//------------------------------// // Autumn Time(s) // Story: Their Time // by GrangeDisplay //------------------------------// “So, are you excited for today’s Autumn time!” Autumn asked, shaking the entire booth as she searched for an inkling of shared excitement in Moondancer’s features. Moondancer used her forehooves to steady the table, while her magic enveloped her teacup to stop it from spilling. She was almost impressed by the improvements in her response time over the past few weeks. It seemed that spending time with Autumn brought more than advancements in magical research. It kept her on her hooves and out of her lab, which wasn’t always opportune, but at least she was eating and socializing on a semi-regular basis.  She sipped her tea before asking, “Depends, will it end as spectacularly as the last couple of Autumn times?” “Of course not! Why would you even say that?” Autumn cried, but Moondancer didn't try to apologize. The unicorn simply peaked over her teacup with a quirked eyebrow.  Autumn sighed and slumped in her seat. “It’s not like I plan for these things to happen. They just…happen. And it's not like it's that bad anyways.”  If Autumn didn’t have Moondancer’s full attention before, she definitely had it now. The unicorn placed her teacup down before speaking, “Not that bad, you say? I think you should reconsider that stance.”  “Really?” Autumn asked curtly. “Yes,” Moondancer responded just as curtly. “Okay, what about…” Autumn began, thinking over all the Autumn times over the last few weeks. “Oh! The dog show. Remember all those fancy dogs! They were absolutely adorable.” Moondancer nodded in agreement. “Yes, they were quite ‘adorable.’ So ‘adorable’ that it caused you to endure some sort of existential crisis, remember?”  “I’m just saying that these are dogs, you know? Living, breathing creatures with rights and desires. They are not meant to prance around, sit still, and be judged. They should be doing dog things like barking or smelling stuff or…or… oh, I don’t know riding skateboards or something,” Autumn insisted with an exasperated expression.  This ‘dog show’ wasn’t turning out how she expected. It was a lot less of dogs being cute and having fun, and more of dogs being all prim and proper. Moondancer wasn’t too impressed either, despite going in with low expectations.  “Do dogs where you come from regularly ride skateboards?” Moondancer questioned, in the same sarcastic tone that Autumn was getting to know too well. “No!” Autumn responded indignantly, “But who knows, maybe these Canterlot dogs can, but they’re not allowed to because they’re forced to jump through hoops all day!” As much as Moondancer enjoyed a good, spirited conversation with Autumn, it was obvious from the kirin’s intensifying tone that this was getting out of hoof. Moondancer tried her best to apply a little reason to the situation.   “Calm down. These dogs are bred to do this, it's their job, their purpose. It’s the way things are,” explained the unicorn, hoping the words were getting through. Autumn could see the sincerity in Moondancer’s eyes and opted to sulk quietly to herself. It was sad to think these dogs were bred to do ‘undog’ stuff for the rest of their lives. Autumn could only imagine what might have happened to her had she lived by that philosophy. If she had let them take her voice away or continued living alone because it’s just, “'the way things are.'” It was no way to live, and Autumn knew that well. She knew what she had to do, she just had to be strong enough to do it.  “Moondancer, I’m getting us drinks. Be back in a bit,” Autumn announced suddenly, leaping from her seat and departing without waiting for a response.  Moondancer let her go without a fuss, eventually falling prey to the monotony of the day's events. She was completely zoned out, until she heard the sound of barking, lots of barking, approaching at a rapid pace. Chaos spread throughout the venue as hundreds of dogs, that had somehow escaped their cages, ran wild and unleashed themselves onto the unprepared streets of Canterlot.  “Hundreds of prized purebred dogs wreaked havoc on the streets. Causing one of the worst public safety hazards in Canterlot history. Do you know how hard that is to do here?” Moondancer reminded her for the hundredth time. “Okay, okay. Keep your voice down please. We don’t need everypony knowing we were even there,” Autumn muttered while looking around cautiously.  “I will concede, not my best moment,” Autumn admitted, but she was quick to add. “But! That was one oopsie on my part. What about golf, you seemed to really enjoy that.” “I did,” Moondancer admitted, tapping her hoof on the table. “Until you got us thrown out.” “Moondancer! Please, please, please just make the shot!” Autumn begged, falling to her haunches in distress. “I will as soon as I finish lining it up,” Moondancer muttered from the ground. It seemed that the academic had found something to focus her brain on during this Autumn time. At first Autumn was overjoyed to see Moondancer so engaged and invested, but after seventeen straight holes of watching her calculate the proper shot based on angle, power, and environmental conditions, things started to get a little tedious.  “Moondancer?” “I know, I know, I’m almost done,” Moondancer insisted as she tested the wind strength with her pocket anemometer.   “Please,” Autumn pleaded once more, completely deflating on the green. “Okay, I’m ready,” Moondancer declared, positioning her putter for a proper shot. She lightly tapped the ball with her club at the proper angle with the proper amount of power, suited quite properly for the wind conditions. The sweet sound of the ball rolling gracefully into the hole filled the silence, as the pair reveled in the final blow for radically different reasons.  “Okay, my turn!” Autumn cheered.  But her enthusiasm didn’t last long. Unless it was Moondancer trying to line up a shot, nothing seemed to last long. Autumn tried to be meticulous with her shots, it was a game after all, but she just couldn’t seem to catch a break. Autumn sighed and descended into the depths of the sand trap where her ball resided. “Careful,” Moondancer cautioned, looking down at her from above. “I will. Move a bit please,” Autumn directed, gesturing her club towards where she wanted Moondancer to stand.  Autumn took a deep breath and prayed to whatever deity there may be that this round would end in as few shots as possible.  