I walked on, with no sense of direction in this lifeless place, no notion of time nor distance, it was all I could think to do. My hooves plodded onward seemingly of their own accord and mind, my head sagging low. I would say I was weary but that would be a lie, I didn’t feel any fatigue at all and I most certainly had no clue as to when I had last eaten or drank.

Oddly, the thought of food and drink came to me as a now almost alien experience. Rather explain to me what it was like to fly when I had no wings.

Would a fish have an understand of soaring through the air like a bird ? Mentally, I caught myself, I had heard of flying fish so that probably wasn’t the best analogy I could have conjured up.

In the back of my wandering mind I could feel the cold fury boiling away, reminding me of its existence. I imagined it to be like a small, hard ball of anger, of all the pain and despair I had suffered, waiting to be visited upon the ponies who had sentenced me to this….this….whatever the hell ‘this’ was.

My hooves trudged on. The light here never changed, I wondered how long I had been walking for, hours, days ? Maybe even weeks ? Who could say. I wasn’t tired so I just walked, one leg in front of the other, thud…thud…thud.

The sand crunched lightly to my hoof steps, the only other sound my steady breathing. Come to think of it, did I even need to breath here ? After all, my body was, well, gone I suppose. Burnt to a crisp back in our home. Save someone the trouble of cremating us anyway. I stifled a chuckle as a lump came to my throat.

Thud…thud….thud

The image of a green mare, her pale green mane blowing in the breeze, entered my lonely mind. With little distraction here in the emptiness, I could focus all my attention on memory, recall her every detail. I closed my eyes and let my body find its own path whilst I drowned myself in memories of a summer day….

The day in question had been hot. Too hot for a sensible equestrian citizen to be wearing a woollen coat, yet there I was looking like I was ready for the onset of winter. Already starting to sweat profusely, I took shelter beneath a large oak tree, immediately feeling the relief of its cooling shade.

I pulled out my tunic collar with my hoof, trying desperately to waft some cold air down my front, providing at least some slight relief.

Across the manicured lawn, a group of ponies were setting up a picnic. They were all sat around a large red and white checked rug, with a selection of plates and neatly arranged cutlery. As I watched, the brightly coloured ponies opened their

hampers and placed the food before them; cakes, sandwiches, pies and, I noted with a jealous gaze, a pitcher of what looked like lemonade. The outside of it was frosted, a tiny dribble of the liquid slowly rolling down the outside. I could imagine ice clinking inside, cooling the delicious beverage. Someone there was quite clever with magic to pull that off on a day like today.

Feeling increasingly thirstly, I wondered whether I could be brazen enough to ask for a glass but quickly quashed that thought. It wouldn’t be right, “but”, that little voice said at the back of my mind “surely they wouldn’t mind would they ? I mean, come on, it’s a lot of lemonade to go around and you would be able to speak to them. You know you’d like too, right ?”.

The problem was, I really would like to. Very much indeed. At least, right up until when one of their number, a ludicrously pink pony with an equally wild pink mane, began performing cart wheels around them. She crashed unceremoniously through the group splattering chocolate cake frosting in all directions and raising shouts of outrage from the assembled mares. A particularly large dollop flew into the mane of a elegantly coifed white pony, eliciting a shriek of horror.

I couldn’t help but laugh out loud at the spectacle and realised my mind had been completely taken off the cloying heat of the day.

Just then, a sudden deep rumbling shook the tree I was sheltering beneath, rustling its leaves. The ponies looked up to the sky, the lavender coloured one quickly levitating the remnants of the crockery and leftovers back into the hampers. Moments later the deluge began. The rain came down in large meaty droplets, hammering the ground and obscuring my sight.

The colourful troupe had now fled for cover and my plans to continue my rounds had been brought to an abrupt halt. I didn’t much care, there was a strange calm beneath the oak, a pleasant smell of grass, soil, bark and leaves mingling with the fresh rain. I looked up, closed my eyes and felt the water dripping though the canopy of leaves onto my face. Standing on my back legs, I raised up my forelegs and whooped aloud, “This is what its all about !” I said to myself, revelling in the wildness of the smells and the sounds surrounding me.

“Feels good doesn’t it ?”

I nearly fell over backwards. Looking round at the intrusion to my display, I came face to face with….a large brimmed straw hat.

