all, the other mare probably didn't care about Starsong's troubles if she had her own, but there was a slim chance that the pony might at least know somepony else who could help. Oh well. Perhaps it would get the other pony off her case, if anything. She was hardly some stupid filly worrying about squabbles or clothes or something.

[hollowwaltz]

She wasn't leaving; Hollow's eye twitched a little in irritation. Hadn't she said she was going away? Surely she had places to be or some other such nonsense, unlike Hollow herself. Couldn't she plan her death in peace? But no, the other pony just had to take her comments as an invitation to spill her heart out to the disgraced lady in the park.

Of course, once she'd started to talk Hollow couldn't help but listen; curse her open nature. So the mare was apparently somewhat popular? She rolled her eyes at the thought; she'd never understood the value of that kind of music and had noticed that the permanence of it when compared to her own place of specialization was almost nonexistant. She almost said something about it but held her tongue as the other pony finished her tale.

"You're alone on stage? And you expect to hold attention with your voice alone?" she said incredulously. "Surely you know the value of performance! You must have some way of involving the crowd!" Before she could stop herself she was on her hooves. Surely the mare wasn't that foolish? She had to find out.

"You must at least have a band? Some sort of lights show? Dancers?" she continued, taking a few steps forward. "The song doesn't make the show, it's the performance! That's what makes the stage so powerful!" she'd gotten herself worked up now, and the volume of her voice was rising. She had to stop herself; this was far too uncouth of her!

She ran a hoof through her mane, calming herself and slowing her breathing, and she was whole again. "I apologize for that outburst," she said coolly, going back to sit down. "It's just... a matter of personal importance to me that dancing is appreciated. You may be on your way." she sat down, turning away to hide the light blush she felt on her face.

[starsong]

Since she still had parts of the mare's outburst to respond to, Starsong wasn't leaving just yet. This was turning into slightly less of a row and more of a conversation, now.

"Well I've got a backing track but there's nopony else on stage." Continued the pop star, brushing her lilac mane from her eyes with a sigh. Perhaps taking a minute out to relax would be a good idea. "I've been looking all day for some ponies who could be my dancers or even help choreograph my own moves, so at least I'm not just standing there. But so far I've had no luck!"

Sitting her haunches on the grass, Starsong glanced across the other mare for a moment or two. She'd move on in a little bit, sure, but for that exact second, the mare just wanted a break. The contrast in her colours was startling, but interesting on a second look. Why couldn't there be more ponies who were interested in these kinds of things? Starsong had no idea of this particular pony's profession, but at least Hollow Waltz seemed to know what she was talking about. Actually, that spurred amother question from the violet mare. "What exactly do you do?"

[hollowwaltz]

Hollow quietly listened to the other pony while the flush on her face was fading; it wasn't as though she could go back to her own consideration while she was still focused on restoring her own train of thought while there were ponies around to see her embarrassment. She breathed in and out, working on a calming method casually and finally restoring herself to actually look back at the pegasus.

At least the other pony understood her predicament, she had to give her that much. She wondered what on earth had possessed her to go onstage without a band? If she had composed a song with instrumental pieces, surely she could get people to play them live with her! She resisted the urge to roll her eyes at the foolishness; she would rather go back to planning her death than embarrass herself again.

She maintained her slightly bored expression, but her eyes lit up at the possibility of a job. It was... detestable, compared to a proper performance, but it would at least get her back into a place of some importance and would save her the indignancy of returning to Manehattan for a job market where she couldn't go anywhere. Who knew, perhaps she could even use this to get past the cieling she'd found back in Manehattan.

She unseated herself from the bench and ran a hoof through her mane, doing her best to act as though she'd gained some greater interest in the pony's predicament now. Admittedly, she had, but it was of the "hysterical I can't reveal this side of me to anypony" way that she despised admitting.

The other pony asked her curiously, and Hollow paused, somewhat taken aback by the question. "Hollow Waltz," she said calmly. "Experienced dancer, although recently that particular field has claimed me to be too old for it so I've taken to choreography lately. My specialization is waltz, although I have not insubstantial experience with ballet." finishing her short introduction, she gave a quick curtsy.

[starsong]

The pegasus' ears pricked at her words. A dancer? Choreography?! Why hadn't she mentioned this sooner! Hollow Waltz could well be just the pony she'd been looking for! Eyes lighting up at the prospect of possibly being able to move on with this predicament of hers, the mare leapt back to her hooves.

"You're a choreographer now? Well, that's perfect! Oh, you could help me find some dancers with actual talent and then finally I can concentrate on writing the rest of my songs rather than trying to round up some two-bit ponies with no sense of direction! Yes, definitely! That is, if you'd be on board with that~?"

So, it was a little bit of a round-about way of asking, but the theory was there. Getting Hollow on board would free up her schedule, no question. And keep the punters entertained too! The showpony really needed to get some more backstage things worked out, but - no, no more time for thinking. Firstly, she was awaiting Hollow's response, and needed to be paying attention for that.

