Appearances Aren't Everything

      She was a Cybunny. And, as the Eyrie noticed, she was Shadow. Her name was unknown. She had wandered Neopia all her life. She swam well, and always managed to reach her destination. But, after visiting much of Neopia, she decided Neopia was the best place for her. She had visited the Second Hand Shoppe and the Money Tree for everything she owned. She wished, not for the first time, or the last, that people would donate more than piles of dung and Ultra Fashionable Potato Sacks. Those did nothing to keep her warm or dry. She couldn't even eat them, for the sack was too strong, and she was not a Grarrl or a Skeith.

      Her stomach growled, jerking her out of her fantasy that she was adopted and dry. To the Money Tree she trudged. She could normally find something there, even if it was just some old ripped plushies that were of no use to her hunger but at least kept her hunger at bay while she played. "Oh yum," she thought. "More soggy Omelettes. If only Jelly World existed. Then I could at least have a dessert." But she still ate the Omelette in three bites. Then, with a final despairing thought, she trudged "home".

      "Home" was actually a bunch of cardboard boxes held together with Piles of Dung and covered with Ultra Fashionable Potato Sacks. At least it kept her somewhat dry and was a little warmer. Maybe some day she could buy a Warm Green Blanket. She certainly had Neomonia often enough, and when she didn't she had the Neoblues. But there were no Tasty Pies in her future. And, comforted by the dryer place, roof over her head, and the familiar smell of dung, she drifted to sleep.

      In the morning, she found many little gold beads around her bed. "Wow. How did those get there?" she thought hopefully. Then a thought struck her. "They're probably not for me, I shouldn't use them." She puzzled for a moment more, then went to the Shop Wizard. She would buy a few necessities, then go home. She surely wouldn't have more than a thousand Neopoints in there.

      She asked the Shop Wizard to show her the price of a Warm Green Blanket. They cost 2000-2500 Neopoints, and she decided to try to haggle with the shop keepers. So she went into one that cost 2,085 and spoke to the shopkeeper. "May I have a Warm Green Blanket?" she asked.

     "How many NP do you have?" replied the shopkeeper.

     "NP? I only have these round gold beads!" She showed them to the shopkeeper.

     "Wow, genuine gold pet tears! They're worth about one thousand Neopoints each, and you have 10! That's ten thousand Neopoints there! That's a lot for one Neopet, you know."

     "Really? Wow. So may I have the blanket?"

     "Certainly. That will be two thousand Neopoints, or 2 tears."

      She handed them over to the shopkeeper, still awed that they had appeared. "I mean, I'm not gold, am I?" she asked herself. She went over to a Full Length Mirror that the shop had and looked at herself. She was as black as ever. She left the shop, and asked about Tasty Pies.

      A few hours later, she was done shopping. She bought a Warm Green Blanket, 5 Tasty Pies, 500 omelettes, and a Jetsam Sea Captain Rain Slicker, which came with a free Jetsam Sea Captain Rain Hat. She figured that she could wear them, because TNT didn't give her any Customization booth. And, after putting her items in a heap, she pulled out the Warm Green Blanket and went to sleep.

      The next morning, she decided to make a friend somehow. But where would she find a fellow homeless pet? They all seemed to be in the Pound. Then she remembered the Money Tree. She thought that if they were like her, they'd need to stop for meals. So out she went, into the wild blue yonder (or, you know, to the Money Tree). Almost immediately after she got there, a ragged blue Acara walked up and carefully picked up an omelette. Then, the Cybunny walked up to the Acara. "Hi," she said.

     "Hello," the Acara replied.

     "Do you have any home?"

     "No."

     "Would you like to come to mine?"

     The Acara was awed. Unable to speak, she just nodded and off they went.

      The next morning, they woke up. After feasting on Omelettes, they went out to play games. After a while, they went to the Shop Wizard and bought another Jetsam Sea Captain Rain Slicker, complete with a Jetsam Sea Captain Rain Hat. And so the days continued. The Acara's name, it turned out, was PrincessCrystalStar. The Cybunny always called her Star. She and Star enjoyed making up names for her. Star would go first. "Hello, Shadiana," Star would say.

     "Please, my name is Sholrinka," the Cybunny would reply.

      And like that. Then one day, Star came up with a perfect name. And now she was Shinlia (pronounced shine-lia). Then one day, they did something neither had done before. They took a bath. They found a nice river, and then played games and bought Raindrop Shampoo, Peophin Fragrant Soap, Snowbunny Bath Puff, Goldy Bath Scrubber, Cloud Grundo Bath Sponge, a Meepit Mirror, and some Baby Aisha Bubble Bath.

      They went down to the river, and added some Baby Aisha Bubble Bath. Then they sank in, bringing everything else. They put Peophin Fragrant Soap on Snowbunny Bath Puffs, Goldy Bath Scrubbers, and Cloud Grundo Bath Sponges. Then, they scrubbed. They poured Raindrop Shampoo on themselves, rubbed it into their fur, and scrubbed. The river got very dirty. Finally, after each scrubbed the other with Cloud Grundo Bath Sponges, they got out. Star gasped. "What is it, Star?" Shinlia asked. "Is Dr. Sloth behind me? Did the Shadow Usul steal something?"

     "N-no," Star spluttered. "N-nothing like that. Just l-look in a m-mirror!"

      So Shinlia, being a good sport, looked in the mirror. She saw what surprised Star.

      "Shinlia, you're painted GOLD!!!"

      And so she was. Suddenly, everything clicked. The tears were hers; she had cried in her sleep. Why she had the money to be painted Shadow, she was just really dirty. Suddenly, their fortune took a turn for the better.

      From then on, Star and Shinlia never were poor again. Using hairs from Shinlia's hairbrush, they bought a Neohome, food, toys, etc. Whatever they wanted, they could get. So they lived in a marble Neohome, with fires in every room, and there were beds for them. And once they had achieved this, what did they do? They created a home for the homeless Neopets. And to this day, they're taking care of everyone. So if you ever meet a homeless Neopet, point them in the direction of Shinlia's house. She can always take in a few more, for the more, the merrier!

The End

w00t! I'm in the NT! Have any questions or comments? Let me know. Thanks for reading, sorry for the boring end. HIPPO!