for PiP!

With one wrong step though, a twig snapped against the sole of her shoe and the lavender colored pony fled into the forest, without even a second thought. She was gone as soon as she came, and the chances of taking home a lavender pony of their own were also taken with her, the only remnants and proof of her presence being the fading rustle of leaves, both her and her uncle's shocked faces and a half eaten apple. She looks over at her uncle, just to make sure he's still... alive after all of this. The elderly can be fragile, despite how much he protests and complains and still drives his old, beat-up truck as old as the rust on the stalls of their stable, and who knows if the mare spooking spooked him as well. 

Gosh, he's still just standing there. Mouth agape. 

"Hey... hey Uncle? You still there?"

He mumbles something out, indistinct and too dull to really pick up.

"Uncle?"

He looks at her. He looks back at where the mare left. He points in the general direction and her own gaze follows.

"By golly, I've never seen a mare like that," He murmurs, his other hand to his heart, as if pledging his own life to the mare. A bit extreme if you asked her, but whatever. 

"That's sure saying something, considering you're as old as dirt," She scoffs, but there wasn't any true jab in her tone. It wasn't like she was unaffected by that as well; seeing something so wonderful, yet leaving so soon, just as they were in its reach. She would be lying if she said there wasn't a tinge of frustration boiling up in her, but her uncle's presence always calmed her down. If he weren't so shocked right now, she's sure he would be saying something about how that was that; they can't change anything that's happened. And, it is always better to respect a pony's choice rather than to not. 

The comment seems to go over his ears though, still so starstruck at the mare. Gosh, she knows it's bad if he can't even response to a jibe of hers.

"Gosh, I'd just be darn willing to give anything to see another pony like that, you know?" He scoffs to himself, whether in disbelief or in amazement, she couldn't quite decipher even after all her years of knowing him and growing up with him. They both stood in silence, her hands on her hips while her uncle was just gazing off into the distance. Squinting. As if he could just manifest another lavender colored Teddy Cob if he stared at the lush, forest growth long enough.

Maybe there's someone cheering for her uncle though, because the rustle of leaves was as sudden as the mare's departure. She tensed up while her uncle lasered in his stare. Could it be another Teddy Cob, friendly and welcoming or a cougar, ready to pounce on the two of them?  

But, it was just like someone heard his plea, and it was another pony that came into their view. This one was much fluffier than the previous mare, with a wooly coat that threatened to touch his own knees and fur that ran down his face. It was a miracle he looked as dapper as he does, a coat as long as his own must be hard to maintain. Baths must be horrendous for this stallion. She shudders at the though of a long evening spent picking out burrs of his coat; hopefully he wasn't too wild of a stallion. The thought was a bit forward, she realized, already fantasizing about keeping a horse they just met. Isn't she funny. 

Like something out of a movie or a shampoo commercial, his mane billowed elegantly in the wind. Somehow, it is as if the stallion and the breeze were synced, because she knows how a windy day can make a bad hair day. She grumbles to herself. She was not jealous of a literal horse.

The most striking feature of all though was his beautifully pink coat, taking on a shade of pale pink with an orange undertone. Another lavender Teddy Cob in the flesh. Fate truly was giving them another chance.

Her uncle seemed to have regained his bearings, knowing now of all times wasn't the time to be sitting and gawking. That gets nothing done, she can imagine him gruffly saying to her. He picks up an apple, reaching an arm out for the stallion to take a sniff of it, but he doesn't bite. Shoot. Can't expect every horse to be food motivated though.

But, she thought to do something different. Sometimes, the ponies at the stable love squeaky toys, simply because of the sound it makes when they squish it in their mouth. Maybe he would like that as well. With the most gentle kick she can muster, she kicks the bell ribbon towards the stallion, jingling all the way as it skips across the ground. 

The stallion bent down to pick up the bell ribbon, nipping the bell part in his teeth and giving it a little shake. Seemingly he was amused.

Perfect.