While Ponies and Toads Celebrate (Fleetfoot)

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Synth Pop lay flat on the flannel pattern interior of an unzipped sleeping bag she outstretched on a small, flat boulder. She looked out over Saddle Lake, just northeast from Ponyville, and from an initial expression of calm whimsy - the corners of her mouth just slightly lifted - a smile rose and widened in the charcoal dark of her face and the sparkling midnight blue above in the sky and below the hill reflected in the water. Her head and eyes scanned from left to right, her focus on the other side of the lake half a mile away. A thread of shimmering amber wrapped around the water's edge, going all the way around the lake. Behind her, about fifty yards away, the bonfires crackled as stringsong and singsong drifted through the pines to her ears at an intimate whisper.

It was the night of one of Ponyville's many events, the September Sunset Celebration. She wasn't sure of the origins beyond that it was a tradition meant to celebrate to last warm nights of the year. Most of Ponyville would set up camp around the shores of Saddle Lake early in the afternoon, and the ponies would grill spiced vegetables and potatoes while others enjoyed the water, potentially getting a great view as the fliers of the town enjoyed the cool, wide, stress-free airspace. She found out only after arriving that Ponyville had scheduled the Wonderbolts themselves to do fast, thrilling routines just above the surface of the water (and some swimmers' or rafters' heads. Synth heard cheering in her dreams, deep in her afternoon sleep.

Synth Pop wiggled on her legs, settling her body into the thick material a bit more. In the distances, she spotted pairs of dark wings flapping among the reeds, a group of Bat Ponies finding the last large dragonflies and juicy fireflies of the year. Around and in front of her, the Bats' competition croaked and splashed, and she let herself just listen to their conversation to find the layers. A bullfrog, perhaps near the mossy pine to her left, let out a deep and rubbery groan. Was there a reply? Perhaps. A deep and squishy croak from a bush to her right seemed to answer. The communication was truly simple; perhaps they were celebrating too, applauding friends' intoxications like the ponies in the clearing far back. Still, she continued to smile, no more dressed than the toads.

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In the last of the evening warmth and the quickly fading light, Fleetfoot sneaked through a stand of cat-tails. She had to be careful, for a misstep might send her into the lake, and the pegasus mare had a wary distrust of the water. Yet even more than that, she mistrusted what was likely to happen if she stayed any longer at the Wonderbolt's show after-party. She was known for being something of a lightweight, and at the last few of these parties, she'd swear there had been some kind of subtle conspiracy to get her drunk. Not for any malicious or suspicious reasons, mind you... Fleet was pretty sure it was just because they found her extremely amusing when under the influence. Fireflies swirled in lazy spirals along the shore, and the Wonderbolt followed them idly- until an over-eager bat pony leaped out of a bush and snapped up the little will 'o the wisps. With a sheepish grin (but no apology) the bat pony darted away after some moths. Fleet continued on, in the dark. The going became a little easier; she seemed to be in a tiny clearing of some kind. The silhouette of a large, reasonably flat stone seemed to promise a comfortable seat until the moon rose, and Fleet felt her way cautiously over, only to find... it was already occupied! "Oh... Hello... sorry to bother you. I didn't realize this seat was taken." the pegasus said, with a soft and gentle laugh.

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Synth Pop heard hoofsteps in the undergrowth, the first few fallen leaves of the coming Autumn crispy crumbling under the hooves. She glanced, and seeing the silhouette of a pony, she looked back ahead towards the lake. The pony was just a single, brief moment. Whoever they were, she figured in a single thought, they would be away, perhaps towards the water to listen or play. Ponies were enjoying the night, after all. But then she heard a dull bump on the rock through the layers of the sleeping bag under her, and felt a tap at one of her hind hooves, which immediately perked her ears back up. "Oh... Hello... sorry to bother you. I didn't realize this seat was taken." Synth turned her head as a soft voice went into a laugh, and her breath stumbled.

A pale blue coat and mane so finely held the moonlight that it she nearly reflected the light of the night itself for what little she could see, the mare's body wrapped in electric-blue and a night-dimmed yellow. Before the first word could crystallize in her mind, her body took to reaction first, her ice-blue eyes opening wide and shoulders tensing as her whole body turned, her back facing the edge of the boulder. "It is not a bother hello the boulder is wide and incredibly vast hi." Her tone was a low monotone panic. She remembered how to breathe only when not an ounce of air was left to draw from. With a breath and blink, mind and body finally aligned. "Excuse me ... I was lost. Good evening, Miss Fleetfoot. It ... it has been ... a very long time."

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Fleetfoot was not known for her ability to see well in low-light situations, but it rarely mattered. Wonderbolts didn't do shows after sunset much, and if they had, there wasn't much to stumble over or crash into, up in the air. so Fleet squinted slightly, trying to place the shadowy mare. At least, until that mare spoke. When she did, recognition like a static shock struck the pegasus, causing her usually well-behaved wings to flare out like a school filly's! "Synth Pop!" Fleet exclaimed in genuine surprise and more than a hint of pleasure. "It has been a long time! Good evening, indeed- Hello! Are you well? I'd tell you that you're looking great, but unfortunately, in this dark, I can't make you out at all..." A remembrance tumbled into place then, and Fleet collected and calmed herself, with an effort. Synth was not a fan or a teammate. She could relax and speak quietly. "It's very good to see you. Would you like some company? But really, don't let me bother you if not. It looks like you might have gone to a good deal of trouble for some solitude, and I'd hate to spoil it for you." The Wonderbolt grinned kindly. She knew what that was like!

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Synth Pop's head had canted to the side in a sort of confusion as Fleet, next to her, seemed not to see her, and upon the snap-open of wings, she sank wide-eyed below her own shoulders looking upwards. She rose again as the Wonderbolt eased into a softer voice, and there, the mare of and in the natural dim and shadow gave that calm focusing of features to reflect perhaps thought and awareness both. She audibly took in the air until it filled her chest firmly against the flannel between them and the boulder, and smiled just a little. So little, perhaps, that only a Bat Pony with a microscope could possibly detect it. She let her a shoulder slump just a little as she tilted her back away, looking more comfortably to the masked mare smiling. In the distance, a colt's cry of joy was followed by a splash and popping of laughter.

"I ... would prefer solitude ... it is true. But ... I ... hope for solitude from strangers ... from trying a game of impressions and assumptions. I ... do not have so many familiar faces in my life that I want solitude from them. Sorry ... long winded. I simply meant to say ... I am saying, that you would not spoil this at all. It is ... truly exciting to meet you during a relaxing occasion and I would like to share the spot with you. Um ... please ... if you would like ... um ... get comfortable. I ... would understand if you would like to be in silence ... if you would not want to lay pony conversation over the frogs', but I would be interested in hearing about how you have been if you would like to talk?"