//------------------------------//
// The Importance Of Play 
// Story: Five Changelings In Equestria: The Sixth Path 
// by Bucking Nonsense 
//------------------------------//

"This looks like a good place to spend the night."
Trixie looked around at the small roadside clearing that their small party had reached.  It was most definitely intended as a picnic area, with benches and picnic tables in clear view, and charmingly scenic.  There was even a small pond, perfect for a quick bath.  She could not imagine a better place to stop and rest.  Gravy was right: It was unlikely that they'd find a better place to rest before sunset.
Looking over her shoulder, she checked on 'Elle'.  Since her little performance earlier, the young changeling had not volunteered another word.  Trixie couldn't help but worry about her new ward: Even now that she was free of whatever influence her father and others had over her, she was so silent and withdrawn that the only comparison she could make was with a mare she had met at the Rock Farm by the name of Maud Pie.  And yet Leiurus Quinquestriatus managed to combine that with a strange sort of emotional emptiness that was honestly quite distressing.  Maud Pie might not have had many interests beyond rocks, but at least she had an interest in something.  Meanwhile, the little changeling riding in Trixie's cart did not even have that much to her name: All she had was orders about what to and what not to do.
Silently, Trixie wondered whether the young filly might have been permanently damaged on an emotional and psychological level.  If so, there was a strong possibility that she would never be 'normal'.  When she reached the Crystal Empire, she would have to see about finding a therapist for the young lady.  In the meantime...
"Yes, I agree," Trixie said, with a smile.  Looking over her shoulder again, Trixie said, "Elle, we're going to stop here for the night.  Why don't you get out and stretch your legs, maybe play around a little?"
"Affirmative," was her immediate replay.  Elle promptly climbed out of the cart, walked over to the clearing, made a show of stretching (With a couple of surprisingly loud pops as she did so), then promptly turned around, sat down, and said, "Awaiting further instructions."
Gravy, his head tilted to one side, asked, "Instructions for what?"
The disguised changeling replied, with her perfectly deadpan tone, "How to play."
With a jingle of his belled costume, the jester looked, first at Trixie, then at Elle, then back again, and asked, "Is she joking?"
Trixie, after a moment, replied, "I don't think she knows what a joke is."
"Right," Gravy said, then looked over at his cart.  After a moment, he called out, "Biscuits, get your ball and get out here!"
The little monkey promptly emerged from Gravy's cart, a blue ball clasped in its little monkey paws.  With an excited hoot, it jumped from the cart to Gravy's head, setting the jester's hat jingling.
Looking over at Elle, the jester said, "Elle, Biscuits needs some exercise.  He gets exercise by playing keep away with his ball."  At the little one's blank expression, Gravy added, "He runs around with the ball, and you try to take it from him with your teeth.  If you succeed, you run around with it until he takes it back.  Don't leave the clearing, and don't take it too seriously, since it is just a game.  Do that until either one of you gets tired.  Do you understand me?"
Nodding, Elle said, "Affirmative."
The monkey promptly hopped from atop Gravy's head, and began running off, ball held over his head in his little paws, and Elle promptly chased after him.
"That little lady has some serious emotional issues.  Or maybe the exact opposite of that," Gravy said, after watching the two take off.
Blowing a breath out between her lips in frustration, Trixie couldn't help but agree.  While she was glad that Elle would be occupied for a bit, the showmare had no idea how she was going to be able to deal with the youngster over the long-term.  She honestly didn't know how to deal with normal fillies: An abnormal one like Elle was far beyond her ability to cope with.  After a moment, Trixie said, "Well, sunset isn't far off.  Do you need any help setting up camp?"
With a shrug that set his bells off, Gravy said, "Not really.  My tent is pretty easy to get ready."  Looking over at Trixie, he asked, 'Do you?"
With a small giggle, Trixie admitted, "I don't really need to: My cart is already set up so that I can just plop down and sleep as soon as I stop, if need be."  Looking over at Elle, who had just successfully stolen Biscuits' ball and was now running off with it, Trixie added, "But I suppose I might be in need of an extra bedroll and blanket.  While I don't mind letting Elle share my own, mine was meant for one, rather than one and a half.  And a extra pillow would certainly help as well."
Gravy looked over at his cart, then said, "I may have some spare blankets I can loan you, and I know I have at least one extra pillow."  With a cheerful tone, he added, "Need any help cooking supper?"  Biscuits, meanwhile, had climbed atop Elle's back, and was trying to snag the ball out of the young lady's mouth.
Unable to stop herself from smiling, Trixie replied, "Not really, but help would still be appreciated.  But, um..."  Looking a bit ashamed, she admitted, "I, um, left the last town I was visiting in a bit of a hurry.  I didn't have the time to restock my larder, so I don't have much asides from the makings of a vegetable soup and a few packages of biscuits."  Not exactly the proudest moment of her life.  She wasn't going to starve, thankfully, but it was going to be a while before flavor would become a part of her vocabulary again...
"I have plenty," Gravy said, his tone surprisingly serious, "and I would be happy to share."
That was... incredibly kind of him.  And she'd not even asked.  "I... thank you, Gravy."  She felt her cheeks becoming warm, and hoped, desperately, that she wasn't blushing too brightly...
Elle walked back over to the pair, the monkey still riding atop her back with the ball held triumphantly over his head.  The disguised changeling said, in a surprisingly breathless tone, "I feel tired now."  While she couldn't be certain, Trixie could almost swear that there was a ghost of a smile on the 'filly's' face.
Right, she'd likely still be somewhat worn out, given what she'd been through before Trixie had found her.  Still, it was nice to have seen her playing, somewhat like an ordinary filly.  "Well," the showmare said, after a moment's thought, "be a dear get the bedroll in order.  Then you can take a nap until supper is ready."
"Affirmative."