Malachite's heart fell at the sight of the cracked door- although he probably should have expected as much in such foul weather, it only made sense for some pony to be cautious.  Fortunately, another pony inside decided to throw caution to the wind and flung the door wide open.  A Unicorn pony took the place of the pegasus he momentarily saw; she batted her orange eyes and invited him in which he of course wasted no time in accepting the offer, trotting past the white pegasus, trailing mud behind him as he went.<br/><br/>Malachite could hardly get a word in, so talkative was Starshine, as she had introduced herself.  She flashed him a fetching smile but he was far too distracted and relieved to return it.  Without thinking he shook himself, spraying water and mud around.  He stopped a moment later as he realised what he was doing and where he was.<br/>"I'm sorry.  Uh, my name's Malachite and I could really do with something to get cleaned off."  He thought again before adding: "Sorry about the mess- thanks for lettin' me in though.  I was gettin' drenched out there- another minute and I'd probably be sick for sure."<br/><br/>Calm down Malachite, no pony saw you come here, you're safe now, just lay low and calm down.  He took a breath before finally taking in the surroundings.  It was a warm house, arrayed with a collection of curiosities and a few instruments he recognised.<br/>He saw the mud and water pooling around his hooves and gave it a habitual slap with his hoof.  He felt guilty and looked araound again and saw the Pegasus.<br/><br/>"Lyric, was it?"  He smiled as he felt himself calming down, yet still alert.  "Thanks for opening the door."