A delicate green foreleg appeared and tilted the hat back, revealing a pair of deep yellow eyes and a somewhat sardonic smile.

“I….erm…yes. Yes it does, very good….actually. Um….mmmmm”. Very smooth.

She giggled girlishly, holding her hoof up to her mouth then turned to look out across the field.

“Which one did you have your eye on then ?”, She asked in a disinterested manner.

My mouth opened as I began to speak but no words came out. I must have stood there like a landed fish until I shut it with a snap, “I…what ?!” I asked foalishly.

The mare laughed, stomping her hooves on the ground in glee, “Oh, look, I’m sorry, I just couldn’t resist. I’m in one of those moods today. Don’t you feel it too ? The sun, the blue sky, the rain, so….alive !”.

She turned a beaming smile on me and I looked down at her, feeling as though I were falling into those deep yellow orbs. “Yes. Yes I do” I replied unable to break the gaze.

As the moment passed, the mare turned away from me and I almost expected her to walk away, but then she paused. With a movement that made me start, she turned back to me and grabbed my hoof in hers for a vigorous shake, “MEADOW !” she said in a squeaky voice before clearing her throat and trying again, “Meadow. My name is Meadow, a pleasure to meet you sir. I beg you to forgive my forwardness.”

“Fairlight, Miss Meadow. A pleasure, likewise, to make your acquaintance. Please, there is nothing to forgive. Rather, I would say that you’ve brought a ray of sunshine here with you through the rain storm.” Oh goddesses, that sounded cheesey. I mentally cringed, my self esteem diving for cover behind the settee of helpless libido.

She smiled. A smile that melted my heart and made me feel like I wanted to run around in circles shouting for joy, I had never felt anything like this before in my life.

“Fairlight.” She hummed to herself for a moment, apparently contemplating the name. “I’ve never met a Fairlight before. Sunlight, Moonlight, Light Ray, but no Fairlight.” She looked out across the lawn once more. My heart was racing and my blasted mind a totally befuddled mess. I desperately wanted to say something, anything, to keep the conversation going. Provided it wasn’t another crappy chat up line, I thought I might just be able to pull it off.

“Whats that uniform ?” She asked me suddenly, “If you don’t mind me asking sir ?”. The forward little mare peered closely at my tunic, almost sniffing the material and silver buttons. Come to think of it, I think she actually was ! I could feel my cheeks burning and I was convinced I must have been blushing like a fireflies backside. A whiff of orange blossom caught my nose sending my heart pounding into overdrive.

“I’m with the watch, Miss Meadow ma’am. I’m on attachment to Ponyville until the Autumn.”

“Ah. So, what will you be doing then, Mr Fairlight of the watch ?”

“I’ll be re-assigned Miss. Hopefully back to my home town.”. I looked back to where the ponies had been enjoying their rather short lived picnic and further, to Ponyville in the distance. I could just make out the outlines of the buildings from here. “I do so

like it here though”. I almost whispered the last words and I noticed her peering at me with a quizzical glance.

“I see.” She said quietly. Suddenly perky once more, she picked her hat up and rammed it back on her head, adjusting the bow beneath her chin. “Tell me Mr Fairlight of the watch…..” A wry smile curled her lips, “What would your marefriend think of you chatting with a single lady under a tree in the rain ?”.

“I don’t have a marefriend”.

The green mare turned away, pulling her saddle bag tight and looked ready to plunge out into the rain. I sat down on my haunches. ‘Another chance lost’, I lamented and felt the pit of self pity beckoning me in. Damn it I was useless with mares and once again, I’d buggered the whole thing up.

“I like to come here for my lunch breaks” Meadow said in a nonchalant voice not even looking at me. “I’ll be here tomorrow around the same time. If you’re passing, you can tell me more about the watch. Oh, and I’ll bring some sandwiches with me too, you look like you need a decent diet.”

She laughed out loud and with that, galloped off into the rain. As she disappeared from my sight, hidden by the downpour, she looked back at me over her shoulder and called out “And bring a brolly !”.

I grinned like a foal who’d just been given his first nightmare night treats. Abandoning all professionalism and decorum, I dropped to ground and rolled in the wet grass, covering my uniform in muddy, grassy goodness. I didn’t care, nothing could ruin this day for me now. Meadow…..