City Streets

Music filled the city air - the sound of a deep baritone singing voice, beautiful and practiced.  A deep crimson-hued pegasus stood in the center of a curious circle of ponies gathered to watch the singing stallion.  He sang in a foreign tongue, a love song.  When the tune was over, the ponies murmured to one another - "How wonderful he is!"  "Such talent!"

The empty pouch for coins sat before the winged pony, silently beckoning the others to give a bit or two, to show their appreciation.  But the ponies in the audience returned to their business without giving a single bit.  he gregarious smile on Bo's face faded away.  "No luck today," he sighed to himself.

As the crowd trickled away and began to merge back into the bustle of Manehattan, Dawn Shard pressed her way to the front of the crowd and dropped a few bits in the open coin sack with a small but exuberant smile. She lingered for a moment after making the payment, debating over how to give more back to the stallion after such an impressive performance. "That was lovely," she said, feeling a little embarrassed at not being able to find any other words. She spoke just loud enough to be heard comfortably over the city sounds that had crept back in after the gentle tones of the stallion's singing.

His eyes had wandered after a pink mare with an absurdly large hat, taking care not to laugh. He was drawn back by the sound of bits clashing together. The dark red stallion's violet gaze settled on the form of a new mare, and his ears perked forward with interest. "Your kindness is most assuredly appreciated," he said with a low bow, eyes still fixed on the pretty pegasus that had emerged from the ungrateful crowd that had dissipated. His smile was natural, bright and inviting. He had to be genial if he hoped to get bits, but it took little effort on his part to be warm and approachable. "May I ask your name? I'm Bohemian Rhapsody, but you are welcome to call me Bo."

"Oh! Of course, my name is Dawn. Dawn Shard." She laughed a little as he offered her a bowed and she began to feel less out of place when he gave her a warm and assuring smile. "Thank you, Bo. Your music is most appreciated! Where did you learn to play and sing like that?"

"Dawn Shard," he repeated her name with a growing smile as he gave a sincere compliment to the pegasus mare.  "A lovely name, and very fitting for the pony who bears it."  When she inquired about where he learned, he slipped closer to her.  Her voice was scarcely a whisper above the sounds of the city streets. "I come from a musical clan, going back many generations of travelers who learned new styles from each culture they encountered."  His eyes slipped to Dawn's flank to see her cutie mark, but it was ambiguous.  He couldn't guess what it meant at first glance.  "What do you do, Dawn?  Do you work here in the city?"

Dawn couldn't help but blush profusely as the handsome stallion complimented her. She listened with interest as he explained his background in a musical family and she smiled sheepishly as she saw his eyes flicker to her cutie mark. "What I do is as changeable as the weather, but right now I'm in Manehattan to help out a friend. She's starting up a cafe somewhere near the city centre and I'm here to wait tables and staff the kitchen for a bit help her get on her feet." She reflected on the stallion in front of her, who seemed so assured of his purpose in life – and rightly so, he was very good at what he did – was it less stress, she wondered, to know exactly how to best spend your time? Sometimes her ambiguous cutie mark was a curse as much as a blessing.

The sight of a pretty young mare blushing always brought pleasure to Bo.  Sometimes he wondered if they never heard such compliments.  If that was the case, he was happy to fill in the gap, to make a mare feel pretty.  But it wasn't just an act.  As he watched her speak, Bo was taken by the soothing tone of her voice, her soft features.  He was rather surprised when she explained her intentions of being there in the city.  He wasn't sure how to interpret her cutie mark, but somehow, what she said didn't quite match up.  He found her intriguing, but he shrugged off his interest for the time being.  "If you are not too busy, then perhaps you would give me the pleasure of accompanying you to the park?  It isn't far from here."  He had spent countless hours performing there and selling his art, and was familiar with each of the paths that wound through it.  The crimson stallion took the pouch from the ground, putting into his vest for safe keeping.

"I'd love to!" Dawn felt a small thrill of excitement at the prospect of being able to accompany this pony a little further- though she couldn't help being surprised at the offer. She watched as he began to gather up his things.

The crimson pegasus cast one last careful look on the pavement below for any bits he may have missed - wishful thinking - before he smiled and began to lead the way, pleased that she had so readily agreed to join him.  It was midday and the sun was at its zenith overhead, which meant Bo had ample time to both converse with the pretty mare and, later, attempt to earn a few more bits before nightfall.  "Where do you hail from, Dawn Shard?"  He smiled more, enjoying the feel of her name on his tongue - poetic in its way. "Would it be presumptuous of me to guess Cloudsdale?"

