Mercedes had let herself doze, so when the sound of hoofsteps behind her alerted her of someone’s approach, she was surprised to find the air was tinted with scent of the stallion she had been looking for earlier. Turning, the champagne mare nickered excitedly at the stallion, skidding a bit on the rocky ground as she took a few steps down the slope to meet him.

”Hi,” she said, a little warily once she remembered she didn’t like being friendly. This pride thing was difficult, and she had to come up with reasons why she couldn’t just stick her muzzle in his face and expect him to be okay with that kind of greeting. And anyway, she wasn’t that excited to see him, she didn’t even know his name.

”What brings you out here? You don’t strike me as one to hide away from your mares.” To be fair, she hadn’t seen any of said mares in quite a while. Were they still here? Mercy felt the slightest twinge of guilt; perhaps he had been left alone, stuck with her, and she did nothing but hide from him.

Well, what could she do about it, anyway. She hadn’t grown up knowing how to keep people un-lonely, so if this stallion was lonely she was going to have a hard time fixing that. She resolved to at least try a little, though; if the other mares were hiding, or had left, she would stop making a point of avoiding everyone. Maybe someday she’d even learn his name.

”What’s your name?” she blurted, apparently subconsciously deciding that right now was the best time to learn it. She shut her mouth quickly, though, having not actually meant to ask.
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