Hide and Seek
“Hey, wanna play hide and seek with us?”
You’re caught by surprise—you’d come to the park to relax and read a book, not join in foal’s games. You’re about to rebuff her as the memories come back, memories of playing hide and seek years ago. Of being young and having fun, just playing in the park, unsaddled with responsibilities.
You set your book down. “Who’s playing, Noi?”
She raises a hoof and points out ponies in turn. “Me ‘n Dinky ‘n Pinchy ‘n Cotton Cloudy . . . ‘n you if you wanna play.”
“It’s been years, I don’t know how good I’ll be.” It’s easier for a foal to hide; they’re smaller.
They’re not smarter, though.
“We’ll go easy on you.”
“You don’t have to.” You get up and join the huddle. “Who’s seeking?”
Cotton Cloudy raises a hoof.
“You can’t fly and you can’t use magic to hide,” Noi says. “That’s to keep it fair for everypony.”
“Can’t hide outside the park, either,” Pinchy adds. “And this table is safe, if you get found you can gallop here and you’ll be safe.”
You look around the park, seeing it in a new light. It’s a nice place to relax, it’s quiet and the benches are comfortable. In terms of hiding spots, though, it’s not great. In terms of nature, there are the usual bushes and rocks and trees; ponies added benches and trash cans, a pavilion and a playground, and that’s it. To your eye that’s not much—to the eyes of a foal, those provide nearly infinite possibilities, and the park seems much larger than it actually is.
Even if there aren’t that many places to hide, you can still gallop for safety if you do get spotted. They might have the boundless energy of youth, but you’ve got a much longer stride than any of them.
“You ready?” Noi asks.
“Yeah.”
“One hundred,” Cotton Cloudy closes her eyes and begins counting. “Ninety-nine. Ninety-eight. . . “
The group scatters; for a moment you and Noi are headed for the same juniper bush—you could outpace her and take it, but then it occurs to you that with the advantage of a good stride, a more distant hiding spot is preferable.
You can see Pinchy’s hiding spot, and it turns out Cotton Cloudy is faster than she is. Even grounded, wings are an advantage.
•••
A few easy wins later, you’ve gotten too smug. You thought that Dinky saw you, but then she headed off in a different direction; you didn’t expect her to wait until she’d passed then turn back and sneak up.
Clever girl.
By the time you realize she’s right behind you, it’s too late. Yeah, you might get the lead if you went through the thorn bushes, but that’s a cost you’re not willing to pay.
“Got you!” Dinky says proudly.
“You did.”
The group forms up at the bench again, and this time you’re the seeker.
You close your eyes and begin counting.
CHOICE
When you reach zero, should you
>seek fairly; you were young once (hero)
>just leave; they’ll figure it out eventually. (villain)
[ENDING A: HERO]
“Here I come, ready or not!” You say it before you open your eyes and look around the park.
When they first scattered, there was too much galloping to focus on, but as they found their spots you could hear one loner crossing a cobbled path. There’s only one of those in the park, and if she crossed it, her options for hiding are limited.
Well, assuming she hasn’t cheated and left the park.
That having been said, you can also see Cotton Cloudy’s tail peeking around the edge of a trash can.
A moment later, it disappears—you’re feeling benevolent, you’ll give her this. She’s been caught more than anypony else anyway.
You slowly make your way across the park, ready for any sudden burst of movement. You’re gonna catch whoever decided the furthest spot was the safest.
[ENDING B: VILLAIN]
“Here I come, ready or not!” Maybe one of them is watching you, but probably not. Fillies aren’t all that smart and would have picked hiding spots where they can’t see you. After all, if they can’t see you, you can’t see them.
Instead of seeking, you walk over to the bench where your book sits, sad and forlorn. You pick it up as you pass, then you just keep walking. There’s a nice foal-free park near the creek where you can read in peace.
Sooner or later they’ll figure out you’re gone, and when they do, they’ll have learned a valuable friendship lesson.