Dawn smiled as she followed her new acquaintance through the bright park, bathed as it was in warm sunlight. Her day had taken an unexpected turn, but what a turn for the better... She felt a quiet but bubbly sort of excitement at the prospect of taking such a pleasant walk with a charming pony, though, she'd better not get ahead of herself. "Well, you would be correct," she replied quickly, after a moment of this silent reflection. "I haven't been back in a little while but that's home for me. And yourself? Though you've travelled with your family, I suppose?"

He was careful so that the pair were walking alongside each other as they traveled together down a worn path lined with trees - not too quickly, as Bo was in no rush that day.  The large, sprawling park seemed out of place in the city, but gathered there were the business ponies, the elites of Manehattan, the wealthy along with the poor.  "Yes, you're right.  I was born on the road, and we seldom stayed in once place longer than a week while I was a colt.  It was only after my sister was born that my family moved to Cloudsdale for a sense of normalcy.  I, however, respecfully declined.  And here I am." He chuckled softly, low tones rumbling deeply in his throat. "So I wouldn't say Cloudsdale is home for me, though my family remains there.  For me, though, for the time being, home is wherever I happen to be."  He fell silent, looking to the attractive mare from the corner of his eye as he led the way, with no particular destination in mind.

Dawn shard had to take a few extra steps for every couple that Bo took - the difference in their heights made for quite a contrast, with him being taller than the average pegasus and herself a little on the small side - but she found she didn't mind at all. Regardless, he seemed very happy to keep an easy pace with her. "So what is the rest of your life like now, then?" She asked, interested to hear more about what the life of such a musician brought a pony like Bohemian Rhapsody - he was so talented, but surely it couldn't be easy.

He couldn't help but feel flattered that she was curious about him.  And Bo was always happy to oblige a pony's curiosity and interest. "I move from place to place, in whichever direction feels right at the time.  It gives me the opportunity to meet many ponies, which I have always enjoyed."  He flashed Dawn a smile.  "Though some ponies are more enjoyable to converse with than others," he hinted with a light chuckle.  He was rather fond of the petite pony already, her pleasant voice against the stresses of the city a welcome relief.    "Now, tell me about you, Dawn."  He left it open - as much or as little as she cared to share.

Dawn wondered where to begin. She felt that there really wasn't much to tell, but she answered his question anyway. "I'm something of a mover myself – I left home a little while ago without a particular destination in mind, and since then I've really just been called from one place to the next... friends keep me in whichever place for a little while, but somehow I always find a reason to leave. I don't really know where I'm going to end up yet, truth be told, but in my experience, the journey has been important as the objective." For a moment, she paused, slightly surprised she had opened up so much, but she felt a sort of companionship in Bo already.

But somehow I always find a reason to leave.  Bohemian Rhapsody knew that story well, for he had been living it since he was still a teenager.  Dawn was young, as he had guessed, but she didn't seem as silly as other young mares he had encountered.  Her point of view was refreshing after days spent around the ever-ambitious, dead-eyed ponies of Manehattan.  "Well stated, Dawn Shard.  Poetic.  Not many mares or stallions can endure a life on the road.  It takes a strong, resilient pony to appreciate the candidness that travel offers to us."   He offered the compliment with another bright smile - something that seemed natural enough in Dawn's presence.  His cheerful demeanor wasn't contrived, as he had to put on an act to please others.  That's how he earned his living.

His direction gently veered to the right, silently guiding the pale mare toward the entrance of an enormous rose garden.  There were rose buds and blooms as far as the eye could see, in nearly every shade imaginable - scarlet, pink, violet, ivory - creating a brilliant quilt of colors that spanned into the distance.

"Are you this complimentary of all the ponies you go walking with, Bohemian?" Dawn asked in a tone that bordered on teasing, glancing up at the charming stallion for a moment as they walked. "I have to say that..." What it was she had to say, she promptly forgot. When he turned their course and she saw the garden, words fled her for a moment. Roses of all description crowded down the pathways in starbursts of floral colour, and it looked nothing short of heavenly in the day's warm light. She hesitated half a step forward, caught mid-pace for a moment by the unexpected beauty before she hastened to catch up to Bo's easy strides and cast about for her abandoned train of thought. It evaded her quite efficiently, but it barely seemed to matter, she couldn't stop smiling. "How did you know about this place? It looks wonderful," she said earnestly.

"Only the ones who deserve it."  He was a master of flattery - he could find something about nearly any pony he met - but he wasn't a liar, and some ponies were certainly easier to complement than others.  And he had met many ponies during his travels.  From the corner of his eye, he watched to see how she would react, both to his comment and the sprawling garden.