The first shot was made.  Then, the second.  Then, the third. And so on and so forth until the golf ball teetered on the very edge of the hole. Ragged, wretched, and exhausted Autumn lined up the easiest shot in the world. Then she missed.  The pair watched incredulously as the ball soared back into the very sand trap that Autumn had spent an embarrassing amount of time trying to escape.  “It was probably the wind conditions; they are something else,” Moondancer mentioned, in a failed attempt at comfort.  “Hey, Moondancer?” Autumn asked with a disturbing lack of emotion, as it suddenly began to feel warmer.  “Yes?” “Take a few steps away from me please.” “We are lucky that they only banned us.” “Hey, it's not like I burned the place to the ground. It was just a little torched grass. It grows back!” “Right. It was a little arson instead of a lot of arson,” Moondancer replied sarcastically. “I’m trying to work on it, okay? And enough of my oopsies, let's talk about your oopsies. Remember when you got us thrown out of that production of My Fair Filly?”  “Moondancer? Moondancer!” Moondancer stirred in her seat, immediately correcting her posture, and trying to look like she wasn't falling asleep. It was an exceedingly hard facade to sell considering the way her glasses hung loosely on her muzzle and the light stream of drool that oozed from the side of her mouth, but Moondancer was determined to pull it off. “Were you falling asleep?” Autumn asked with a mix of concern and annoyance. “No, please be quiet.”  Moondancer’s heart stopped as Autumn glowered at her for a few seconds, staring directly into her soul. The last thing either of them wanted was for Autumn to go full nirik in the Princesses’ personal box seats at one of the most illustrious theaters in Canterlot. The unicorn tried not to squirm as Autumn drew her hoof upward, and brought it unnervingly close to Moondancer’s face. Autumn, moving at an excruciatingly slow pace, pushed Moondancer glasses into the right position before commanding, “Do not fall asleep.”  Moondancer might have been upset about the scolding had she not been so frightened by Autumn’s intensity. She sank back into her chair and tried to find some amusement in the musical, but it was extremely difficult. Instead, she found herself looking at Autumn.  The kirin was completely enthralled by the music. She practically hung over the balcony as she watched, mouthing each song, and truly feeling each story beat. It was impressive, and kind of nice to see the kirin at ease which seemed to put Moondancer at ease as well. It wasn't long before the unicorn was drifted off once more, her head dropped lazily as she slumped forward. And by some simple twist of fate, or the product of an overactive mind, or the spasm of the wrong muscle, the sleeping Moondancer experienced a sudden magical discharge at the wrong place and wrong time. “I was tired,” whined Moondancer with a pained expression. Autumn rolled her eyes, having no sympathy for Moondancer’s discomfort. “You blew up Hollow Mic-stand during his most popular song!” “On accident! Autumn time keeps me up too late, I need sleep.” “Your name is Moon-dancer, you should know how to stay up and have fun with me. You don’t see me dozing off during Moondancer time.”  Moondancer’s brows furrowed for a second as she attempted to rebuff Autumn’s statement, but she couldn’t think of anything clever or sarcastic to say. The silence brought Autumn a deep sense of satisfaction, while Moondancer grew more miserable at being stumped. The unicorn’s complexion turned a few shades redder as she buried her face in her hooves.  Her words were muffled but discernible, “Well, what's the plan for today then?” “Something you might actually enjoy. Do you know of Tilted Canvas? He is having an exhibition at the Canterlot Museum of Modern Art today!” “Titled Canvas, the performance artist?” Moondancer asked, trying to remember anything about Tilted’s past works. “I’m definitely familiar with the name, but I have not studied his work yet.” “Well, this is an opportunity for both of us. It's gonna be good!”  To put it in the nicest way possible, Tilted Canvas’ performance was bad. One might even say terrible. Or maybe, Autumn was just not cultured enough to understand the complexities of Tilted’s…’masterpiece.’ The ponies around her, art connoisseurs so to speak, seemed to get it. They certainly hummed and nodded a lot while pressing their forehooves to their chins in contemplation. Autumn had tried to do the same, but it was hard not to gawk in total bewilderment. The idea behind it seemed straight forward, but the execution left a lot to be desired. Tilted Canvas had gone through the process of learning every minute detail about his conception and birth. Having acquired this knowledge, he sought to curse hundreds of onlookers with this unfortunate recreation of his own creation. Autumn was not sure what weirded her out more, the uncanny apparition of Tilted’s father that was produced by a series of spells cast by a gang of interns, or the fact that Tilted had decided to play his own mother.  After hours of watching the excruciating display, the grand final came with the ‘birth’ of Tilted Canvas. The artist tore his way out of the large bubble covered in felt. He came out hollering, screaming as he fought his way out. Emerging from the wreckage in a splash of assorted fluids, he hobbled forward and cried out. “Torn from my mother's womb I am born once more! Now mother, I call upon thee. I require sustenance!” There was a caw of a bird and a cascade of colorful feathers from above. A massive marionette of a bird lowered from the ceiling, and Tilted eagerly awaited its descent with an open mouth. Autumn had nothing against the miracle of life, she actually found it quite beautiful, but watching a grown stallion being fed by a bird puppet wasn’t how she wanted to spend her Saturday afternoon. She turned to Moondancer with a cringe. “Do you want to lea- oh! What happened to you!” Autumn involuntarily backed up as she looked at the red splatter that coated the entire front half of Moondancer's body. Moondancer slowly turned to her but said nothing. The poor thing had received the worst of Tilted’s ‘afterbirth’ and probably feared getting the goo in her mouth. Autumn chuckled nervously. “So, would you consider this a me oopsie for picking this, or a you oopsie for standing in the …um… splash zone.”