[hollowwaltz]

Hollow looked up, considering it anew even though the same thought had occurred to her a few moments ago. Yes, it was a job she could potentially do, but she wasn't entirely sure if she could enjoy something like that; after all, her training was in classical, and it was rather clear to her that this pony was anything but. She certainly couldn't respect that particular type of showmanship, it always seemed gaudy and somewhat tasteless to her.

Regardless, if it would get her some sort of status it would be better than nothing, and the chance of her getting a respectable position at this point, especially here, were almost nothing. She really didn't have anywhere else to go; she'd been considering killing herself a few moments earlier, after all. She still rather liked the idea, however... she set it aside for later.

"I would be willing to consider it," she said, ever the reserved and delicate lady with her interactions. "Although I will warn you that I've nearly no experience with what your style of music is; it's not within my interests," she continued, a disdainful note coming into her voice on the word music as though she thought the entire proceeding wasn't worth respect. She couldn't help the subtle touches her voice chose to make occasionally, although she managed to keep it from affecting her mood.

"That said, my special talent is the grace and fluidity of my dancing. I'm sure I can come up with something to fit your... music." Three was that hint of disdain at the word music again, she couldn't seem to avoid it. A twinge of annoyance came into her face, and she ran a hoof through her hair to restore her sanity. There was very little that phased her, but this pony had already managed to press her buttons once, and she was spread thin now.

She had chosen life, but for now she had lost her self-respect. She managed a coolly detached look upon her face, however, knowing that if this brought the status she could hope for it to bring she may be able to break that wall she'd found in Manehattan and gain herself a much better position. She brought her hoof forth slowly and gracefully, ever focused on making it seem respectful but not deferring. She hated how much effort it took to perform these simple acts, but it was the only way she could ever live.

[starsong]

Did she notice Hollow's lack of enthusiasm? Not a jot! The pegasus was far too preoccupied with the planning required for the next few days - it was too late to begin brainstorming today, and she needed to get back to her, ah, temporary accommodation. No, no, they'd definitely have to start tomorrow. Perhaps early, to take full advantage of the day. Oh, but where? What if her new team member had other plans?

"Sorry, but do you have a studio? If not, how about a breakfast meetup? Then we can get on with planning as soon as possible! Oh, do you need ponies to, y'know, choreograph? Or do you want to start with just me?"

As much as she, too, had to keep up appearances, the mare's excitement was difficult to contain. One of her greatest fears about her performance had been quelled! Well, at least for the time being. Celestia knows whether or not Hollow Waltz would stick around with her troupe, or even whether the instructor and herself would get along. Working whilst up in hooves against each other would definitely not be easy.

Letting out a whistle as her form of stress relief, Starsong ran a hoof through her mane before firmly shaking the hoof of her new co-worker. "So much to do!"

[hollowwaltz]

Hollow sighed with just a touch of exasperation in her voice - just a touch, not nearly enough for her feelings to become obvious, heavens no. This mare certainly seemed far too enthusiastic for her usual tastes, at least outwardly. Hollow did have quite the passion for her dancing, but when she was very young she'd been taught just how uncouth it was, and she hadn't revealed how she felt about anything since.

Releasing the hoofshake rather quickly, as though she was completely appalled at what she was doing - and to some extent she was. She considered her current position, however, and realized that she would have to put aside her own feelings yet again. That included her pride - she couldn't pretend that the abandoned theater was still her office for this.

"My... offices, as it were, have recently been cleared. The building went out of business," she said, coughing a little sheepishly. "I was hardly lying when I said that my troubles were significant. Breakfast will be... adequate." She sat back down, running a hoof through her mane.

"Out of curiosity, where are you staying? I can't think of anywhere within this... quaint... town that hosts guests," she said idly, not sure what else she could say to the other pony. If she still had some sort of dignity she would have dismissed her immediately after scheduling a time at her office... but without her dignity, and without an office, she didn't particularly having control over her meeting schedule anymore. She would have to change that sometime.

[starsong]

Starsong waved an absent hoof at the mare as she tried to explain her predicament. Admittedly overexcited, the showpony was eager to just begin with their little arrangement rather than worry about the minor details. They'd fall into place later.

"Oh, don't worry about that! I've got plenty to look after the both of us - can't have my choreographer working on an empty stomach, you'll pass out!" She said quickly, watching as Hollow sat back down. The mare seemed a little tired, she thought. Or perhaps she was just relieved to have a job now - Starsong wasn't a mind reader, she couldn't really tell. Regardless, Hollow Waltz had endeavoured to ask the violet pegasus a question, and she had to answer that.

"Oh, me?" Asked Starsong, pulling a hoof to her chest, "My agent has set me up with a little place just outside of Ponyville. Temporary, of course, as I'm still on tour. The main room would probably be large enough for some acrobatics, though, if you wanted to practice inside rather than out. The weather can be against us sometimes."

Despite being a pegasus, Starsong was rarely 'in the know' about when the weather would be changing next, so she treated it as a surprise. After all, her show took up most of her time - as well as her adoring fans - so she just couldn't spend her precious minutes on silly things like "when is the next rainfall scheduled for". Honestly, she had more important things to think about. "We can go there now if you'd like. Otherwise, I'll see you tomorrow."