He was pleased to see the look of awe on her pretty features when she saw the roses.  "I come here often to admire the view. I've always believed it's important to stop and smell the roses, as they say."  A stallion like Bo could appreciate the delicate beauty of the petals.

Dawn laughed quietly at his smooth rejoiner, glancing down for fear she might start blushing again. This was something she hadn't felt in a while, and for it to come on so quickly after only really just meeting a pony... "It is," she agreed firmly. "When I was back living at home, I used to go flying in the early mornings. Sunrise in Cloudsdale is, I'm sure you know, something...really special. All those colours... This garden is the first time I've seen anything like it since I left."

Bohemian Rhapsody allowed his focus to stray from the roses to the mare, watching her briefly as she described her flights at dawn back home.  The dark stallion nodded with newfound appreciate for Dawn Shard's name.  He smiled, pleased to play a part in recreating that old, familiar beauty for the petite pegasus.  Such moments were indeed rare, especially in the city.

"Look," he said in a lower octave, indicating a blossom growing just to the left of Dawn with his muzzle.  The delicate petals were a soft peach hue - so gentle it was nearly white.  "This one looks just like you."

He took a step backward to fully appreciate the scene, trying to memorize all the details that made it worth capturing on canvas - the soft shades of her pelt and mane against the vivid colors of the roses surrounding him.  "I wish I had paints and a blank canvas right now."  He gave a thoughtful 'hm,' regretful that he couldn't carry all the tools of his trade with him at all times for these rare moments of unplanned allure.

((Oh my goodness what a flirt! You weren't kidding... ha I'm loving this scene so much... also my 100th post, huzzah...))

Her heart stuttered unexpectedly as he moved closer to indicate the flower, but then he stepped back and looked at her thoughtfully. She realised she'd forgotten to take a breath for a moment. "You paint?" was all she could think to say, her voice faint. In an effort to escape his intense appraisal and regain her voice, she let her eyes wander and she found herself looking at his cutie mark. She chuckled once. "I should have guessed. I suppose you excel at that, too?"

((It's very easy to write with these two!  Happy 100th post))

The stallion found that he was enjoying their walk immensely - but as the sun was beginning to dip down toward the west, he could only stay a while longer.  Still, he reasoned, he had more time to soak in the sun and serenity the garden offered.  The pale peach mare made it an idyllic scene he would later recall when he found himself around the ugly, mean streets in the big cities of Equestria.

"Art is a matter of taste and preference.  So I may be biased," he conceded with a chuckle as his violet-hued eyes flashed to his cutie mark and the paint brush depicted there, dipped in the same vibrant purple shade.  "If you're interested, a few of my pieces will be displayed at an art show tonight.  Tell them you're with me and you can come for free as my guest."

Then, he turned to indicate the mare's cutie mark with a wing.  "Would it be impolite of me to inquire what you excel at, Dawn Shard?"  His own talents were rather straight-forward - his mother a vocalist, his father an artist, Bohemian Rhapsody was his parents' foal.  Dawn, on the other hoof, was a more curious case.  His crimson wing returned to his side.

She could have lied. Sometimes she did, made up something ambiguous, but...
"I honestly couldn't tell you," she said quietly.
In a society where ponies defined themselves by what they wanted to do when they grew up, being a grown-up who didn't know where she was going was anything but easy to deal with. Some didn't believe her when she confessed that she hadn't found out exactly what it meant yet. More often, ponies tended to turn up their noses. "I just get a kick out of helping ponies. For now, that's what I've got, and it's what I'll have to go on with." Before he could respond, she spoke up again. "I should get going – but I'd love to come to your art show, that's very kind of you... where is it?"

He hadn't expected the sudden change in conversation when he attempted to delve deeper into where her talents were.  The mark was indeed vague - both to strangers and to the pony who sported it.  The soft way Dawn Shard spoke made the stallion feel immediately guilty, and he stepped closer to bump his wing against hers reassuringly. "It's alright.  Sometimes I think my marking is a little too... obvious.  There wasn't much curiosity needed to deduce what it meant.  There's no intrigue, as with yours."

Bo knew that there was more to her than being helpful to others, but there wasn't time to find out more.  With a nod, he turned away from the mare to point a crimson wing in the direction of the slums.  "It's not the greatest part of the city, but the place is great.  Very unique.  It has a huge neon sign outside that says 'City Lights.'  You'll probably meet City Lights herself when you arrive.  She is very... colorful, you'll know her when you see her.  She'll let you in, no troubles."  He smiled, offering Dawn a short bow. "I can escort you out of the park, if need be."

"Intrigue..." Dawn had to smile when he bowed again. "Well, perhaps. If it's no trouble for you to walk that way with me... I'd like that. And I look forward to meeting this City Lights."