The wind swept through the open meadow, rustling the long green grass and soft, velvety petals of the wildflowers. The nearby, gurgling creek kept an unsteady beat as several birds of different registers supplied a cacophonous melody, yet the three fillies held in the belly of the field heard it all as a beautiful, relaxing song. Or, at least, two of the three heard it that way. Another breeze rolled through and dandelions bent at their fragile stems; their seeds detached and escaped on their cottony clouds to find new starts.
One seed sailed only a short way before being suddenly caught in an updraft formed by Tuck ‘n Roll's exhale. Just as quickly as it flew up, the seed dropped itself onto the filly’s tiny, slowly moving lime-tinted chest. With her eyes shut in deep relaxation, Tuck didn't notice the weak tickling fluff until Page Turner introduced her heavy hoof to her rib cage. The rainbow maned earth pony gasped as the air left her body involuntarily, and she sat up and pointed her instinctive rage in Page's direction. Page was attempting to catch the seed, in order to make a wish off of it. Her grey pigtails stood on end, she was so anxious in her desperation to wish for some no-doubt silly thing - probably waffles for dinner, or simply to find another dandelion seed. She could be so random.
However, she did succeed in catching the thing, and with her eyes gently closed, she inhaled slowly before saying goodbye to it with a quick puff of air. Tuck’s eyes followed the flying fluff until it came to a rest upon a daisy, a little ways off. With that out of the way, she lazily fell back onto the sun-warmed earth beneath her. She took in a breath and sighed it out. Then she rolled onto her side and stared inquisitively at her friend.
"Why didn't you just use your magic to get that, first of all?" she groaned.
Page gazed back, vague and disinterested all of a sudden. "I guess I didn't think of it," she allowed a slight pause. "No, I totally did!" Then she tossed herself onto the ground with laughter and a renewed light in her eyes.
Tuck just rolled her tired ones, and turned her focus to Golden, who rested upon one of the wide stumps present in this field. Through its ancient bark sprung bright green sprigs of some spry plant. Ivy wrapped itself around and over the rotting wood, and little white blossoms sparkled in the sunlight. Fast asleep on this real throne of nature, Golden held the air of sophistication and capability typical of her, yet seemed somehow even more peacefully regal. Perhaps the tranquility of the place and her position enhanced her beauty.
From behind her gently fluttering feathers, Page Turner's bushy bangs and crazed, violet eyes slowly rose into perception. Tuck moved quickly in order to preserve some level of peace in the meadow.
"Golden Apple! Watch out!" she cried, not realizing that since the filly was still asleep, her warning was in vain.
With hooves so quick for a filly so jaded, Page struck under Golden's forelegs, and the beautiful pony kicked her cream colored limbs as she was shocked into action. She sat up straight and searched her surroundings for the danger, but Page was already slipping back into a cover of clover.
Tuck shook her head, allowing her long mane to hide her disappointed eyes. Can't a filly catch some ZZZs around her friends? Did it always have to be games or nothing?
"Page Turner, why would you do that to me? I was having a lovely dream!" Golden had discovered Page's hiding place, and there was no escape for the playful unicorn now.
Backed into a corner, Page decided to cooperate. "Aww, I'm sorry Goldie. I'm just so bored out here! Can we at least talk? Or play a game?! Let's play a game! I read about a fun one in the Ponyville Express!"
"What? Who reads that old newspaper anymore?"
"I do, Tuck ‘n Roll! You should too, you know. There's always something new to be learned from the paper."
Tuck rubbed her tired eyes with her hooves. She knew her midday nap was done for.
"Alright, Page Turner. Let's hear about this game." Golden Apple was smiling, but Tuck recognized the coerced acceptance.
Page, however, clapped her hooves in glee, and began to divulge the rules of the game. It was fairly simple. Just a game of hide and seek, but with one hider at the beginning. The other two seek until one finds the third, then she stays in the hiding spot as well, waiting for the second seeker to find both fillies. Tuck ‘n Roll quickly volunteered to be the hider.
"Okay, here goes! Get ready, Tuck!" Page shoved her face into the tree stump and began to count to one hundred. Golden looked feebly at the hider, and then turned as well to shield her eyes. As Tuck began trotting away, she could hear Golden's sweet voice join Page's tinny and coarse one in counting.
Tuck reached the paved trail back to town soon enough, and she kept walking. The other two would know she wouldn't stay to hide in that wide open field. She could probably easily blend in, her body a mass of grassy green, while her hair would act as an explosion of flowers. But she would have to lie there quietly while they searched, and she had already given up on the idea of a nap. She could never sit still while being awake.
Just as she took her first step off of the grass and onto the dirt path back into Ponyville, Tuck felt her stomach rumble fiercely. It was time for her afternoon snack. Thinking about how disappointed the others would be if she bailed on the game to go home and eat, the filly decided she would “hide” at one of the outdoor cafés in town. As she headed toward a popular one, she couldn’t help but grit her teeth in frustration. She couldn’t hide her resentment toward Page Turner for forcing her and Golden Apple into yet another idiotic game.
Tuck and Page grew up together; they weren't strangers. But that didn't mean they were friends. No matter how close their mothers all were, there was nothing they could do to make the two fillies feel the same way. Golden was alright - elegant yet strong. She and Tuck could spend hours playing with forest critters or running a race through Sweet Apple Acres. Golden could even fly. As the daughter of two pegasi, Tuck always felt embarrassed because of her lack of wings. She adored watching Golden soar through the clouds, graceful and beautiful.
But then there was Page Turner. If it weren't for their parents’ prodding, she didn't think she would be able to put up with her at all. Page had always had an obscene amount of energy, understandable when one considered all the sugar she was fed. But instead of using that energy to do something productive or at least amusing, she spent nearly every hour reading alone in the library. Then she would go out and bother anyone who would listen with what she learned. She was awkward, loud, and fairly stuck-up, in Tuck’s opinion. Of course, she would never say anything so mean to her face.
But just thinking about her made Tuck’s head hurt. She flicked her long tail in frustration, as she approached her destination. The green filly sat down on a hale bale and rested her head on the table in front of her.
The waiter pony walked out of the restaurant at that time, presenting Tuck with some lemon water and taking her order. As she waited for her food, the filly glanced around the street for her seekers, but from what she could tell, she was still safe. She hoped desperately that she would be found first by Golden's pretty blue eyes.
Surely at some time she would be able to accept Page as a friend, but as long as she kept waking her up with brutal punches in the lungs, that time would keep throwing itself farther and farther into the future.